Cary and Cooper in their podcast have recently had “The Chosen” in their sights. The Chosen is a recent dramatization of the life of Jesus which has been hugely successful. Like most historical dramatisations, it blends specific historical data (in the case, events and words from the four Gospels) with imagined, or let’s suppose script.
I want to pick up here on some of the arguments they use in their objections. Now, it might be the case that Cooper and Cary are correct in their conclusions, there certainly are some issues with the series and so it may be unwise to watch it, I’ll come back to that later. However, I’m not convinced that the podcast series helps us to think this through.
So, first of all, Cooper and Cary state from the outset that Cooper hasn’t watched any of the episodes whilst, Cary has watched part of one episode. They did not feel comfortable with the idea of watching the series primarily because of the potential for breaking the Ten Commandments in relation to idolatry and images. There may be something in that, we’ll come back to that later but what it means is that a lot of their comments arise out of ignorance about what the programme attempts to do and how. Now, you don’t need to watch or partake in something to know that it is wrong for a central reason but to attempt to critique the detailed aspects of it seems to me to be a bit of a stretch.
The second thing they refer to a couple of times is the urban myth which went around that the show was produced by Mormons. That’s not a great way of building an argument, in effect, instead of engaging with the issues, you distract with a slur. The truth is that the original writers were a Catholic, a Messianic Jew and an evangelical. Now, some of us might struggle with some of the contributions there and some of us might think this sounds like the start of a joke but what it doesn’t amount to is “produced by the LDS.” The show was produced in a secular context for mainstream TV and this means that there were individuals and companies involved in the production wo were non-Christians as well as those who were Christians. This included one company owned by Mormons but is very different from it being a Mormon production with the implication that it promotes Latter Day Saint’s teaching.[1]
Thirdly, Cary and Cooper complain that “The Chosen” jumps around the chronology. They argue that it doesn’t follow the order of any one of the Gospels. Their view is that it would have been better to dramatize each Gospel individually. Now, fascinatingly, they are quick to accuse the show of being theologically naïve in this regard and even suggest that the mixing of chronology is somehow distorting the story. However, they seem to have forgotten that each Gospel orders accounts differently and even varies how the account of a single event is told. That’s right, there isn’t an original chronology in the Gospels to be played around with. The aim of the Gospel writers was not to do this but rather to structure their particular accounts in order to fulfil a specific purpose.
There are a few times in the podcast where Cary and Cooper are dismissive of the show producers, accusing them of being theologically or Biblically naïve. For example, Cary also bemoans a pre-credits scene where Joshua disagrees with Moses about whether the bronze serpent will be effective. Cary’s issue is that he could not imagine Joshua saying something like that because Joshua was a type of Christ. Carey seems to have forgotten the numerous occasions when those OT types of Christ including Abraham, David and yes Joshua too manage to say and do foolish things that are far from Christlike. Those types were “like Jesus” but also “unlike Jesus” because Christ is the true and better Moses, Joshua, Abraham and David.
Remember that the main premise of Cary and Cooper’s discomfort is what the Law has to say about making images. Fascinatingly, their argument here is not entirely conclusive. Making images of other gods to worship is clearly forbidden, reducing Christ to an image is also to turn him into a false god if we worship that image. Is The Chosen doing that? Well, that’s clearly not the intent. Indeed, those involved in creating The Chosen talk about how “The book is always better than the movie.” Their desire is to get people reading their Bibles and discovering the real Jesus there,
However, idolatry is not just about those who make the images but also those who use them and the makers are responsible for how their graven images are used. I think it is at this point that Cary and Cooper have potentially a reasonable point, although they don’t state it as explicitly as they could. It is possible to watch The Chosen, or indeed The Jesus Film or The Passion of Christ or a Sunday School drama and think “that was a fascinating and interesting dramatisation” and because of it be encouraged to dig deeper into what the Bible has to say so that you get a true picture of Christ and hear him speak to you. However, it also possible to stop at the film or paly, to allow the images you see to become the final and enduring image you have of Jesus, If you do the latter, then yes, you’ve created and worshipped an idol.
So, I would encourage you to use something like The Chosen with discernment. I wouldn’t discourage you from watching it. However, remember, it is a dramatized retelling, it’s not Scripture, it’s a “let’s suppose that…” kind of exercise. So watch with discernment and with your Bible open.
[1] Faith Bible Church | Is “The Chosen” Produced by Mormons? (fbchurch.org)
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