[Republican Wildcat]

‘The Chosen’ Creator Dallas Jenkins Says Mormons are Saved : ‘I’m Going to Die on That Hill’

In a Mormon(LDS) blog interview,1 Jenkins defended not only the Mormon owned Vid-Angel distribution and the filming of “The Chosen” in Utah on an LDS set, but he also defended the idea that Mormons follow the “same Christ” and that there is no significant difference between Mormons and Evangelicals. He further admitted that many LDS people are working on the project and influencing his thinking. Jenkins’ defense against criticism was quite telling. Hear it in his own words: “So even if you are listening to this right now as an evangelical and are horrified to hear me say some of these things, consider that even if you disagree, even if you think that, ‘No, it's two different Jesus's, and they worship two different Saviors, and what you're saying is wrong.’ Fine, believe what you will. I'm not gonna have these arguments with you…be assured that everyone who's working on this show who happens to be LDS feels the exact same way…I’m going to die on the hill of defending my LDS friends.” “…I’m happy to say, "Yeah, we disagree on some things, but I'm going to die on the hill of, we love the same Jesus, and we want the same Jesus known to the world." Yes, I’m horrified. Yes, I disagree. Yes, these are two different versions of Jesus! No, I don’t want their version of Jesus known to the world with any connection to the Jesus exclusively revealed in the Scripture. Jenkins being in bible study with many Mormons and praying with Mormons concerning the show, as he describes, is not an evangelical practice; it is not even ecumenical; it is universalist. Evangelicals don’t believe the same things as Mormons at all! For Jenkins to tenderly minimize the differences by saying: “my LDS brothers and sisters who disagree with me on many things theologically, most of which—almost all of which—took place after Jesus was here” is dumbfounding. For a clear distinction between Mormonism and Christianity, go here, and go quickly: (https://www.gotquestions.org/Mormons-Christians.html) Jenkins’ view of scripture may be what leads him to the false premise for production in the first place, namely that he feels the scripture as we have it is just plain insufficient: “When you read the scriptures, you don't get the emotional connection, backstory, you don't get the historical and cultural context quite as much, and you don't get the human context.“ ... “You should read the scriptures, 100 percent, no question about it. But when that's all you do, sometimes you can miss out on the perspective of the cultural and historical surroundings of who Jesus was and what He was doing. And then you kind of miss out on the identification with those who knew Him. You can't fully identify with Jesus…”.

[Hebrews 11:6]

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7

God uses flawed people to advance His kingdom*, for only flawed people inhabit the earth.

Thanks for the heads-up, but a man's words are only a part of his fruit. So far, I've not seen serious error espoused in The Chosen; if you have, now is the time to point to it.

* For an excellent sermon incorporating this theme, please see Jase Robertson.