FRIENDS AND HEROES: FALSE HEROES
Children Should Exercise Discernment
What You Need To Know
Over the years, there have been many attempts at Bible stories for children. In 2007, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS came out and this TV series entitled FRIENDS AND HEROES. The series is set in Alexandria soon after the execution of Peter the Apostle. It concerns a Jewish family, and the chief spokesman is a young boy named Judah Maccabbee, or Macky. His best friend is the Portia, daughter of the Roman governor.
In Episode 4 of the series, “False Heroes,” Judah’s family is looking forward to two Jewish rebels arriving from Israel. They do get two visitors, but they turn out to be somewhat different than they expected. Therefore, the message is that you have to exercise wisdom and discernment.
Judah tells Portia the story of Hanukkah and Judah Maccabbee, his Jewish namesake. Then he tells the story of Rahab and the Jewish spies. Finally, he tells Caleb, one of the two strangers, whose brother Aaron is wounded, two healing stories involving the Apostle Peter – the healing of the crippled beggar and the raising of Tabitha from the dead. Peter calls upon Jesus to heal the beggar. The end of the episode sets up the next program and never comes to a complete conclusion.
The stories in FRIENDS AND HEROES are well told. They stick to the biblical text and affirm biblical principles, including the fact that Jesus is the healer. The device of the children in Alexandria may be more effective than series like SUPERBOOK that require contemporary children to time travel to biblical days. The animation is very simple, and the stories are not as captivating because they are more sequential and less cohesive than some of the other attempts to tell Bible stories in this manner. That said, we commend the series, and we’re grateful it is playing on networks like the BBC, where they’re affirming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
