Honest Christian Conversations
A weekly podcast dealing with cultural and spiritual issues within the Christian faith.
Want to be a guest on Honest Christian Conversations? Send Ana Murby a message on PodMatch, here: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/honestchristianconversations
Honest Christian Conversations
What's Wrong With The Chosen?
What if some of your everyday practices were unknowingly leading you away from the core of your Christian faith? Join me as I unravel the complexities and controversies surrounding spiritual practices and media that may challenge conventional Christian beliefs.
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Listen to Past Episodes about Prophecy, the Word of Faith Movement and Yoga:
https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/do-the-sign-gifts-still-exist/
https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/a-rebuttal-to-the-end-of-sign-gifts/
https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/do-you-have-enough-faith/
https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/is-the-prosperity-gospel-worth-the-investment/
https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/why-do-christians-defend-yoga/
Link for Season Four Resources: https://www.honestchristianconversations.com/p/season-four/
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Want to Be a Guest on Honest Christian Conversations?
Send Ana Murby a message on PodMatch: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/honestchristianconversations
Hey friends, welcome to the second to the last episode of season four. I'm so glad you are here for this explosive episode. If you tuned in to this episode because of the title, I am sure you are listening to this with your pitchforks and torches in hand. But before you hunt me down, listen to the full episode. I am sure what I have to say will surprise you. If not, you can hunt me down like I'm Frankenstein's monster. I get it. Sometimes hearing someone come against something we love is hard. This wasn't an easy episode for me to record. I dreaded it because I know how beloved this show is, but sometimes we must do difficult things to help people see the truth. Before we start, stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear some exciting announcements about the podcast. Let's get to it Before the episode starts. Make sure you follow the show so you never miss another episode.
Speaker 1:As I mentioned before, I have dreaded diving into these topics I plan to discuss today, because I know they can be hot topic buttons, even more so than the yoga episode was. But alas, here I am kicking and screaming, ready to share my findings with you. So let's get started. If you haven't been living under a rock. I am sure you have heard of one or more of these Reiki Enneagram, the Shack Jesus Calling a Christian Ouija board. Yes, you did not hear that wrong. I said a Christian Ouija board and the Chosen, okay. Okay, I can hear you right now. Oh, what is wrong with her? Why is she bringing the chosen in with those other things? That may not be good? Or maybe you just see all those things and you have no idea what is wrong with them, aside from the Christian Ouija board. Are you kidding? That whole phrase is just wrong. We'll dive into that a little bit. It does not need a whole bunch of talking about. Clearly, if you know anything of what a Ouija board is, putting Christian in front of it is just wrong. Anyways, I have done a lot of research on everything I'm going to talk about.
Speaker 1:All the links will be in the show notes so you can find all this information. Do some digging yourself and get involved in the conversation. If you don't agree with something that was said, there's two links in the show notes. Leave me a message or leave me a voicemail. You can send me something and tell me what you think. Please do it in a nice, godly way, because, again, I did not really want to do this episode, but I feel I would be remiss if I did not take the time to talk about these things in a season where we're talking about issues within the Christian faith that are culturally and spiritually wrong, within the Christian faith that are culturally and spiritually wrong, so it would not have been wise of me to let this go unnoticed.
Speaker 1:We're going to start with the easy one, which, as I said, is the Christian Ouija board. Christian Ouija board yes, this is a thing I have placed the link to where you can find it on Amazon. Please do not buy it for any reason. I am not endorsing you to buy it. I just want you to see that this is an actual thing. I am not entirely sure if it is a troll, but it is a thing you can buy, and I really didn't dive deep enough to see if the person who made this is trolling Christians or people in general, mocking or whatever.
Speaker 1:I really have no clue other than the fact that this is called a Christian Ouija board. Here's what it says as the product description, and it says the Holy Spirit board can answer all of life's most important questions straight from the man himself. It's a huge 12 by 18 game board with beautiful artwork featuring the crucifixion and the angels of heaven. It's beautiful gold magic cross planchette with metallic neared finish. It's perfect for churches, prayer groups or just getting together with friends. Unlike other spirit boards, this one will never contact evil ghosts or demons, so you can ask your questions with an assured sense of safety. Does that not sound like a troll? But this is something you can buy on Amazon and even if it was a troll, it's still a Ouija board. I have heard some horror stories of what has happened when people use those. It is a demonic tool, so would you really want to buy it and find out if it was a troll or not? Hopefully the answer to that is no, all right. So that's enough of that weirdness.
Speaker 1:We're going to move on to Jesus Calling and the Shack. These are books. The Shack is actually a movie as well, but they're both books. I have read a little bit of Jesus Calling, but it's been a long time. I never read the Shack, never watched the Shack. It just didn't seem interesting to me.
