New Netflix Series About Jesus Butchers Christian Theology

Netflix just can’t stop making awful decisions, as evidenced by the announcement of a forthcoming series that will tell the tale of a 12-year-old boy who learns that he is Jesus Christ reincarnated.

According to The Wrap, “American Jesus” will follow an adolescent boy who’s suddenly been endowed with all the powers of our Lord and Savior:

Multilingual (Spanish/English) series “American Jesus” follows a 12-year-old boy who suddenly discovers he’s returned as Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk, and, perhaps, even raise the dead! How will he deal with the destiny to lead the world in a conflict thousands of years in the making? Everardo Gout (“Marvel’s Luke Cage,” “Sacred Lies,” “Mars,” “Banshee”) and Leopoldo Gout (“Molly’s Game,” “Instinct”) will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers on the series. Everardo Gout will also direct.

The Netflix series will be based on a 2004 comic book series of the same name penned by Mark Millar. According to Millar, who’s also written Marvel’s “Civil War,” “Kingsman,” and “Kick-Ass,” the comic is a modern “re-telling” of The Book of Revelation. In a 2009 interview with Newsarama, Millar explained the thought process behind the controversial comic:

The American Jesus idea hit me a few of years back. When I was a kid, I read the Bible like everyone else, and I sort of hoped that the ending would happen in my lifetime. The Book of Revelation is just really cool – all the old stuff with the sandals just sounded less exciting than the returning Jesus versus the Beast at the end of time. I think everyone who reads it kind of assumes that it’s going to happen in their lifetime, so just as a kid, it sounded great. So the idea has been percolating in me for a long time, and has actually appeared in a couple of projects that I’ve done over the years.

Certainly, there are many Christians who believe the events of Revelation could occur in their lifetime. However, there’s one huge problem with Millar’s “re-telling” of the prophecy: the Bible makes it clear that Jesus ascended into Heaven in his physical, resurrected body, and will return in the same form.

Acts 1:9-11 (NLV) reads:

⁹ When Jesus had said this and while they were still looking at Him, He was taken up. A cloud carried Him away so they could not see Him. ¹⁰ They were still looking up to heaven, watching Him go. All at once two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ They said, “You men of the country of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus Who was taken from you into heaven will return in the same way you saw Him go up into heaven.”

Furthermore, Abrahamic religions do not believe in reincarnation. Millar’s concept of Jesus returning as a 12-year-old boy therefore completely flies in the face of Christian theology and belief. There is one body and one soul, and Jesus will return in his resurrected form at a time and place that no one can predict.

Netflix has already lost a lot of business just for hiring the Obamas. Imagine what will happen when “American Jesus” debuts in 2020.