Celebrities and Jesus
OR: Why is Hollywood so Christophobic?
Many celebrities dismiss the truth that Jesus is the only way by which man can come to God. Grammy winner Sheryl Crow, once a church youth group leader, told the New York Post in September of 2005 that she believes in Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and"all those that were enlightened." But Jesus Himself tells us in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Celebrities have also treated the teachings of Jesus with a pick and choose approach - take this principle, leave that one. "I like this. I'll take it and apply it. But I don't like these others, so I won't worry about them." Mel Gibson, director of The Passion of the Christ, defied that school of thought in an interview for ABC when he told Diane Sawyer that a person either believes the entire Gospel, or they believe none of it. I applaud Gibson's boldness in making that statement.
Many celebrities have tried to water down the teachings of Jesus, reducing His central message to nothing more than "Be nice to people." Any idiot can preach that. Jesus did command us to love one another, and to love our neighbors, but He also spoke about sin and redemption. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter defended Gibson's Passion in her March 4, 2004 column The Passion of the Liberal. Coulter's response to the "Be nice" message from Hollywood's Gospel of Christ reminded us that His central message was this: Man is sinful and in need of redemption, and that even though we don't deserve it, Jesus came to do just that for us.
Many people in Hollywood fail to understand Jesus because they've never really been exposed to the truth about who He is and what He did or did not teach. Others may have had negative experiences with church early in their lives. And then there's the narcissistic environment in Hollywood. Fame and fortune, coupled with acclaim and praise, breeds self-absorption, which ultimately breeds self-worship. Author James Hirsen (Hollywood Nation, Tales from the Left Coast) explains it this way: "Christianity tells you to turn to He who is greater than yourself, and to humble yourself. The teachings of Christ are the opposite of self-worship."
Now I am not saying that Hollywood is a completely Godless place devoid of anything good or godly. Stephen Baldwin is a Christian who is active as both an actor and a filmmaker. Actors such as Baldwin, Patricia Heaton, Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble have worked in films and television specials which proclaim the message of Christ. Then we have films such as The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia. Both movies did extrememly well at the box office, and both were virtually ignored by the Academy at Oscar time. And we also have production studios such as Cloud Ten Pictures, which has produced the film adaptations of the highly popular Left Behind novels abd Gener8xion Entertainment (The Omega Code films)as well as Visual Bible International, which produced 2003's The Gospel of John, and now has a distribution deal with Disney.
So, perhaps we should view Hollywood as being more like a modern day Nineveh rather than Sodom and Gomorrah. The presence of Christians in Hollywood today could be viewed as being very much like the arrival of Jonah in that ancient city. It is my prayer that God uses these people and their message to shine a light in a dark place to reach many people within the entertainment industry, and that many lives will be changed by the power of His spirit.
Published by R.E. Norton
I'm a 43 year old Midwest male - happily married with a 15 year old stepson and a three year-old little boy. My wife and I are very active in our church. My hobbies include reading, creative writing, music... View profile
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12 Comments
Post a CommentReligion is trickery, superstition and shame.
Your "soles" are on the bottom of your feet.
Prophet means profit.
By the way, don't be gulible. The devil always looks for someone to devour & he is the great deceiver. There are many websites & articles that seem good hearted & christian like, when In fact they're not. Thinking It will have a good affect on you, when actually It doesn't & pushes you away from faith.
Awesome article, keep It up. Us Christians need to band together & help people realize whats going on. Pray for the people that need It most & lets keep the good fight going. Lets not let up & thou shall not fear, as the lord & saviour jesus christ is always with us. He will reward us for being his soldier & when are demise roles around, he will reward us with the most precious gift of all, Eternal life. God bless you guys, thanks for the article! : )
It is not easy to understand and accept Jesus. Many think judgment is a mayor attribute from those who proclaim to know the Gospels, many christians at times play "Judge" or God. Also Hollywood doesn't look favorable the accepting Jesus thing on the open, because they can be subject to mockery and less fans. Jesus is the only way to the Father, but New Age and so much spirituality and meditation of "clearing the mind" doesn't lead to the Gospels, they are tools of distraction and don't lead to ultimate peace and clarity of mind. God bless you.
Great article! As the son of a longtime Christian senior pastor, I agree with and applaud your points in this piece. I also admire Mel Gibson for making his standing known in the spotlights of Hollywood interviews. Keep up the good work on Christ-centered writing! Excellent.
This article reads a lot like how an episode of "Moral Orel" goes, and I gotta say, it gave me a chuckle. I was indoctrinated into christianity since before I can remember. Bible classes, summer 'Christ's Kids Camps', church; you name it, I was sent off to it, and guess what? I'm a healthy, successful non-christian now, fully empowered in thinking for myself as well as taking responsibility for my actions. It is sad to see so many people blindly following a condensed panacea of stories and fiction to the neglect of their own capacities for reason, thought and revelation.
Very nice article. It is sad to see Christ's gospel being watered down in popular culture.
REALLY liked your article. The Bible talks about the anti-Christ and the spirit of anti-Christ. Christ means "the anointed one and his anointing". Hollywood is not so much 'Jesus-phobic' as much as they are (as you stated) Christophobic. They are not as afraid of Jesus as they are of his anointing, his power. The natural man does not understand the things of the spirit so unless a person's heart is renewed, they will never understand Christ, who he was and is, and what he stands ready to do for not only Hollywood but all of us: deliver us from ourselves and our idolatries, lust for money, lust for power, healing our minds and bodies of diseases, and giving us the free gift of eternal life in heaven. "There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death," ...Prov 14:12 Amplified.
Very good article. The hostility towards Christianity seems really out of proportion to that directed at other beliefs. It's illogical how hard non-believers attack something they don't even consider to be real. My only negative comment is that you used Ann Coulter as an illustration...
Good article. I think people tend to fear what they don't know.