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''The American Bible Challenge'' is an American
biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...
-themed television
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
created by
Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
. The series is hosted by comedian
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a r ...
, with gospel musician
Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...
joining Foxworthy as co-host and announcer in the second season. The series debuted on August 23, 2012. Each season of the series is played as a nine-episode tournament with six episodes of opening rounds, two semi-finals, and a final. Each opening round starts with three teams of three contestants answering questions about the Bible. The teams then nominate their strongest contestants to answer questions by themselves without any assistance from their teammates. After this part of the round, the third-placed team is eliminated and the two highest-scoring teams compete in a final round with the scores being reset to zero. The remaining teams answer as many questions correctly as possible within one minute, and the highest-scoring team from this round wins a $20,000 prize which is given to the team's nominated charity. The winning team then advances to a semi-final game against two other winning teams, the winning team from this game advances to a final game where the grand prize is raised to $100,000. Thus, the team that wins the season-long tournament earns a total of $140,000 for their charity. The show became the highest-rated original program in the history of Game Show Network. In 2014, ''The American Bible Challenge'' received two nominations at the
41st Daytime Emmy Awards The 41st Daytime Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), "recognizes outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast fr ...
: one for the series as Outstanding Game Show and the other for Foxworthy as Outstanding Game Show Host, they lost to ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' and
Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
(host of ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'') respectively.


Gameplay


Main game

To begin the game, a category is revealed, and the three teams of three contestants are asked multiple choice questions under that category, with each question having four possible answers. The contestant who buzzes in with the correct answer earns the respective team 10 points, an incorrect answer loses 10 points, and opens up the question to the other teams. Contestants must wait until after the host reads the entire question (including the choices) to buzz in. Each team then participates in a physical stunt that involves teams using common household items to answer questions about biblical figures. For example, in the game Stick a Fork In It, the teams must answer the question by using a spoon to catapult a fork into one of several glasses labeled with different possible answers. Where teams compete individually, each team is given 60 seconds, occasional games where teams compete at the same time are either untimed (with the first team to complete the game winning) or played in 90 seconds. In all cases, the team that wins the stunt receives 20 points, in case of a tie, each of the teams involved in the tie receives the points. The next round, titled Kirk's Righteous Remix, features
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–winner
Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...
and a choir singing songs relating to various books of the Bible. Each team is then given one question based on an announced subject worth 30 points, no penalty is assessed for an incorrect answer. The teams then set their strongest respective contestants aside for the final round of main gameplay, titled The Chosen Three. These contestants move to an area behind the teams, and cannot participate in this round. The host then asks each team, in turn, a question based on an announced category. Each question in this round is worth 50 points, with no penalty assessed for an incorrect answer. Only the two contestants standing at the podium may confer and answer the question. Two questions are asked to each team in this round. In the Chosen Three round, the contestants who were set aside from the previous round stand alone at their podiums, with their teammates standing in the area behind them. The host asks each contestant, in turn, a question with six possible answers, three of which are correct. The contestants then make three selections without conferring with the rest of their respective teams. Each individual correct answer is worth 100 points, thus, a total of 300 points are available to each team in this round. The two teams with the highest total scores advance to the final round, while the third-place team is eliminated and leaves with $2,500 for their charity.


The Final Revelation

Before the final round of regular gameplay, titled The Final Revelation, both teams' scores from the main game are discarded. The host announces the category for the final round, and gives each team a copy of the Bible. The teams then move to a backstage area, and are permitted up to ten minutes to study the Bible for information based on that category. In season two, while backstage, the teams also have the option to use the
YouVersion YouVersion (also known as Bible.com or the Bible App) is an online and mobile Bible platform published for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and many other operating platforms. In 2022, according to YouVersion, its Bible App features 2,863 Bible v ...
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
of the Bible on an electronic tablet along with their physical copy of the Bible. After ten minutes, the first team comes on-stage, while the second team is placed in a sound-proof booth. The host then asks the team questions from the announced category. Each question is given, in rotation, to one player, who cannot confer with teammates. Both teams play the same set of questions. Each team has a total of 60 seconds to answer as many questions as possible, and the team that answers more questions correctly wins $20,000 for their charity; the runners-up win $5,000 for their charity. Teams that win this round advance to a semi-final game; the winners of that episode advance to the season finale, where the team that wins this round wins $100,000 for their charity as well as all winnings from previous episodes.


Previous rules

Immediately following the first round in season two, each team had a chance to earn 25 additional points. Before the show, a question was asked to 100 YouVersion users (e.g. "Would you rather fast for 40 days or eat manna for 40 years?"). A question with three possible choices was then asked about the percentage of people who answered (e.g. "What percentage said they would rather fast for 40 days than eat manna for 40 years?"). During the break, each team wrote their answer on a tablet computer, and each team that submitted the correct answer earned 25 points. This round was removed from the game in the third season and replaced with another opening round-style game played for ± 10 points a question. Following the second round in season one, teams had to choose the apocryphal verse from three true Bible verses. Since scoring was disappointingly low, this round was eliminated in later shows.


