Movie
‘The Chosen’ creator Dallas Jenkins responds to critics of ‘unbiblical’ scene with Judas
“The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins has defended the portrayal of an interaction between Jesus and Judas Iscariot as biblically grounded after pastors and Christian critics criticized the scene as “unbiblical.”
In a livestream video Sunday, the 49-year-old director addressed criticism over a scene from the forthcoming season of “The Chosen,” which depicts a conversation between Judas and Jesus.
“You have a choice to make, Judas,” Jesus says in the scene in which Judas challenges Jesus to “reclaim” his “birthright.” “Who [do] you belong to? Who has your heart? I want it, and I’ve had it before. You followed me willingly.”
“I want to continue,” Judas replies. “There’s nothing more that I want than that.”
Jesus takes an emotional Judas’ hand, telling him, “Then I will pray for you. But for now, please leave me in peace.”
“It’s over the issue of, ‘Did Jesus pray for people? Did Jesus pray specifically for Judas? Did Jesus want Judas to change His mind? Did Judas have free will? Was Judas ever saved?’ — all the typical Judas questions started to come up,” Jenkins said.
“There’s a measurable amount of people who believe that we got it wrong,” Jenkins added, “that I got it wrong.”
The director, the son of Left Behind author Jerry B. Jenkins, said some criticism was fair and “worth considering,” particularly the question: “Would Jesus have prayed for Judas to change his mind?”
“While I’m somewhat surprised that the concept of Jesus saying the words ‘I’ll pray for you’ are controversial, I’m not actually that surprised that something like this comes up because it’s a sensitive topic,” said Jenkins.
“Whether it’s Jesus and Judas or whether it’s eternal salvation or not, these are important issues, and that’s why I’m actually glad sometimes when this happens.”
Jenkins said these types of controversies provide a “great opportunity and a great reason to have the conversation, to talk about these kinds of things.”
Jenkins dismissed unfair criticism that misrepresents the show, clarifying he was speaking to those genuinely seeking understanding or needing answers for critics of “The Chosen.”
“I’m talking to you, the person who is either genuinely seeking or genuinely trying to understand, or maybe isn’t as familiar with some of these topics or issues, or also has a friend who came to you and said, ‘Why do you watch this heretical show’ and [it would] be good for you to have an answer,” he explained.
Jenkins said that two teams of conservative Bible scholars look over the script before it’s utilized.
“No, we are not implying that Jesus is going to pray that Judas will change his mind,” he said. “Yes, Judas’ betrayal is part of the Father’s will. It is part of this crucifixion and, ultimately, salvation story. So Jesus did not say in the scene, ‘I’ll pray for you, Judas, that you’ll change your mind from whatever you’re about to do.'”
Second, the director said Jesus “has known for a while that Judas would betray Him,” stressing that “we are not implying that at this point in the story [that] Jesus wasn’t sure what was going to happen [or] was hoping things wouldn’t happen bad. Jesus knew.”
“So no, I’m not saying that Jesus didn’t know or that Jesus was hoping things would change,” Jenkins emphasized, adding that he believes “Jesus and the Father share the same will and that their wills are inextricably united.”
The director addressed the scene where Jesus tells Judas, “Who has your heart? I want it, and I’ve had it before.” Jenkins said this “is not referring to salvation” and shared that he doesn’t “believe you can just gain and lose your salvation at your own will.”
“How we’re interpreting it is, of course, is that Judas did believe in Jesus and now might not, and then, ultimately, may not. We don’t know,” Jenkins said.
“Those of an Arminian theological bent might argue that Judas was a believer who gave up his belief, while Calvinists might argue Judas was never truly saved,” he said, quoting Dr. Huffman, a New Testament scholar who consults on “The Chosen.”
“To me, it matters little because if Jesus could pray for unbelievers while they were crucifying Him, it seems that Jesus could pray for Judas even while Judas was planning to betray Him.”
“The most simple explanation of the scene and of Jesus’ phrase,” Jenkins contended, is understood by reading His words in Matthew 5:44: “Pray for your enemies and those who persecute you.”
“[Jesus] is talking about praying for your enemies. Praying for those who curse you. Praying for those who do evil. Jesus did not say, ‘But I won’t because I happen to be a member of the Trinity and don’t need to pray,” he said.
“There are many ways to pray for someone, many reasons to do so. Compassion is a big one. Jesus could have had, absolutely, must have had, compassion for Judas. … [Jesus] had compassion for those who rejected Him. He had compassion and sorrow for Jerusalem.”
