Jenkins told one critic to “keep up the snark and insults; always the best way to persuade someone to the truth.”
The social media thread was filled with people pleading with Jenkins not to put the Mormon founder in the show.
“That would be horrible, you are trying to spread the truth to billions if people? Why pollute it with a false religion,” someone said. Another wrote, “Dallas Jenkins please don’t do that. It will not be biblical then.” Jenkins replied with a meme that read, “OHH OKAY.”
Some viewers took issue with how the director found humor in Christ hanging on the cross.
“I have great respect for the work on The Chosen and love the show. I understand comic relief about most anything especially when people attack you about the most ridiculous things,” one fan told Jenkins. “That said, any…ANY… joke or snark involving the cross is beyond the pale and crosses the line. You should rethink your comment.”
“Dallas Jenkins,” another fan wrote, “I don’t find it funny to joke about when Jesus was on the cross paying for our sins.”
RELATED: ‘The Chosen’ Director Clears Up Book of Mormon Misconception: ‘It’s Not a Direct Quote’
Earlier this year, critics of “The Chosen” questioned the show’s connections with the Church of Latter-day Saints, with some accusing the writers of the show of being influenced by the Book of Mormon. This is due in part to the fact that the show is distributed by Angel Studios, which was co-founded by brothers Neal and Jeffery Harmon, both of whom are Mormon.
Having to discuss the topic more than once, Jenkins recently cleared up a misconception that Jesus was portrayed as quoting 3 Nephi 15:9 from the Book of Mormon in one trailer leading up to the release of Season 3.
“Very quickly, because I don’t want to take this too seriously,” Jenkins explained. “Number one, it’s not a direct quote from the Book of Mormon, and it wasn’t referring to the law of Moses in that quote, and the quote is, ‘I am the law in the light.’”
“I went, looked it up,” Jenkins explained. “I’m like, ‘Okay, no, it isn’t. But okay, it’s a cool line’…I didn’t pull this quote from anywhere else. I just think it’s a theologically plausible line and it’s, I believe, a cool ‘Jesus as King’ moment.”
Nevertheless, Jenkins and his marketing team appear to be adept at “stirring the pot” and getting people talking about the show. In April, Jenkins apologized for a billboard marketing campaign that misled a handful of fans.
