I couldn’t love this more. It’s especially inspiring how Christians of different demoniations have come together with this show.
3 Likes
I love the show too. It shows those who know nothing of Jesus His life and heart. There are so many scenes that have spoken to me personally. Jesus is not just the God of the Bible, but the God of every age, time, and place.
One scene is where Little James approaches Jesus privately. It’s just after Jesus meeting with His disciples and telling them they’re to go out two by two proclaiming the kingdom of God, healing the sick and casting out demons. In the show, little James has a malady that Jesus hasn’t healed and him healing the sick while he is unhealed is creating a problem for him. The conversation that follows has given me an understanding of hardship and suffering for His name’s sake. There are other scenes as well that bring to life the heart of Jesus.
2 Likes
I recently watched an episode of The Chosen and it was obvious within just 10 minutes that the production values were very high indeed. I was impressed. But at the same time I was wondering about the kind of foundation this project is actually built on. If it isn’t God’s foundation, who’s is it? There aren’t multiple foundations out there: the Bible says everything in the world is not from the Father.
I have trouble believing this TV series is so Bible-grounded and in the centre of God’s will that it evades the sway of the evil one. The Chosen is unavoidably embedded in an entertainment industry that most definitely is under the power of the evil one. Are we to think then that The Chosen is abnormally unique? Jesus taught that the world will hate those who are not part of it.
Should we care about any of this? Well, it seems most won’t. But if the whole world lies in the grip of evil authorities, what should we expect those scheming forces of wickedness to accomplish through the entertainment industry? Where does The Chosen fall within an industry that is part of the world’s fallen system? Like the CCM industry, something somewhere doesn’t quite add up…
1 Like
All you need to do, brother @Stenos, is read some of the reviews of The Chosen.
And be careful, as the term “judgmental” is often used rather freely in these discussions.
Personally, I have yet to see a film about Jesus that faithfully and accurately portrays the Scriptures in every respect.
J.
2 Likes
Hello Johann, yes you’re right.
I have seen reviews that voice concerns. What’s even more concerning though is that few seem too bothered one way or the other! Another trend I noticed while reading reviews was along the lines, There are some issues, but on the whole The Chosen is a good thing.
I think if we come at it soberly through the wisdom and insight of God’s Word we will have real concerns. A big part of the problem is likely to be the extent to which many professing Christians in our local churches are hooked on TV and the world’s entertainment. Screens everywhere.
A local church not far from me has a regular women’s movie night. But many will say, So what. To question this practice will come across stuffy and out-of-touch.
1 Like
…stuffy, out-of -touch and judge-mental. Which I find surprising, and yet, surprisingly not?
Today, many Christians are turning back to the puritans to, “walk in the old paths,” of God’s word, and to continue to proclaim old truth that glorifies Jesus Christ. There is no new theology.
Stay strong eis Christ Jesus brother, and correct you are, screens everywhere.
J.
2 Likes
I don’t think it should be about, how accurate is it to scripture and that’s not in the scripture. No, wrong idea. It’s in the message itself which is good it seems to me and my other observation is, how well does Roumie capture the character of Jesus? And I personally think that he does a good job. I have nothing bad to say about the show.
Jonathan Roumie has a few super good testimoies on youtube about portraying Jesus. He has had to search those scriptures a lot to learn Jesus’s nature and from what I hear there’s been a couple supernatural incidents on set which, broke a lot of people on set. Jonathan Rpumies videos have some AI copycat channels too, but you can tell which is which, how he talks and pitch and so forth (known through the Series) because AI didn’t get his voice quite right. Lol.
I like the Series.
1 Like
“I don’t think it should be about how accurate is it to scripture…”
Really?
1 Like
I think it’s fair to say that. While I agree that Scripture should be portrayed accurately, the fact is that it’s a show being created for entertainment as well. If some things aren’t 100% accurate, but they help the show move along and get the message out (and so long as they’re not so wildly inaccurate that they do harm), then I say some creative liberties are fine.
1 Like
Yes but within proper perspective. It’s a television show. To make it interesting things which are not necessarily in scripture are added to it to make the story flow. They’re not changing the words of Jesus or anything of the sort, so the message remains pure and accurate. If they only put exactly what is in scripture in the series people would not watch it because they wont even read their bibles, so how good of a series could that be? WHen they add like for instance something someone says in it (non-scriptural) to help set the tone of the moment in the story and put this on film, it will embellish the story to make it interesting without taking away from the message of the gospel.
Or so it seems to me?
2 Likes
agree! That’s basically what I said above, you just said it better!
2 Likes
I don’t think those was my words Sister! I’ve already asked the Lord to help me with my words today when I woke up and prayed.
I don’t speak very eloquent myself, and prove it some days! Today is a good day, Praise the Lord for being with me.
Jonathan Roumie has some tremendous testmonies on youtube. He has had visitations from the Lord where the Lord manifested to Him to teach him. They’re credible.
2 Likes
Hello Edward. I get what you’re saying here. Screen depictions of Christ and the Gospel narratives have been pretty awful at times over the last 100 years or so, truth be told. In some contexts that’s certainly not the case with The Chosen.
