Join Super as he addresses some controversy and goes over the newest season of The Chosen. But before tuning in, head out to the concession stand and grab yourself some Popcorn N’ Soda!
Download this episode: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegodcast/Popcorn_and_Soda_-_The_Chosen_Season_4_final.mp3
The Chosen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chosen_(TV_series)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9471404
Donations for topic requests are open!
If you’d like to support the Godcast and/or The Very Lutheran Project, you can do so here: https://verylutheran.gumroad.com/
Super can be found here:
poa.st/@SuperLutheran
I think there’s room for reasonable criticism of The Chosen. There’s parts that it does well, but there are some issues that should be pointed out.
There’s a connection to the LDS in the show. Neal and Jeffrey Harmon, the founders of Angel Studios which produced The Chosen are Mormon. Additionally, Angel Studios is based out of Utah (which has a high concentration of Mormons), and Jesus even goes as far as quoting the book of Mormon in the show during season 3 (the “I am the law” scene).
There’s also an off-hand comment Jesus makes where he says he “doesn’t know” something, this was right after the sermon on the mount scene, I think. I get that it’s an off-hand comment, and it’s really just conversational filler, but there should be more care taken with dialogue that Jesus is saying so as to prevent heretical ideas from being presented. This is part of the issue with artistic license when creating media regarding the bible. Dallas Jenkins stated that “approximately 95% of the show’s content is not directly from Scripture.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to claim The Chosen is a Mormon show designed to lead Christians astray or something silly like that, but it very clearly does have Mormon influence in the show.
There’s also reasonable criticism that can be pointed towards Dallas Jenkins, from (((defacing his own billboards))), to claiming anyone criticizing the show is psychopathic. It’s not a criticism against the show itself, but it does tell you something about the person that’s creating it. That alone isn’t reason to not watch it, but it doesn’t give the show any points either.
I’ve also seen posts where people online are stating that when they pray, they’re envisioning Jonathan Roumie in their minds. That’s just something that rubs me the wrong way, simple ‘as. It gives the “no graven images of God/Christ at all” argument some credence I think.
There’s also been cases where there are churches using this show as a bible study instead of the scriptures. I can appreciate using media to get people interested in things, and The Chosen does that well, but it should never replace the bible, especially when so much artistic license is involved.
The point is that The Chosen, like any other piece of Christian inspired media ranging from VeggieTales, Bibleman, the Left Behind Books, etc. should be taken with a grain of salt and should not replace study of the scriptures as a source of Theology.
Is it okay to do something that may lead Christians to sin, and may lead non-believers to Christ?
I don’t know, but I don’t have to like it. I think we’re ultimately ending on the same point either way.
There’s a book out on this, it’s called “What’s Wrong with The Chosen: A Biblical Critique of the Popular TV Show”, it details a lot of this stuff.
Also, all that being said, please keep reviewing the show! I think it’s been a very fun series to listen to.
Princess Tutu was also excellent, I ended up loving Fakir as a character. The idea of sacrificing your whole life for something you’re not even good at is truly tragic, and watching that story turn around was very satisfying.
Thank you for recommending that!