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We were all impressed by the enormous undertaking of Father Mike Schmitz and Ascension Press when they produced The Bible in a Year podcast back in 2021. Over the course of 365 daily episodes, this heavenly team took viewers through every book of the Holy Bible, condensing the biblical narratives into palatable 20- to 30-minute installments.
Now, the Duluth-based priest has one-upped himself, boiling the scriptures down to present The Bible in 10 Minutes.
According to a press release, The Bible in 10 Minutes took Fr. Schmitz and his team months to produce, and it’s easy to see why. The wonderfully detailed animations – developed in collaboration with Coronation Media – that follow Fr. Schmitz' narration make the biblical tales all the more gripping, creating the modern equivalent of an illuminated medieval manuscript.
In just under 10 minutes, Fr. Schmitz takes viewers through the biblical narratives of Creation, Adam and Eve, Abraham’s depth of faith, Moses and the flight from Egypt, David and his line of kings, and finally the sacrifice and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The video is pitched as a road map for the Bible, and due to this it is less concerned with specific biblical scenes, but rather the overarching narrative and how each of the biblical books is an answer to the prior.
Fr. Schmitz explains at the opening of the video:
“The Bible is amazing,” Fr. Mike begins. “But sometimes confusing and hard to read … We’d like to read it, but without a map, it’s easy to get lost. There is a narrative throughout the Bible that tells a single Story -- the Story of God’s plan for our Salvation. Once we understand that Story, we can understand the context of every book of the Bible. So, here’s the Story in less than 10 minutes.”
The video may just be the most successful and viral Fr. Schmitz has ever made. Released on July 9, The Bible in 10 Minutes garnered a massive 358k views in its first 24 hours and was approaching 415k by July 10. The phenomenal draw has more than doubled his previous record of 160k views in one day for his review of Sound of Freedom.
Fr. Mike concluded the video by noting that it takes a lot of funding to create videos with such high quality animations. To that end, he suggested that those who believe in Ascension’s mission and wish to see more animated videos consider supporting their mission. Interested parties can find more information on how to support this endeavor at Ascension Press.