“Jesus did not say in this scene, ‘I’ll pray for you, Judas, that you will change your mind.’ He said, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ which can mean any number of things, and there are many reasons to pray for someone,” Jenkins clarified.
Jenkins believes that Jesus’ will and the Father’s will are “inextricably linked, but pointed to Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where He was “asking for a potential change from the plan.”
“In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus actually said, ‘Not My will, but Yours be done,” Jenkins said. “Not mine, but yours, because in that moment, He was actually, in fact, saying, ‘Could You take this cup from me?'”
“Now, scholars have debated what exactly that means, and eventually you’ll see that scene portrayed, but it’s absolutely unarguable that he said, ‘I want your will to be done, not mine,'”
Jenkins said, “That seems to be the most likely scenario for a comment like that. Of course, there’s people who disagree, and that’s fine. … I don’t claim that I have the monopoly on every single theological debate. … It’s not impossible for Jesus to pray for Judas’ heart while still saying to the Father, ‘Not my will, but yours be done.'”
Though the show never portrays Jesus actually praying for Judas, Jenkins said, “I’m not saying that’s exactly what Jesus would have prayed for Judas, but I’m just saying it’s not impossible that He would have.”
When Jesus tells Judas, “I have had your heart, and I want it now,'” He is “not necessarily referring to salvation,” Jenkins continued. “Of course, He wants everyone’s heart. He wants salvation, but the crucifixion hasn’t even happened yet. … The true act of salvation has not actually occurred just yet.”
“We’re referring to the fact that Judas absolutely was a follower of Jesus and absolutely, most assuredly, believed in Him,” Jenkins said. “He had authority to cast out demons and preach in His name.”
Now, as to “whether or not he had salvation and then lost it,” Jenkins said, “that’s a debate for the Calvinists and the Armenians to have, but we’re referring to his belief.”
Jenkins stressed that he and the show’s writers “believe that Judas was originally a follower of Jesus and did believe that He was the Messiah and did believe in His miracles and whatever that meant for his salvation.”
“I do believe that [Judas] did believe and then didn’t — and that by that time, by that point in time, he did not have a choice. It was part of God’s will, especially once the spiritual, dark fears, spiritual forces entered into him, as the Bible says,” Jenkins said.
“I do believe that Jesus can pray for people,” Jenkins added. “I do believe that Jesus can pray for His enemies. I do believe Jesus can pray for Judas.”
John 17 references “one of Jesus’ big prayers [where] He talks about how in that moment He was praying for those who God gave Him, but not the one, the son of perdition, not His betrayer,” Jenkins said.
“So in that moment, He was not praying for Judas,” said Jenkins. “But that’s not to say that He never was. But [Jesus] absolutely, throughout his ministry, prayed for all of His apostles, many of His enemies and Judas.”
While acknowledging the sensitivity of the issue, Jenkins said he welcomed the controversy as an opportunity for conversation and biblical reflection.
“It’s good to have these kinds of conversations. We just ask and pray that we’ll continue to do it respectfully and that we will be accurate in what we are assuming about others,” he said.
Sources:Christian Post
ന്യൂ ഡൽഹി: തബല മാന്ത്രികൻ ഉസ്താദ് സാകിർ ഹുസൈന് വിട. അമേരിക്കയിലെ സാന് ഫ്രാന്സിസ്കോ ആശുപത്രിയിലായിരുന്നു അന്ത്യം. ഹൃദയസംബന്ധമായ ആരോഗ്യപ്രശ്നത്തെ തുടർന്ന് ഗുരുതരാവസ്ഥയിലായിരുന്നു അദ്ദേഹം. 1951-ൽ മുംബൈയിലാണ് സാക്കിര് ഹുസൈന് ജനിച്ചത്. വളരെ ചെറിയ പ്രായത്തിൽ തന്നെ തന്റെ മികവ് കാട്ടിയ അദ്ദേഹം 12 വയസ്സുള്ളപ്പോൾ കച്ചേരികളിൽ അവതരിപ്പിക്കാൻ തുടങ്ങി. ഐതിഹാസിക പോപ്പ് ബാൻഡ് ദി ബീറ്റിൽസ് ഉൾപ്പടെ നിരവധി പാശ്ചാത്യ സംഗീതജ്ഞരുമായി അദ്ദേഹം സഹകരിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. ശക്തി” എന്ന ഫ്യൂഷന് സംഗീത ബാന്ഡിന് 1974ൽ രൂപം നൽകി. 1999-ൽ അദ്ദേഹം യുണൈറ്റഡ് സ്റ്റേറ്റ്സ് നാഷണൽ എൻഡോവ്മെൻ്റ് ഫോർ ആർട്സ് നാഷണൽ ഹെറിറ്റേജ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് നേടി. അദ്ദേഹത്തെ രാജ്യം പത്മശ്രീ, പത്മഭൂഷൺ, പത്മവിഭൂഷൺ എന്നിവ നൽകി ആദരിച്ചു. മലയാളത്തില് ‘വാനപ്രസ്ഥം’ അടക്കം ഏതാനും സിനിമകൾക്ക് സംഗീതം നൽകി.
