The Gospel of The Chosen: "Woke" in Sheep's Clothing?

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 our faith. https://famouspeopletoday.com/dallas-jenkins-net-worth/ Can we even begin to imagine what John the Baptist would have said if anyone had identified him as being the "face of Jesus for millions of Jews"? He would have recoiled from any such suggestion, declaring instead that he was not worthy even to unlace his Lord's sandals (John 1:27).

And yet statements like this one surrounding The Chosen have become commonplace. One loyal viewer was quoted in a recent blog post as saying that The Chosen has "put skin on God." Even one such comment as this ought to horrify our hearts as being blasphemous against our Lord Jesus Christ, but when we begin to hear so many of these comments given as a defense of The Chosen's alleged impact for God, we must ask whether Jonathan Roumie indeed regards his acting as a sort of incarnation of Christ. That his "Jesus" is admittedly far more human and far more "relatable" to some than the Jesus of The Gospels seems obvious, thus implying that a new "incarnation" is necessary for our media-driven age. It is, after all, this "necessary" depiction that viewers cling to with the blind loyalty of cult followers.

We must remember that Jesus Himself warned His disciples not only that false christs would come but that they would deceive, if it were possible, even the very elect. That means that there would be only a hairsbreadth of difference between the false and the true. Dallas Jenkins' "Jesus" is far more than a hairsbreadth different than the Jesus of Scripture. And yet millions are not noticing. After all, it isn't what the counterfeiter gets wrong that is the problem; it is what he gets right. The "skin" Jenkins is reported to have given the Holy Son of God in Scripture is not only the sheep's clothing of a wolf; it is a camouflage for the "woke" agenda of progressive Christianity that denies almost everything the Biblical Christian holds dear.

It is time this mask came off. If what is underneath is a "woke" agenda--a somewhat nicer term perhaps than "wolf"--we need to know. Just because a show is about Jesus, that does not mean it is innocuous. On the contrary, it might be a more insidious enemy than any we have yet encountered in our times, the prophecies about which appear to be fulfilled daily before our very eyes. In fact, those who have followed the show and its producers with a more than casual eye might with good reason argue that everything that is wrong with Christianity today can be found in microcosm in The Chosen.

The Chosen's Progressive Foundation:

The Chosen has been rumbling all the existing fault lines between evangelical and progressive Christianity for a long time now. And I'm not sure but what an actual earthquake has occurred or what damage to faith structures has been left behind. We can see this seismic jostling for ourselves in the comments section of any blog or video post about The Chosen. The arguments--in the worst sense of the word--are often bitter and caustic. Even the kindest of statements made to uphold the truth are not infrequently met with direct contradiction and open accusation. Jenkins has repeatedly attempted to juggle these differing points of view by appeasing evangelicals on a good day and affirming everyone else on an off day. We are left to conclude that the current weather report, in cahoots with the shifting sands of relativism, has rendered The Chosen's theological foundation as unstable as a palace built in the New Madrid fault zone.

The primary proof of this instability is the show's entire lack of foundation that evangelicals would call "truth," in preference for what the Apostle Peter calls "cunningly devised fables" (II Peter 1:16). Peter makes crystal clear that his gospel rests entirely upon the faithful testimony of eyewitnesses to the majesty of Christ. This fact alone would make any claim to authenticity for The Chosen's "original" content a lie, for Dallas Jenkins himself has said on various occasions that 95% of his show is fiction. Why a man pretending to be Jesus in episodes that did not happen has gained worldwide acclaim--to the extent that naysayers are instantly branded as Pharisees--can be explained by only one thing: the big lie sells, especially in the last days of the great falling away.

