Robert Cargill profiled

A.K.A. XKV8R:

University of Iowa professor digs further into the Bible
After chasing David and Goliath, Robert Cargill stars in a History Channel documentary, which debuts this week

(Josh O’Leary, Iowa City Press-Citizen)

IOWA CITY, IA. — IArchaeologist and religious scholar Robert Cargill was teaching last decade at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., when he received an unusual request.

A woman who was auditing one of Cargill’s history and religion classes approached him and said her good friend wanted to take the course, as well, but was worried she’d be a distraction. The woman asked Cargill if he’d be willing to privately tutor the friend — actress Nicole Kidman.

That introduction nine years ago, in a way, would prove to be a bridge between Cargill’s work in the academic world to television, where his dynamic personality has made him a go-to expert for several documentary makers.

Today Cargill is an assistant professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Iowa and has appeared as a biblical authority in nearly 15 documentaries and TV programs. His latest project, a six-part documentary called “Bible Secrets Revealed,” in which he served as a consulting producer, will begin airing Wednesday on the History channel.

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The soon-to-air documentary series, produced by Prometheus Entertainment of Los Angeles, covers an array of topics — what was lost in the various translations of the Bible, examining who Jesus really was, and sex in the Scriptures. Cargill, who in addition to being one of the dozens of biblical scholars interviewed, reviewed and helped inform scripts as a consulting producer.

He said the series’ academic approach will inevitably lead to criticism from those who adhere to fundamentalist views of the Bible, but he’s no stranger to receiving emails from viewers calling him a heretic or telling him he will burn in hell.

“At the end of the day, you have the reality and the facts, and then you have what you were taught, either by your parents or by the Bible or whatever. When they’re not congruent, what do you do?” Cargill said. “Do you deny reality and stick to what you believe or what somebody taught you? Or do you embrace the reality and the facts, and do you rethink what you were taught growing up? That’s one of the centerpieces of the documentary.

“We’re trying to give facts, we’re trying to give a diversity of opinion, and then we want the viewer to make the decision for themselves based on the evidence.”

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I knew about the documentary, but not about Nicole Kidman.