But even so, many believers will be uneasy. Personally I don’t think attempts to dramatise the life of Christ are the right way to present Him and the true Gospel message most effectively. I think it’s best not to try to depict Who He is in this visual way. The Bible tells us how to do that, and its instructions for local churches apply perfectly well in our modern world.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. The Chosen certainly isn’t the Gospel preached as God intends. To be fair, it can’t be. And as I shared above, I’m concerned about the show’s foundation and all the paraphernalia comes with it. This includes an ecumenical backdrop which is unhelpful to say the least. OK, that won’t be a popular opinion. I get it. But it’s worth considering.
2 Likes
Prepare yourself for some pushback, brother @Stenos
Many people are visually oriented, and I understand that, I am as well. However, productions like The Chosen do very little for me personally. My greatest interest is not in dramatizations, but in the proclamation of Christ and Him crucified.
As Paul wrote:
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)
And again:
“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:23)
The power of God unto salvation is not found in visual presentations, but in the gospel itself:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (Romans 1:16)
Faith ultimately comes not by sight, but by hearing:
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
For that reason, I would rather spend my time in the Scriptures, hearing Christ preached from the Word, than watching portrayals of biblical events. The preaching of Christ crucified, risen, and reigning remains the central message entrusted to the church.
J.
2 Likes
What’s that mean?
I think the Chosen came along at a good time. It baffles me that some people wont see it as good because it isn’t 100 true in all aspects of the Bible. It’s not the Bible. It’s a television show. I wonder how many non-believers watch the Chosen just because it’s television and does have a good production. What effect does the Chosen have on non-believers? It gets them thinking about Jesus and the state of their soul. It points to Jesus. Then after thinking and the Holy Spirit watering those seeds of the Chosen…then they may read the Bible, the actual Gospel.
Don’t think the Chosen is useless because it’s not pure to the Gospel message, it certainly points towards it. Besides, if they want to see what the next episode is about, maybe they will pick up their Bible!
1 Like
I think it is healthy to evaluate any book, movie, sermon, podcast, or TV show against Scripture. At the same time, I am not sure a project has to be perfect to have value.
One thing I have found interesting is how often people say that a particular scene in The Chosen helped them think more deeply about a biblical passage or motivated them to open their Bible and read the Gospel accounts for themselves. That does not make the show Scripture, but it can serve as a starting point.
I also think there is a difference between entertainment that pulls people away from God and storytelling that encourages people to think more deeply about Him. Ultimately, each believer needs discernment, but I would rather see people discussing Jesus because of a TV series than not discussing Him at all.
2 Likes
When Jonathan Roumie and Dallas Jenkins (creator, writer and director of The Chosen) met the pope, Jenkins told the pontiff, “I am protestant, but I am making a show for everyone who loves Jesus.” If that’s not ecumenical, I don’t know what is. You can watch this clip in the documentary series, Jonathan and Jesus.
As a very famous and devout Roman Catholic it’s inevitable Roumie’s faith-centred lifestyle will be tied to The Chosen. This is exactly what happens in Jonathan and Jesus where we see the pervasive outworking of Roman Catholic beliefs and practices in Roumie’s daily life. As Jenkins light-heartedly says to Roumie, “You are an actor who plays Jesus, so you should speak for the entire Catholic church.” In a way he does exactly that.
Later in the show Roumie says, “The way that I most connect to Jesus through my faith is sacramentally. A piece of bread, essentially transformed into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, that is available for me. It’s the opportunity for me to have communion with God Himself. I don’t deserve it but I get it anyway.”
As someone who lives in a country that at one point in its history was said to be more Roman Catholic than Italy, I’ve seen first-hand how superstitions and false beliefs can affect agricultural and working class communities. It’s a spiritual darkness that blinds people to the fullness of the Gospel message that’s clearly presented in Scripture.
In Jonathan and Jesus, Roumie travels to Rome where, among other things, he climbs the Scala Sancta on his knees. What is the Scala Sancta? “…the steps leading up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem on which Jesus Christ stepped on his way to trial during his Passion” (Wikipedia entry).
Roumie explains, “Constantine’s mother decided that these steps which were in Jerusalem were going to go to Rome for people to pray.” After returning from the Scala Sancta, Roumie is upset to the point of tears. “It’s painful going up the stairs on your knees. It’s painful considering what took place on those stairs. It’s just overwhelming.”
Later in this documentary the spread of Christianity in Europe is linked directly to the Roman Catholic religion. In fact at this point in the series we see film of a pope followed by a drawing of the Vatican. We are then told that 2.5 billion people today are now “Christians”. To demonstrate this we next see a shot of a huge gathering of people described as “Brazil’s biggest Catholic church opens its doors.”
This documentary clearly conflates Roman Catholic dogma and teaching with the true faith described in Scripture. In so doing it draws The Chosen into the same Romanist context.
2 Likes
We have loved this series, watched it twice. We have recommended it to others because it is realistic and not soupy. Being longtime Christians we still have gotten helpful messages and hope through this show. Looking forward to hopefully the resurrection series.
1 Like
I agree, it is very hard to portray Jesus, only one Jesus. This was the best portrayal and enough accuracy to grab non Christian’s to get them interested.
2 Likes
Exactly, well said. This isn’t the Bible but a great attempt to get the word out to all. We have been Christians a long time and have grown even more watching this series where it is realistic and shows how hard it would be to be one of the 12. Also when Mary backslid, that was powerful to me. “Jesus” asked her if she thought just because she was a follower did she think she would never sin again. HE forgave her. Hello, I admit I have and unfortunately will.
2 Likes