JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER WITH BEAR GRYLLS: Episode 1.1

Name: JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER WITH BEAR GRYLLS: Episode 1.1
Item: JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER WITH BEAR GRYLLS: Episode 1.1
Author: Review

"Surviving the Holy Land to Get a Glimpse of the Real Jesus"

Content: +2 Moderately questionable elements.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER WITH BEAR GRYLLS is a new series on TBN+. In it, Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls, professional British adventurer, TV star and survival expert, takes a trip to the Holy Land. Bear’s goal is to get to know, as he puts it, “Jesus, the real guy.” Episode One opens with him jumping from an airplane into the Negev Desert. He travels across the desert to arrive at Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born.

Episode One of JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER is an engaging romp through many central parts where the Story of Jesus took place. The cinematography is breathtaking, with wonderful shots of the Negev Desert and modern Bethlehem. Episode One of JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. Bear Grylls expresses his desire to visit Israel and see what walking the land as Jesus did would have been like. Despite some vague statements about religion, Bear is as fascinated by the story of Jesus as he is with the journey he’s now taking. MOVIEGUIDE® advises light caution for younger children for some references to violence.

Content:

(CCC, BBB, V):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Very strong Christian, biblical worldview where TV program host expresses his desire to visit Israel and see what walking the land as Jesus did would have been like. Host cites Time Magazine in support of the view that Jesus is “the most influential man who ever lived” before going on to say personally “there is something so intriguing about [Jesus.],” he goes on to reflect that “this guy effectively change[d] the world forever” despite his humble beginnings, plus, although there are some vague statements such as “I’m not very religious in the traditional sense” (which could be interpreted to mean a myriad of different things), it’s clear that the host is as fascinated by the story of Jesus as he is with the journey he’s now taking to walk in the same places Jesus walked some two millennia ago;

Foul Language:

No foul language;

Violence:

Some death defying stunts such as jumping out of an airplane, desert encounters with deadly flora like golden henbane, some illustrations of the birth of Jesus talk about and briefly depict the crimes of the King Herod the Great, such as “the slaughter of the innocents”;

Sex:

No sex;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Nothing else objectionable.

More Detail:

JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER WITH BEAR GRYLLS is a new series available to stream on TBN+. In it, Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls, British professional adventurer, TV star, former SAS trooper, and survival expert, takes a trip to the Holy Land in order to get to know, as he puts it, “Jesus, the real guy.”

Parachuting into the Negev desert, he first meets a shepherd who calls this harsh landscape his home, as those invited to the birth of Christ the King 2000 years before ostensibly did as well. Trekking through blistering desert sands, he discovers that not only these, but also the local flora, notably golden henbane, are out to kill any prospective traveler. He finally makes it to Bethlehem, where he observes a modern day stable and learns just how real, rugged and unexpected such a place would be for the birth of a long expected king.

The production is an engaging romp through a part of the world where so many central parts of the Story of Jesus Christ have taken place. The cinematography is breathtaking, with shots of the Negev desert and modern Bethlehem. As a result, the on-location shooting in Episode One is very captivating.

Grylls’ reputation as a modern-day Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, is on excellent display as he uses his unique skills set to keep audiences enthralled as he describes the dangers of the Negev, the very unexpected nature of the Jesus narrative, and the historical and geographical

pieces surrounding the Birth of Christ. In Episode One, he does all of this while jumping out of a plane, trekking through a Middle Eastern desert, and experiencing first-hand what a Bethlehem stable was and is really like, with all its sights and smells. There are times when his monologuing reflections become a bit repetitive, but overall Episode One has good pacing, writing and editing. As far as surviving the Holy Land and trying to get a glimpse at the real Jesus of Nazareth goes, Grylls’ portrait is impactful.

JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. Grylls mentions his desire to visit Israel and see what walking the land as Jesus did would have been like. He cites Time Magazine in support of the view that Jesus is “the most influential man who ever lived” before going on to say personally that “there is something so intriguing about [Jesus.]” He goes on to reflect that “this guy effectively change[d] the world forever” despite his humble beginnings. However, there are some vague statements such as, “I’m not very religious in the traditional sense,” which could be interpreted to mean a myriad of different things. That said, it’s clear that the host of the series is as fascinated by the story of Jesus as he is with the journey he is now taking in the places that Jesus walked some two millennia ago. Episode One of JESUS: REFUGEE, RENEGADE, REDEEMER is completely free of foul language and other crude content. It does have one death defying stunt and light references to a few violent acts such as King Herod the Great’s Slaughter of the Innocents. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises light caution for younger children.