Speaker 1:I've been listening to Doreen Virtue and for those who have listened to some of my past episodes, you've probably heard me mention her and what she does. She used to be a new ager. She used to be into psychic things, witchcraft, all the things. So she knows a little something, something about what you should and shouldn't do in regards to the spiritual world and realm. So you should follow her channel on YouTube if this is something that interests you a lot. She's very knowledgeable in all this.
Speaker 1:So she starts an opening statement for one of her videos that I listened to about Jesus Calling in the shack, and the video is called Proof that Jesus Calling is New Age. She says the Jesus Calling books is a Trojan horse that the devil uses to deceive professing Christians. These books make you feel warm and fuzzy, but they are not from Jesus and they are not biblical devotionals end quote. She goes on to mention how the author, the late Sarah Young, had sincerely believed that she was channeling Jesus. But, as Doreen Virtue points out many times in a lot of her videos, channeling is a very New Age sort of thing. It's a witchcraft form, it's something that psychics do, and she also points out in this video how these books have dark and demonic New Age beliefs and are similar to some New Age books she used to channel when she was in those practices. So again, she knows her stuff. She knows what she's talking about. She mentions so much in this video. The link will be in the show notes if you want to listen to what she has to say.
Speaker 1:She also talks in the video about how Sarah Young had Bible citations at the bottom of each page, which you'd think would be good news, but it's not, and Doreen explains, quote if you actually go to the Bible and read those verses, you see that they have little to nothing to do with that Jesus calling page and their channeled message. That's crazy. She's just throwing Bible verses out and apparently not taking the time to look at the connection between what she's saying Jesus channeled to her and what the Bible actually says. We can't be so blind that we don't recognize the deceptions. We have to know what the Bible says and understand it for ourselves. We can't just trust that people who have Jesus on the front cover or talk a good game about God actually are telling us the truth. You can see deception. Sometimes it could be right in your face and you don't know it's deception. So this is really crazy, scary stuff she says.
Speaker 1:Quote the Jesus Calling books twist scripture and contradict what Jesus said in the gospels. End quote In the words of the late great crocodile hunter Steve Irwin Danger danger, danger. Sorry, I used to be a big Steve Irwin fan. Side note I was very sad and heartbroken when he died, but let's not get off track here. She continues, quote Shockingly, sarah Young also significantly changed what her so-called Jesus said in the original Jesus Calling book In the later book printings, following criticism about her inaccuracies.
Speaker 1:End quote. Isn't that a little suspicious to you? She changed some stuff, but I thought she was hearing a channeled message from God. If that's the case, you're not supposed to change it. I mean, go back to some of the past episodes we had the ones with Chad Wagner where he's talking about the prophets and that they had messages. You're not supposed to take things out of context. You're not supposed to add or subtract to the word of God. If you're claiming to be a prophet and somebody who's hearing from God, you should probably stick to what God said. You should not change it just because you got criticisms. So that is highly suspicious.
Speaker 1:In my book Now, doreen goes on to mention that she realizes many people, mostly women, have emotional attachments to this book. Why, like I said I've read it. It's been a while, but when I read it it felt a little too gushy mushy for me. Jesus is meant to be our God, not our spouse, and the way she was talking about him in the books just felt a little too mushy-gushy. Like some of the worship songs we sing. They sound a little too romantic for me to sing to my heavenly father who died on the cross for my sins. He's not my boyfriend, he's my God, he's my savior, he's my everything. I love a good rom-com, but not featuring Jesus as the main character, and I don't want to be his love interest in that sense. That's not how he loves us, not as a boyfriend-girlfriend situation. Doreen says about the emotional attachments, quote my issue is that many women are getting their theology from Jesus Calling rather than the Bible, are getting their theology from Jesus' calling rather than the Bible.
Speaker 1:Each page offers a devotional given as if it was Jesus talking, end quote. Nothing should ever take the place of reading the Bible. If you have not figured that out, that that is the topic du jour for this whole season so far, let me lay it out plain for you right now Nothing should ever take the place of reading our Bible for ourselves. It is the living word of God and you should treasure that above anything else that you read, period. Now, if you have never read Jesus Calling, don't, you don't have to. I'm saving you time. You don't have to read it If you have.
Speaker 1:Think about how many times the gospel is shared and when it talks about how sinful and in need of a savior you are. Oh wait, oh wait. Yeah, that's right, it doesn't do that. Oh, I forgot. I'm so sorry, guys. It's very annoying and very terrible that people are not sharing the gospel in their books that they claim are coming from Jesus. The gospel is Jesus. Jesus is the gospel.