Then when we realize that the keystone of what we will call progressive Christianity--although it bears close resemblance to all current forms of heresy, including the prosperity gospel, the Word of Faith movement, and the hyper-grace of antinomianism--is "authenticity" spawned by personal discovery and existential journey, we find that it matters not a whit that Jenkins has invented his show himself. This invention in itself is deemed not only "authentic" but, above all, "artistic." See his lengthy interview with Jordan Peterson to this effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI9X0fFEE8I We would contend, therefore, that the fluidity with which Jenkins paints his "Biblical" narrative, leaving out this and inserting that, is the very same approach to Scripture taken by progressive Christianity and is also consistent with the leftist's agenda to create "fake news." While this comment might at first seem overstated, we must recognize the fact that, to the progressive mindset, the Bible is not infallible; the Commandments are not written in stone; in fact, they are not even commandments at all, as we will see. The Chosen's Inclusive Mindset:

We also see surrounding The Chosen an embrace of the "woke" inclusion mindset, not merely on set, such as with the Pride flag controversy of 2023, but in the actors themselves. A recent Vanity Fair interview with Elizabeth Tabish--the show's Mary Magdalene and thirteenth disciple--calls her both a "true believer and a hardcore 'leftist.'" Vanity Fair quotes her as saying, “I love Bernie Sanders. I believe in healthcare and education for all. I believe that America’s best quality is taking care of refugees. I think those are deeply Christian values.” https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/elizabeth-tabish-the-chosen-mary-magdalene-is-a-true-believer-and-a-hardcore-leftist Regardless of where we might stand politically, we see here that Tabish, arguably as popular in her role as Jonathan Roumie is in his, has fused together for all of her "280 million viewers across 175 different countries" (Vanity Fair) the "woke" agenda and Christianity, her own misconceptions notwithstanding. The Washington Examiner carries an article entitled, "Bernie Sanders isn't a 'democratic socialist'--he's an all-out Marxist." What Tabish has endorsed is not a political ideology merely but an entire worldview in which Christianity as we know it is unwelcome.

We realize that actors do not leave their beliefs at the dressing table, but do we, in fact, find the "woke" inclusive agenda in The Chosen itself? If Jenkins is said to be "the face of Jesus" because of The Chosen, we must say "yes." Despite knowing the controversy that the Pride flag caused among his viewers in 2023, Jenkins has continued to add to the rumblings with joking remarks about the LGBTQ+ community, saying in a recent interview with Allen Parr on The Beat that he is "the most like Jesus" of anyone because he loves the LGBTQ+ community and Mormons. I cannot imagine the godliest preacher of a different era, a man such as A. W. Tozer, for instance, author of That Incredible Christian, ever joking about himself being the most like Jesus of anyone in his congregation. In fact, he makes the opposite point, that the godliest man never thinks he is. But to equate "being like Jesus" with an endorsement of what the Lord abhors is unthinkable. That Jenkins cuts off his own sentence as a joke and never clarifies that Jesus loves but also transforms all such sinners is nothing short of irresponsible.

The Chosen's Victim Culture:

Perhaps nothing is more recognizable in the leftist agenda than the teaching that the downtrodden are so because of oppression and someone else's entitlement. Does The Chosen capitalize on this mindset, too? Not being a faithful viewer, I cannot speak with definitiveness except to say that I have followed the controversies from the time I myself stopped viewing The Chosen, which was after about two episodes. When I saw The Chosen's Jesus address an emotionally shackled Mary Magdalene and arrest her on the destructive pathway she was going, saying, "This is not for you anymore," I was hopeful.

But, soon, she slipped back to her old ways, and this entirely invented scene provoked intense controversy for Jenkins, who fired back that all believers backslide "because we just can't do it," adding, "That's why He came." Well, what would you call that except a victim mentality, whereas Jesus told the woman taken in adultery to "go and sin no more" or whereas He said, "If you love Me, obey Me"? Or what about the writings of Paul or of John or of James that the Christian is not only a new creature but that he cannot sin because he is dead to sin? Whatever happened to those teachings? Oh, that's right: a progressive view of the Bible doesn't especially appreciate the writings of Paul and the other apostles.

