'The Bible' on History Channel: Controversy Surrounding Wise Man Portrayed By Black Actor?

Episode 2 of The Bible, History Channel's epic new miniseries stirred some controversy for portraying Samson with black actor and Game of Thrones hulk Nonso Anozie. Though it's perfectly reasonable for the kingdom of Israel to possess men and woman of color, many in the Christian world thought the decision was unbelievable. 

After watching episode 3, ("Hope") of The Bible it will be interesting to see how the web reacts to a black actor portraying one of the three wise men. Though the actual Bible doesn't specify the skin color of the three wise men, it's perfectly plausible that one could indeed be black.

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The wise man bows to a rather young looking Joseph, a certainly not 14-year old Mary and baby Jesus and tells to her, "my lady, I believe your son is the promised king of his people."

Aside from skin color, several other issues may rub viewers the wrong way.

I'm personally sick and tired of the kung fu ninja angels. These are the angels of God, not stuntmen from Sparta. Just as the angels were represented in the first episode, destroying the sinners of Sodom, Gabriel was represented as a cliché mystic warrior when he appeared to Joseph and Mary.

Also, the Satan character seemed to rip off a bit of Mel Gibson's 2004 portrayal in The Passion of the Christ. Though in the actual Bible, Satan presents himself as very attractive, in both Gibson and Burnett/Downey's portrayal he appears as an unsightly Barack Obama.

In all it's shortcummings, The Bible is still suprisingly engaging; confirming previous beliefs and raising awareness for those not as familiar with the most popular book in the world. 

Tune in next week for episode 4 of The Bible on History Channel.