Speaker 1:So why are they not bringing that up, that we are sinful and in need of a savior who died on the cross for our sins? Why does it have to be super mushy, gushy, lovey-dovey? You're an awesome person all the time. You don't need to change. That is wrong. It doesn't make sense to me, and this book is really a man-centered theology. It's toxic and it's a rampant thing. That's all over the place. We are led by feelings, our experiences and affirmations and we have no business saying that we are enough because we are not, and this book teaches that you are enough, that Jesus loves you, which is true. But if you read it, does it tell you that you need to repent for your sins first? Does it tell you that you have sins, that you have need for a Savior and that if you don't ask Him into your heart and don't repent, that you will go to hell? Does this book tell you that? From what I read, no, All I got was mushy, gushy, lovey feelings and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that's not what the gospel does. The Bible cuts through sword and spirit, bone and marrow. It's a gnarly concept of graphic violence. It's not a pillow fight with a fluffy pillow and you're sitting there giggling and laughing. That's not what it is. That's not how the Bible is supposed to hit. That's not how the gospel is supposed to hit. It's supposed to hit us in a way where we realize our need for a savior.
Speaker 1:All right, moving on to the shack, in this part I'm going to be referencing the video that Doreen Virtue did with Pastor Chris Quintana on YouTube. It was called False Christ of the Chosen, jesus Calling and the Shack, and I know they just lumped the chosen in with Jesus Calling and the Shack. But stay tuned Again. I'm not discussing the chosen quite yet, we're just sticking with the shack for right now. She starts her discussion about the shack by summing it up, quote it makes a mess of the whole Trinity, end quote. Why would you want to read something that's going to do that? Why would you want to watch a movie that's going to confuse the truth?
Speaker 1:Pastor Quintana says, quote the same thing we see with the chosen happens with the whole Trinity in the shack. It took a step further and played games with gender, making them so unbelievably folksy. It robbed them of who and what they were. It should have been the ringing bell that people looked at and said something was wrong, but people just let their guard down end quote. Okay, like I said, I never watched the Shack. I never read the Shack, so I'm going off of what they said. As people who have read it and probably watched it.
Speaker 1:All I'm going to say is read your Bible, know what the scripture says and exercise discernment about the books you read and the movies you watch. If it does not paint the correct picture of who the Trinity is, why would you care about it? I know I'm kind of just giving a little rundown of all these different things. Again, all the links to everything that I am referring to is in the show notes. They go super in-depth on each of these topics but I don't have that kind of time with this episode. I'm just giving you a little bit of the meats and potatoes of it. So if you want the full enchilada meal deal, you're going to have to do some digging on your own in whichever subject you choose to deal with.
Speaker 1:Now we're going to go on to Reiki, and again I reference a lot of Doreen Virtue for this and also some of Melissa Doherty, who was involved in New Thought and thought for a long time that she was involved in New Age until she realized it was New Thought. If you don't know what New Thought is, that is a whole different pony. I'm not going to ride that one today, but you can always go to Melissa Doherty's channel, find one of her videos and she'll talk about it. She just wrote a book about it as well. So Doreen and Melissa have a video they did together several years ago. It was called quote why Christians Should Avoid Reiki and Energy Healing. End quote.
Speaker 1:Doreen Virtue was a Reiki master who taught courses in Ireland and California. Reiki courses involve being shown quote unquote secret wisdom. Doreen says it appeals to the sinful nature of humanity. This desire to know something special that you think is hidden wisdom is not available to everyone Now.
Speaker 1:Reiki uses energy to heal people, but what source do they draw it from? They have abstract symbols. Doreen reminds us that Jesus never used symbols to heal. Reiki energy sessions are repetitive. Doreen reminds us that Jesus didn't model that for us. He healed people and that would be it. Look at all the different healings that Jesus did. He said it, it happened. End of discussion. They didn't have to come back and get another healing Now, in this video, melissa Doherty asks what are the symbols for and what do they represent, and Doreen says they are gateways and door openings for different levels of Reiki energy. Doreen mentions how she felt pulsating energy while she was practicing this and she follows up with quote where is the source? If it's not from God, then it's from what is not God, which is the devil, and I wouldn't trust it or recommend it. End quote. Chronic healing and chakra clearing are two examples of different modes of energy healing.
Speaker 1:When you do Reiki, you try to visualize your healing, which is manifesting, and word of faith movement which, as you already know if you listen to the episodes with Chad Wagner and my good friend, desiree Taylor, these things are not good to be practicing and this makes you trust in yourself and your body, which is a form of idolatry and worship which, if you've read the Bible, read the Ten Commandments, these things are no-nos, big no-nos. So, yeah, the Bible does not ask us to heal ourselves. We are told to ask Jesus for healing. He is our healer, he is our savior, he is our everything. Apart from him, we can do nothing that includes healing ourselves. All right, let's move on to the Enneagram.
