What did the prophet Jeremiah mean when he denounced the "Torah" - which we know as the Five Books of Moses - as "lies from the false pen of scribes"?

It was once almost universally accepted that the Old Testament was a truthful account of the past. Now the early part of the story is generally accepted as mythical - despite the best efforts of numerous television programmes to find Noah's Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah and the exact location of the Garden of Eden!

But it now appears that almost the whole thing may be a work of fiction. Archaeologists and biblical scholars are now asserting that the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan simply never happened. Some even argue that the Israelites, far from being divinely -inspired radicals who replaced Canaanite idolatry wit the worship of a single God, were simply a group who emerged from the Canaanites who continued the old religion until an astonishingly late date. It is being said that there is no evidence at all to show that David and Solomon rules Israel from Jerusalem - or that their great kingdom even existed! Although there clearly was a smaller kingdom of Israel at a later date, there seems to be decisive evidence that the Israelites worshipped a goodess, a consort of their main deity, right up until their destruction in 722 BC.

John McCarthy spent five years as a hostage of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon. He was given a Bible to read, and saw in the story told there the roots of the political problems that had led to his incarceration. In this startling six-part series, he returns to the Middle East to discover whether there is any truth at all in the Old Testament account of early Israel, or whether, as he puts it, "people have been at war for thousands of years because they believe a fairy-tale".

In the course of the series he visits numerous archaeological sites (and takes part in some of the excavations), meets distinguished scholars who were too frightened to publish their finds or reveal even the existence of their research, and finally reaches a conclusion as to how, when and why the Old Testament history was written.

Programme 2: A JEALOUS GOD - Sunday 2nd December 2001

Part 1.

The programme begins at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where a near-riot is taking place as male Orthodox Jews try to prevent a group of women from holding a service. One of the women observes that if they had tried to dance and sign like Miriam, they would be in prison. John points out that it seems the Bible has been edited to change our understanding of what women were doing: although Miriam is called a Prophet, none of her prophetic statements are included.

Oddly, it seems that the commonest objects found in Israelite archaeological sites are female figurines - evidently idols. Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Magonet explains that a number of Hebrew words are translated as "God". One such term, the word used in the first sentence of the Book of Genesis, is a plural. Professor William Dever says it is now known that the Israelites worshipped several gods including a goddess, Ashera, and Diana Edelman says that she was a widely worshipped fertility goddess. Dever tells John that when he first discovered an Israelite inscription proving that Ashera was being worshipped he was afraid to publish it, and kept it secret until others found more evidence that the God of the Israelites did have a Goddess as a consort. Visiting the excavation at Tel Rehov, John is shown an Israelite shrine which seems to be a place for worshipping three or four gods and the goddess.

Part 2.

On the track of more evidence of Israelite religion, John is taken by Zvi Lederman to the fortress of Arad, where a full-size Temple has been discovered - the only one ever found from the Kingdom of Judah. Although strikingly devoid of images, it appears to contain evidence of the worship of more than one deity. At the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem he is told that the Bible's description of Solomon's Temple also indicates the presence of idols and "graven images", as used by other religions in the area.

While the Bible does not conceal the idolatrous aspects of Solomon's Temple, it does seem to conceal the worship of the Goddess. Diana Edelmen argues that this has been done by inserting small grammatical changes - which so mystified the translators of the Authorised Version that the Goddess Ashera became a grove of trees when she was put into English.

The programme then picks up John again at Arad, where he hears how the Temple there was deliberately closed down and put out of use by King Hezekiah at the end of the 8th century BC, as part of a process of centralising all worship in Jerusalem. This policy was a response to the destruction of the nothern kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrians and the total political isolation of Judah. It was accompanied by a major assault on the worship of Ashera, an assault later resumed with more vigour by King Josiah. The Bible itself documents the resistance of women to what was being done.

Programme 3: THE PROMISED LAND

Archaeologists now say that the Israelites did not come to Canaan as slaves from Egypt. Where did they come from? In the third part of this startling series John McCarthy looks at the new evidence of Israelite settlement, and the real reason why there are said to be "no human remains".

Programme 4: REMEMBER ZION

Jerusalem is at the heart of the Middle Eastern struggle, yet archaeologists have been unable to find any traces of people living there at the time of King David. In the fourth part of this startling series, John McCarthy looks at what that means - and also uncovers the truth about Goliath.

Programme 5: SOLOMON

Solomon built the Temple - but did he exist at all? In the fifth part of this startling series, John visits sites that were supposedly built by Solomon, but which some archaeologists say were built by quite different rulers. Perhaps the tiny community of Samaritans have a more accurate history.

Programme 6: THE PEN OF SCRIBES

The Old Testament description of the ancient Israelites is quite different from the story now being revealed. John McCarthy concludes this series by investigating when and why the Old Testament was written. Was it connected with events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem?

