The most popular faith-based project to come out of the entertainment industry the past two decades wasn’t made by Hollywood, didn’t initially feature any big-name actors and doesn’t cost a dime to watch.
And if not for a worldwide pandemic that launched it into viral status, you may never have heard its name.
That project, the Bible-based hit series “The Chosen,” soared to mega-popularity during the 2020 pandemic and has reached unprecedented heights for a faith-centric title. It’s graced the cover of TV Guide, climbed to No. 1 at the box office multiple times, landed its lead actor on such mainstream shows as The View and has won the applause of audiences on both the Right and the Left.
No doubt, it also has sparked a debate over a number of issues, including its inclusion of storylines and characters that are not in Scripture.
The series was created by director Dallas Jenkins, an evangelical filmmaker who has said he envisioned a multi-season television show about Jesus that explored Christ’s impact on His disciples.
“This is ultimately designed to help people engage more with Scripture and love Jesus more,” Jenkins recently told host Allen Parr in an hour-long interview for the show “The Beat.” “That’s the hope.”
Jenkins joked, “The book is better than the movie.”
The series includes the major scenes from Jesus’ ministry — the calming of the storm and the raising of Lazarus, for example — but also imagines what the disciples’ lives may have been like as they grew in their faith. (Peter, for example, has a wife named Eden.)
Jenkins — the son of “Left Behind” co-author Jerry Jenkins — told Parr he co-writes the scripts with writers Tyler Thompson and Ryan Swanson. From there, the scripts are checked for theological and historical accuracy by a panel that includes an evangelical professor, a Messianic Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest.
“I want to know: Are there any landmines that I would unintentionally or unnecessarily step on?” Jenkins said.
Addressing criticism
Criticism of the series has centered on three primary issues: 1) its inclusion of storylines and dialogue not in Scripture, 2) Jenkins’ past comments about Mormon friends, and, 3) its use of cast and crew members who hold opposing worldviews and who affirm LGBT pride.
Travis Kerns, a writer and an associational mission strategist for the Three Rivers Baptist Association in Taylors, South Carolina, penned a column for G3 Ministries saying that “’The Chosen’ can be charged with breaking the Second Commandment, removing Scripture as the all-sufficient guide for Christian faith and practice, and ignoring multiple texts concerning the addition and deletion of texts of Scripture.”
Jenkins said he’s “not adding to Scripture because this isn’t Scripture.”
When writing scripts, he said, he and his team ask: “Is this plausible? Could this have happened?” They also ask, he said: “Does it violate the character and intentions of Jesus in the gospels?” If the answer to the last question is “yes,” he said, then they ax the idea.
One goal of the series, Jenkins said, is to show how Jesus transformed the lives of people around Him. To do that, Jenkins said, it is necessary to create plausible storylines of the disciples’ past lives, thus giving viewers a contrast between what he calls the “before” and “after” of a person’s life.
Jenkins’ past comments about Mormon friends have been the source of much controversy. Jenkins told Parr he has had “deep, intense, dozens of hours of conversations” with those LDS friends about theology.
“I’m not speaking about the LDS church, I’m not talking about their formal doctrine or anything like that. I’m talking about some of these LDS friends that I have, do love the same Jesus that I do,” he told Parr.
Last summer, a photo of a small LGBT Pride flag on the set of “The Chosen” caused a stir. It was attached to a camera and — Jenkins said — was the property of the camera operator, who is gay.
The cast and crew is composed of 200-plus people with Christians and non-Christians alike, Jenkins said. “I’m not forcing our organization to have the same exact mission that I do,” he said, adding he also once saw a “MAGA” hat worn by a caterer on set.
Jenkins compared the situation to a church hiring a construction crew.
“We work with anybody who can get this show out to the world,” he said, adding: “I don’t support pride. … I believe in a biblical viewpoint of human sexuality.”
Season 4 in theaters
As Easter approaches, season 4 has launched in theaters and will appear, eventually, on the series’ free platforms (including on “The Chosen” app). Season 5 will spotlight Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, Season 6 the crucifixion and Season 7 the resurrection.
The non-profit ministry Come and See Foundation — a non-profit partner — has a goal of translating the series into 600 languages, which would represent 95% of the world’s population. Season 1 is already in more than 50 languages.
“[It’s] an entry way,” Jenkins said, “into what hopefully can be a deeper relationship with Christ.”
