To avoid any unnecessary and unhappy skerfuffling let me be clear up front: I have NO objections to someone watching “The Chosen”. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch. If I thought anyone cared what the Greek word for “no” is I’d type that here too. Ok, ok, it’s “ouk”. The Greek word for “no” is “ouk”. I have “ouk” objections to anyone watching The Chosen. So, sincerely, if you’re interested, watch away.
But I do have an objection if you are watching The Chosen with an uninformed conscience. In other words, you need to do some homework before you watch. Just as a responsible parent will do a little homework before they let their children watch the next Disney movie. We want to know what we’re getting into.
The Chosen is available on VidAngel, a service designed to help protect your family from inappropriate content in your entertainment. The service was founded by Neal Harmon, a professing Mormon.
Obviously, the Chosen’s connection to a Mormon owned entertainment service has raised some questions for the creators of The Chosen, especially Dallas Jenkins. Jenkins himself is not a Mormon. He calls himself an “evangelical Christian” (he is the son of Jerry Jenkins, creator of the “Left Behind” series) and explains he does have “theological differences” with his Mormon friends.
Ok. So far there’s nothing to freak out about. I agree with Mormons about some things. I could be a happy “co-belligerent” with a Mormon friend over Hollywood garbage. In that regard, our interests would be aligned.
But here’s the next thing you should know about Dallas Jenkins’ views. He doesn’t think the differences between Mormons and Christians are that important. In the interview below he refers to his Mormon friends as his “brothers and sisters” and goes so far as to say that Mormons and Christians, despite some theological differences “love the same Jesus.” The relevant portion of this interview starts at 9:40 and ends around 10:45 (about a minute’s worth).
So, let’s unpack this:
First of all, saying that Mormons and Christians have some “theological differences” is like saying there are some differences between gourmet steak and gas station burritos. “Uh…yeah…we all know there’s a difference and it’s a pretty big one! Which brings us to Jesus.”
So, second of all, we, most emphatically, do not love the same Jesus. The Jesus that Mormons believe in:
- Was not born of a virgin
- Is not God
- Is created – not eternal
- Is the spirit-brother of Lucifer
There are more differences…but this seems like plenty. I’m reminded here that Dallas is really talking just like Israel did when they built the golden calf. Remember what Aaron said?
“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4).
So, notice the problem here: Aaron was not leading the people of Israel to worship a god by another name, like Baal Asherah or Oprah. The problem was that he was trying to represent the true God as something other than what he actually was. He was saying these golden calfs are the same as Yahweh. And it was this failure that almost cost them their lives right there and then.
So, you may not see anything in the Chosen that is explicitly false. Personally, I don’t know what the show is like. I haven’t watched it because I honestly just prefer my “Jesus diet” to come straight from the page. But, if you do watch it please be aware that it’s being presented to you by someone who either is dangerously misled about the differences between Mormonism and Christians OR is too cowardly to confront the false teachers that have given his show a larger platform.
Jenkins says in the interview that he will “sink or swim” on the statement that Christians and Mormons love the same Jesus. So, let me close with a plea to Mr. Jenkins. Please, friend: swim out of those waters before you sink.
Joyful Orthodoxy 