Conventional wisdom would tell us that there is a significant difference between popularity and influence. Godly wisdom will tell us that popularity is to be shunned and that, when we have found ourselves popular, we can be sure our influence is short-lived. Jesus says with good reason, "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers treat the false prophets" (Luke 6:26). In other words, people (and their inventions) that become popular usually

Created by Dallas Jenkins in 2017, The Chosen is a multi-season television series dramatizing the humanity of Jesus from the viewpoint of His disciples. Jenkins, in the spirit of literary license, has created 95% of the show's material to fill what he calls "gaps" in the Biblical record. The show's predominantly fictional content has not precluded its being billed as historical drama; nor has it hindered the credulity of Jenkins' fans. On the contrary, the vast majority of

It wouldn't be too surprising to hear that Christians these days are going through an identity crisis. This crisis might not involve merely the question of who we are ourselves but also with whom we can identify anymore. The Christian landscape seems ever changing, to the point that people we thought we trusted yesterday turn out to be someone entirely different today. That respected leader lets us down, and we find out that we have no heroes left, after all. Some people'

Most of us will never know what really goes on behind the scenes during the week of Halloween. If you have ever felt more Satanic oppression during this time than at others, you are not alone. Perhaps your spirit feels a burden you cannot shake, a heaviness you cannot explain, a depression you cannot dismiss. What's really going on? My mother told of a time when she and my father experienced unusual Satanic oppression when they had a next door neighbor who was a practicin

Introduction Without apology, I think it is fair to ask that a show about Jesus be produced from a uniquely Christian perspective. Viewers have a right to know the influences behind The Chosen , and they have a right to critique the show accordingly. If these influences are determined to be less than Christian, whether in the screenwriting or in the acting or even in the production, we have the right to ask why Jenkins is using them. And if Jenkins has a prejudice against

Introduction The Chosen  seems to be breaking stereotypes left and right.  That would be a good thing, right?  People reportedly have...

The Ark Encounter Two years ago, I got to visit the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. I had wanted to go for a long time, and...

Jenkins' "Chosen" Jesus said no one can serve both God and mammon. Neither can anyone serve both truth and relatability. By...

A "More Human" Jesus? I have long wrestled with Dallas Jenkins' portrayal of Jesus in The Chosen. From what little I have watched in...

An "Authentic" Jesus? In a show designed to entertain, I think it is fair to ask whether this purpose also applies to its...

Introduction: The Internet, smartphones, GPS, digital cameras--these staples of daily life were foreign to most of us two generations ago, and, if they existed at all, were initially regarded as novelties, if not downright oddities. But someone's idea found not only "wings" but "landing gear," (as C. D. Jackson, a United States government psychological warfare advisor, put it), and here we are wondering how we ever got along without these "necessities." Whether these conv

Do Christians Sin Every Day?    "I sin every day." This common statement is often attached to the prevailing claim that all sins are...

Those who argue that faith is purely a gift of God contend that a dead man has no power to exert his will.  If he did, he would be...

Have you noticed these days how faith--the very means of our salvation,  upon which Luther's Protestant Reformation was built--is often...

Is faith a work? Of course not, most self-respecting, healthy people will answer. Why would you ask that? Thank you. I agree. Is...

Introduction: Too often we hear preachers today thunder out the message--that is, if they preach with authority at all--that...

What is the Spirit of our Age? We live in a day of lawlessness that has been allowed to redefine true salvation.  The spirit of the age...

Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle Introduction: The most disheartening thing about trying to have a constructive conversation these days...

Introduction: As this highly acclaimed film series created by Dallas Jenkins continues to gain popularity around the globe, it also continues to garner serious controversy. We can ignore this controversy and give The Chosen's producer the benefit of the doubt, or we can test all things as Scripture commands us to do and wonder whether statements like this one--that "Dallas Jenkins has become the face of Jesus for millions of viewers worldwide"--pose a serious threat to

Introduction We are commanded in Scripture to test all things, whether they are true and whether they are right.  In matters of eternal consequence, we assume nothing.  We have examined in a previous post Dallas Jenkins’ professed purposes for creating The Chosen , the show’s enormous profits and popularity, and Jenkins’ personae of a Jesus and His “chosen” admittedly different than those of the Scriptures. In our examination, we have not only raised several red flags; we h