Dallas Jenkins’s television series about Jesus and His disciples, The Chosen, is now in its fourth season. I continue to find the show a compelling historical and spiritual drama that I would highly recommend. I believe that anyone who has played a role in its creation is responsible for saving countless lives. There can be no greater accomplishment.
The fourth episode of this season streamed the other night, bringing us to the midpoint of Jenkins’s envisioned seven seasons. Almost all of the funding for this beautiful production has come from charitable donations. Before and after the livestream release of each episode, Jenkins provides context for what is portrayed, engages in meaningful conversation with cast and crew, and invites viewers to donate to their efforts should they be inspired to do so. During one such conversation following episode four (about one hour and eighteen minutes into the livestream), Jenkins and a friend discuss an email from someone who has witnessed the show’s life-saving impact.
The writer of the email is a therapist who was desperately trying to help a troubled patient — a recently divorced man struggling with addiction and thoughts of suicide. In what sounded like a bit of a last-ditch effort to reach the man, the therapist spoke about some of the important messages in The Chosen and recommended that he watch an episode before their next session. “He returned … an entirely different man — shining almost.” In their time apart, he had binge-watched all of the seasons, joined a church, and begun earnestly reading the Bible. “The thing is,” the therapist explained, “he was a devout atheist before this. Because of your work, he has changed his life around completely. You are saving lives through Jesus.”
Saving a single life is a remarkable achievement. As thousands of personal messages attest, the people behind The Chosen are saving lives every day. In turn, many of those who are saved today will find themselves in a unique position to save others later in their lives. The exponential effect of rescuing one person continues long after we are gone. What we choose to do with our lives reverberates through history.
The therapist’s story reflects a common Christian predicament. We have been told all our lives to keep our religious convictions to ourselves. Government agents punish us for praying in the classroom or near the town square. Corporate actors scold us for sharing the Bible with a colleague or with friends during a break from work. Professional organizations often forbid the expression of our Christian faith. In effect, those who follow Jesus have been instructed to keep the most important lessons of our lives a complete secret. Imagine how many people who could have been saved were never saved because of these harmful social rules. Now consider the exponential loss that humanity has suffered and will continue to suffer well into the future.
A Christian who meets a suicidal atheist knows how to help, but how often do we hide the answer from those who suffer in order to avoid contravening secular society’s prohibition against public expressions of faith? When we stay silent, we bury truth in darkness. Then, when we bemoan the darkness of our society, we often forget that we chose to hide the light.
How have we reached a moment in history when burning a Bible or an American flag is constitutionally protected free speech, but burning a gay “pride” flag is punished as a “hate crime”? How can Antifa rioters graffiti and topple historic statues without fear of arrest while teenagers are hunted down for leaving tire marks on rainbow-painted street intersections? How can state governments religiously discriminate against Christians and ban Christian parents from foster care programs? How is it possible that a D.C. judge could mock an elderly pro-life defendant before sentencing her to two years behind bars for the “crime” of praying?
We are here as witnesses to these iniquities because Christians throughout the West have been told to be quiet, and too many obeyed. An immoral law is no law at all. Immoral authorities are authorities on nothing. When good retreats, evil advances. Defending what is right cannot be done in silence.
A recent statistical survey from the United Kingdom suggests that around 40% of Christians hide their faith from others. That might not sound too surprising in our current secular age, but it should bother us nonetheless. If the U.K. study is loosely representative of the broader West, it means that roughly half of the Christian population lurks in the shadows. Tens of millions of Christians pretend not to know what they know. They fail to pass Christ’s teachings to others. They discuss important public policies without the explicit guidance of their faith. When so many Christians self-censor, is it any surprise that society has descended into a state of spiritual confusion and moral decay? There is only one way out of the darkness: Christians must be bold and brave.
Men, in particular, must become stronger defenders of their faith. It is no coincidence that those who work to destroy society routinely attack Christianity and masculinity. Both are threats to a communist State. A Christian stands against any government that insists on usurping God. A man stands against any government that threatens his family. An unyielding and courageous Christian man, then, is a ferocious enemy to Marxist globalism. Consequently, “Christian nationalism” and the dreaded “patriarchy” are two of the propaganda media’s most targeted bugaboos.
There is a rhetorical war right now on familial and spiritual fatherhood. Men are told that they have no right to object to abortion. They are told that physical displays of chivalry are outdated and “toxic.” They are told to shut up, sit down, and get out of the way. Television commercials and shows routinely portray men as clumsy, ignorant, and misguided. Movies pretend that families are better off without fathers. Celebrities fantasize about a world without men.
Likewise, priests and Christian pastors are almost always depicted as being perverts, pedophiles, secret racists, fascists, and “white supremacists.” Men of God are rarely presented as self-sacrificing souls who would do anything to save their parishioners. Instead, political pundits and entertainers slander them as disingenuous grifters and sinful hypocrites. Followers of Christ are denounced as “rubes,” “imperialists,” and spreaders of “hate.”
Judging from their vicious attacks, it seems obvious that leftists fear nothing more than dependable fathers, committed families, and uncompromising Christian faith. Those of you who grew up with attentive, loving fathers know why that is. Fathers teach boys how to be honorable men, and they teach girls what qualities are best in a future husband. Good, strong, morally upright men can be pushed only so far before they begin pushing back. They will endure insult and injury for the benefit of their loved ones, until the threats to their families become too great to ignore. Then, with full hearts and humble prayers, they will do what must be done to save their children.
Can you imagine how terrifying it must be for those who believe in nothing but their own importance to see real men who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their families and who bow before no one besides Almighty God? A Christian man filled with righteous anger and spurred into purposeful action is a force to be reckoned with. No wonder Christianity and masculinity are under constant attack.
Father’s Day is a good time to remember the brave and faithful men who will be needed to steady society’s rocking ship and steer it forward. As The Chosen reminds viewers time and again: only by standing fearlessly can we teach others to do the same. Our Heavenly Father tells us to be courageous. When we are, we save those who follow.
Pexels.
Comments are closed.