I have sat through a lot of bad religious stuff over the years....because if I'm going to research then often I have to read or watch the material. So I may read through a book like....The Shack....underlining or highlighting....and then do a post on it....but I am not looking forward to someday sitting down and watching episodes of....The Chosen.
There are a lot of ways to address this....the tie with Mormonism for one. You could research this on your own if you are interested. As I have written a number of times in these posts....if I only have to offer what ten thousand other bloggers offer....then I have royally wasted fourteen-plus years with these posts.
We in the church want entertainments like this....expanded dialogue from that of God's Word....because God's Word in itself is not enough. Now there is no way that the average evangelical would understand what I just wrote....because to understand it they would have to see God's Word for what it really is....and my premise is that they do not see what God's Word actually is. They would have to understand that the power is in God's words...not ours.
That is one tough statement that I just made. Folks I am seventy-three years old....I have no desire to compromise on something that is only perpetuating the problems that are compromising the gospel itself. Here's another tough statement....the average Christian friend that I have....male....knows an awful lot about sports....how the Pirates are doing....what the Steelers need....why the Penguins did not make the playoffs....and they pay a lot of attention to politics....and play golf throughout the summer....and they attend more get-togethers and family functions than I could....to bring back a colloquial phrase.....shake a stick at....but Jesus is never in their conversation. They give maybe a few minutes glance at God's Word every once in a while....maybe with a weekly Bible study of pure milk.....and this with some men....for forty years running. That is why their discernment is lacking on the day and the age that we live in. That is why we no longer need to be born again. That is why the gospel of today....does not save.
"No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." 2 Timothy 2:4
The proverbial glass can only hold so much information. This is why....we can look at typical films such as The Chosen....in this case with three seasons of film in the can....and four more planned.....and all the very interesting dialogue....and think that this is good....once again....because we do not know the power....nor the sufficiency of the words that are already written....by God....and not a screenwriter. Thus we need more than just translations of Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic....and we think that we have found it.
I have an acquaintance who is probably not even Christian....who is very liberal in all of his opinions....no problem with a gay lifestyle or abortion....(even though he goes to church....a supposedly conservative church...I have to wonder what he is hearing in church).....but he absolutely loves The Chosen....and has for quite a while. You may think this is good....but you would be wrong. His conscience is not going to be pricked at all. Yes he is being enlisted ....but not as a soldier of Christ....rather recruited into something that does not save. So he will be happy....thrilled....at the enlistment bonus offered him....and the church will have one more member to support a modern gospel that is lukewarm at best....and whitewashed at worst. Forget the film....this man has been chosen....but not by God....drafted....not in God's service....but in the service of the one who can appear as an angel of light.
As I researched this topic....and evangelical and reformed response to it...I came across one Christian who said that he....fell in love with every word of the dialogue. Therein is the problem friends....but I'm not going to explain why it is the problem....for I would rather you try to figure out why that statement is fraught with confusion and danger.
Addendum: I would like to recommend a Charles Spurgeon sermon to you....that I listened to this morning....after writing this post. You can easily Google it at....Charles Spurgeon, The Holy Spirit Gslorifying Christ. Listen to this and then see if your disagreement with the thoughts of this post are not meliorated if even a little?
