The Bible Project is a tremendous resource for understanding the Bible that, in the Project’s own words,
utilizes short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcasts, and study guides that explore the Bible’s unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book’s literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world. . .
We want to change how people read and use the Bible. For some, the Bible is used as a devotional grab bag. For others it is a instructional manual that fell out of the sky. And for many, it is an oppressive book of out-dated rules used to control people. We believe that the Bible is a divine-human book that speaks God’s word to his people. We think it points people to Jesus, who has power to change individuals and whole communities. When we let the biblical story speak for itself, we believe it has immense wisdom to offer the modern world.
The Bible Project is not part of any specific Christian denomination or tradition. Our mission is to help people see the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. We hope that people from all backgrounds will find value in this work, regardless of their religious or non-religious convictions.
The Bible Project does not emphasize Arminian/Calvinist issues. It’s priority is as described above. But when it does touch on these issues, it appears to me to come from more of an Arminian than Calvinist perspective. But I highly recommend it for Arminians and Calvinists alike, anyone who wants to understand the Bible more through high quality videos that are scholarly in their foundation yet very understandable — high quality scholarship communicated with simplicity of presentation. The Bible Project’s website may be found here. It can also be found on YouTube here.
We include the Bible Project’s video on Job here (see the embedded video below, which can also be found on YouTube here) because the main themes addressed by Job (i.e., the sovereignty of God, divine providence, divine justice, human suffering, etc.) are part of our society’s focus. I would add a couple of small clarifications to the video’s perspective from my perspective. First (and I assume the Bible Project would agree), when it is said that God does not operate the world on the strict principle of justice, it is not that God does not act justly in the world, but that he does not impose strict justice on the world during this present age. I.e., justice is not always done (indeed, often is not) in this life; life is not always fair in the present age. But (and the book of Job does not get into this), there will come a day when God does put everything right in the world to come. Second, I would add this to the video’s suggestion of how Job was judged in the end to have spoken rightly about God: Job was correct that God was not punishing him and that God does not run the world on the principle of strict justice while Job’s friends spoke wrongly in the sense that they claimed that God was punishing Job and imposes strict justice on the world in this life.
— Brian Abasciano
