More importantly, allowing some of the disciples to judge Mary a bit more would have added more tension and could have fueled future arcs. Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. Did anyone notice what it was that made her recognize him? In Episode 6, Jesus sends Peter and Matthew to find Mary and bring her back. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. The Chosen seems to be hinting that Mary is a prostitute (e.g. **Update: I explore the origin of the name "Lilith" in my recent post **. Just before Luke introduces us to Mary Magdalene, he tells a story about a prostitute that Jesus forgives (, Since I criticized Season 1 of The Chosen for making Mary too perfect, it's only fair that I acknowledge how Season 2 seeks to rectify that issue. However, In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. There is however a very clear disclaimer at the beginning of the series saying this isnt word-for-word and its no replacement for reading your Bible, etc. Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it may use the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is either a prostitute or a sexually immoral woman without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. Narrative Ambiguity & Charitable Reading, The Chosen: 6 Good Friday & Easter Episodes, The Rings of Power, LOTR, and Bible Adaptation, Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power & The Challenges of Biblical Adaptation, In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 1), In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 2), Imagining Mary Magdalene (5 More Bible Adaptations While You Wait for The Chosen Season 2), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Intensity in Tent City (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 2 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 1 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Physician, Heal Thyself (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3 with Youth or Small Group), Two by Two (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 2 with Youth or Small Group), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture (Adapting Biblical Characters), Homecoming (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 with Youth or Small Group), John the Baptist in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), 2022 BY THE BIBLE ARTIST. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by an evil spirit, Lilith, for some time. Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. I think Mary went by Lilith when she came to Magdala, not scripturally speaking, but for the story line. I wouldn't take too long discussing these questions. This is symbolically tied to her encounter with another demon, Belial, who calls Mary Lilith, asserting the continued existence and power of her old identity. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. Have you seen other examples of how Jesus can show up suddenly and change someone's life in a big way? These parallels are more than a neat bit of foreshadowing. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. As COVID drags on and winter sets in, if you're looking for a good activity to do online with your youth group, you might want to consider doing a series of The Chosen Viewing Parties like this. /r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. She was a witness of Jesus' crucifixion and burial (Mark 15:40-47) and also the first person to discover the empty tomb, witness the resurrected Jesus, and share the good news with the disciples (John 20:1-18). FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. After sharing that information, you can ask: What stuck out to you about Mary Magdalene's depiction in The Chosen? It's odd? Thus, when Jesus first encounters Mary, what he offers her isn't forgiveness for her life of prostitution; it's relief from the oppressive demons that drove her to the type of life that she's lived. And the parallels don't end there. Starting around episode three I think is when it finds its groove. Pray World's oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, dies at Thief steals St. Michael statue from church, trips, and A photo I took of our altar at Midnight Mass this Christmas, Mother on death bed, priest refused to see her. So you have to watch past the first couple episodes to get to the good ones. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. When he encounters her again in Season 1 Episode 2, he is surprised to discover that she has been completely healed and is free of the evil spirits. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. Yes, we see that Jesus had warm and empowering relationships with females. For the most part, I just clarified who characters were (see my comment above) and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that was confusing to my youth. Having offered some criticism, I will say that the scene of Jesus forgiving Mary was moving. However, a post by the official Twitter account for The Chosen claims that Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. The implications of Mary living in the "Red Quarter" are still there. Mary Magdalene was a female disciple who traveled with Jesus during his ministry (Luke 8:1-3). The Hebrew word "lilit" only shows up in Isaiah 34:14, where most modern translations render it as something along the lines of "night bird." The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. And we also just had fun chatting about random stuff, like how Quintus was totally fitting the stereotype of the evil bald guy. In Episode 8, we see that Mary is still struggling a bit - her failure is driving her to be a bit too unrelenting in her work for Jesus- but other than that she seems to be back on track. Enough said.). Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. When they are engaged in sin, it's often a result of their difficult circumstances or their status as outsiders, and so what they primarily need is love and acceptance, not forgiveness and repentance. She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it most likely uses the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is a prostitute without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. As a result, adaptations of the Gospels from previous generations place a greater emphasis on how Jesus calls Mary to repent and brings about her moral transformation. When he encounters her again in Season 1 Episode 2, he is surprised to discover that she has been completely healed and is free of the evil spirits. They speak to different audiences & look good on screen), Can you think of characters or stories that the film left out? Below I'll share an outline describing how to do a Viewing Party for The Chosen Episode 1 (I Have Called You by Name). The creators of The Chosen have published interactive Bible Studies that are meant to explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired Season 1 and help viewers apply them to everyday life. Personally, I would have been much more interested in a subplot about Mary's former pimp trying to coerce her back into her former life than I am with the overly long fish taxation plot. Although, like Nicodemus, the account of Jesus' life in the Gospels tells us relatively little about her, the part that she plays as the first witness to the Resurrection is objectively much more significant. Yes, there are plenty of women who show up in the Gospels. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (, As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. LOTR, Harry Potter), In [adaptation], can you think of some characters or stories that were added by the film? Episode 1 depicts how she got these demons cast out of her by Jesus. Your contributions mean so much. For more details, check out my post focused specifically on Lilith, Demons, and Evil Spirits. East pencil writes or draws used for note taking West pencil is yellow has a eraser and lead. This allows the show to be more family friendly, but it also weakens the narrative that the show is telling about Jesus' compassion and pity. Hopefully though, season 2 will find more ways to develop her character in a manner that's dynamic and engaging, because there's still much that could be done. I hope you enjoy them! Nicodemus was brought in to perform an exorcism on her but failed, making him question the fullness of the Law. I offer my work for free and rely on the generous support of readers like you. Everything is very true to the Gospels, and theres no dialogue written to score theological points. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. See a Roman centurion fill Lilith/Mary s sight, a suggestion that the woman have. Literally none of that is in Scripture or sacred tradition and that bothers me! This passage is one of the few appearances of Mary Magdalene in the Gospels. (ex. Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. Im not sure many people caught this, but when Jesus follows Mary outside, he calls to her saying, Mary of Magdala! Mary then turns around, dropping her jar and says to him, How do you know my name? I think one could make sense of the Mary/Lilith name in that scene alone. Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (Luke 8:1-3) and a story about a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50). The Bible never suggests Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. In my opinion it works. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. One day (hopefully) we viewers will get our first glimpse of the resurrected Jesus as we follow Mary to the empty tomb. But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? And just like one day Mary will initially fail to recognize the risen Jesus, confusing him for a gardener, she initially fails to recognize Jesus when he first comes to her, confusing him for one of the men who's been hassling her. Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. I love this series. Luke notes that Mary had seven spirits exorcised from her, but the other women experienced miraculous healing as well. We need to remember the perspective is of east and west are different East is how it performs, what it does its function West they would describe what it is or made of. I have not seen any anti Catholic scenes. [Update: In the comments below, an astute reader pointed me to a post by the official Twitter for The Chosen, which claims Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. You can find episode one free on YouTube here, although there are lots of ads. Just long enough to make this point: Adaptations often add, change, and leave out details, because what works in a book isn't always the same as what works in television or film. Without getting too detailed, I found it helpful to get my youth thinking about what adaptations are and how they work. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene, Lilith, & the Redeemer (Exploring The Chosen with Youth), Elizabeth Tabish as Lilith/Mary Magdalene in The Chosen, Over the past year, we've been exploring how The Chosen adapts biblical characters like, You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. There are also characters and stories from the Gospels that the creators have left out. The second passage is the Scripture that Mary has written down: This passage that Mary's father taught her is from the Book of Isaiah. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). Thank you! According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. What's disappointing is that it doesn't delve too far into the implications of this. I also suggest setting expectations for the first episode. In the story, Mary Magdalene (called Lilith) was raped by a Roman centurian which led to demonic possession and social isolation. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (Luke 8:1-3). Catholic priest burned to death, another shot in north Press J to jump to the feed. Mary Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus. every time a new character showed up. In a previous era of Hollywood Mary's status as a prostitute made her exotic and intriguing. This is Tom My 3 month old son is battling an extremely rare and [Free Friday] after an early miscarriage 3 weeks ago, I Our new campus chapel is so close to being ready! Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. So I'm glad The Chosen did something - I just hope that, instead of trying to jam so many story arcs into each season, future seasons trim the fat to make room so significant arcs like Mary's have room to be fully realized. And to be fair, there isnt a whole lot of backstory for any of the disciples in the Bible, so its not a surprise the writers filled in the blanks with some artistic license. To clarify why the creators would want to add new characters and stories and leave some stories out, you could ask the following questions: What are some other popular adaptations of books into film or television? The Bible never mentions "the Red Quarter." That being said, there's no biblical reason to think that she could not have done so. To recap: in, One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. I have Bible studies/discussion guides for each episode of The Chosen Seasons 1-3, blogs exploring how The Chosen adapts key biblical figures, and articles exploring the controversial nature of adaptation. Although there's nothing in the Gospels that suggests that these two figures should be linked together, Mary mistakenly became identified with the forgiven prostitute in the interpretative tradition of the Western Church. Luke briefly describes how Mary Magdalene was exorcised by Jesus and became one of his traveling followers (Luke 8:1-3). It's also strange that we never actually return back to the fact that Mary was having PTSD - Jesus forgives her fall but doesn't say anything about her ongoing suffering (perhaps that's a storyline for a future season). I think the producer said he wanted to do eight seasons total. Explain: The Chosen is a multi-season streaming series that's adapting the four Gospels. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. . Thank you for your input. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? Interestingly, The King of Kings (1927) also uses Mary Magdalene to introduce us to Jesus for the first time. I thought Mary's storyline in Season 2 of The Chosen had a lot of potential but it was unfortunately not given enough room to breathe. There you go! Click here for my affiliation policy. Hopefully these questions will prove helpful as you watch episode 1 of The Chosen with your youth group. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Its not perfect, but its a pretty great start. (for LOTR: Arwen's bigger role, some action scenes. It's a great comfort in the midst of the pandemic and other turmoil. Although we'll have to wait in order to understand fully what the show wants us to conclude, this could be a subtle and effective way to show how Jesus' ability to heal and save is ultimately grounded in his willingness to die and rise again. The Chosen does the "misunderstood reject rather than sinner" quite a bit in Season 1, but I think it's a sensible direction for Mary's character. [SPOILERS] Is the Jon Snow spin-off really such a good idea? Your contributions mean so much. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. They were fully engaged by the show on the level of entertainment but also seemed solidify their understanding of important gospel events and figures, as well as the cultural context. Just before Luke introduces us to Mary Magdalene, he tells a story about a prostitute that Jesus forgives (Luke 7:36-50). Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. I found that my youth struggled to sort out the different characters, so you might want to do a quick slide show of the key characters using the character images I've included throughout this post. Describe a pencil. It's certainly not The Exorcist, but demonic stuff can really freak some people out. While watching the show, I made occasional comments through the chat but I tried to not do too much teaching - I wanted the youth to enjoy The Chosen and not just see it as an elaborate preaching illustration. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (Luke 8:1-3) and a story about a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50). Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? The assumption at that time was that women became prostitutes because they were inherently immoral and desirous. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. As it was, we didn't really get a good sense of why Mary responded the way she did. The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. I will definitely continue watching it then, I just wanted to make sure! In The Chosen, during Season 2, Episodes 5-6, Mary Magdalene briefly leaves Jesus and falls back into sin, before being sought out, forgiven, and restored to ministry. The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. Do you believe Jesus knows you by name? Instead of being a femme fatale that Jesus needs to resist and tame, Mary Magdalene the prostitute is seen as an object of compassion and pity that Jesus needs to provide acceptance and safety. I hope you enjoy them! Many characters and stories are based on events in the Gospels, but there are also characters and events that the creators made up to tie things together. I'm not saying we needed to see anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than it did. Why do you think they were removed? (he is God). What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. The Gospels don't tell us very much about what these women do, with the significant exception of the burial and resurrection, but this provides leeway for female characters to play a more significant role throughout the ministry of Jesus and not just when they are mentioned. zline dishwasher kick plate installation, gravitas news palki sharma, how to unsuspend my discover card, let her budge hidalgo, lake victoria animals, petit oiseau en 7 lettres, juno conjunct mars synastry, how to talk to apollo god, martin archery 2022 bows, decoldest crawford brother, perth district court sentencing, which stroke option is used in the image below, is mark grossman leaving y&r, portales, nm active jail roster, sidewalk tractor for sale,
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