Jonathan Roumie, Bill Maher, and Cleverly Devised Tales
Author: Stan Guthrie
July 24, 2025
On one of my recent excursions on Planet YouTube, my eyes were drawn to a video titled “Bill Maher Confronted Jonathan Roumie LIVE on The Bible, Then Learns Valuable Lesson!” Roumie, as you probably know, is an actor (and practicing Roman Catholic) known for portraying Jesus on The Chosen, the No. 1 series on Amazon, watched by an estimated 280 million people. Maher is a talk show host and comedian known in part for his skepticism about the Christian faith.
“This should be interesting,” I thought to myself as I clicked on the video. And indeed it was.
The video presented a narrative describing Maher’s attempt on his show to mock Roumie’s beliefs. Maher, however, was stopped in his tracks by the actor’s caring (and almost clairvoyant) approach to Maher the man, who was turned cynical by family wounds and unanswered prayer in childhood.
The expected debate turned into something more when Roumie told his interlocutor, “I’ve been praying for you every night for five years, Bill”—and then showed him his prayer journal. The narrator added, “What unfolded wasn’t a debate—it was a divine encounter that left America’s most outspoken skeptic speechless.”
There was just one problem—this “divine encounter” never happened.
While there was a disclaimer tucked away in the video description stating that the content is entirely fictional and created for entertainment purposes, it was easy to miss. The video is just plausible enough, and packs a serious enough emotional and spiritual punch, to mislead the unwary (including, for a few minutes, yours truly) and generate lots of clicks—and revenue.
But no harm, no foul—right? Hardly.
In an AI-dominated society, in which it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate the genuine from the fake, such deceptive presentations of the Christian faith can make fulfilling the evangelistic task that much harder for the church. They:
- Undermine trust in the gospel and in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
- Cause spiritual confusion or emotional letdown for those genuinely seeking to know more about the Lord.
- Promote unrealistic expectations of the triumphant Christian life, including in our outreach ministries. While every story is unique, we shouldn’t expect quick conversions in a deeply skeptical culture, even as we know the power of the Spirit. Evangelism usually takes time and is a team effort between us and God (1 Corinthians 3:6).
- Not every challenge we face has an easy, happy ending wrapped up before the credits roll. Sometimes life is hard, even for Christians.
- Make Christ’s followers look like knaves or fools if we uncritically pass on these “cleverly devised tales” (2 Peter 1:16).
And the fact is, the gospel and dishonesty don’t mix. As the Apostle Paul said, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (2 Corinthians 2:17).
We don’t need clickbait to commend the gospel in a culture hungry for powerful stories. We already have them.
As well, Canadian scholar and apologist Wes Huff demonstrates the power of truth spoken creatively and winsomely. His interview by podcaster Joe Rogan on Christ’s resurrection as a historically credible event and his scholarly defense of the Bible’s accuracy and reliability has garnered seven million views online, and counting.
There is truth and beauty to spare in the gospel, which has been rightly called “the greatest story ever told.” We don’t need deceptive clickbait. Instead, let’s do our best to speak about Jesus with precision and authenticity, ultimately depending on the Spirit’s power to change hearts.
Stan Guthrie is Minister of Communications for New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois.
Image created using Copilot AI.
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