Spiritual Smorgasbord

We live in a day when pure expressions of faith in Christ are so necessary. However, there are other ideas that permeate our culture.  2nd Timothy 3 warns against those who possess a "form of godliness," but continue to way in the ways of the flesh.  After listing a number of manifestations of this concept, Paul writes:
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We have to make sure that our stated Christianity isn't a way to try to cover up actions that are not pleasing to God and inconsistent with our public persona; i.e., the double life.  Hypocritical Christianity becomes a "form of godliness."  There are those, including people in celebrity culture, who want to "talk spiritual," but whose lives also display characteristics or ideas that contradict Scripture.  Christianity is not one of many spiritual ideas to make one feel better about himself or herself: it is a relationship with the true, loving, holy God through Jesus.

+++++

In Acts 4, we find Peter under siege from those who were so skeptical of his faith that they turned the occasion of the healing of someone into an opportunity to ridicule his faith. He responded by calling attention to the one true way of salvation. We can read:
10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of hope coming out of Hollywood these days - the entertainment industry has been rocked by the scandal involving studio mogul Harvey Weinstein and the astonishing number of women having claimed to be assaulted by him.  The #MeToo Twitter campaign has featured a host of women of who have experienced the pain of sexual assault.

Oprah Winfrey describes it this way, quoted in a CBS News article:

"This is what I do know for sure: When something this major happens, when you have the fallout, 50 women coming forward, that it's a watershed moment. And what I do believe is actually happening is that, first of all, it's triggering a lot of unreleased pain, repressed anger, guilt and suffering that a lot of women have had," Winfrey said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."

The "60 Minutes" special contributor and author of newly-released book, "The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations," said she was on set with actresses who had not slept for two or three days. "I was like, what is that? Oh, you guys are suffering from PTSD," Winfrey said.

Oprah added, "I know being a victim of child sexual abuse that when you feel like you cannot be heard and then other people start speaking out, it makes you feel like, 'Oh, now, I can speak out too..."

It would be great to hear about how the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ is working in the broken lives in Hollywood, who have been so caught up in the search for success; many intimidated into silence because they felt that by speaking out against despicable behavior that they will never attain the dreams they have.  

But, I'm not sure that Oprah's curious mix of spirituality - I am careful not to say Christianity, because her approach to spiritual matters encompasses a wide range of thoughts.  According to another CBS News article:

Winfrey said spirituality to her is the "desire to fulfill the highest expression of truth in ourselves," and that it is "the essence of who you are."

Her book is described as "a collection of moments from the two-time Emmy Award-winning series, 'Super Soul Sunday,' where Winfrey has in-depth conversations with spiritual thinkers, including life coach Tony Robbins, television producer Shonda Rhimes and Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh."

And, yes, there have been guests identified as Christians who have been on the program.  That makes sense, because in the world of Oprah, Christian ideals are part of an overall spiritual grid.  But, it's not exclusive.  And, that's where celebrity religion misses the mark.

Ken Baker of E!News has just released a book called, The Ken Commandments: My Search for God in Hollywood.  Don't let the title fool you, though - it doesn't appear that Baker has found true Christianity, although elements are part of his spiritual smorgasbord.  Baker, as an entertainment journalist, relates to ReligionNews.com that his amount of worry has been diminished and that he has greater peace.  About his faith perspective, he says:

I would identify as a believer in the grace and power of faith in a higher power. I started off on this midlife search for faith and meaning thinking maybe I will walk away with a label. Maybe I’ll be a Buddhist, or reconnect with my Christian roots, but really what I have walked away with is a reluctance to put any label on where I am.

And I am at total peace with that. I have a sense of being connected to God and any denominational label would not do that justice. So I would say I am a believer, I am faithful, I am centered, I am calm. I have what I think is the powerful spirit of God — as I know God — within me, that gives me focus and strength and a sense of peace I didn’t have before.

His current spiritual practice looks something like this:

I meditate everyday. My core practice is primordial sound meditation — the mantra-based meditation I learned from Deepak Chopra that is similar to Transcendental Meditation. I occasionally go to Bible study with pastor Judah Smith and I have a very good relationship with pastor Brad Johnson of California Community Church, which the Kardashian family attends.

So, here's another celebrity who has added Christianity as an item on a spiritual menu.

And, that can challenge us to think about what Biblical Christianity actually is.  Certainly we have the choice whether or not to follow Jesus, but once we are followers, the way of discipleship actually involves doing what He says and adhering to His principles.  Sure, we have free will to do what we want to to grow as close to God as we wish, but that's not the Biblical approach to God.  Once we become a Christian, we are called to pursue a life of righteousness and holiness, a life that reflects the glory of God and devotion to Jesus - but to add other ideas to the process that contradict the teachings of Scripture, well, that diminishes what God has in store for us.

Because, the life devoted to Jesus is the life of a follower, an acknowledgement that He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We come to the Father through Him; no one comes to God any other way. Sure, there are many who claim to follow God and talk about God in their lives, and this is very common in celebrity culture.  But, it seems to me there is a tendency to seek for a self-styled god, whose religion allows you to blend a variety of spiritual elements.  That's not the walk to which Jesus is calling us - once we decide to surrender our lives to Him and are born again, then the expectation is to follow His principles, and not rely on spiritual ideas that contradict His own in order to experience a better life.

Christianity does not represent one of a stream of spiritual ideas or set of spiritual ideas in order to make us feel better about ourselves; nowt, it's about an encounter with a loving, living God, Who gave His life so that we can live His life; or so that we can have Him live His life through us.