Christian leader and writer AW Tozer wrote, “The horrible travesty we have in America today is Christianity without holiness”.
Hundreds of false religions and cults that purport to be Christian because they believe in their own version of Jesus are successfully winning over many converts, including many coming out of the traditional churches.
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
True Christianity is the only religion that believes that Jesus Christ is God. The Hindus and the Buddhists give no recognition to Jesus. Islam religion sees Jesus as a prophet and nothing more. The Jehovah Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God.
The attributes of the Mormon Jesus are as follows: Jesus is Lucifer’s brother. Jesus is a spirit child conceived through physical means between an exalted man (Heavenly Father) and the virgin Mary. Jesus is not eternal and had a beginning. His is not a part of an eternal Trinity. Jesus was not always God but earned his way to godhood, just as we will become gods someday. The work of the Mormon Jesus was insufficient for man’s salvation, and to complete it, one has to believe in Joseph Smith, who came from God to restore the church (i.e., Smith has a role in salvation). None of these attributes describe the “Jesus” of the Bible.
The Chosen movie series is Mormon influenced. It has a Mormon executive producer and distributor, with most funding coming from Mormons.
Writer of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins, who identifies as an evangelical Christian, said, “When I’ve talked about my brothers and sisters in Christ, and when I talked about those LDS folks that I know who loved the same Jesus I do, I’m referring to some of the friends that I have who identify as LDS who I’ve gotten to know very deeply over the last few years, in particular. And I’ve had hundreds of hours of conversations with [them], and I stand by the statement that those friends of mine that I’m referring to absolutely love the same Jesus that I do,” he said.
Dallas Jenkins said that 95% of the content of The Chosen is not from the Bible, meaning that most of the movie is man’s (and Satan’s) words. Notice that Dallas used the names and characters of the Bible but changed the story line to make Jesus look more likable and relatable. Jesus came to save our souls, not to win a popularity contest.
Whether intentional or not, the Jesus of The Chosen is presented as a false “Christ” who, they say, is much improved from the Christ of Scripture. They claim that Jesus in The Chosen is the ‘authentic” Jesus who must be spread worldwide.
The movie, as does Satan, twisted the truth. Dallas Jenkins took outrageous artistic liberties with most of the biblical figures in the New Testament, causing listeners to doubt what is true and what is fiction. Mary Magdalene’s backsliding is not in the Bible; Matthew being autistic is not in the Bible, and Jesus being insecure and confused with his sermon on the mount, so he needed help from Matthew was unbiblical. Peter calling John the Baptist “creepy John” was beyond dishonoring to John, who God highly esteemed. Jesus stumbling when He walked on water was but another fictional piece that was intentional to not only take away from the holiness of Jesus but also to show that the Bible omitted the parts that made Jesus weak and limited in His understanding of God and His role on earth. Jesus did not come to entertain, make us laugh, and be happy-go-lucky as the movie proclaimed; He came to earth in human form to die on the cross for our sins so that we might be forgiven and become children of the one true God, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1 John 4:1-6).
Researcher John Lanagan writes: We are watching, I believe, the growing spiritual unity between those of different faiths via The Chosen. This is a spiritual syncretism centered around an ecumenical, false Christ. Christianity, Mormonism, and mystical Catholicism are coming together. Differences are becoming blurred in the eyes and hearts of many. Because, after all, we have heard again and again, this is the ‘authentic’ Jesus.”
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough…But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4,12-15).