Has anyone watched The Chosen series? It has many fans up here. What do others who have seen it think?
I've not heard of it, so went to Wiki: -A multi-season, episode-based portrayal of Jesus--mostly as seen through the eyes of others--that can be "binge watched" like other shows on streaming tv. --The first season is set in 1st century Galilee, where Jesus starts to build a group for his ministry. --Beginning in Samaria, the second season moves into nearby regions, where Jesus continues to build his group of students. --The group returns to Capernaum in the third season, with the increasing popularity of Jesus troubling different societal and political groups, including the Romans and the Pharisees. The producers have used innovative methods for finance and release, primarily through crowdfunding and distributed by Angel Studios. Using a dedicated app and website, the series is free to watch. Viewers are encouraged, but not required, to "pay it forward" by contributing to fund future seasons. Fundraising for the first season as well as subsequent seasons continue to make it the most successful crowdfunded TV series or film project.
I am surprised no one heard has heard of it. I guess I live in a cloistered area. I saw it on Amazon but never watched it until others talked about it. I am not fond of it, but my wife and her friends like it. I watch things that make me think though.
I went to another forum I'm on a searched for it. There are a couple of threads on the show. A few people are concerned because of "A TON of extra-Biblical qualities, sayings, behaviors, and stories to Jesus" meaning "It doesn't bring people to the Jesus of the Bible, it brings them to the character of the show," while the vast majority state that after watching, they are motivated to go read their Bibles. I don't know enough about the producers to understand their motives and whether the show fulfills them or if it's backfired. And there are comments that say there are 7 seasons planned in total.
I haven't done much research on the show, but I look at many things differently that others, so I was hoping others here had watched it and had an opinion. I believe the character of Nicodemus, while apparently a real guy, mostly came from the books written by the Thoenes (Bodie and Brock). I haven't watched much of the show as my wife keeps falling asleep, and she is the one who really wants to watch it. I think we are on episode 8 of the first season. One thing I DO like about it so far is that the Jews actually look like Jews (except for a few Indians from India). They don't look like the came from Northern Europe.
I had to laugh at that. Some of the most famous American Indians on TV Westerns are Jack Palance (Volodymyr Palahniuk), born of Ukranian immigrants, and Michael Ansara, born in Syria. "But they look like Indians," said the person who's never seen one. When you talk about the origins of Nicodemus, are you saying that the style of the series' character is fashioned by the Thones' writing? From what little I read, the only historical Nicodemus that has been identified (so far) was born too late to have been the Biblical Nicodemus.
When my wife falls asleep in front of the TV, I find a YouTube channel for Polka music and switch it to that before going downstairs. I tried Reggae once, but it turned out that she liked Reggae. Another time, I changed her default language to Polish. I'll probably watch this show but haven't had time to look it up yet.
The Thoenes expanded the character of Nicodemus from the 3rd chapter of the Gospel of John into a major character. I find lots of little things about the series I don't like, such as Jesus referring to himself as Jesus of Nazareth. I don't believe he ever did that. To refer to himself by the Latin name would definitely not be something the Jews would accept. It is probably done so modern Christians understand.
So have you read/heard anything about the producers...specifically, their motives in making this series?
Nope. I know nothing about them. I take it for the face value and don't really care if they have an agenda. I won't give them money and I am smart enough that it doesn't really affect my opinions. I haven't seen anything bad in what I have seen, but there are a lot of small inaccuracies that some wouldn't pick up on. What did you find on their motives? Anything nefarious?
No, and it's funny that 95% of the opinions are gushing, even as they acknowledge "poetic license." Even in its imperfect form, it seems to be leading people to search for the truth, in the Bible and/or at church as new members.
I have seen some reports of a new "Great Awakening". Reports coming out of Kentucky and spreading to other campuses around the country. Great awakenings usually lead to war, but we have been in a war for most of the past 50 years, so we may not notice a change.