I talked about this earlier about how Christian groups are criticizing the popular TV show "The Chosen" for inventing (additional) myths about Jesus that are not in the New testament.
This time it's the Catholics and they make some interesting points, but they don't understand the demand and supply that has been creating myths about Jesus for the last 2000 years. But they do come close: But now, as the series enters its sixth season—with exclusive theatrical premieres, multiple spin-off series in development, “ChosenCon” events modeled after Comic-Con, and a growing merchandise empire—it seems fair to ask deeper questions about a lucrative production enterprise firmly entrenched in the mainstream.
I mean, just take how many non biblical myths do Chatolics take for granted that are not in the Bible. Like that Mary flew to the sky, trinity, that Peter was in Rome and that he died there, names of Jesus' grandparents who presented their young daughter in the Temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated, purgatory, that a strong man carried Christ child across the river, and so on.
This time it's the Catholics and they make some interesting points, but they don't understand the demand and supply that has been creating myths about Jesus for the last 2000 years. But they do come close: But now, as the series enters its sixth season—with exclusive theatrical premieres, multiple spin-off series in development, “ChosenCon” events modeled after Comic-Con, and a growing merchandise empire—it seems fair to ask deeper questions about a lucrative production enterprise firmly entrenched in the mainstream.
I mean, just take how many non biblical myths do Chatolics take for granted that are not in the Bible. Like that Mary flew to the sky, trinity, that Peter was in Rome and that he died there, names of Jesus' grandparents who presented their young daughter in the Temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated, purgatory, that a strong man carried Christ child across the river, and so on.
Quote:‘The Chosen’ may be inspiring—but its theology isn’t inspired
Consider first its sheer length. The gospels—relatively short texts—can each be read in a couple of hours. With roughly 37 hours of content so far, The Chosen radically exceeds its source material. It is one thing to imagine gospel stories in greater detail; it is quite another to devote hours to entirely invented storylines.
Why does Jesus walk on water and save Peter from drowning? In the series, Peter’s wife, Eden, has a miscarriage while Peter is away with Jesus. When he returns, the rift between them grows until Jesus intervenes and Eden prays for Peter’s growth in faith.
Not only are these relational dynamics troubling, but they also upend the rich theological meaning of Jesus walking on water. So enamored is the series with its imagined backstories and subplots that it borders on reducing the gospels to sketches of some greater story we have yet to hear.
The series’ website claims: “All the Bible and historical context and any artistic imagination are designed to support the truth and intention of the Scriptures.” But how does this play out? For example, according to The Chosen, how did the gospels come about?
Contemporary Catholic biblical scholarship holds that the four gospels were written by people who likely did not have firsthand experience of the historical Jesus. Renowned biblical scholar Father Raymond Brown traced the Gospel of John’s origins and contributors, dating it to 60–70 years after Jesus’ death.
The Chosen instead depicts John the apostle—a fisherman in a Roman Empire where only about 5 percent of the population was literate—writing down Jesus’ words verbatim. Likewise, it shows Matthew not only recording Jesus’ words but doing so at Jesus’ explicit request.
At one point, Mary Magdalene even refers to Matthew as Jesus’ “scribe.” Father Donald Senior, member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, writes in Composing Sacred Scripture: How the Bible Was Formed (LTP) that the gospel writers were “true authors,” not “secretaries.” In other words, the texts were not dictated to them but crafted with their own gifts, aided by the Holy Spirit.
The Chosen, however, portrays the apostles frantically writing down Jesus’ words in real time—despite no mention of such an intention in the gospels themselves. As The Chosen is used in Bible studies, classrooms, and as Christian entertainment, this not only undermines biblical scholarship and creates historical misunderstandings but also encourages problematic, literal interpretations.
https://uscatholic.org/articles/202510/t...-inspired/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
