The Virgin Mary – BBC Television, December 2002

I have just watched the programme entitled The Virgin Mary on BBC1 TV on Sunday 22 December 2002 and this is what I saw. I made notes as I watched.

They portray Mary’s family as very poor and claim that She would ‘probably’ have been betrothed at puberty [12  1/2 years] following a medical examination to show that she was now a young woman – I will not describe the details. We then see a man named Joseph, a much older man, who is believed to be an ‘established trader’ from Bethlehem. Mary's parents apparently received a ‘bride price’ from Joseph, who was a stranger, and for a ‘virgin’ the price was double. Mary is deemed to be illiterate as her mother would not have been able to teach her to read and write, being illiterate too. Mary, they say, had no choice of husband

The engagement was meant to last for the customary one year but Mary became pregnant. They show Her meeting with the angel Gabriel but discount the truth of it.

They then show the young girl after having apparently been raped by a Roman soldier but after a while declare that it was unlikely he was the father. More likely it was Joseph. They debate reasons for Joseph taking Mary as his bride after she is with child, suggesting either he is sorry for her [the Roman soldier] or that he is the father of the child.

We see Mary’s father beating her mother when he hears Mary is pregnant, and they tell us that Mary may now be stoned to death.

The wedding scene shows a bride being carried on a bier in procession to the home of her bridegroom and Mary entering fearfully to meet her new mother in law and face her disapproval. There was no mention of a religious ceremony anywhere in the programme, only  that women are considered second class citizens, even in the Temples.

THE BIRTH apparently took place in Nazareth. They stated that Bethlehem was an invention to make it accord with Jesus being of the House of David. Likewise the stable, the shepherds, angels and wise men are all fables. They also state that there is no historic record of any census taking place at that time.

We are shown this young girl of about 13 years, standing in a room with 4 older women who are midwives, screaming loudly and in terror while hanging on to a rope or chain. They suggest she could have died in childbirth as that was a common occurrence.

THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT.  After Herod ordered all the male children under the age of two to be killed, Mary and Joseph take the child Jesus to Egypt. Apparently many families accompanied them. However, if Jesus was, as they claim, born in Nazareth they now say that the story of the Flight to Egypt was ‘invented by  Matthew to make Jesus appear like Moses’.

They claim that Mary had a ‘hard life’ and gave birth to 4 sons and 2 daughters.

They show the death of Joseph and Jesus leading the funeral procession into the cave, as was the custom, after which He assumed responsibility as head of the family. They do however say that Joseph was a good father.

We are told that Mary was not happy with Jesus when He was a child, quoting the time He was missing and was found in the Temple. Later when His Ministry began they claim that Mary didn’t agree and wanted Him to stay at home as their provider. They show a scene where Mary is shouting from the crowd to Jesus that He should be at home, the part where Our Lord says ‘who are my mother, my brothers, my sisters etc’. They claim that Mary thinks Jesus is mad and She calls out ‘what are you doing boy! Come home!’ They imply that He is being selfish by not taking care of Mary and the children. They say ‘Mary had doubts about Jesus’ state of mind’.

THE CRUCIFIXION.  Next we see the procession into Jerusalem and Mary worried about what will happen. We see her sleeping among many people on the floor of a hovel while Jesus is arrested. Someone comes to wake her. We are given opinions as to whether Mary was at the Cross and 2 of the 3 ‘experts’ say NO! We are shown 2 Roman soldiers, 2 men carrying a stretcher bearing the Body of Jesus, followed by a distraught and unkempt Mary. They say that Christians believe His body went to Heaven when it disappeared.

MARY’S DEATH

They quote Catholic teaching of the Assumption of Mary after her death but claim it to be false. More likely, they believe, that Mary died and was buried in Nazareth.

They do accord this Lady the status of One of the Most Important Women in History.

The mention the ’ later Doctrine of Perpetual Virginity’ but discount that too.

They end with saying that ‘She was a remarkable woman with a very hard life whether you believe She was Mother of God or mother of a wayward son’.

That is what I saw. I leave you to make your own judgements. The address for written complaints about this programme is:

Mr. Greg Dyke,

Director General,

BBC Television Centre,

Wood Lane,

London, W12 7RJ,

UK

I hope you will join me in letting Mr. Dyke know what we feel about his programme.

Thank you,

Margaret Halsey UK

Founder of CABIO

..............................................

BBC CRITICIZED FOR VIRGIN MARY DOCUMENTARY

LONDON, Dec 23, 02 (CWNews.com) - A BBC One program about

the Virgin Mary screened last night has been criticized by

a Catholic bishop as "crude and offensive" guesswork.

The documentary, entitled "The Virgin Mary," portrayed Our

Lady as a poor, downtrodden girl and suggests she might

have conceived Jesus as a result of being raped.

However, the BBC's head of religious broadcasting, Alan

Bookbinder, a self-confessed agnostic, said the program

gave a "sense of wonder at her miraculous story." He added,

"Above all it shows a respect for the special place that

Mary has in the hearts of believers."

But Catholics in Britain have already expressed their

dismay that the dogma of the Virgin Birth is being publicly

questioned. Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth accused the

program of offensive speculation and of misrepresenting a

figure respected by millions.

In a statement published yesterday, Bishop Hollis said:

"The Virgin Mary is clearly a person whose life and times

are immensely important to the whole of Christian history."

He said, "As Mother of God, she is honored and venerated by

millions of Catholics and other Christians within these

islands and all over the world."

He continued, "To include, within a historical examination

of her life, confused and unfounded guesswork, which

carries with it crude and offensive speculation, is not

only unscholarly but runs the risk of undermining the very

integrity of the project itself."

UPDATE  5 May 2003

Following our complaints to the BBC about this programme CABIO also complained to the Broadcasting Standards Commission in London. Their reply is shown  on our website and you can access it using the link beneath.

Findings of the Broadcasting Standards Commission