In a recent interview with Parade magazine, actor Brad Pitt said he‚Äôs “at peace with his religious faith,” though in high school he had “crises of faith.”
“I‚Äôd go to Christian revivals and be moved by the Holy Spirit, and I‚Äôd go to rock concerts and feel the same fervor. Then I‚Äôd be told, ‚ÄòThat‚Äôs the Devil‚Äôs music! Don‚Äôt partake in that!‚Äô I wanted to experience things religion said not to experience.”
Though raised in a conservative Southern Baptist environment, Brad abandoned his fundamentalist beliefs by the time he left for college. The reason? “Guilt … It’s the thing I rail against the most.” He went on to say, “Religion works. I know there’s comfort there, a crash pad. It’s something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be alright in the end. It works because it’s comforting. I grew up believing in it, and it worked for me in whatever my little personal high school crisis was, but it didn’t last for me. I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’ It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”
As I read Brad‚Äôs story, I was reminded of the dangers of emotionalism. More and more, people are looking for a religion that makes them feel good. Isn‚Äôt it interesting that Brad Pitt equated being “moved by the Holy Spirit” with the same sensation he experienced at a rock concert? Yet later he rejects the notion of a God that actually insists that His creation “acknowledge” Him. Pitt found such teaching, well, uncomfortable. So he leaves that to find a religion that “works because it‚Äôs comforting.”
Brad‚Äôs religious history and present spiritual condition makes me sad, because he is missing out on the comfort that could really and truly be his if he would “acknowledge” the God of the gospel and put his faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. But Pitt, like most people, wants comfort without conviction.
That makes me sad. But something else makes me mad. And that is the churches that appeal to people‚Äôs emotions in order to produce results. Fearing that people will leave their church if they do not give them the “emotional high” that they crave, these churches ‚Äì and particularly their pastors ‚Äì throw out anything that might be distasteful to their congregants (a la Joel Osteen). The “moving of the Holy Spirit” in their churches thus produces the same sensation as a secular rock concert. Of course that‚Äôs because people aren‚Äôt being truly moved by the Spirit. They‚Äôre being moved by the music … or the drama … or the sob stories. These churches are giving their people what their “itching ears” want to hear. So they mistake emotional highs for spiritual revival, sensation for salvation. Convinced they‚Äôre on their way to heaven, they wind up in hell.
No wonder Paul charged Timothy so strongly to “preach the word … in season and out of season.” He knew ‚Äì and warned Timothy ‚Äì that the time would come when people would “not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:1-5a).
When people don’t like what God’s Word says and start leaving the church, it’s tempting to tell them what they want to hear so that they’ll stay. But to do so is to betray God and to damn men. We give them what they want on earth, only to give them hell hereafter.
For the love of God, let‚Äôs not do that. Let‚Äôs remember that true comfort comes from the Holy Spirit ‚Äì the true Comforter who indwells everyone who come to God through faith in Christ, receiving Him as their Lord and Savior. Then and only then will they experience a “high” that no rock concert can produce, for it is supernatural in nature. Through faith in Christ they will come to experience not only genuine comfort, but an abiding and inexpressible joy ‚Äì one that the world cannot manufacture and that no one can take away.
I just read about rock concerts and revivals. I am (we @ FBC are) blessed to have the real Word which brings us real comfort given to us through a Pastor who loves us. Thanks for that.
AND: If an emotion happens to pop up while experiancing the real Word given, or via a song, hymn or spiritual song – well I think that’s okay too.
Thanks for your comments, Bill! And let me totally affirm what you said about an emotional response to the preached Word. That’s not only “okay”; that is fantastic! That’s part of our goal in preaching — that we might love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And that certainly includes our emotions.
In fact, it’s interesting that you should raise that point, for that is, in part, the subject of my next posting (to come out early next week). So stay tuned! And thanks again for your contribution.
I look forward to reading more about this topic.
Is there a way to encourage more readership? I agree with you that many would benifit from this type of forum.
The best way to promote readership is by personally encouraging family, friends, and fellow church members to check out the site. I have found that sending an e-mail message containing a link to the site tends to be very effective.