Production

The series began development with production staff approaching Troy Schmidt, a pastor at First Baptist Church in
Windermere, Florida Windermere is a town in Orange County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,030. It is part of the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A Post Office opened at Windermere in 1888. The Post Office ...
, to work as both a writer and a consultant for the show. One of Schmidt's initial roles was to be an "on-camera Bible expert" for the series, one of many aspects of the pilot episode that a test audience rejected, and one with which Schmidt himself later admitted he was not comfortable. In response to the early criticism from the test audience, Game Show Network (GSN) took a six-week period to bring in several new staff members and make various changes to the show's format. After these changes were made, the test audience became more appreciative of the series, and GSN announced its development to the public at an upfront presentation in
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on March 21, 2012, for the network's upcoming programming. By this time, a pilot episode had already been shot; which was hosted by American stand-up comedian and television personality
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a r ...
. When first asked if he was interested in hosting the show, Foxworthy was hesitant; he agreed to take on the role after learning that contestants would be playing for charity rather than on their own behalf. Casting for the series was held in various cities from May to June 2012. On July 7, 2012, GSN confirmed the show would premiere on August 23, 2012, alongside the premiere of ''
Beat the Chefs ''Beat the Chefs'' is an American television cooking game show broadcast by Game Show Network (GSN) and hosted by Matt Rogers. The series features contestants preparing a home-cooked family recipe, while professional chefs Beau MacMillan, Anton ...
''.


Season one

The first season of ''The American Bible Challenge'' premiered its first of nine episodes on August 23, 2012. An audience of 1.730 million viewers watched the debut episode, making it GSN's highest-rated original program in its history. In total, when combined with a rerun of the episode later that evening, the show brought in over 2.3 million viewers (1.730 million at 8:00 p.m., 571,000 at 11:00 p.m.) for the night. On October 18, 2012, Team Judson's Legacy, consisting of married couple Drake and Christina Levasheff of
Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
and their friend Dean Bobar, were crowned champions of the inaugural season's tournament, winning a total of $140,000 for Hunter's Hope, a
leukodystrophy Leukodystrophies are a group of usually inherited disorders characterized by degeneration of the white matter in the brain. The word ''leukodystrophy'' comes from the Greek roots ''leuko'', "white", ''dys'', "abnormal" and ''troph'', "growth". Th ...
charity, chosen in honor of the Levasheffs' son, Judson, who had died in 2007 of late-onset Krabbe disease. By the end of the first season, the series had become GSN's most successful original program ever, garnering a total of over 13 million total viewers.


Season two

A second nine-episode season of the series was announced on October 9, 2012. GSN advertised that auditions would be held nationwide in November and December, and that the season would also feature the addition of Franklin to the series. The second season premiered on GSN March 21, 2013 debuting to 1.152 million viewers. On May 23, 2013, Team Wagner Warriors, consisting of brothers Joshua, Jesse, and Daniel Wagner from Owasso and
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...
, were crowned champions of the second season, winning a total of $140,000 for Wagner Ministries International, a missionary organisation founded by their father. A portion of the winnings was used for Wagner Ministries' involvement in the "One Nation One Day" evangelical event in Honduras in July 2013. The Wagners had previously won the national championship of Assemblies of God Teen Bible Quiz three times in four years.


Season three

On August 8, 2013, GSN announced plans to renew ''The American Bible Challenge'' for a third season, with both Foxworthy and Franklin returning as hosts. The third season once again consisted of nine episodes, which began airing May 22, 2014. On July 17, 2014, Team Bible Belts, consisting of Jonathan King, Matt Phipps and Brad Harris from
Otway, Ohio Otway is a village in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 87 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Otway has been in operation since 1861. The town site was platted on March 29, 1884. The village was named after T ...
, were crowned as the third season's champions, winning a total $140,000 for Kicks for Jesus, a nonprofit which combines Bible study and
taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
. While GSN never canceled the series, the third season remains the most recent season to air given the lack of production and series announcements since 2014.


Reception

David Hinckley of the ''
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'' gave ''The American Bible Challenge'' a positive review, saying, "Anyone who knows even a little about the Bible will be unable to resist playing along and matching answers with the teams on the screen."
Neil Genzlinger Neil Genzlinger is an American playwright, editor, book reviewer, and theatre and television critic who frequently writes for ''The New York Times''. Family Genzlinger is a grandson of the late '' The Philadelphia Bulletin'' columnist Don Rose. ...
of ''
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'' was also pleased, calling the show "nothing if not magnanimous, sending even the losing teams home with a little something for their charities. A spirit of good will prevails."
Hank Stuever Hank Stuever (born 1968) is an American journalist who writes about popular culture for the ''Style'' section of ''The Washington Post''. Early life and education Stuever was born and raised in Oklahoma City, where he attended Bishop McGuinn ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' was critical, calling the series "just as dull as it sounds," and arguing that "weariness" could be detected in Foxworthy's hosting. Rebecca Cusey of
Patheos Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives. Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning abou ...
recommended the series for Christians in particular, saying, "Those that take the Bible as the word of God will enjoy this show." Additionally,
Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
expressed excitement when announcing their acquisition of the series in 2013, network
chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...
Jonathan Katz commented, "We are very confident that the broadcast premieres of ''The American Bible Challenge'' and '' Catch 21'' will add fuel to Bounce TV's skyrocketing growth." The series was honored with two
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations at the
41st Daytime Emmy Awards The 41st Daytime Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), "recognizes outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast fr ...
in 2014. The series received a nomination for Outstanding Game Show, while Foxworthy received one for Outstanding Game Show Host. Both the show and Foxworthy lost to ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' and
Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
of ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'' respectively.


Merchandise

In an effort to promote the show's second season, Schmidt released a study book titled ''The American Bible Challenge: A Daily Reader, Volume 1'' in 2013. An online Bible study was also launched on GSN's website at the start of the second season. In addition to the Bible studies, GSN released a mobile game based on the show for
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, iOS devices, and Android devices in 2012, while Talicor released a board game based on the series in 2014.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* *


External links

* at the
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:American Bible Challenge, The 2010s American game shows 2012 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings English-language television shows Game Show Network original programming Games based on the Bible Television series by Embassy Row (production company) Television series by Sony Pictures Television