The Authorized documentary ships today. It’s the culmination of a lot of work, and I pray that its message will be persuasive and spread widely.
Here’s that message: we should all read the Bible in our English, not someone else’s. The “false friends” in the otherwise beautiful and valuable KJV—the words and syntax and punctuation that we still use today but use differently than they did in 1611—mean that modern readers simply cannot know what they’re missing if the KJV is their only Bible.
I’m not saying that anyone should throw the KJV away. I certainly haven’t. I use it every day. But I don’t insist that others use it, or use it exclusively. We have many good English Bible translations, all of which are useful for Bible study.
In the documentary I just say all this in funnier and more entertaining ways. You can watch for free during a 14-day free trial—and make sure to check out the other stuff on Faithlife TV. My kids enjoy Torchlighters, for example.
I subscribe to Faithlife TV so I have access to the film. But I would like to purchase a digital copy of for my home media server. Is there any way to purchase a digital copy? And if not, what about a physical copy (DVD or Bluray)?
Thanks!
I’ve been getting this question. I’ll check.
Jon, here’s the answer I got: we’re not currently planning to release this in other formats. The best analogy is Netflix: we’re hoping to make subscription to Faithlife TV attractive to people using both original and third-party content. (I know my family and our three young children have enjoyed Faithlife TV.) I’m sorry to disappoint you!
Thanks for checking Mark, and I respect the decision. I support, and will continue to support Faithlife TV and services like them.
At the same time I am a tech / home media nerd and I like the idea of having my own library of great resources which doesn’t rely on (1) an internet connection, and (2) the streaming service that hosts the content to always have certain content available. Sometimes content is removed from certain hosts and that can be disappointing.
Anyway, I just wanted to explain a little of my reasoning in hopes that people like me might be considered more in future decision-making. Perhaps Faithlife could consider making new released content exclusively available via Faithlife TV, and after a certain period of time make physical / digital copies available for purchase. That would be people like me would keep my subscription (even if I’m not watching I am supporting Faithlife’s existence, yay)… and in addition I would be spending another $20 or so for each film that I wish to buy my own copy of. Granted I probably represent a minority of Faithlife subscribers.
Regardless, thank you for making Authorized. I always love watching and learning more about the Bible and its history, and I’m always on the lookout for resources to share with other people who are interested in learning more about it.