Speaker 1:If you have done this before, I'm not judging you for that. I am simply sharing information that I just recently learned. These are things that I have just started scratching the surface of, or just learned or understood, within 2024 to now 2025. Okay, so this is not like I've known this all along and I'm judging people who have done this. A lot of the stuff that we talked about throughout this whole season so far, I have done, I have been involved in for many years and I'm just coming out of it, okay. So do not think I'm on some high pedestal here, judging you for anything, because I am not at all. This is not what this is. This is meant to help you. These are things that I wish I had known ages ago so I could have been out of a lot of this stuff before and not been in legalistic bondage to them or any sort of bondage to them. I want to be free in Christ. That is what I want for you too. So that is why I am doing this.
Speaker 1:No judgment if you have done this, if you don't agree and you keep doing what you do, you've got the knowledge. Do with it what you plan to, but that will be between you and God. I am not here to judge you if you have done any of these things. So I mean, ages ago, when I was pregnant with one of my children, someone came in. This was way before I even knew what Reiki was. But they came in and said, do you want to have Reiki while you're in labor? And I was like, okay, whatever, maybe it'll help. I had no idea what it was, didn't feel anything. I was still in a lot of pain, so, but that was ages ago. That was like probably four, four children ago, three children ago, I can't remember. It's been a while. But yeah, so I am not judging anybody for any of the stuff that you have may taken a part of.
Speaker 1:All right, with that disclaimer out of the way, we are going to go into the Enneagram. Doreen Virtue has a nine-minute video on YouTube called, quote, why the Myers-Briggs is just as bad as the Enneagram. End quote. She discusses her reasons for making this claim and explains why she doesn't like the Enneagram test too. So if that is something you are interested in, again, the link for it will be in the show notes. You can listen to the whole thing, but here's a little snippet of some of what she says about the Myers-Briggs test. That's what we're talking about first, and then we'll go into the Enneagram itself. Doreen Virtue says, quote self-glorification turns the spotlight on ourselves and not on Jesus and the gospel.
Speaker 1:It also came out of an automatic writing and the occult by a man who boasted that he got the message from channeling spirits. He didn't even care. He was contacting demons and spirits. He was open about it, end quote. That's your Myers-Briggs test folks. The guy clearly states that he was channeling demonic spirits. For that information, and for those who don't know what automatic writing is, I don't know enough about it. I know it's an occult practice and I followed Jen Miza, who is a former psychic, and she said she did a lot of that kind of stuff too. You can find information about that. I'm sure it'll tell you. But just be careful where you're going to get that information, because you don't want to get sucked into anything like that.
Speaker 1:People turn to the Myers-Briggs as an alternative because of their issues with the Enneagram, but Doreen says quote Myers-Briggs is just as bad, maybe worse than the Enneagram. End quote there's a whole bunch more to it. It's a nine-minute video. If you really want to know more, feel free to listen. It was a very good and educational episode, but I can't focus all on that. So one of the problems with Myers-Briggs and Enneagram is that you can see the questions and answers according and you answer according to what you would like to be rather than who you are, which, if you've ever taken any sort of personality test, I think we all have done this at least once you know like what Harry Potter house do you want to be in. That's an example that I'm going to use.
Speaker 1:When I was into Harry Potter, I really liked Slytherin, and I'll tell you the reason why was because I found the guy who played Malfoy very handsome and that fueled my whole desire to love Slytherin. So I had Slytherin clothing, I had Slytherin whatever I could get. But whenever I took a personality test that said, what house are you in, it was always Gryffindor. If I answered according to who I am, and that always irritated me, I was like, oh, I would rather be a Slytherin Guys. I was doing this, I was an adult, what's wrong with me? Anyways? So I would change my answers to the way that I knew I would get into Slytherin, which, for the most part, those things were not things that I would even do.
Speaker 1:But that's what that means you change what you would answer according to what you would like to be, not who you are, which means it's not really telling you your personality or anything. Is it? Because it's fake, doreen tells us the Myers-Briggs background quote. It's not a psychological test that was born in a lab with a committee of behavioral scientists and tested on the general population. No, it is actually based on an occultist and heretic Carl Jung End quote he believed in mythracism. Okay, again, if you really want to know all that stuff, I'm going to give you a little snippet of things, but you're going to have to listen to the whole nine-minute video because she goes more in-depth than I actually can.
Speaker 1:Who is Myers-Briggs? You probably don't know who they are, but you probably think they're scientists. And you would be wrong, because Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs, myers, are mother and daughter. Catherine was a farm woman. She wasn't trained in psychological tests, didn't go to a university and didn't go through behavioral science classes. She was a self-studied Carl Jung Spiritual Psychology Books enthusiast. There's more shady information on this but again, you're going to have to listen to the video.