1991ലും 2009ലും ഗ്രാമി പുരസ്കാരം ലഭിച്ചു. പ്രശസ്ത കഥക് നര്ത്തകിയുമായ അന്റോണിയ മിനെക്കോളയാണ് ഭാര്യ. അനിസ ഖുറേഷിയും ഇസബെല്ല ഖുറേഷിയുമാണ് മക്കള്.
കഴിഞ്ഞ ഗ്രാമി പുരസ്കാര വേദിയിലും സാക്കിര് ഹുസൈന് ശ്രദ്ധേയമായ നേട്ടങ്ങള് കൈവരിച്ചിരുന്നു. മികച്ച ഗ്ലോബല് മ്യൂസിക്ക് പെര്ഫോമന്സ്, മികച്ച കണ്ടംപററി ഇന്സ്ട്രുമെന്റല് ആല്ബം, മികച്ച ഗ്ലോബല് മ്യൂസിക് ആല്ബം എന്നീ വിഭാഗങ്ങളിലാണ് പുരസ്കാരം പങ്കിട്ടത്. മന്റോ, മിസ്റ്റര് ആന്റ് മിസിസ് അയ്യര്, വാനപ്രസ്ഥം എന്നിവയുള്പ്പെടെ ഏതാനും സിനിമകള്ക്ക് സംഗീതം നല്കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഹീറ്റ് ആന്റ് ഡസ്റ്റ്, ദി പെര്ഫക്റ്റ് മര്ഡര്, മിസ് ബ്യൂട്ടിസ് ചില്ഡ്രന്, സാസ് എന്നീ ചിത്രങ്ങളില് അഭിനയിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain died in a San Francisco hospital on Monday, his family announced. He was 73. Hussain’s death resulted from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to his family. He was hospitalised for two weeks and later moved to intensive care as his health worsened.
Among those who posted tributes on X were top politicians, industrialists, sportspersons and film personalities.
Tributes for Zakir Hussain flood social media
Social media was flooded with tributes to tabla maestro Zakir Hussain Sunday night.
Movie
Answered Prayer: Dallas Jenkins Reveals Incredible, Unlikely Path God Paved to His Latest Hollywood Hit
TV and film director Dallas Jenkins has forever etched a name for himself in Hollywood history with his record-breaking creation of “The Chosen,” the Jesus-themed series that has taken the world by storm.
But Jenkins recently recognized another dream of his: bringing author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 novel “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to the big screen. The film by the same name, which released Nov. 8 in theaters nationwide, was very literally an answer to Jenkins’ long-uttered prayers.
The director recently appeared on “Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell” to share how his faith and the power of prayer led to some truly incredible events and, ultimately, the making of that film.
According to Jenkins, he simply felt called by God to make the movie.
“The difference between my own desire and God’s desire … one of the best tests of that is … when you first have an idea or … something God puts on your heart, and if it just doesn’t let go of you … I think that’s one of the best signs that it could be a calling from God,” Jenkins said. “And there’s others as well.”
He said he immediately knew after reading the novel that he was “born to make this movie.”
Hear Jenkins share the powerful story:
“I just said, ‘I believe this is a movie that I was born to make,'” Jenkins said.
He immediately began reaching out to the rights holders to share his vision and heart for the movie, but he soon discovered they were already working with another studio.
Jenkins was saddened but undissuaded.
“Every year, I would check in,” he said. “Every year, I would bug them, and every year the answer was the same.”
During that time, Jenkins also did something else: he created a recurring calendar reminder on his phone and laptop that included just three words: “Pray for Pageant.” It was a reminder for him to take time each and every week to pray for God to open a pathway to make the movie.
