Christian DVDs and videos for children: What Christian parents and teachers should watch for.
Tips for Christians on choosing children's DVDs
Did Adam give names to
the fishes?
According to the Bible he didn't. But according to a children's video I watched, he did.
Genesis 2:20 tells us Adam gave names to the cattle, the fowl of the air, and the beasts of the field. No fish. The video that says he named the fish is teaching children a wrong idea about the Bible.
The Bible tells us Adam fathered “sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:4). But according to another DVD I watched, Adam and Eve had only two children — Cain and Abel. It probably didn't occur to the producers that if the first parents had only two boys, the human race would have died out immediately. (For more details, see our article Where did Cain find a wife?)
Wrong ideas
Many supposedly Bible-based DVDs and videos for children teach wrong ideas.
One DVD is spoiled because it shows children being transported back in time to take part in biblical events. It also shows a Bible with a magic-like power talking to the children. And the Bible stories on this DVD unfortunately begin “Once upon a time …” (as though they are fairy stories like Cinderella).
Of course, not all children's DVDs about the Bible are bad. Many are faithful to God's Word and present a true biblical understanding of the world for children. And even if the DVD-maker's budget was not high, Christians should be happier letting their children watch a non-flashy but truly biblical DVD than letting them watch a high-budget production that will teach wrong beliefs about the Bible.
Good points
I was impressed by one video's depiction of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent was not simply a talking snake, but clearly implied Satan himself (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). This video portrayed the serpent as having some resemblance to the serpents of Asian legend rather than merely as a talking snake. A very good idea.
I like DVDs that show dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden, and dinosaurs and kangaroos on Noah's Ark. Evolutionists wouldn't accept that humans and dinosaurs have lived together, but both were created in Creation Week, so would certainly have lived at the same time.
The objection that Noah would have had to walk to Australia to round up kangaroos is not valid, because the Bible says “two of every sort” would come to him (Genesis 6:20). God sent them to Noah. No one can be certain that kangaroos didn't live near Noah at the time of the Flood anyway — the world was much different then.
Some things to watch for
When checking DVDs and videos, watch out for such mistakes as:
- rain, storms, and lightning in the Creation Week (rain had not yet fallen on the earth — Genesis 2:5-6)
- little Noah's Arks (Genesis 6:15–16 describe the Ark as gigantic)
- Adam wandering all over the place to name the animals (Genesis 2:19 says God brought the animals to him)
- Bible accounts being called “tales” (it's too much like “fairy tales”).
And if you find a children's DVD that seems excellent except for one or two flaws, prime your children before they watch it by telling them what the Bible really says — then ask them to see if they can find those mistakes as they watch it.
[ Postscript : Someone emailed us to say it didn't
matter that facts were wrong in DVDs for children as long as the
main points got through. We asked whether they would approve of
their children watching supposedly accurate videos that said the
first US president was George Bush, or showed a drawing of London
Bridge with only enough room for a few people on it, or that the
Grand Canyon was in Australia, and so on. Would they say nothing
about these errors to their children? We received no reply. The
fact is that it is as easy to present the truth as to present
things wrongly, so why support sloppy presentations?
— Reviewed by Aka]
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