The Conundrum of Celebrity Christians

With the recent apostasy of Kanye West, the issue of celebrity Christians has once again surfaced. In addition to Kanye West’s high profile religious rise and fall, we might think of Russell Brand’s recent profession of faith. Brand has been vocal on social media, extolling Jesus and the gospel, although at times he has said and done things that leave believers scratching our heads, not quite sure how they fit with his claim to be saved. We have seen an exponential increase in the number of amateur and professional athletes publicly thanking Christ after competitions. How should Christians respond when a celebrity publicly embraces Christ?

Two responses often prevail when celebrities claim to have been converted to Christianity. On one end, we have people who excitedly embrace them, platform them, and treat them as de facto religious leaders. They see these celebrities as great spokespeople for Christ and the Christian faith. They believe that having such cultural influencers on the side of truth will result in massive society impact, with perhaps millions of unbelievers suddenly coming to faith in Christ. Read Full Article »