Jenkins has addressed the LDS controversies several times and did so once more on “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast.” He said, “Just to be very clear because I think this is important, I’m not formally associated with the LDS Church on any level, and they don’t claim that we’re formally associated with each other.” He also noted that “more than half of our cast and crew aren’t believers or traditional believers” and that his primary concern is not the crew’s individual beliefs, but the content of “The Chosen.”
“I, as an evangelical believer in God’s Word…have all final responsibility for the content of the show,” Jenkins said. “And that’s something that we would never compromise on.”
When the official social media account of “The Chosen” responded to the Pride Flag controversy, the account echoed Jenkins’ words: “Just like with our hundreds of cast and crew who have different beliefs (or no belief at all) than we do, we will work with anyone on our show who helps us portray or honor the authentic Jesus. We ask that audiences let the show speak for itself and focus on the message.”
Regarding concerns over how “The Chosen” relates to Scripture, in the podcast interview, Jenkins explained, “I come from a conservative, Bible-believing background. I’m a strong evangelical who believes that the Bible is God’s Word. So we start with that as our primary source of truth and inspiration, and we don’t change it.”
But when he and the other writers have an idea for the show, they will ask, “Is this plausible? Does this fit within the character of Jesus and the gospels? And if so, we believe that we have the opportunity to fill in some gaps.”
Jenkins said that willingness to creatively fill in those gaps has “for literally millions of people who’ve shared this with us, has made the Bible come alive for them and has caused them to search the Scriptures and read the Bible even more.”
“The Chosen” is not Scripture, nor is it claiming to be, said Jenkins, who added that it “would be upsetting” if people were treating the show like God’s Word and reading their Bibles less. “But people are saying over and over again, ‘Thank you. I’m now more engaged with Scripture and with Jesus than ever before.’”
Jenkins even went so far as to say, “If you’re worshiping [actor Jonathan Roumie’s portrayal of Jesus] in our show, or if you’re in church worshiping or praying and you’re thinking of the show as worthy of worship, of course, that would be bad. I mean, that’s what the Bible talks about in the Old Testament when it talks about graven images.”
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