Elder/Pastor Kevin
Should Followers of Christ Watch The Chosen? Is it Helpful? Or is it harmful?
Should Christians Choose the Chosen TV Show?
The Chosen TV series has gained traction and become popular among the Christian community. It is the most successful TV show ever supported by crowdfunding. (This means fans and donors pay for the show alone). With the growing popularity of this show, many allegations, rumors, and different claims have come against the show itself, the director, and the actors.
When I (Pastor Kevin) was saved in September of 2021, I quickly found The Chosen and watched the first season, which was the only season out at that time. I watched the second season when it was released as well. I liked the show and even “talked it up” to many people. But as my relationship with Christ grew, I started caring less and less about The Chosen and stopped watching it after season 2. I did not have anything against the show, I just did not care for it anymore. At that time, I was completely unaware of the severity of the situation with the show, and the potential harm it brings to many followers of Christ.
Recently, I have come across some startling information that I feel needs to be heard by all brothers and sisters in Christ. Here is the information.
Angel Studios is a free streaming platform that partnered with the Director of the Chosen to air the show for free. The Director and team of The Chosen use resources from Angel Studios to make their show. The CEO of Angel Studios is Neal Harmon, and his brother Jeffrey Harmon who is a co-founder belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a Mormon church) and are self-proclaimed Mormons.
Dallas Jenkins is the Director of The Chosen TV series. Jenkins formed an advisory panel to oversee the direction of the show for biblical and historical accuracy. On this panel are a messianic Jewish Rabbi, a Catholic Priest, and an evangelical professor of biblical studies.
What is The Chosen, and is it biblically sound? | GotQuestions.org
While filming some “behind the scenes” footage, an LGBTQ flag was spotted on one of the cameras shooting the scene. Backlash came against the show and people started to boycott it. Director Dallas Jenkins supported the cameraman's beliefs, and no action was taken.
The Chosen's Dallas Jenkins Responds to Dustup About Employee’s Pride Flag (churchleaders.com)
Dallas Jenkins admitted on a YouTube channel while talking to a Mormon from the LDS or Ladder Day saints, He says we (evangelical Christians and Mormons) do have some differences and then states this: “The stories of Jesus we do agree on, and we both love the same Jesus.”
Then Dallas doubled down and stated, “I will sink or swim on that statement, I don’t mind getting criticized for the show, I don’t mind being called a blasphemer, I don’t like it when my friends [Mormons] are.” He also states, “If I go down, I am going down swinging, protecting my brothers and sisters [the Mormons]. I don’t deny that we have theological differences, but we love the same Jesus.”
Please see this video: about 13:05 minutes to 13:45 minutes is the portion of the video with Jenkins saying this.
YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kolwKnYQxE&t=1814s
What is Mormonism?
For those who may not know. Mormonism is a false religion. They do believe in Jesus, but they do not believe Jesus is God. They believe Jesus is a created being. They believe God had sex with a female god, who then gave birth to Jesus and Satan who are brothers. All of us (the humans) have been born of God and we are all godly offspring and brothers and sisters of Jesus and Satan. Mormonism also believes in an infinite number of gods. They believe when you die, you become a god over your own world, you have infinite celestial sex to inhabit your planet then you eventually become a messiah to your world and then save the people that you rule over. And this cycle continues forever.
Christians and Mormons do NOT love the same Jesus. Mormons have a false Jesus and according to Paul in Galatians 1:8-9, anyone who teaches a different gospel than God’s word is cursed.
The Chosen Is Hiding Some Things... - John MacArthur (youtube.com)
Is The Chosen biblically accurate?
The short answer is no, absolutely not. There is a scene about the Beatitudes where Jonathan Roumie (the actor who plays Jesus) says that the Beatitudes are a “road map to find me.”
This is biblically inaccurate. The Beatitudes have nothing to do with finding Jesus. The Beatitudes describe who Jesus’s disciples are, and what they will look like. It’s not a road map to find God, it describes those who have been found by God and have been made disciples of Jesus Christ.
In the scene portraying John 3:16 with Nicodemus. First, all the phrases in the Bible are jumbled with extra commentary in the show (which we talk about below), but most of the dialogue from John 3 is changed. Then there’s a point in the show where Nicodemus wants to bow and worship (Jesus), but the actor playing (Jesus) discourages Nicodemus from worshiping him. The real Jesus Christ would never discourage worship of Him. Matthew 2:11 the Magi worships Jesus. Matthew 21:9, and John 12:13 describe the triumphal entry where thousands worship Jesus as He enters Jerusalem. And many more examples: Does the Bible describe Jesus being worshiped? | GotQuestions.org
But what about the 2nd Commandment?
There is much debate about whether pictures of Jesus break the second commandment in Exodus 20:4. This law prohibits any image being made to be worshipped. Only God is to be worshipped. The biblical writers never describe Jesus’s physical appearance, so it is not important for us to know. Does filming an Actor playing Jesus break the second commandment? Extensive debate could be had on this issue but either way, I do not think this is the main problem at hand.
Is it wrong to have pictures of Jesus? | GotQuestions.org
As I said before, the actor playing Jesus in The Chosen is Jonathan Roumie. Roumie is a Catholic mystic who believes he can pray to the dead and the dead can give him signs. Roumie is seen on video saying he prayed to a dead man (Lonnie Frisbee) who gave him a sign that it was okay to play the role of Jesus. This is known as grave soaking and is condemned by Scripture. Deut. 18:10-12. Video of Roumie saying this is shown here: https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Jonathan+roumie+praying+to+the+dead&mid=07E018526CAB6BF689D307E018526CAB6BF689D3&FORM=VIRE
There are two main issues here:
God warns that you can not add or subtract from His word. Revelation 22:18-20. Adding dialogue and roleplay when “portraying the biblical text” might seem innocent, but they are adding these things to God’s word. Things that we do not need. If Scripture is enough, why do we need a video played out before us.
Listen to what John MacArthur has to say about The Chosen: (50-second video)
The second issue is having an image of Jonathan Roumie in our heads when we think of Jesus Christ. This is very dangerous and even I (Kevin) have done this unintentionally. How would your spouse feel if every time you thought of them, you pictured someone else? How would Christ Jesus feel if every time we think of Him, we picture a mere sinful human being?
We recommend that followers of Christ should immediately stop watching The Chosen to not hinder or even hurt their walk with Christ. We are NOT saying if you watch The Chosen or continue to watch The Chosen you are unsaved. We are NOT saying that. But we feel that continuing to watch The Chosen will hurt your walk with Christ.
Remember it is the responsibility of every believer to examine what people teach to make sure that it is true to the Word of God. Acts 17:10-12
Written by Pastor Kevin and approved by Pastor Steve