Speaker 1:If you want all that juicy tea, all right, let's go into the Enneagram. I will be using quote the Enneagram exposed end quote by YouTuber and former psychic Jen Nisa. I just mentioned her in this section because it's a long form podcast full of a lot of information. So again, you're going to have to go digging yourself if you want more than what I'm going to give you In this video. She was joined by Marsha Montenegro, who is a wealth of knowledge about the Enneagram. She goes in-depth explaining how she got all this knowledge, but I believe she also might have been New Age as well.
Speaker 1:The Enneagram is used by churches, christian organizations, christian ministries and just employers in general, who have started using it as a reliable method for determining personality traits. But what is the Enneagram? The Enneagram started as a geometrical design. Is the Enneagram? The Enneagram started as a geometrical design and that is all. In 1916, george Gergiev, I think that's how you say his name. It's not ancient, it's only since 1916, so it's not like oh, super old or whatever. It doesn't go back to Pythagoras or desert mothers and fathers, etc. It's false. All the different things you've heard of how old and ancient it is, it's false. It didn't exist before 1916. So let's pop that bubble right now.
Speaker 1:For anyone who has said otherwise when it first came out, it had nothing to do with finding out about your personality or your strengths or your spiritual gifts. George was an esoteric, which just means obscure, secret teacher, who had a following, made a lot of claims, but none of them were ever verified or they never existed. He taught that we were all asleep and we had to awake to the new man, new consciousness. It sounds like new age buzzwords and that's because they are. The Enneagram was a tool for that. So if that doesn't stop you from using the Enneagram, let me continue.
Speaker 1:This video also said that they show the rhythms of the universe. This man believed there was an esoteric, hidden movement of the way things moved in the universe and through the Enneagram they could be discovered and you could be synced with and in harmony with them. Again, new age, new age, new age. It sounds like hippy dippy baloney, to quote Lord Business from the Lego movie. All right, there's a whole deep dive you can do through listening to this video. So if this really is a topic you're interested in, listening to this video, so if this really is a topic you're interested in, do go back and listen. It talks about how the Enneagram became a thing that people started teaching back in the 40s and after, and it talks about the various ways and ideas people attach to what the Enneagram is supposed to do. There's so much, so much, but let's keep going.
Speaker 1:The Roman Catholics were the first critics of the Enneagram, so kudos to them for knowing there was something wrong there. Marsha read a booklet about the Enneagram back in 1990, and it was written by a Catholic woman sharing the dark history of it. Nothing looks Christian, rather, it looks like New Age. And then Richard Rohr, who is a big influence on the progressive Christianity movement, comes on the scene. He was at the seminary where they were teaching about the Enneagram. He writes a book about the Enneagram with a Lutheran minister named Andreas Eberhard in 1991, and the book was called the Enneagram from a Christian Perspective. That was the first time that there was visibly any link to Christianity, but there isn't one.
Speaker 1:If you have been listening and if you do a deep dive on this, you're going to find out that there is no link between Christianity and the Enneagram. In the late 90s there was a movement in the church called the quote Emergent Church end quote. It's now called Progressive Christianity and at their conferences they teach the Enneagram In 2016,. Quote the Road Back to you end. Quote by Susan Stabile I think that's how you say your name and Ian Cron. They infiltrated the church with their book about the Enneagram. They're going to churches and seminars to discuss the Enneagram. Marsha said that back then, when the book was getting big, she started posting against it, but people didn't know what she was talking about. Following year, someone named Chris Horitz wrote quote the sacred Enneagram end quote.
Speaker 1:But again, if you want to know more about its new ageness and these books and why they're bad, all this stuff Marsha talks about it in this video. You're going to have to watch the video, all right, before we move on to our final topic. There's so much more I could say about the Enneagram. Again, it was a very detailed video, but I did not want to spend a whole bunch of time on that because I really need to get to the topic that I need to get to.
Speaker 1:So there's no Christian roots inside Enneagram. That's what you need to know. If you've been told that, it's a lie. It's not an ancient practice. It's only been around since 1916, it's not an ancient practice. It's only been around since 1916. And it didn't become big until progressive Christianity made it big, which that is a bad version of Christianity as well. If you want to know more about progressive Christianity, you're going to need to find Alyssa Childers. She's very knowledgeable in this.
Speaker 1:But yeah, at the end of the day, our identity is in Christ. You don't really need to take a personality test. He gave you the personality he gave you. If you want to know what you're supposed to do with that, ask your Lord and Savior. Who doesn't love free? I know I do. That's why I created a free seven-day devotional for those who want to go deeper with God. It's a short devotional full of encouragement, guidance and impactful Bible verses related to everyday struggles we all go through. I know you will love this devotional as much as I enjoyed writing it and, since it's digital, you can do it anywhere, anytime, perfect for the person always on the go. Get the free devotional when you sign up for my mailing list. The link is in the show notes. All right, drum roll please. Okay, I have put it off long enough.