“I’d love to tell you that I prayed the holy prayer of, ‘Whatever God’s will is, I’ll be happy with,'” he quipped. “I was praying against this movie being made by anyone else. I was praying that God would let me have it, and I’m being a little lighthearted, but, ultimately, I really did believe God was putting this on my heart.”
After five years, Jenkins found out the studio looking to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” wasn’t working out. Sadly, though, yet another big studio jumped into the mix, once again axing his ability to get the rights to the film.
“I went and told my wife, and we were so upset, and we had tears in our eyes,” Jenkins recapped. “And I really felt like it was over, and I went to my computer to sit down and get some work done and, ‘ping,’ [the calendar invite pops up] taunting me, ‘Pray for Pageant.'”
He continued, “And what are the odds? What are the odds? … I grabbed the mouse, I moved the cursor up to the delete button, and I was gonna delete this prayer prompt, because I said, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep getting my hopes up. If this isn’t for me, I need to stop.'”
But Jenkins said he felt God telling him not to click the delete button and to keep hoping.
“I wanted to delete it and God just wouldn’t let me,” he said, noting that he opted to once again pray.
Jenkins was already working on “The Chosen” at that time, with the series quickly blowing up into a phenomenon. Still, his thirst to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” progressed.
Eventually, he reached back out to the rights owners and learned the film was again stalled. And that’s when the story truly gets interesting.
“He says, ‘You know what, Dallas? It’s kind of a funny coincidence you reached out, ’cause just last week, the studio forgot to renew the rights. We got them back. They’re asking us to renew, but we haven’t been happy. They’ve been taking too long. And just a couple of days ago, my mom reached out to me and said, ‘Have you seen this show called ‘The Chosen?’ and I said, ‘Oh, that’s funny, the creator of the show is always bugging me to watch it, and always bugging me for the rights to this movie.'”
The rights holder’s mother, upon hearing this, told her son to give Jenkins the rights and the rest is, well, history. Jenkins was granted the rights, the film was made, and it has now grossed more than $25 million at the box office.
Jenkins believes it’s a remarkable testament to the power of prayer, trust, and God’s timing.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS
A school in Finland has cancelled a concert of Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir over concerns the recital’s Christian themes might offend some students.
Officials with the school hosting the concert in question made the decision after learning about a case in Hämeenlinna, a Finnish city, where a child objected to songs about the life of Jesus performed at an undisclosed school. Ultimately, the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal decided the non-Christian pupils should be compensated 1,500 euros (or $1,562) for their offense, local outlets reported.
However, on Nov. 19, the city’s Education and Welfare Committee voted 6-5 no payment was due to the offended school students.
The show in Hämeenlinna was one of three performances based on faith-filled themes. The first recital was held in 2022, with subsequent recitals in 2023 and 2024. At least one non-religious student watching the 2022 show was purportedly offended.
Finnish news outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported the “religiosity of the concert was not announced in advance, but [the school] apologized after the concert.” It was only the first show accused of being “discriminatory.”
A hymn was removed from the second performance in 2023 and some apparently voiced concerns about a parish choir at the third event.
“The board also found that the educational institution had neglected its obligation to promote equality,” Helsingin Sanomat reported of the choir singing at the performance. “It held this view, inter alia, because the educational institution did not inform that the choir’s performance had been organized jointly with the congregation.”
Given the experience in Hämeenlinna, the organizers of the yet-to-be performed concert cancelled the event, citing issues with the religious overtones in the music.
“The atmosphere in the chamber choir and baroque orchestra has been shocked by the decision,” Laura Kajander, executive director of the Baroque Orchestra, reportedly said, noting it was the first time she was aware such a cancellation happened. “If concerts are cancelled, it is the children who suffer.”
It’s worth noting some 65% of Finns still identify as Christians, belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, one of two national churches in the country, Christian Network Europe reported. Additionally, 32% said they don’t identify with any religious group, per the U.S. Department of State.
All of this comes as former Finnish PM Päivi Räsänen is embroiled in what has become a years-long legal battle after she shared a Bible verse on social media.
She weighed in on the compensation conflict in Hämeenlinna and the recent concert cancellation, arguing the decision to remove the performance from the schedule defied common sense.
“Compensation payment of 1,500 euros for discrimination when a non-religious child accidentally heard a song about Jesus,” she wrote in an X post on Oct. 31. “Has the use of common sense disappeared? At the same time, schools celebrate Halloween with witches and zombie characters. How can a song about Jesus be perceived as so dangerous?”
