I think the creative choices they are making and the embellishments to back stories are a crucial part of what makes the show stand out among other Christian media (not to mention the stellar performances, music, and dialogue). It honestly enhances my vision of these Biblical figures by making them more human and complex. Great review.
I've only seen the first season and I liked it very much. My catholic taste is not at odds with the view of Jesus and his mother and disciples. Thanks for this review.
Disagree strongly, and you totally lost me in your disregard and gross misrepresentation of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth. Your lengthy (but well-done) defense only adds fuel to those who say this series is an addendum to Sacred Scripture. You might as well use The Da Vinci Code or Conclave movies as your catechism. The problem is that people start believing the exaggerations or truth stretching. Furthermore, the cult-like following only fuels peoples’ embrace of irreverence. Yes, Jesus was 100% human but also, last time I heard, also 100% God. I am glad for Angel Studios but not this.
Article author here. I think a charity check is in order here. In matters of taste, we can disagree without assailing the quality of someone's faith. Zeffirelli's Jesus did not appeal to me personally, but Jenkin's Jesus does, and it is entirely fine if the reverse is true for you. It strikes me as unfair to equate the Chosen with overtly anti-Catholic films like the Da Vinci Code and Conclave when the Chosen goes out of its way to be ecumenical and provides arguably much to bolster the Catholic imagination to anyone willing to give credit where it is due. Jenkins goes out of his way to remind his audience that the show is no replacement for Scripture and we should all go to the source. I can attest that the show has brought lukewarm members of my family to an increased love of the Scriptures and relationship with Christ by sparking their imaginative faculties with love for the life of Jesus and His followers, so I do not see a credulous acceptance of "exaggerations" and "truth-stretching" which I do not grant the show is doing. Even the Gospels are accused of truth-stretching for artistically re-ordering and organizing the life of Christ in valid ways proper to the mode of historical biographies at that time. So too does Christian art take liberties to portray the life of Christ in the modern mode of film without malicious intent. People who believe the show to be a 1-to-1 match with Scripture are poorly catechized and this is not difficult to remedy if it arises, which is rare because most viewers are Christians of some stripe anyway with background knowledge and a pre-commitment to faith. All sacred art on some level takes liberties. I find the cult-like following accusation fits certain non-denominational fans but hardly the Catholic audiences who do not revere Jenkin's as a theological authority since it's no secret he's not Catholic. There is a love for Jonathan Roumie (Jesus), since he is Catholic, but that is more around the way Catholics revere Jim Caviezal for acting and his personal piety, but nothing more. If you think emphasizing Christ's humanity is inherently irreverent, you fail to honor the full scope of the mystery of the incarnation.
As a Catholic, I endorse this series and have contributed to its production in the hope that they reach their goal of seven seasons.
It is clear to me that, in order to have enough content for an endeavor of this sort, the producers have to create backstories for the characters, given the paucity of background material available in Scriptures and apostolic tradition. I've never, however, seen any character portrayed in a disrespectful manner.
The series also places more emphasis on Jesus' human nature while not obscuring His divinity.
There have been many moments that brought me to tears but the one that really 'gets me' is the one where Nicodemus, after realizing who Jesus really is, can nonetheless not give up his 'world' to follow Him (i.e. the scene at the fountain when he left a purse of money for the disciples).
I also enjoyed Jesus' humor, to wit: the scene at the wedding at Cana where Jesus said that not even He could cure James' two left feet!
I think "charity check" is always needed when artists/dramatists set out to portray Jesus. Roumie himself made clear that he couldn't play Jesus; it could only work as an actor's labor of love & devotion. ...It's ultimately impossible to reconcile everything the the gospels - we're saved from error but never arrive. As an artists, I've learned to be very forgiving when people wrestle with a man who could eat nothing for 40 days, speak about the end of the world, speak well of prostitutes & tax collectors to Pharisees, joke about logs in people's eyes, um...destroy death, absolutely fall to pieces in the garden of Gethsemane, prefers becoming like a child rather than the greatest among men, & probably was a fun, sociable guy like in the Chosen...it's too much to embody or encapsulate in someone's work.
The Chosen is currently my favorite TV show that I have ever seen and I am confident that it will remain so when it is done. It makes the events of the Gospels as groundbreaking and alive and extraordinary as they must have been back in Jesus' ministry 2000 years ago. This is not a replacement for Sacred Scripture, of course, but a brilliant addendum to them. Great job on this article!
Episcopalian here. I agree w/ most of your critique of Protestants' critiques!
...but naturally, I wish Jenkins had gone where he couldn't possibly have gone, re the "Centurion" (Gaius) and his "slave." Rather than 1st c. Palestine, he made their relationship look like early 19th c. Texas! (where filmed. And I refer to Gaius's slave appearing as a chattel-slavery son). Whereas the more *realistic* perspective was that the Centurion's slave was not a son, but body-servant, i.e., same-sex *lover*. I live in hope for THIS portrayal, someday...
Good review. We watched Season 1 so far and enjoyed it. The scene with Jesus and Nicodemus was moving, among others.
