Before I say anything I should quantify it by saying that I almost never like a movie based on a book if I liked the book. I should also add that I loved "the Pagan Christ" by Tom Harpur. With that said I can now say that the CBC Doc Zone presentation of "the Pagan Christ" should have been a series, not an episode. Given the format and time constraints the doc is barely more than a trailer for Harpurs book.
The book on which the documentary was based goes into painstaking detail on Harpur's research into early Christianity and covers not only his questions about Jesus, but about several other points which might damage 'the bible as history.' It also goes to great lengths in explaining how, as an Anglican Priest, Harpur feels Christianity can be strengthened by abandoning the literal, historical translation of the Bible.
On the flip side there are many deeply thoughtful, scholarly works that seek to refute Harpur. The Doc Zone presentation barely had time to skim the surface of some, but hardly all, of Harpurs evidence and theories and had even less time for those who disagreed with them. It was almost as if the opposition was put there just to take the curse off of it; As if they were saying "If Harpur's theories upset you here is a 'well known biblical scholar' to tell you it's not true." I am a fan of documentaries and think this is exactly the type of programming that television, especially the CBC, should be doing but please give the topic the depth and time that it needs to be meaningful.
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