{"id":97380,"date":"2020-12-06T12:43:29","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T17:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=97380"},"modified":"2020-12-06T12:44:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T17:44:21","slug":"david-french-the-crisis-of-christian-celebrity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=97380","title":{"rendered":"David French–The Crisis of Christian Celebrity"},"content":{"rendered":"

A person who doesn\u2019t trust his own virtue takes affirmative steps to protect himself from a foolish fall. You don\u2019t have to map out a full-blown \u201cPence rule<\/a>\u201d or \u201cModesto Manifesto<\/a>\u201d to take prudent steps to guard against your own fallen nature. This shouldn\u2019t even be a matter of religious controversy. I\u2019m reminded of these powerful and self-aware words<\/a> from one of America\u2019s most influential and thoughtful progressive atheists, Ta-Nehisi Coates:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been with my spouse for almost 15 years. In those years, I\u2019ve never been with anyone but the mother of my son. But that\u2019s not because I am an especially good and true person. In fact, I am wholly in possession of an unimaginably filthy and mongrel mind. But I am also a dude who believes in guard-rails, as a buddy of mine once put it. I don\u2019t believe in getting \u201cin the moment\u201d and then exercising will-power. I believe in avoiding \u201cthe moment.\u201d I believe in being absolutely clear with myself about why I am having a second drink, and why I am not; why I am going to a party, and why I am not. I believe that the battle is lost at Happy Hour, not at the hotel. I am not a \u201cgood man.\u201d But I am prepared to be an honorable one.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The way I\u2019ve put it in speeches to young Christians is simply this, \u201cMake the easy choice so you don\u2019t have to make the hard choice.\u201d Saying no to the extra drink is much easier than halting a drunken flirtation.<\/p>\n

And if a person gains fame, he cannot\u2014he must not\u2014believe the easy laughs, the shining eyes, or the copious flattery of starstruck fans. There are reciprocal responsibilities here. It would be far better if Americans didn\u2019t treat celebrities (including religious celebrities) like Greek gods. It would be far better if celebrities didn\u2019t start to believe that they belong on Mount Olympus.<\/p>\n

Christian celebrities will continue to fall. But they don\u2019t have to fall so often.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Post of the day: \u2066@DavidAFrench<\/a> on celebrity. \u201cI\u2019ve known a number of Christian public figures who haven\u2019t fallen … They\u2019ve typically shared two common convictions. 1) They don\u2019t trust their virtue. 2) They don\u2019t believe they earned their fame.\u201d\u2069 https:\/\/t.co\/Z7zpB62mVu<\/a><\/p>\n

— Andrew Wilson (@AJWTheology) December 6, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n