Speaker 1:We are now going to move on to the chosen. I can hear the boos and the hisses right now, but please simmer down and let me get through this. And then, like I said, if you want to hunt me down like I'm Frankenstein's monster, feel free to write me some messages in Christian love why you disagree. But let's get in this. We are going to be referencing several different videos within this that I've learned some information about. I'm going to start off with a fair video that shares a neutral perspective on this, and that is by Alan Parr, who is the host of the Beat, which is a podcast on YouTube. The video is called Should Christians Watch the Chosen my Honest Thought, end quote, and this video link will be in the show notes. Now Dallas Jenkins, who is the creator of the Chosen, partnered with Angel Studios. Two Mormons own Angel Studios and, before I go any further, I don't have a problem with Angel Studios. I don't have a problem with Mormons in that sense they don't believe the same things we believe, but I don't hate people. Back to Alan's video.
Speaker 1:Alan thinks this criticism is invalid unless the beliefs get introduced into the Chosen. That is his main point. Now let's listen. Producer Dallas Jenkins is a Christian. He hasn't stood firm in his Christian views. He's watered them down and he has straddled the fence on his position when asked about Mormonism and Christianity very clear questions about the differences between Christianity and Mormonism. He has a quote about what Dallas Jenkins says, and this is the quote Christians and Mormons worship the same Jesus. That is a quote from the producer of the Chosen, dallas Jenkins, who says he's a Christian but has been flip-floppy on his stance on his Christianity and on Mormonism.
Speaker 1:Members of the Mormon community and their leaders will say that the Christian Jesus worshipped in Christian churches is not the same as the Jesus taught in Mormon churches. Okay, so who's right there? Is it Dallas or is it the Mormons? I feel like they know their doctrine. So perhaps Dallas Jenkins needs to think a little more, because Christians and Mormons don't work. Alan Parr also mentions the chosen employees, employees with different faith values and sexual orientations. Does anyone recall the scandal of the LGBTQ flag on the camera? I didn't take too much time to listen to it because I don't watch the Chosen anymore and that just kind of solidified it for me. But if you're familiar with that incident then you know. But if you don't and you want to know, all you have to do is look up LGBTQ flag and the chosen and you're going to get a whole bunch of information about it it's not hard to find.
Speaker 1:Going back to the video, are they adding things to make the script unbiblical? Now it is a TV show inspired by biblical events. It is a TV show inspired by biblical events. To the Chosen's credit, they have made disclaimers at the beginning addressing this concern. Quote However, all biblical and historical contexts and any artistic information are designed to support the truth and intention of the scriptures. Viewers are encouraged to read the gospels, end quote. So, to the chosen's credit, they do put that disclaimer out there, but they do put in some stuff that is not from the Bible to make it more engaging, and if you've ever read the Bible, I feel like you don't really need to do that with certain stories in there. If you just tell the stories, sometimes they're juicy enough.
Speaker 1:But we're going to move on to a different video that also talks about the Chosen, and it is from DLM Christian Lifestyle, which is an online podcast for YouTube, and the video is called Is the Chosen Series Biblically Accurate? Should Christians Watch the Chosen? This video had a lot of Bible references and a lot of scripture involved. You should really listen to this one if you want to have more information about this topic. We're going to start with, there should never be anything that replaces the Bible itself. 2 Timothy 3.17, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. So we should be reading the Bible so that we can be completely equipped for every good work.
Speaker 1:Daniel, who is the host of the show, mentions a scene where Jesus is running through the Sermon on the Mount with Matthew. He said he didn't like that scene because he didn't believe Jesus, who was the Word needed to do that. He knew everything. So that's one of the reasons why I started having issues with the Chosen as well, because that scene also irritated me for that same reason. Jesus was the word. Why did he need to run through it and get help from somebody else? But we do need to remember it's just a show about Jesus's life. So, yes, that scene is not okay, but we should remember that that is not what the scripture teaches. So read your Bible and stay focused on that and use that as your source of information, not the chosen. Study the scriptures, read between the lines and understand what the Bible is telling you.
Speaker 1:We're moving on to another video, which was I believe it was Doreen Virtue who came up with this video. It's called Seven Biblical Reasons to Avoid the Chosen. It's actually a book that Doreen Virtue and her guest the name escapes me of who it was, but they on their YouTube video. They discussed a book that is called the Chosen and the Bible 20 Questions to Ask Yourself. I'm going to name off a couple of the numbers that they talk about in there and just to give you an idea of what the book is, just in case it's something you're interested in If you want to know all the stuff. They do go through all of it in the video, but I'm only going to be addressing some of them.
Speaker 1:So question number 13 was edification or entertainment. When it comes to anything related to the Bible, are you more interested in being entertained or edified? Edified means something that builds you up, all right. Another question is cunningly devised fables. Are you aware that the Bible warns us not to follow cunningly devised fables? Example would be fictional backstories that raise questions rather than produce godly edifying, and they reference 2 Peter 1.16 and 1 Timothy 1.4. Go check those verses out for yourself and get an idea of what that is.
