The Chosen fans address atheists who love the show

The Chosen may be a series about the life and teachings of Jesus – but that doesn’t mean it’s just for Christians, with fans recently responding to atheist viewers.

Faith-based entertainment isn’t reserved for those who go to church every Sunday. After all, The Passion of the Christ is still the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time in the US – that movie’s performance was driven by Christian interest (and controversy), but otherwise spiritually inclined viewers went to see it too.

There’s also the likes of The Prince of Egypt, The Ten Commandments, Noah, and The Miracle Maker: all successful movies that appealed to the masses as well as religious audiences.

The Chosen is one of the most widely-watched TV shows in the world, believed to have reached 200 million unique users since it was watched. Atheists are among them, and they want to know how Christians feel about that.

The Chosen fans address atheist viewers

On The Chosen subreddit, u/mateoalejdro posted a thread titled: “How do we feel about Atheists who watch and are a fan of the show?”

They wrote: “I’m the atheist in question but I’m curious. If anyone’s wondering why I’d get into this kind of show it’s because I love seeing the human side of Jesus. The Jesus I grew up learning of was this all-powerful God, I didn’t like to fear a God for me to love him so forgive me for my lack of faith.

“But now, I love getting to see the side of him that loves everyone, not just the saints but the sinners especially. That above all he was kind. The episode in the first season with the children made me cry so hard. When he wakes up and prays in the morning, makes his own food, and sees him bleed while carving wood, he is so human. To see that the son of God who I feared so much as a child, just fear without love, was like you and me.

“(It’s funny to me that I’m the only person in my religious family watching it since they hate seeing Jesus God being portrayed by a man.)”

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Amazingly, the response has been unanimous: its fans don’t mind if you’re an atheist, because you’re still experiencing scripture, and they’re happy that anyone is watching it at all.

“I think it’s fantastic that you’re being exposed to Jesus and the Scriptures this way and I hope it leads you to study God’s Word further,” one wrote. “Atheists are Jesus’ target audience, yes? Even if you just enjoy it as entertainment I think it’s just great if you wish to watch. Understand this is a historical fiction account of his ministry with a great deal of artistic license. The lessons are important though,” another commented.

“We’re all walking our own path. Welcome to The Chosen! Yeah, they do a great job of portraying Jesus. Enjoy!” a third wrote. “You are most welcome to enjoy it with us for any reason you wish. We love him also. He was truly good and worthy of following. I’m glad that you can see that in the show,” a fourth commented. “You are very welcome! I am glad you are watching and enjoying the series! I hope it gives you another perspective and new thoughts on Jesus and his purpose,” a fifth wrote.