Notwithstanding the commercial popularity of The Chosen and the kind of impact it is having on the faith of millions who watch it, a question must be raised on the actual benefits that persons who watch it stand to receive. The kind of payoffs, in terms of the value one stands to receive by embracing the positive message the show communicates against the, to word this carefully, its potential to mislead the viewer. Specifically with respect to finding resolutions to life’s many problems.

But ‘misleading’ in what way? Well, for starters, we have the obvious but often overlooked problem of Christianity in the modern world being a belief system that no longer has its founder, at least not in physical form. The founder of the faith, who is supposed to exist in spirit, but this problem nonetheless remains.

When someone says that people must ‘follow Christ’, or ‘accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior’ what they are calling for is a mental commitment. A conscious decision to affirm the core doctrines of the faith (the Kerygma) and then proceed to live in accordance with the teachings of scripture and/or the Church.

This is fine as a starting point. But when it comes to the task of actually living your life: that is to operate in the real world that is built on the pillars of reason, logic and science vis a vie the institutional environment they have given rise to; that together sustain the sociopolitical order where money is the main arbiter of survival and success; the Good News of Christianity that places the message and example of Christ at its center seems to fall short.

But how exactly? Well, the long answer to this question can be found here. For now, let’s look at what The Chosen is trying to communicate, besides the obvious. First of all, one must admit that the core message of any Christian media, whether it’s movies, television or educational content, invariably centers on the Kerygma: that is the mission to go out and proclaim the Good News. 

But to pose the question again: what is the Good News? Well, it is the message that Christ, the second member of the Trinity came into this world to teach us the way to Salvation; who then died for our sins to make possible the path to Salvation; enabling us to escape the fate of divine judgment and damnation that would otherwise befall on us ⁽²⁾.

Since the primary evangelical aim of Christianity is the articulation of the core teachings of Christ, teachings which revolve around the salvation of our souls, it necessarily means that virtually every other event, doctrine, blessing and promise contained within Christianity ultimately pivots back to this. The real message of Christianity will always be about the Salvation of souls. That is the end game. This means the question of what happens in the meantime – The time that you and I have to spend on this imperfect but promising world is rendered insignificant or at least less significant.

Since the promise of Salvation is the real driving force that underpins the workings of the faith, it gives rise to an incentive structure where rewards in an Earthly or material sense are necessarily devalued. In The Chosen, where the many miracles of Christ are dramatically portrayed, whilst principally inspiring, they do little to change the reality that you and I are compelled to confront whilst living in the third decade of the 21^st century.

Whilst the many miracles of Christ and the message of redemption he taught are certainly inspiring, they do little to impact the problems that humans face in their day-to-day lives. The personal, social, financial, and cultural considerations that animate our being and impel us to take action in our careers and relationships, and with respect to goals that go beyond satisfying our base-level needs and wants.

The aspirational goals, which in a Maslowian sense translate into the fulfilment of esteem and self-actualization needs, are never really acknowledged within a traditional (i.e. biblically) Christian worldview. In case the reader was wondering, there is more to Christianity than what is articulated in the teachings of scripture. But that is a topic for another time.

For now, our focus is on the broader message that shows like The Chosen, with their dramatized take on the life Jesus Christ and his followers are sending to the world, particularly its men. If one is to take a step back and objectively assess what The Chosen is trying to communicate (if that is even possible), it is impossible to overlook the incongruities between the world that it presents and the world that you and I are compelled to navigate today.

A case in point is the reality of miracles. Now, as a Christian, I firmly believe that God has the power to heal and bestow. However that belief does not preclude the importance of taking the necessary steps when ailments strike. In my part of the world-where Christianity is not the dominant faith-there is an expression that is used by unbelievers that goes something like this: ‘believing in God does not remove the need to visit the doctor’.

This is an obvious point that most of us can relate to. Illnesses from simple infections to malignant diseases require treatment. Treatments, whose efficacy is built on decades of research, technical expertise and valuable resources. So, whilst the faithful can take comfort from God’s power to heal, it does not do away with the need to find practical solutions to health concerns that rely on human ingenuity.

The rules also apply to relationships. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior whilst comforting and empowering does not remove the need for real companionship, friends, and romance. To have these, one must be socially competent, emotionally intelligent, and outgoing. With respect to the opposite sex, for a man, a lot would depend on his socio-economic status when attracting a partner. A fact of life that finds little resonance with the life and teachings of Christ.

This is not to say that Christ, who preached the dangers of riches, the need to reject Earthly comforts, and the importance of detachment from things of this world, was necessarily opposed to material upliftment, sensual fulfillment and success. But it is to say that Christianity, when approached from a primarily biblical and reductively Christological perspective (i.e. to the exclusion of the paterology – the study of God the Father and pneumatology – the study of the Holy Spirit) does engender a mindset that is necessarily world rejecting in its outlook. An outlook those in the modern world, particularly men, can ill afford to adopt.