What could one of the world’s biggest pop stars and a show about Jesus Christ possibly have in common?
“The Chosen” shared on Instagram the honor they recently had by having their show illuminated onto the Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.
“The Chosen’s” logo, scenes from the show and images of the cast were projected onto Christ the Redeemer.
“A public display of affection for a nation who’s welcomed ‘The Chosen‘ with open arms,” The Chosen TV series wrote. “Fans in Brazil have blown us away–making ‘The Chosen’ #2 in the box office over the weekend.”
There perhaps couldn’t be a more fitting place for a show about Jesus to be displayed than on a literal monument of the Savior Himself. However, the TV series is not the first big name to have had this type of a tribute.
Last year, the Christ the Redeemer monument was lit up for an entirely different reason.
During her world Eras tour, Brazil paid homage to Taylor Swift by projecting a copycat of her famous “Junior Jewels” t-shirt from her “You Belong With Me” music video. Instead of making the image look exactly like the shirt from the music video, the projection on the Christ the Redeemer monument read “Welcome to Brazil.”
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Swift as an icon is vastly different than “The Chosen.” While “The Chosen” has brought the stories from the gospels to millions of people around the globe, Swift has been a point of spiritual contention, from her demonic “Karma” music video to the satanic hand gestures both she and artist Ice Spice have made in public.
While Christ the Redeemer is a monument, it is representative of something more than just a person who lived. For many, it is a symbol of their Savior who has overcome sin, death and the grave. By placing images of recognition on the monument for someone like Swift, who represents secular and outright occult-like practices, brings up the question of idolatry. Have we placed entertainment and the things of this world above the things of God?
While people will have a variety of opinions about both “The Chosen” and Taylor Swift being featured on Christ the Redeemer monument, the most important thing we can take from this is to keep our eyes centered first and far most on Christ Himself, no matter what kind of content is being filtered into the mainstream culture.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.