Programme 1: THE WALLS COME TUMBLIN' DOWN - Sunday 25th November 2001

Part 1:

John McCarthy introduces himself. Having had the Bible as his reading matter while a hostage in Beirut, and seeing the connection between the story told in the Old Testament and his own predicament, he wants to discover if the history there is really true. At the British Museum he is told that there is no evidence for the ancient Israelites, so he goes to find out. Beginning at the Jordan, he goes to Jericho, where "Joshua's Walls" were supposedly found by John Garstang. He is shown around by American archeologist Professor William G. Dever. Dever explains that subsequent excavations by Dame Kathleen Kenyon revealed that Garstang had mis-dated his finds. To learn how finds are dated, John visits the excavation at Tel Rahov, where Professor Amihai Mazar shows him the stratigraphic structure, and he sees how pottery is collected and examined. Back at Jericho, the current excavator, Hamden Taha, says that he can find no trace of any occupation when Joshua supposedly arrived. But the site is controlled by the Palestine National Authority, and they do not discourage pilgrim tourists by revealing that joshua cannot have really captured Jericho.

Part 2:

Israeli archaeologist Schlomo Bunimovitz explains that different generations of archaeologists have had different agendas: clerics in the 1930's, and ex-military Israelis in the 1950's and 60's, were interested in validating the Old Testament stories. Now archaeologists are producing a new story, and Professor Ze'ev Hertzog explains that it can no longer be accepted that Israelites came from Egypt and conquered Canaan. John points out that Herzog comes from Tel Aviv, a secular city, and contrasts it with the more religious city of Jerusalem. Herzog says that he is trying to empower today's secular Israelis in their political battles with religious groups, but what he says is then denounced by the leader of the Secular Party (Shinui) as providing anti-zionists with ammunition. Professor Amnon Ben-Tor says that it is unfortunate but unavoidable that this kind of archaeological issue is given a political dimension. John finds that the issue is more disturbing to secular Israelis than religious ones; an Orthodox Rabbi simply asserts that the archaeologists have yet to find the proper evidence. John then visits the excavation at Hazor, where Ben-Tor demonstrates evidence of a destructive fire that appears to corresond to the Biblical description of Joshua's conquest, and argues that the Bible story cannot yet be dismissed. But then Professor Israel Finkelstein points out that at the time in question Canaan was an Egyptian province, a fact of which the Biblical authors seem unaware, and takes John to a substantial Egyptian garrison site near Tel Aviv. John's conclusion is that it seems that something is clearly wrong with the Old Testament story. A conclusion which seems to be re-inforced when he says that in the next episode he will be investigating doubts that the Israelites were even monotheiusts.

He is credited with taking the 'good news' from its cradle in Jerusalem to the Roman Empire and the West.

To this day, controversy surrounds his contribution to the development of Christianity from its 'Jewish' roots to its new home in a predominantly 'gentile' world. According to biographer A.N. Wilson, it was Paul and not Jesus who was the true founder of Christianity and the originator of prejudices against women and homosexuals.

However, his legacy is judged, there is no escaping the fact that Christianity as we know it in the West and particularly as it was shaped in those crucial formative years, is the result of Paul's seminal influence.

Paul travelled the Mediterranean world by land and sea, visiting towns and cities of the Empire and establishing new 'Churches'. In this engaging series, presenter John McCarthy follows in the footsteps of St. Paul, visiting places associated with his life such as Ephesus, Tarsus, Corinth, Athens, malta and finally Rome itself.

Along the way, John begins to piece together the story of this enigmatic and controversial figure and assesses his place in the Christian story both then and now.

This will be the first series on the life of Paul for many years and takes into account the very latest research.

Impetuous and forthright, Simon Peter is also a coward who denies Jesus when the going gets rough. However, forsaking his wife, family and a thriving fishing business in Galilee, Peter emerges as a leader within the ranks of the Apostles. He becomes the 'rock' on which the Church is founded.

From Galilee to Rome, the programme traces the career of Peter, 'first among the A[pste;s'. In Jerusalem and within weeks of jesus' death, Peter is mobilising the young Christian movement. His presence is electric - his shadow can heal the sick. he is the first to take the mission to the non-Jewish world. His travels take him to the heart of the Empire, to Rome itself where his presence and 'apostolic authority' would do so much to shape the future of Western Christendom. Here he is martyred, crucified upside down during persecution under the Emperor Nero.

With extensive filming in Rome and the Vatican including footage of the successor to the throne of Peter, Pope paul II, celebrating Mass in St. Peter's, the programme asks: how does this legacy connect to the fisherman from Galilee?