And then there are the other disciples within The Chosen who retain egregious sins such as gambling addictions, fist-fighting, and other arrogant and divisive behaviors. They, too, are found to be relatable because they failed like the rest of us. There is no victory in this gospel. This is "Christian" socialism in which the morally poor stay poor. But, unlike the poor in spirit whom Jesus calls blessed, these "poor" seem quite proud of their disclaimers. Just listen to Jenkins' followers wax eloquent on their embracing of these "victims" of sin. And then there is the scene with Judas, where Jesus says, "I have had your heart" and tells Judas he will pray for him. Wait just a minute. Jesus said, "Have not I chosen you, and one of you is a devil?" (John 6:70). Judas was no victim. But when we have as our foundation the shifting sands of culture, we will throw a few grains of universalism into the mix. Would Jesus have forgiven Judas if he had repented? Some theologians believe that He would. But with good reason is Judas called "the son of perdition." His rejection of Christ is no mere personal matter. He has aligned himself with Satan, as the Scriptures show (Luke 22:3-6).

The Chosen's Social Justice Jesus:

This is a tricky one--and one where the hairsbreadth difference makes all the difference. One of the core traits--arguably the core trait--of the progressive gospel's Jesus is His compassion. This is, after all, why He embraces the victims of society, the poor, the marginalized, the LGBTQ+ community. He understands, and His demands are few. Few are His calls to repentance, and those, only after He has known you for awhile and feels comfortable stretching you. And when we see with Google's AI genie that the progressive beliefs in "love, compassion, and service to others" comprise "the core values of their faith, inspired by the example of Jesus," we nod in recognition when we find just such a Jesus in The Chosen. Oh, he can be fiery against public leaders (the establishment), but he not only supports the poor, he is poor. Even his ripped and shabby garment strikes a spiritual pose and makes a political statement, despite the fact that the Scriptures say that the Lord's robe was a seamless garment that the Roman soldiers cast lots to have.

But what is social justice or any pretense thereof without deliverance from sin? It is an insidious overthrow of God-ordained law and order, an antinomianism, and a destabilization of dogma, all while emphasizing an existentially authentic faith. Even Jesus must be seen to exercise this "authenticity" by asking Matthew how to structure and word his Sermon on the Mount. For, after all, Jesus is human, too. He can join the fray against oppression without having in himself the power to deliver from evil. If the gospel of The Chosen denies the power of the Gospel to deliver the sinner from his sin, is it not, then, after all, little more than a social gospel?

Conclusions:

As made in the image of God, we are born to create, but what we create has irredeemable flaws. This fallibility leads to our own arrogance over our Creator to find supposed "flaws" in His creation that are really not there. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this truth in many of his short stories, but one of my favorites is "The Birthmark." While in no way a direct parallel to the issues here raised about The Chosen, we see in this story--more like a mythological parable--that there are just some things we have to live with. When Aylmer's wife Georgiana submits to her husband's mad-scientist craze to remove the birthmark on her otherwise exquisitely beautiful face--a birthmark on her cheek like a baby's hand--she enjoys a few seconds of her husband's unadulterated approval as he sees his potion working. The birthmark is gone. But--alas! So is his beloved Georgiana! Or was she beloved? It would seem that Aylmer loved only himself, after all. He should have loved his wife unconditionally for her own sake, exactly as God made her. But, no. He had to remake her in his own image, with his own cleverness. He never realized that the life was in the imperfections. Or, shall we say, she was perfect in a metaphysical way that the mad scientist in his arrogance wasn't capable of understanding.

He lost the beauty of what God created because he played God himself. And he failed to see that the flaws God creates are far superior to any kind of perfection man can create. To this, I would say--leave God's Word alone. It is perfect and immortal in a way human arrogance will never understand. If you try in your feverish lust to improve upon it--oh, it doesn't tell enough of this or enough of that--you will destroy its message. That is, your "improved creation" will have no message, while God's Word remains alive! Oh, you might end up "removing the birthmark"--that is, achieving your own ends--but what you will have left is a beautiful corpse because the real beauty was in the reality you couldn't understand. If God has not included the humanity of Jesus to our satisfaction in His Word--is that something we can "correct" with our own secret potion? Or will we kill what we should have loved just as it is?

Just think about it.