I didn’t intend to start watching the series The Chosen. That’s because even though I’m a lifelong Christian, I’m not big fan of faith-based entertainment — of neither the movies nor of contemporary Christian music.

Blame it, if you wish, on my roots in the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. We may not be all “bells and smells,” but we use a formal liturgy which involves chanting. Many of us cross ourselves. Our pastor wears full clerical robes, set off by a large crucifix. And the church delves deep into doctrinal weeds, too.

So evangelical entertainment is foreign to me. It’s just not my thing.

But recently I read an article — I believe it was in The Spectator US, although I can’t recall — which said that despite the overall mediocre quality of faith-based movies, this series is really good! Not only that, but a critic for The Atlantic wrote: Take it from a Christian and a critic: The Chosen is as well made and entertaining as many network dramas. 

So I began to stream Season One a few weeks ago, and I became hooked. The Chosen IS that good. The writing and acting are engaging; the characters well-developed (even though they all sport perfect Hollywood teeth). And while the storylines are embellished from Biblical accounts, and the dialogue anachronistic, the series is inspiring to this Christian viewer. I’m starting on Season 3 in the app.

The Chosen and That Pride Flag

You know the saying: no good deed goes unpunished. So while producer/director Dallas Jenkins, an evangelical Christian, is witnessing to his faith by presenting the life of Christ to an ever-secularizing society, there were those who found fault with the series. Only they’re not atheists — these are Christians for whom his project lacks the purity they demand.

They found their target in a small pride flag that one of the filming crew had attached to his camera. Then the kerfuffle went viral across the Twitterverse, thanks largely to one account.

Screenshot/altered: Twitter.

A Twitter user named Jon Root, who calls himself a “Christ-follower,” and “ANTI-WOKE SPORTZ GUY” (yes, in all caps), caught a quick glimpse of the flag in a promo video for Season 4 of The Chosen. So without questioning the reasons why the flag might be there, Root asked his followers to boycott the series:

Christians, just like we boycotted Target & Bud Light, we need to boycott @thechosentv.

The promotion of the Pride Flag is never acceptable in church or any form of ministry. While you boycott & encourage friends/family to do the same, please pray for Dallas Jenkins, the actors/actresses, production crew and everyone at Angel Studios so they may understand the error of their ways

And, just like that, others piled on as well.

Like the Daily Caller, which wrote:

The popular TV show “The Chosen” defended having a pride flag on set after facing criticism on social media ….

Director Dallas Jenkins told the Caller:

I love our cast and crew, especially because even though they all come from different backgrounds and beliefs, they work their butts off for the show and the viewers. The show’s official stance on anything is to be found in the content of the show.

But that wasn’t good enough for Jon Root, who responded at the Caller:

The response showed that The Chosen unapologetically supports sexual depravity and has no problem promoting homosexuality & transgenderism. Promoting and accepting unrepentant sin is not the way Jesus lived or taught His followers to live.

Then, because a few of the actors defended the cameraman who affixed the flag to his equipment, Cheryl Magness (and fellow Missouri Synod Lutheran) wrote in The Federalist:

But right now, I’m not sure if I can go back. If I don’t, it won’t be because I have decided to join a boycott. It will be because watching simply makes me too sad.   

Defending The Chosen

Dallas Jenkins’s response to the critics was indeed pretty weak tea. So he took to YouTube in a 19-minute video to defend his employees and his project, and to tell critics that we’re not a ministry. The Chosen is a business, and like businesses everywhere, you want the best you can hire. He added that he answers to God, not social media.

Moreover, Jeremy Boreing, the Christian CEO of the Daily Wire, apologized for the “disgusting” hit piece the publication ran:

This is a disgusting piece and I’m sorry we ran it. A show like The Chosen has 100+ employees. One of them brought a pride flag to work. That sucks, but it’s hardly the fault of the show. 

The producer’s response also sucks, but it isn’t untrue. There is no ‘you don’t have to hire gay people if you don’t agree with homosexuality’ allowance in US labor law.

Boreing added that the article “reeks of purity death spiral politics;” in other words:

“… unless you are perfect — as defined by the ever-and-rapidly changing sensibilities of the moment, you aren’t even good.”

(As an aside: I wonder if Trump defenders who excuse his unChristian antics with, “I’m voting for a president, not a pastor” are some of the same people castigating The Chosen. Just asking.)

John Nantz at Townhall also wrote in defense:

Christians are called to minister to a fallen world, and the workplace is a field that is ripe for harvest. Dallas should be commended for his willingness to work with anyone, so long as the goal of producing Christ-honoring content is achieved ….

The Chosen is inspirational, moving, at times profound. But, it’s not the Bible, and it’s not a Christian ministry. It’s something rare in our time. It’s an honest, faithful look at the fully human, fully God Jesus of Nazareth, and the incredibly flawed men and women who were his closest disciples. Rightly, this show is loved because people know it springs from a love of Christ and for all the people He still seeks to save. 

Amen.

Jon Root Has Some ‘Splainin’ to Do

On June 3, Jon Root, the ANTI-WOKE SPORTZ GUY, tweeted a challenge to Dallas Jenkins:

If you haven’t changed, does that mean you’ve always been ok with symbols of sodomy & displays of ideologies that are antithetical to the authentic Christ you claim to present and His Word? I hope that question is answered by Dallas Jenkins tomorrow…

But perhaps we can get an explanation from Jon Root about these tweets he made praising the HBO series Game of Thrones:

#GameofThrones was so epic!

I’m so pumped #GameofThrones is back that I’m watching the premiere again.

#GameofThrones just blew me away … 

#GameofThrones just delivered what may be one of the greatest season finales in TV history. Mind blowing 60 min rollercoaster ride.

John Nantz, who revealed these tweets, wrote:

Root expressed his admiration for the show which features nudity, homosexuality, fornication, incest, and pedophilia. 

Hmm, what did Jesus say about Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone? 

Oops. And if Root decides to delete those past tweets — well, the internet is forever, isn’t it?

I agree with Nantz when he wrote that The Chosen is “having an impact on our culture for good — a feat in our increasingly secularized and self-centered society.” And I will continue to watch this amazing series.

Featured image: DTKindler Photo/flickr/cropped/CC BY 2.0.