Christians typically welcome news of celebrity conversions with great joy, and have high hopes for a stronger witness of truth in the general public square. Yet the truth is that almost all celebrity converts can have to debate their faith before prolonged discipleship and so will often make many mistakes. They also face considerably more temptation and obstacles of their path than the common recent Christian.
Celebrity conversions are nothing recent. One of the primary and still considered one of the final word rock stars, Bob Dylan, spent several years preaching at his live shows and publishing Christian music after he had a dramatic conversion in 1978. However after relentless pushback he went quiet about his faith – though a couple of comments over time suggest that he still believes.
Shock rocker Alice Cooper got here to Christ through his battles with alcoholism and has taught Bible studies at his church, and periodically witnesses within the media of his redemption.
But recently there seems to have been a very significant variety of high-profile people converting. Hulk Hogan, Russell Brand, Shia LaBeouf, Rob Schneider, the wife and daughter of famous psychologist Jordan Peterson, and Kat Von D, to call just a couple of. Then there are several ‘stars’ of the pornography industry who’ve converted, from Joshua Broome to the newer Bree Solstad and Nala Ray – though the latter has been heavy criticised for various behaviours judged inappropriate.
Caution
We can receive news of conversions with joy, but looking back on the experiences of some celebrity converts, the Church also must be very careful. The sad online decline of Kanye West right into a purveyor of pornography and extreme anti-Semitism is all of the more so for many who remember his public Christian conversion in 2019, the 12 months he published his album “Jesus is King” and featured on the stages of megachurches proclaiming Christ. He had discussed faith prior to those events – and he has also reportedly had severe problems with addiction and bipolar disorder.
Most recently Kanye praised Hitler and said “I’m a Nazi” and he had “dominion over his wife”- who he accompanied as she was stark naked to an event – and published a series of pornographic videos on X until his account was deactivated.
Kanye’s behaviour may be essentially the most concerning of the high profile converts, but he is not the just one to have faced severe criticism and whose conversion has been questioned.
TV presenter turned political commentator Russell Brand has been on a spiritual path for a very long time attributable to his high-profile recovery from heroin and sex addictions via the ‘twelve steps’. He spoke positively of each monogamy and Christianity well before accusations of sexual assault were made in a Channel 4 documentary in 2023, so it seems unfair to tie his public career of religion the next 12 months to this news (he denies the allegations).
Nonetheless he’s a controversial figure: he has unusual and infrequently conspiratorial political beliefs, and he shares them online along together with his nascent faith, prompting criticism.
“I’ve undergone radical change recently, and I do know that some individuals are cynical about it,” he said in a recent video conversation with Christian apologist Wesley Huff.
There was concern when he appeared to make comments about recent understandings of the Bible. However conservative journalist Megan Basham got here to his defence, mentioning that when watching the clip as an entire, he says he just isn’t knowledgeable enough to show doctrine. “I’m quite a bit more willing to be gracious a few recent believer making some odd/off statements than I’m with celebrated pastors and theologians who knowingly teach errors to accommodate the spirit of the age,” she said on X. “And really the one way we all know who is de facto OF us is the time test.”
Always saved?
Megan’s comment suggests a deeply Calvinist understanding of salvation that makes a substantial difference to how Christians understand public conversions – and high-profile cases of falling away. Often summarised as “once saved at all times saved”, those that hold this doctrine consider that it’s unimaginable to lose salvation, and so anyone who clearly has left the religion mustn’t ever have been a Christian in the primary place.
There are Bible verses that may support different positions, though critics say that this belief began with reformer John Calvin quite than the apostles or the religion of the ages. To hold on to this dogma rigidly with a view to dismiss those that have alarmingly strayed from the religion like Kanye seems unfair. In any case, Jude offers clear instructions to the Church in this example: “You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but accomplish that with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives” (1:22-23, NLT).
A slow, careful path
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one other high profile recent convert whose story provides positive lessons for the church. She didn’t discuss her change of heart publicly for a while, and when she did, she gave the impression to be testing the water with a gradual revelation of her personal battle with depression and the liberty she received through Christ.
However Ayaan is a political commentator quite than a rock star. For an A-list celeb, it’s harder to maintain such a change quiet. More to the purpose, the extremely famous have considerably more spiritual pressures than unusual people. How can we judge them once we do not have to battle such temptation?
Consider the various challenges. The Bible doesn’t warn against being wealthy for no reason, but many celebrities have extra money than they know what to do with. They also should cope with people being sexually suggestive, idolising them, and even stalking them. It seems inevitable that together with fame comes an unlimited ego. How can or not it’s otherwise? Millions of individuals considering you and lots of outright worshipping you, firms and other powerful groups wanting the revenue and influence that you simply bring along. Yet at the identical time, many celebrities discuss their loneliness and lack of real, trusting and authentic relationships. We might idealise their lifestyles, but from a Christian perspective, there’s much that makes life tougher quite than less.
When considering recent Christians, especially those with no faith background, it have to be remembered that even for an unusual person it might take years before faith matures – it definitely did for me. Expecting celebrities to be great examples of Christ just isn’t only unreasonable, it results in very uncharitable behaviour when those obviously unrealistic expectations are dashed.
When I first began writing within the Christian media, there was an unwritten rule that testimonies would not be published before two years of discipleship, but there could also be good reasons that won’t possible, corresponding to if the person is already high profile and their life is under very public scrutiny.
Perhaps the perfect approach is to do not forget that all recent Christians will experience considerable obstacles of their faith journey and much more so for many who are famous. Grace, patience, and wisdom about offering platforms are needed, in addition to many prayers with love.
Heather Tomlinson is a contract Christian author. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com or via X (twitter) @heathertomli
