“The God Who Speaks” is a 90-minute documentary released on Feb. 1, 2018, that traces the evidence of the Bible’s authority through interviews with some of the world’s most respected biblical scholars. This film answers common objections about the Bible’s reliability and equips believers to confidently base their lives on the power of God’s Word.

Director M.D. Perkins offered to share his thoughts on important aspects of this newly released documentary. This is part two of a two-part exclusive series. See part one here.

What are some ways Christians can use ‘The God Who Speaks’ to share their faith with others?

Many Christians hear skeptical objections to the reliability of the Bible and kind of lock up, embarrassed that they don’t have an easy answer and are really unsure of how to respond. It doesn’t have to be that way. We will need something more than a bumper sticker slogan if we’re going to give meaningful answers to those questions – and that’s where a resource like The God Who Speaks comes in. The documentary should give viewers a sense of confidence in the evangelical claims about the Bible, while also giving them some places to turn to for additional answers if they want to dig deeper. Confidence is always compelling. Whether you’re talking to a hardened skeptic or a student who has a bunch of questions, knowing more about the origins of the Bible is always helpful.

Who are some of the experts featured in the documentary? Name a particular expert you really enjoyed interviewing and tell us why.

We talked with longtime pastors like Alistair Begg, Erwin Lutzer and Conrad Mbewe; we talked with top apologists like Josh McDowell, Alex McFarland and Frank Turek; we talked with brilliant Bible scholars like D.A. Carson, Darrell Bock and Ben Witherington III. If I were to highlight one name on the list, it would be Daniel Wallace. Dr. Wallace is perhaps the foremost expert in the world on the New Testament manuscripts, and his research only fuels his love of the Lord. His organization, The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (www.csntm.org), is using high-resolution digital photography to document every known Greek New Testament manuscript in the world so that scholars, pastors or anyone with an interest will have the ability to trace the transmission of the New Testament with their own eyes. It is an enormous project and something that will surely be a great benefit to the church for generations to come.

The film was produced by American Family Studios. Tell us more about the studio’s work and why ‘The God Who Speaks’ was created.

American Family Studios is a division of the American Family Association, so we very much adhere to AFA’s mission to motivate, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and to aid the church in its fulfilling of the Great Commission. Both of those goals are met with a project like this. More personally, we love the Bible and we love the Lord, and we thought it was time that Christians had a resource that spoke directly to them about the reliability of the Bible. We’ve heard from the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Time Magazine, but what is the Christian response?

What will people take away after watching ‘The God Who Speaks’?

The Bible is the revelation of the Creator and a call to follow Him in obedience. At the very least, I hope viewers are encouraged and emboldened to seek the God who has revealed Himself in His Word. It isn’t enough for us to simply admire the Scriptures from a safe distance; God intended for us to take His words and live upon them. If we grow at all in our confidence in the Bible, it should lead us to humility, praise and joyful obedience.

What’s next for you and American Family Studios?

American Family Studios will continue in our mission of advancing the Christian worldview into an increasingly media saturated culture by creating The God Who Speaks: Sunday School Kit. This will be an eight-week curriculum developed especially for church classes and small groups, culled from the over 30 hours of interview footage from The God Who Speaks. It is quite unique in that the filmmakers are also responsible for the curriculum, so the Sunday School Kit should prove to be a wonderful continuation of the content from the documentary. In each 30-minute session, participants will learn about the Bible and its history from the 23 documentary contributors, along with a few comments from myself to help setup each section of clips. Those who watch will get more time in the material, more information overall and a fuller sense of the amazing story behind how we got the Bible and why it matters. Look for it in April or May of 2018.

(M.D. Perkins, director of ‘The God Who Speaks,’ is a filmmaker and writer with American Family Studios. ‘The God Who Speaks’ was produced by American Family Studios, a division of American Family Association. The mission of the American Family Association is to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture, and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission.)