Programme 2. Andrew - Travels with my Bones

Golf, national flagsand relics are all connected to the 'dpic' story of Andrew, the brother of Peter who was called to be a 'fisher of men'. In this programme, we focus on the fishing industry around Galilee where new archaeological evidence suggests that the brothers were not the 'humble' fisher-folk of tradition but men of wealth and power. We follow Andrew's adventures from his beginnings in Palestine as a follower of John the Baptist to Greece, his own missionary 'patch', then to Constantinople and on to his martyrdom in Patras. We see how stries and legends grew around this Odysseus of his day. After his death, Andrew's bones take on a life all of their own as Christian relics - bits of which make it as far as Italy and Scotland. The skull of this much seasoned traveller makes a guest appearance from the church of St. Andrew in Amalfi. We examine the place of relics which continue to exert an important influence on religious followers today.

Programme 3. John - End of Days

John, another Galilean fisherman, is known variously as 'The Apostle', 'The Evangelist', 'The Divine' and along with Peter and James, one of the inner circle of disciples. As part of his story, we assess Andrew's place within those intimate gospel moments such as the Transfiguration and last Supper when he is alleged to have been close to Jesus. Credited with the authorship of a gospel and the Book of Revelation, we examine his role and influence on these important Christian texts. The gospel bearing his name reveals geographical details not found in other gospel reports. Are these eye witness accounts from John himself?

We follow John's story through to his eventual exile on the Greek island of Patmos. We examine the impact of his vision of the last days and impending judgement and how it has influenced cultral and religious throught down the ages, culminating in the events surrounding David Koresh at Waco, Texas.

Programme 4. James - The Spanish Connection

James, son of Zebedee, along with his brother John, were part of Jesus' inner circle of followers. We explore James in relation to the group of Apostels as a whole, noting that he was the only apostle to be mentioned in the New Testament as being martyred for his Christian faith. Was it the kind of sacrifice expected by the Jesus Movement?

The Armenian Church claims to be one of the oldest in Christendom and its mother Cathedral in Jerusalem, named after James, attests to his significance in the founding of this particular tradition. Indeed, when Jerusalem was being shelled at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the story goes that the figure of St. James was seen protecting the Cathedral from destructive fire.

Since his untimely death, his influence, like that of other Apostles, has evolved in a remarkable way. over many centuries men and women have journeyed on foot through the exquisite landscape of Northern Spain to seek his relics, now believed to rest at Santiago de Compostela. We follow the pilgrimage trail and discover why James continues to influence the lives of many thousands of people.

Programme 5. Matthew - Taxman

The programme begins in Galilee, to explain how Matthew's calling to join the followers of Jesus was a bold development in the movement. Matthew was a tax collector, lining his pockets with the earnings of his fellow Galileans, and despised by the society in which he lived as the lowest of the low. By associating with Matthew and dining with tax-collectors and sinners, Jesus was making a radical declaration that his message was intended to being the world's outcasts into the fold.

Today, Matthew is the patron saint of bankers. in London's financial square mile, we visit the city churches to see how they are responding to the challenge of taking the Christian message to the business world. Do Mattew's calling away from the lure of money and jesus' instructions to sell all you have and give it to the poor still have meaning in a world of high finance and multi-million profits?

Matthew is also linked to the first of four gospels. But could the apostle really have been the author of the book that bears his name? We visit nashville to see how the Bible is studied and used in the 'buckle of Bible belt'. We ask how and why the gospels were written and whether they were always revered as holy writ. We examine how different Christianity might have been if, like the first apostles, its later followers had continued to spread it only through the spoken word. Could the religion ever have survived to this day?

Programme 6. Thomas - Mission Possible?

Forever known as 'doubting Thomas', this Apostle was anything but. Elsewhere, the gospel accounts reveal a man who was intelligent, committed and may have been closer to jesus than previously believed. We explore the Thomas story in the gospel accounts and wrestle with his name, which means 'Twin'. Could Thomas have been the twin of Jesus? On the question of 'doubting', was this a healthy scepticism that rings true for many people today as they confront the Easter story with claims of physical resurrection from the dead?

As with all the Apostles, the significance and impact of Thomas lives on after his death. As recently as 1947, a Gospel of thomas emerged from the sands of the Egyptian desert which sheds new light on certain, crucial developments within early Christianity. Why does this new gospel bear the name Thomas?

Whatever doubt he had, Thomas was soon to overcome it by taking the gospel message further than any of the other Apostles. According to tradition and legend, Thomas established a flourishing Christian community that even today traces its origins to him. in Kerals, Southern India, we follow in the footsteps of Thomas and assess his impact on the Christianity of the region.

Programme 7. Bartholomew and Philip - The Likely Lads

Though Bartholomew (sometimes known as Nathanael) and Philip only make cameo appearances in one of the gospel accounts; the former is credited as being the first to recognise Jesus as the 'Son of God'. We assess both their early careers in terms of the group of twelve as it moves from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Bartholomew has strong associations with the Armenian Church but his name is associated with places closer to home. We visit Barts hospital in the City of London and come across a renewed interest in the centuries old St. Bartholomew Fair. And how did Bartholomew end up as patron saint of buthcers with a strong Smithfield connection?