Speaker 1:This is another question they have. Is the chosen's Jesus the quote-unquote authentic Jesus that Dallas Jenkins says he is their sources for? That quote that Dallas Jenkins has made repeatedly states that the chosen's Jesus is the authentic Jesus. Here's a question Would the authentic Jesus Christ of the Bible ask his disciples for guidance, direct Nicodemus to follow his heart or get arrested before Gethsemane To go on with more information about this question? In their book it says it belittles the deity of Jesus. We can emphasize his humanity if needed, but he was not bumbling through things, he didn't need to run things through a community.
Speaker 1:The dialogue between Jesus and John the Baptist. John speaks to Jesus in the chosen version, quote. If you would just grow a spine and speak to Herod the way I have done. Use me as an example. End quote. This and what I said about the Sermon of the Mount is where the show lost me. John the Baptist was very humble, especially in regards to Jesus. There's no way he would have mouthed off to his Messiah that way.
Speaker 1:Another thing that they talk about is the second commandment. It is written you shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the Father on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but show steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. End quote. God hates adultery in any form. God hates adultery in any form. It steals the attention and honor that belongs only to God. In many nations today, carved gods and goddesses are still an obvious violation of this commandment.
Speaker 1:However, the sin of idolatry is ultimately a sin of the heart. An idol is anything we depend upon to meet the deep needs of the heart love, security, worth or significance. When we seek to find identity and relationships and security in something besides God, we have made it an idol. John Calvin says, quote the human heart is an idol. Factory end quote. We often search for peace or identity through relationships, substances, money, entertainment. Addictions are forms of idolatry, as are the host of otherworldly enticements that cannot ultimately satisfy. When we give ourselves to the pursuit of man-made gods, we are breaking the second commandment. Even good things can become idols if we are not careful. Ministry hobbies, charity, work or family can usurp the rightful place only God should hold in our lives. When we emotionally rely on anything other than our relationship with him to validate us, we are breaking the second commandment. And for that whole information about the second commandment I want to thank dot questions, dot org, because that is an excerpt on the second commandment. The link will also be in the show notes for that.
Speaker 1:I know that was a lot to swallow and you're probably really confused on why the Second Commandment is being used here in regards to idols, and for that I'm going to have to go on a personal confession time for you. I already mentioned a couple reasons why I stopped watching the Chosen. But if you've watched the show, I dare you, at least as a female, not to mention how handsome some of the men are in the show. I noticed it and I'm pretty sure you have noticed it. That's one problem that can easily become an idol right there to somebody who watch it because, ooh, jesus looks really hot. I mean, who wants to hear someone say that? But there's been comments and Doreen Virtue has some videos and I think I've linked them in the show notes if you want to hear her talking about some of the comments people have made about the actors in the show.
Speaker 1:If we think about it, the Bible talks about how Jesus was not something special to look at. I have a Bible verse that I wrote out here for you, isaiah 53.2. He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty, no majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was not meant to turn heads. Why are all these people super handsome looking? Why are the women pretty? There's nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with it if it were just a movie. But this is supposed to be portraying. What Dallas Jenkins says is the authentic Jesus. The authentic Jesus was not considered a hottie. He was meant to turn hearts watching it. That and plus the many other times where I just did not like how they added drama into it, or they added to the scriptures, if you will.
Speaker 1:Another main reason goes along with the people themselves, not just because they were handsome guys, but because whenever I read the Bible, it's still lingering. Whenever I read the Bible now, but whenever I read these stories or read about these people, read about Jesus. I see these actors, their faces, I see them and, in fairness, it's not just the chosen. I've watched the Passion of the Christ I don't know how many times, and before that, whenever I'd read the Bible, that's what I saw, jesus, as was Jim Caviezel. So it's not just a knock on the chosen. Some people are more visual than others and that happens.
Speaker 1:That's where the danger comes in for them taking liberties with certain things. One, because they're making all the main characters super attractive. So that's going to stick with you and it could potentially, depending on who you are, create a lust situation, especially if you aren't a believer and you just happen to be watching it because they're handsome guys. That's not sending you down a good path. So there's that, and then the Sermon on the Mount John the Baptist mouthing off when he's not that kind of a guy. The Sermon on the Mount John the Baptist mouthing off when he's not that kind of a guy. Those things are problems as well, because someone who doesn't know the Bible very well is going to read those stories and they're not going to see these things and they're going to be confused. Why is this not in the Bible?