Sources:faithwire
Police drop charges against street preacher arrested outside arena
A California street preacher arrested while evangelizing to concert-goers outside a public events arena no longer faces charges after a...
‘The Chosen’ creator Dallas Jenkins responds to critics of ‘unbiblical’ scene with Judas
“The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins has defended the portrayal of an interaction between Jesus and Judas Iscariot as biblically grounded...
കുവൈത്തിൽ കുടുംബ സന്ദർശന വിസാ കാലയളവ് മൂന്ന് മാസമായി ഉയർത്തും
കുവൈത്തിൽ കുടുംബ സന്ദർശന വിസാ കാലയളവ് മൂന്ന് മാസമായി ഉയർത്തുമെന്ന് ആഭ്യന്തര മന്ത്രാലയ അസിസ്റ്റൻറ് അണ്ടർ സെക്രട്ടറി മേജർ ജനറൽ അലി അൽ അദാനി. നിലവിൽ, വിസിറ്റിംഗ്...
PYPA 77-ാ മത് സംസ്ഥാന ക്യാമ്പിന്റെ അഞ്ചാമത് അനുഗ്രഹ പ്രാർത്ഥനാസംഗമം ചേങ്കോട്ടുകോണം ഹെബ്രോൻ ചർച്ചിൽ ഡിസംബർ 22 ന്
2024 ഡിസംബർ 25 മുതൽ 28 വരെ നെയ്യാർഡാം രാജീവ് ഗാന്ധി ഇൻസ്റ്റിറ്റ്യൂട്ട് ഓഫ് അഡ്വാൻഡ്സ് സ്റ്റഡീസ് ക്യാമ്പ് സെൻ്ററിൽ വച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടുന്ന PYPA 77-മത് സംസ്ഥാന...
മെക്സിക്കോയിൽ രണ്ട് കത്തോലിക്കാ ദൈവാലയങ്ങൾ ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെട്ടു
മെക്സിക്കോ സ്റ്റേറ്റിൽ രണ്ട് കത്തോലിക്കാ ദൈവാലയങ്ങൾ ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെട്ടു. ഒരു ദൈവാലയത്തിൽ വിശുദ്ധ കുർബാനയെ അവഹേളിച്ചു. മറ്റൊരു സംഭവം, ബസിലിക്ക ഓഫ് ഔവർ ലേഡി ഓഫ് റെമഡീസിനുപുറത്ത് വെടിവയ്പ്പ്...
കോഴഞ്ചേരി ഏ.ജി കൺവെൻഷൻ ഡിസം.19 മുതൽ
അസംബ്ളീസ് ഓഫ് ഗോഡ് കോഴഞ്ചേരി സെക്ഷന്റെയും ന്യൂ ലൈഫ് എ.ജി. കടപ്ര സഭയുടെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തിൽ ആത്മമാരി കൺവെൻഷൻ ഡിസംബർ 19 മുതൽ 22 വരെ ന്യൂ ലൈഫ്...
-
Travel7 months agoയാക്കൂസ കരിഷ്മ:ഓല സ്കൂട്ടറിനേക്കാൾ വിലക്കുറവിൽ കുഞ്ഞൻ കാർ; സിറ്റി യാത്രകൾക്ക് ഇനി ഇവൻ മതിയാവും
-
Movie1 month agoFor KING + COUNTRY Stars’ Big Plan to Bring Message of Jesus, ‘Redemption of Humanity’ to People Across America
-
Movie3 weeks agoFor KING + COUNTRY Stars’ Big Plan to Bring Message of Jesus, ‘Redemption of Humanity’ to People Across America
-
Tech5 months agoചിത്രങ്ങൾ എഡിറ്റ് ചെയ്യാം; വാട്സ്ആപ്പിലെ ‘നീല വളയം’ സ്മാർട്ടാകുന്നു, കാര്യമായ മാറ്റങ്ങൾ
-
National10 months ago300,000-Member Indian Church to Plant 40 More Megachurches
-
National10 months agoനെയ്തേലിപ്പടി ക്രൂസേഡിന് അനുഗ്രഹീത സമാപ്തി
-
Movie9 months agoActor Ryan Phillippe ‘Craving’ Relationship With God After Movie About Christian Missionary
-
Articles6 months ago8 ways the Kingdom connects us back to the Garden of Eden