Programme 8. James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus (Jude) and Simon the Zealot - Lost Causes

Curiously, very little is known abouth these three from the New Testament beyond their inclusion in the lists of Apostles. We attempt to develop portraits of these characters given what clues we have. Simon, for example, is called a Zealot. We know that Zealots were political activists attempting to overthrow Roman occupation. Does this suggest that jesus and his followers had some sort of political agenda qith the inclusion of a Zealot in their group?

In this programme, we suggest that their anonymity was not accidental. These three have been systematically downplayed because of one startling and embarrassing fact - they were in fact brothers of Jesus. Is it coincidental that three of the four actual 'named' brothers of Jesus in the New Testament are James, Simon and Judas? Is there a family connection that the emerging Church was uncomfortable in declaring? We explore cultural and family life in first century Galilee.

In the programme we travel to the US where we discover that St. Jude has, indeed emerged from obscurity in the raw urban context of Chicago's Southside. As the steel mills closed down and the Great Depression took hold, the apostle Jude, representing hopelsss and lost causes, emerged as the country's most popular saint. We visit Chicago and talk to people who pin a great deal on St. Jude.

Programme 9. Judas - The Great Betrayal?

Judas is the symbol of evil and treachery but does he deserve his reputation? Starting in Galilee, we trace the story of Judas within the Jesus movement, culminating in the events in Jerusalem at the Last Supper and the betrayal in Gethsemane.

On the surfact, Judas' act of betrayal is clear cut; his possible disillusion with Jesus and his greed are both plausible explanations for his actions. We take a new look at the traditional interpretations and suggest there is more to Judas and his betrayal than meets the eye. For example, could it be that Jesus and Judas were in collusion for some reason? Why is he seen as a 'hero' figure in some Christian traditions?

The character of Judas has fascinated writers and artists throughout the centuries and, whatever his actions, he has emerged as the most interesting of the Apostles. With writers, artists and actors, we discover why this is.

Programme 10. Mary Magdalene - Apostle of Apostles

Many early Christians believed that Mary Magdalene was the apostle to the apostles, the first witness to the Resurrection and the most faithful and foreceful of Jesus' original followers. But for centuries, she has been better known as a repentant prostitute, a remorseful sinner who is the counterpart to Jesus' perfect mother.

In Israel we go in search of the real Mary. In a society dominated by men, how could she have been free to follow Jesus? Was she, as some people have suggested, his wife or lover? And is her reputation as a scarlet woman the result of confusion - or even an ancient Papal plan to sully her name? Was she written out of the historical record of the faith by the men who soon came to control Christianity?

We look at how this sinful Mary has never been part of the belief of the Eastern church, but how in the West she has been used as a stick to beat the sinful, and a powerful image of the supposed sinfulness of sexuality - especially female sexuality.

We visit the South of France, where to this day the faithful celebrate their belief that she landed in a boat without oars or sails, and lived out her days as a Holy Hermit. We ask whether this ideal version of Mary as a studious and holy woman is a more useful role model for women in the modern world. Or is the hermit's isolation and silence just another example of the way that women's voices have been kept away from the centre of theology and worship? We talk to two ordained women about whether Mary's reputation has inspired them.

Worldwide excluding UK

The programme features a broad look at the influence of Christianity and the influences on Christianity. Other specific topics include the martyrs of the 2^nd Century, the plague and anti-semitism of the 14^th Century, slavery in the18^th Century and the response of the Church to the horrors of the 20^th Century.

Email Ray Bruce for further production information:

March 1999

Experts agree that both the Roman and Jewish authorities at the time relied on informers to maintain law and order. What might security files have contained relating to dissident characters and potentially rebellious groups? What information would have been gathered about a certain Galilean preacher and alleged wonder worker as he came to the attention of the authorities?

The Jesus File is now open.

The programmes feature the latest archaeological evidence from Caesarea, home to Pontius Pilate; the Galilean fishing villages of Capernaum and Bethsaida (recently discovered after nineteen centuries)

www.bethsaida.unomaha.edu/bethsaida.html and fascinating sites in and around Jerusalem www.israel.org/facts/hist/arcsit4.html www.israel.org/facts/hist/arcsit8.html and www.israel.org/facts/hist/arcs2-7.html

Hard hitting often controversial The Jesus File uses computer graphics, satellite imagery and stunning helicopter sequences filmed on location in the Holy Land. Cutting edge and accessible scholarship is offered from a number of respected experts.

The popular award winning writer and actor, Tony Robinson, presents the Jesus File.