Red Sky Film and Television: BSA decision on Jesus The Cold Case

Bryan Bruce, The writer and director of the AFTA Award winning documentary JESUS THE COLD CASE is pleased the Broadcast Standards Authority (BSA) has decided not to uphold complaints by three Christians against his 90 minute essay which screened on TVONE in July of this year.

“It is an enlightened decision that reinforces my right to express my opinion ” said Bruce. “The freedom to speak one’s mind was hard won and am delighted the BSA asserted the importance of this fundamental civil right in assessing the worth of my programme.”

In reaching its decision the BSA stated :”In our view, the type of speech engaged on this occasion amounted to intellectual opinion on an historical and religious topic, which we consider is of high value in our democratic, tolerant and largely secular society.”

Many Liberal Christians have commented positively on the documentary including theologian Sir Lloyd Geering who “enthusiastically recommended “ the documentary and was impressed by the way Bryan Bruce had mastered the current biblical scholarship .”

“Fundamentalist Christians have not been so welcoming or tolerant regarding my book and documentary “ Bruce said “largely because I challenged the historical accuracy of the gospel accounts”

”I’ve had hateful maledictions cast at me through the internet by cowards who will not speak directly to me and reviews that nit pick at little things while avoiding the big challenge delivered at the end of the programme as to ‘” why a theology of hate was built from a gospel of love’ “ said Bruce.

“So this Christmas I’ll be celebrating Jesus the peasant preacher who was probably born in Nazareth (not Bethlehem) and his message of tolerance that has found one secular expression in our Bill of Rights .”