Editor’s Note: Warning – this article contains spoiler alerts and may hurt feelings of those who can’t handle criticism.
From its inception I have been skeptical about “The Chosen” and its potential impact on society. The recent “woke” actions of the leadership and actors of the show now prove that my skepticism was correct — and that Christians should stand united against the show.
Initially, my wife and I watched the first two seasons and used it as an opportunity to teach our children what the Bible actually says as opposed to what the show got wrong. There was a lot of material to go through. The show gets a lot of things wrong and puts a false image in people’s minds of the events outlined in the Bible.
It was bad enough that the show made Matthew a babbling, beardless autistic person and Jesus a long haired, hippy, effeminate who goes to bars. Had any person who never read the Bible watched the show, they would have a completely warped view of the historical narrative. Had they gone on to read the actual account of the events, they would be even more confused.
The final straw for me was the season three opener when Peter is told to go and spend time with his wife. Immediately one of the other disciples comes to Peter’s house and asks if he can stay with them. The conversation then takes what I felt was an unnecessary direction with sexual overtones and innuendos. It even went as far as the disciple offering to stay on the roof, so he didn’t have to hear Peter and his wife having relations.
On what planet would such language and behavior be appropriate for children to watch, especially in reference to a presentation of biblical events.
I know a lot of people will call me a prude, which I wear as a badge of honor in our oversexualized culture. It is one thing if you let your kids watch a secular show where you expect certain types of content. It’s another when it’s supposed to be a representation of biblical events. To sexualize biblical accounts to add entertainment value for society and thus adding to the Scriptures is a very dangerous sin.
For me and my family, I will not allow that type of misrepresentation of the Bible and filth, no matter how subtle it may be, to go without response. Ask yourself this question: Had Jesus been sitting on the couch next to you watching, would you have been embarrassed or ashamed? If the answer is no, then there is likely very little that you and I will agree on.
On to the more recent issue at hand.
A pride flag was included in part of a promotional video that “The Chosen” put out. The show has come out with a litany of responses as to why they allowed the flag, which subsequently has resulted in calls to boycott the show.
The show’s creator Dallas Jenkins made this statement.
“As long as employees continue to work toward making ‘The Chosen’ as great as possible, we think our viewers should be saying thank you, especially to those who might have different beliefs than we do and yet are still willing to work their tails off for this show and for the message of the show.”
Sorry Mr. Jenkins, but I won’t be saying “thank you”.
When dealing with God’s Word, we should have the utmost care to ensure the truth is being presented free of error. The inclusion of the pride flag is a tacit head nod of affirmation that homosexual activity is acceptable. That is not only in direct contradiction of the Scriptures, you seek to portray it is an abomination to a Holy God.
Actor Giavani Cairo, who plays James on the show, defended the pride flag with the typical “love is love” defense. Cairo later apologized in a video message for some of his tweets but failed to address his support for the pride flag on set and the damage it has done to the credibility of the show.
I can agree one on thing with Cairo. The issue is an issue of love. We must be sure and treat all people with respect and dignity. But it is not loving to let someone continue to think their lifestyle is congruent with that of a Holy God. It is not loving to let someone believe they are truly saved and part of God’s elect when they are not. What could be crueler than allowing someone to continue with a false sense of security. Rebuke and correction are an act of love. Complacency, tolerance of sin and open support for evil behavior is not loving.
Cairo and Jenkins both describe how hard the employee who brought the flag works on set. Who cares? How is that relevant to the matter at hand? Is he not getting a paycheck? Does the fact he works hard negate the damage and harm he has now done to the message of the show?
Jenkins also claimed he can’t police every single actor and employee. That is a fair point. Nobody will convince me that Jenkins didn’t review the promotional video that contained the pride flag. His approval of the video is his approval of the flag. Whether his motivation is to appeal to a wider audience or to raise money from a new group of people is unclear. What is clear is that he knew the pride flag was in the video, and he as the leader approved the video. The buck stops with him and his leadership. If he didn’t know the flag was there, he should have immediately come out and condemned it rather than offering every possible excuse he could grasp for to defend the action.
If church people don’t start standing up against this type of woke garbage masquerading as the gospel, our society won’t be able to recognize the gospel when they actually hear it.
I know a lot of people love the show and think that it’s just the greatest thing ever. My advice would be for them to think hard about what images they are putting into their children’s minds and the lasting impact they will have on their idea of the Gospel. Do you really want a TV show created by weak Christians at best, woke ideologues with an agenda at worst, influencing the understanding of the gospel in your children’s minds?
The truth of the events represented in The Chosen is contained in the Bible. Read those words to your children, have them study them and get their theology from there. As for me and mine, we won’t be watching “The Chosen.”
