"The Bible" Miniseries Makes Fans of Oprah, Sen. Marco Rubio...More

By Gil Shalowitz, BREATHEcast News Reporter

Mar 11, 2013 10:55 PM EDT

"The Bible," History Channel's latest epic new series posted huge rating for it's first two episodes. Oprah, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, LL Cool J and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton were among the 13.1 million who tuned in for the March 3^rd premiere.

Senator Rubio tweeted, "Gotten hooked on the ‪#Bible miniseries on ‪#HistoryChannel."

Oprah live tweeted her reactions to the Samson scenes.

"Samson not happy killing up some people. ‪#TheBible"

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"Samson "distracted " by Delilah. fatal flaw #TheBible"

"God didn't tell him not to tell crazy Delilah ‪#TheBible"

Though the Mark Burnett and Roma Downey-produced miniseries convinced millions of viewers to tune in, "The Bible" has received some pretty terrible reviews in the press.

Glen Garvin from the Miami Herald wrote, "The Bible" has, "the pace of a music video, the characterizations of a comic book and the political-correctness quotient of a Berkeley vegetarian commune..."

Allison Keene of The Hollywood Reporter said, "this is the most well-known and popular book in the history of humanity for a reason-it's exciting and interesting and full of hope. The Bible is unfortunately none of these."

Though the secular review is generally disinterested, Christians such as Oprah and Rubio are captivated.

The Christian Post's Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe called the miniseries "a remarkable spiritual and emotional experience."

"The theme of God's love and hope for all humanity is the thread that holds the entire series together," Tunnicliffe wrote. "I received a fresh new perspective on many of the famous Bible stories: Looking through the eyes of Sarah as she thinks that her husband, Abraham, has sacrificed their son Isaac; listening to Noah telling the story of Creation to his children on the ark; agonizing with Mary (played by Roma Downey) as she sees her son, Jesus, beaten and crucified. These and so many other stories allow you to connect with the characters on a deep emotional level."