Speaker 1:At some point you have to be able to grow spiritually and know the difference between a biblically based show or slightly biblically based show and the truth. That's why we're supposed to read the Bible. You're supposed to understand that. You are just watching a show. I'm not telling you you shouldn't watch it. I gave you some information. I gave you some tools that you can go deeper and look more into if you really want to. I've given you my personal examples of why I don't watch the show anymore. I'm not telling you what to do. You don't have to listen to what I have to say. I'm just telling you that there are certain dangers that come with certain things. Good things can be taken out of its place as well, as we have seen throughout this whole season so far, you can take certain things that were good at first and you can make them bad. That is how Satan works.
Speaker 1:So, yes, the chosen is bringing people closer to Jesus, it's getting them to feel something, but we are not supposed to be led by our feelings only. We are supposed to be led by a hunger and a desire to read the Bible, to understand what Jesus is saying to us, not what we think he's saying or what we believe he should be saying. We should not watch the chosen and think that that is biblically accurate, or, yes, that's got to be how Jesus was. Or, yes, that is true. Or I can totally see myself in that. This is God's story about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. We should not be so self-focused, because that's a form of idolatry, and remember what John Calvin said the human heart is an idol factory. We are constantly looking for something to fulfill us and we should only be looking for God.
Speaker 1:So if you are watching the Chosen and it is leading you to read the Bible and have a deeper understanding of the Bible, that's great. That must mean that maybe you are a mature enough Christian to see the difference between a show with some liberties taken, but you are able to compartmentalize that and read the Bible and realize that what's in the show is not always in the Bible, okay, that's good. But if you're watching it or suggesting it to somebody who might not be able to do that, you need to make sure that they understand the significance of reading the Bible and understand the potential dangers, if you will, of getting sucked into the show, because there's people who are way into the show to the point that if you go against talking about it they will snarl at you. That is not okay. Don't you see that? That is probably becoming an idol to you if someone cannot come against it and say, hey, I'm noticing a little bit of weirdness going on with this. This doesn't seem right with me.
Speaker 1:As the show progresses, look at it, see what you are watching. Is it giving your God glory? Is it honoring him and his name? Is it taking away from the word? Is it adding to the word? We are not supposed to add to the word. We should not hold on to the chosen with a death grip and just kind of let go of the Bible. But you will not let go of the chosen. I love this show. It is a good show and I am not going to stop watching it because it makes me feel good. If you are acting like that but you have no problem letting go of the biblical inaccuracies or the problems that could be stirring up in your heart if you find any of those actors attractive, if you're seeing Jesus as Jonathan Rumi rather than Jesus who we will not be able to see until we are in heaven because of his glory, if you are holding on to this show so much and letting go of the Bible, or holding on to this show so much that you are willing to die on that hill for it, that it has become an idol.
Speaker 1:If you can listen to this, watch any of the videos that I have about this, listen to all of it and still say you know what? I completely agree with this, this, this. I don't agree with this. It doesn't do this to me. I feel justified and right with God. I'm still going to watch the show Then that is between you and God.
Speaker 1:If you are feeling any sort of conviction, like I have in the past, about watching this show and you can say you know what I'm feeling convicted, maybe I should stop watching. And you can do that and it doesn't cause you issues, it doesn't give you withdrawals or anything, then that's good. But if you know that you should stop watching this show because you feel maybe God's been telling you that or something, then you need to do it. And if you can't, then you have made it an idol. I know people are mad right now. No, I'm not sorry, because I'm just sharing a different side, a different perspective. Take it as you will, so I'm not going to harp on this anymore. If you want to pray over it and ask God to show you what you need to do, then that is the best course of action to take. Then that is the best course of action to take. Read your Bible. Stay focused on Him.
Speaker 1:I care about everybody who's listening to this podcast. That is why I chose to do this. I have seriously had a hard time. Did I want to? Did I not want to? But it needed to be said. It's been mulling around in my brain, my heart, for a while and now it's finally out. And now it's your turn to do with this information, as you will If you want to message me. Link is in the show notes. Love you all.
Speaker 1:Now, before we go, let me share the exciting announcements that I have for you. First of all, I created a online community. It's a Facebook community. So if you're on Facebook, you can go to my website, click the Join the Community link. It's also in the show notes. If you want to sign up for that, it's free. It's just a place for believers and those who are looking to deepen their faith. Just a community. That's what it is is a community, an online community to help us grow and mature in Christ. So sign up for that if you haven't.
Speaker 1:And then the second announcement starting in season five, this podcast is going to be a video podcast. Yes, I am finally deciding to put it on YouTube. So if you like watching videos instead of just listening to podcasts, you can subscribe on YouTube. The link will also be in the show notes for that. I am excited, but also nervous to start this new adventure, but I think it's going to be awesome. So with that, I wanna thank you for listening to this detailed analysis of all these different things. Thank you for tuning into this whole season. So far. I'm gonna get out of here. Enjoy the rest of your week, god bless.
