THE CONTINUITY OF SCRIPTURE

By Dr. M. R. Dowler

Of all the hundreds of jobs on a movie or television production set, there is one job of utmost importance, yet few probably know little about it. A Continuity Supervisor is the person responsible for everything being in its proper place, and it has become a sport for some to find continuity mistakes in the movies. As the film industry has advanced, so has the equipment of the Continuity Supervisor, from Polaroid cameras to now digital cameras, hundreds of photos are taken of each scene so that the ashtray and the lamp is placed precisely in its original location.

Few movies or TV shows are shot in scene order. Actor schedules, lighting, building or remote location availability all contribute to a film being shot out of sequence. One exception is the making of the 2005 movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Director Andrew Adamson deliberately kept the young actors away from day’s set because he was looking for a genuine awe and wonder from his young actors. The character of Lucy, played by ten-year old Georgie Hensley was blindfolded and carried to the set, so that her wide-eyed reaction we see on screen upon seeing Narnia for the first time was not acting.

The continuity of the Bible is a miracle often overlooked. Despite what some may think, there are no contradictions and inconsistencies in the scriptures. Theologically, the Bible was written by forty different authors of various occupations, backgrounds and cultures over a period of 1,500 years in three different languages. Simply stated, the Bible is a single story with many characters and plot lines all telling the story of God’s love and grace toward all mankind (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Historically, the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament were arranged and accepted as authentic by 300 BC; the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were decided around 150 AD after many doctrinal tests. In conclusion, the young man playing the role of Edmund in the Narnia movie grew six inches during the eight months of principle shooting. The Holy Spirit, the divine Continuity Supervisor puts all the pieces together, while God the Director weaves a story of awe and wonder into a cohesive flow that makes us grow (2 Timothy 3:15-17). Think about it.