Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Celebrity Spirituality

Pardon the goofed fonts. Blogger's HTML editor, it seems, leaves much to be desired. I might have to start writing these things off-line....

Anyway, this was a fun one. My wife had the idea of using pictures of popular celebrites and then finding quotes they made about their spiritual beliefs. It made for intriguing research. Anyway, all of the quotes (except the one from Tom Hanks) I found in the book What Hollywood Believes by Ray Comfort. It's a fascinating read. Anyway, on to our celebrity montage...

Howard Stern

"I don’t think there’s any difference between the pope wearing a large hat and parading around with a smoking purse and an African painting his face white and praying to a rock"


Britney Spears

“If you can’t have fun, why do what you’re doing? [But] my priorities have changed a little bit, too. My family, my God, and my boyfriend: That’s my life. … I don’t want to be scared. I can’t walk on pins and needles. So I just have to pray. I just have to pray every night.”


Mr. T

"[My father] was praying. He was getting the sermon ready for Sunday. He wasn’t beating my mother or drinking, he was praying. And that’s something special. He taught me to pray. He taught me to have faith…”






Jim Carrey


“We’ve always tried to humanize him in some way. He’s probably just a shaft of light in a doorway or something like that…”






Johnny Cash


"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."




Bono

“I often wonder if religion is the enemy of God. It’s almost like religion is what happens when the Spirit has left the building. God’s Spirit moves through us at a pace that can never be constricted by any one religious paradigm.”






Pamela Anderson



“Well, I believe in God. I definitely believe that He is the reason that I’ve gotten through everything that I have. And I go to church. My kids go to Sunday school. And it’s definitely a part of my life.”




Marilyn Manson


“Initially I was drawn to the darker side of life. But it’s
really just human nature. I started to learn that everything that’s considered a sin is what makes you a human being. All the seven deadly sins are man’s true nature.”






Alice Cooper



“My life is dedicated to follow Christ.”









How informed do you suppose Jim Carrey's view on God is?

What do you suppose motivates Howard Stern's view on religion? Is it accurate?


Is Britney Spears' expression of faith legitimate or reasonable considering how she's lived her life in the public eye? How about Pamela Anderson's or Bono's?


Finally, consider Marilyn Manson's statement. Is it accurate?


The key verse for this study is Romans 12:2:

    "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

There's four words that we need to focus on:

1. Conform - to "fashion oneself according to" or to "make yourself look like"

2. World - an "age". Not just any period of time, but a specific era. (Think the "60's" or the "80's")

3. Transform - Literally to "metamorphose". The word means simply, "change". As it is used in the New Teastament, it means a transformation from the inside-out. (Many thanks to Ron for pointing that out to me...)

4. Renewing - Being made new in a "fresh" sense, not a young sense.

Thus, Paul is essentially telling his "brethren" (cf. Romans 12:1):
"Do not adopt the popular ideas of the age. Rather be changed by the freshness of your mind."

God is constantly at work in the Christian. There is never a day that He's not pointing out something that needs work, showing someone who needs compassion, etc. It's those convictions that renew the Christian mind - it's what keeps the Christian "fresh". It's also known as the process of sanctification. It's a process that repeats itself as often as necessary and it's a process that cannot be overlooked.

Why?

Because if a Christian ceases to act upon their convictions, they get stale. When they get stale, God doesn't seem to work in their lives, their relationship with Him suffers, and eventually they may go looking elsewhere (i.e. to the popular social and political ideas of the current age) for guidance.

And from what I can see, the current age doesn't offer much for guidance...

Have a great week.

- Graffy

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