Is (Eric Avari's) Nicodemus not going to appear again? I miss him---and it seems like he should be around for, um, "Holy Week".
I think the creative choices they are making and the embellishments to back stories are a crucial part of what makes the show stand out among other Christian media (not to mention the stellar performances, music, and dialogue). It honestly enhances my vision of these Biblical figures by making them more human and complex. Great review.
I've only seen the first season and I liked it very much. My catholic taste is not at odds with the view of Jesus and his mother and disciples. Thanks for this review.
Disagree strongly, and you totally lost me in your disregard and gross misrepresentation of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth. Your lengthy (but well-done) defense only adds fuel to those who say this series is an addendum to Sacred Scripture. You might as well use The Da Vinci Code or Conclave movies as your catechism. The problem is that people start believing the exaggerations or truth stretching. Furthermore, the cult-like following only fuels peoples’ embrace of irreverence. Yes, Jesus was 100% human but also, last time I heard, also 100% God. I am glad for Angel Studios but not this.
Article author here. I think a charity check is in order here. In matters of taste, we can disagree without assailing the quality of someone's faith. Zeffirelli's Jesus did not appeal to me personally, but Jenkin's Jesus does, and it is entirely fine if the reverse is true for you. It strikes me as unfair to equate the Chosen with overtly anti-Catholic films like the Da Vinci Code and Conclave when the Chosen goes out of its way to be ecumenical and provides arguably much to bolster the Catholic imagination to anyone willing to give credit where it is due. Jenkins goes out of his way to remind his audience that the show is no replacement for Scripture and we should all go to the source. I can attest that the show has brought lukewarm members of my family to an increased love of the Scriptures and relationship with Christ by sparking their imaginative faculties with love for the life of Jesus and His followers, so I do not see a credulous acceptance of "exaggerations" and "truth-stretching" which I do not grant the show is doing. Even the Gospels are accused of truth-stretching for artistically re-ordering and organizing the life of Christ in valid ways proper to the mode of historical biographies at that time. So too does Christian art take liberties to portray the life of Christ in the modern mode of film without malicious intent. People who believe the show to be a 1-to-1 match with Scripture are poorly catechized and this is not difficult to remedy if it arises, which is rare because most viewers are Christians of some stripe anyway with background knowledge and a pre-commitment to faith. All sacred art on some level takes liberties. I find the cult-like following accusation fits certain non-denominational fans but hardly the Catholic audiences who do not revere Jenkin's as a theological authority since it's no secret he's not Catholic. There is a love for Jonathan Roumie (Jesus), since he is Catholic, but that is more around the way Catholics revere Jim Caviezal for acting and his personal piety, but nothing more. If you think emphasizing Christ's humanity is inherently irreverent, you fail to honor the full scope of the mystery of the incarnation.
As a Catholic, I endorse this series and have contributed to its production in the hope that they reach their goal of seven seasons.
It is clear to me that, in order to have enough content for an endeavor of this sort, the producers have to create backstories for the characters, given the paucity of background material available in Scriptures and apostolic tradition. I've never, however, seen any character portrayed in a disrespectful manner.
The series also places more emphasis on Jesus' human nature while not obscuring His divinity.
There have been many moments that brought me to tears but the one that really 'gets me' is the one where Nicodemus, after realizing who Jesus really is, can nonetheless not give up his 'world' to follow Him (i.e. the scene at the fountain when he left a purse of money for the disciples).
I also enjoyed Jesus' humor, to wit: the scene at the wedding at Cana where Jesus said that not even He could cure James' two left feet!
I think "charity check" is always needed when artists/dramatists set out to portray Jesus. Roumie himself made clear that he couldn't play Jesus; it could only work as an actor's labor of love & devotion. ...It's ultimately impossible to reconcile everything the the gospels - we're saved from error but never arrive. As an artists, I've learned to be very forgiving when people wrestle with a man who could eat nothing for 40 days, speak about the end of the world, speak well of prostitutes & tax collectors to Pharisees, joke about logs in people's eyes, um...destroy death, absolutely fall to pieces in the garden of Gethsemane, prefers becoming like a child rather than the greatest among men, & probably was a fun, sociable guy like in the Chosen...it's too much to embody or encapsulate in someone's work.
The Chosen is currently my favorite TV show that I have ever seen and I am confident that it will remain so when it is done. It makes the events of the Gospels as groundbreaking and alive and extraordinary as they must have been back in Jesus' ministry 2000 years ago. This is not a replacement for Sacred Scripture, of course, but a brilliant addendum to them. Great job on this article!
Episcopalian here. I agree w/ most of your critique of Protestants' critiques!
...but naturally, I wish Jenkins had gone where he couldn't possibly have gone, re the "Centurion" (Gaius) and his "slave." Rather than 1st c. Palestine, he made their relationship look like early 19th c. Texas! (where filmed. And I refer to Gaius's slave appearing as a chattel-slavery son). Whereas the more *realistic* perspective was that the Centurion's slave was not a son, but body-servant, i.e., same-sex *lover*. I live in hope for THIS portrayal, someday...