Illustration: The Chosen top cast Season 3.
There are many excellent television shows online these days that have a solid Biblical foundation. (I might even call this the Golden Age of Television.) The Chosen and House of David are two outstanding examples. The producers are Christian believers who have a solid track record, having made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry with top-quality shows and movies with a message of hope.
What could go wrong by watching them?
A pastor recently confided that a small group in her congregation was deeply divided over whether to view and study The Chosen. Some members are enthusiastically pitching it while others say they’ll stay home if it’s on the menu. Social media is awash with posts from believers who question the veracity of these shows due to the amount of extrabiblical material. Some point to the fact that two of The Chosen’s executive producers are Mormon.
Are these shows good for the Kingdom or are they potential lures into falsehood and apostasy?
I had to admit, when I started watching them, I was thoroughly taken in. I looked forward to the next episode with the same enthusiasm I had for such secular masterpieces as House of Cards, 24, and The Sopranos. I am eagerly awaiting the next season. And yet, I understand the dilemma.
I know Scripture well enough to know what’s fabricated. I just took it all in.
I knew from the start that these shows would bring a measure of creative embellishment. They are not The Gospel of John, the 2003 film which told the story word for word based on the Good News translation with nothing added or omitted.
With House of David, there is a disclaimer on the screen prior to each episode which states that “some of the events depicted in this series may not accurately represent all historical and biblical facts or figures. While we have made efforts to portray certain aspects of history authentically, creative liberties have been taken for storytelling purposes.”
I read it the first time and said to myself, “yeah, yeah, whatever.” For subsequent episodes, I glossed over it (like I skip the recap if I don’t need a reminder) and settled in for the show. Bring it on – the characters! the imaginative backstories! the dialogue! and all the stuff that might have happened behind the scenes that’s not necessarily captured in the pages of Scripture. Based on a true story is all that matters.
I know Scripture well enough to know what’s fabricated. I just took it all in.
In late August, I dropped onto the couch to watch the final episode of the first season of House of David. It was the second of two parts devoted to the story of David and Goliath. I had some time to kill while I awaited the arrival of my watch partner, so I opened my Bible app to 1 Samuel 17, which tells the tale, and gave it a read. It took less than five minutes. It dawned on me that this single chapter had been presented over two 60-minute episodes. The producers didn’t stretch that short read by just adding scenery. They did it by adding subplots, lots of them. There’s David’s meeting with King Saul, the extra drama on the battlefield and David’s forbidden romance with the King’s daughter Michal. (The romance would actually come later.) All of it was completely possible and believable. Strictly speaking, it’s not biblical at that moment.
I started to accept that while some characters and stories are made up, they could have been true and so why differentiate between what’s explicitly in the Bible and what’s not? I had a sense that I had stepped into a danger zone.
Of course, every episode has significant injections of bonus material. While Scripture is clear that David was a bit of an outcast among his brothers, the producers jumped to the conclusion that he was actually illegitimate. His mother, who died young, was a powerful source of inspiration for young David. His father too. The plot resulted in several compelling and emotional scenes.
As I was thinking about all of this, it hit me that the stories and characters which were among the most compelling in both of these shows were extrabiblical. In The Chosen, I was fascinated by Mary Magdelene’s forays back into the dark underworld she once inhabited. I was charmed by the love between Thomas and his fiancé and the friction with his future in laws. The unlikely bond between Simon Peter and the Roman Centurion Gaius was especially compelling. An added bonus was Gaius’ own family dynamics. I started to accept that while some characters and stories are made up, they could have been true and so why differentiate between what’s explicitly in the Bible and what’s not?
I had a sense that I had stepped into a danger zone. The Lord’s words jumped to mind: “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God” (Mark 12:24).
I wondered if there was a danger of accepting the extrabiblical as fact. And then, what’s to stop me from reading between the lines elsewhere in Scripture?
Way back in journalism school, one of our professors loved to quip, “Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.” It was said in jest. But the point was to be wary and question everything. If something or someone were especially attractive, get multiple sources. In other words, don’t get sucked in.
Was I getting sucked in? I wondered if there was a danger of accepting the extrabiblical as fact. And then, what’s to stop me from reading between the lines elsewhere in Scripture? I am a firm believer that doctrine does not need to be changed. We are not to add or take away from Scripture. Doing it for entertainment is no excuse.
Further, I could easily see a casual viewer – i.e. someone who is not paid or called to teach and preach – taking the shows as gospel truth and perhaps even quoting the fictitious characters as if the quotations were true. Not everyone is going to watch these shows with an open Bible at the ready.
Be aware by assuming that nothing that is produced by human hands is perfect. Everything we produce on this side of the Kingdom is corrupt to some degree.
As followers of Christ, we are invited to cling to the truth. Just the facts. Isaiah wrote, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own” (Isaiah 53:6).
All of us. As sinners, we all operate, to some degree, under the spell of Satan, the corrupter. There’s nothing we can do about that. What we can do is to be aware and prepare.
Be aware by assuming that nothing that is produced by human hands is perfect. Everything we produce on this side of the Kingdom is corrupt to some degree. A pastor may spend days preparing a message and deliver it with great care and prayer. But pastors aren’t perfect. And neither are Bible-believing producers. While we are commanded to obey authority, it’s okay to check what you hear from the pulpit or from the tube.
Then prepare. I am now in the habit of watching with a remote in one hand, near the pause button, and an open Bible in the other.
Being aware and prepared might as well be watchwords for life, especially with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence.
By all means watch these and other biblically-based fare. . . . But do so with open eyes and open Bibles.
I may be taking a hard line, but as believers, we must take great care to place barriers and boundaries. We are to be as innocent as doves and as shrewd as snakes – always to have our eyes and ears open.
The good news is that watching The Chosen and House of David with open eyes and an open Bible has actually deepened my biblical awareness and knowledge. And I pray that it’s brought me closer to the Lord.
So – by all means watch these and other biblically-based fare. Watch them at home or in small groups. Use them as a way of attracting non-believers to church. But do so with open eyes and open Bibles. And don’t forget to invite the Holy Spirit into your presence.
But don’t be like foolish sheep. Don’t stray from God’s path. Let’s keep our eyes on the Shepherd.
The apostle Peter – possibly in references to the prophecy of Isaiah – wrote: “Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25).
The Lord is my Shepherd, the guardian of my soul, my light in a dark place. Into everything I do, everything I see and experience in life, I invite Him to show me what is real and what is not. May the path be narrow and the destination clear. Amen.
