Dallas Jenkins Responds to Criticism of ‘The Chosen’ With ‘Great News’: Viewers Read the Bible ‘More Than Ever’

Todd Friel of Wretched Radio recently criticized the content and viewers of “The Chosen,” now in its fifth season. The show’s creator, director and co-writer Dallas Jenkins happily addressed and refuted the claims using significant evidence from over the years.

“I’m really more focused on what God thinks,” said Jenkins in a recent YouTube video.

‘The Chosen’ Drives People to the Bible, Says Creator Dallas Jenkins

Dallas Jenkins has received his fair share of criticism over the content portrayed in “The Chosen,” and he has deemed many of the questions “fair and important.” From the beginning, Jenkins has been clear about the research and writing processes behind the record-breaking series focused on the life of Jesus Christ.

“We’re not the Bible. We’re not pretending to be the Bible. We’re not a replacement for Scripture; we never claimed to be,” Jenkins has said. “This is a show about first century Galilee using the Bible as our primary source.”

“The Chosen” has consistently received accolades and criticism amid its success. Early on, the series was accused of quoting the Book of Mormon, which Jenkins publicly refuted.

This time, however, the criticism comes directly from Wretched Radio, a “discernment video channel,” described Jenkins. Executive director and host Todd Friel carries out the goals to “preach the gospel,” “equip the saints,” and “strengthen the church.” His specific critique video focuses on the historical drama, “House of David,” which released its first episode earlier this year.

Even though Friel mentioned that Jenkins has a “low view of Scripture,” Jenkins continued to assert that he is someone “who loves the Bible.”

“Among those who don’t like our show, one of their most common criticisms is intended for us,” Jenkins continued. “But it’s actually an insult towards you.”

“The basic complaint starts by correctly pointing out that a lot of our content isn’t directly from Scripture,” Jenkins said, addressing the 200 million viewers of the series. “But then they confidently assert that you mindlessly accept our portrayal of the story without ever checking the source material.”

Friel claimed that “anybody who watches this who doesn’t check their Bible—and 999 out of a thousand aren’t going to check their Bible”—they’re going to believe exactly what they see on the screen.

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“It’s simply a false statement,” Jenkins argued. “It’s actually not an issue.” Jenkins countered with his own statistic from the “tens of thousands” of comments the show receives from viewers. The vast majority paints a very different picture.