LISTEN TO THE PLUGGED IN SHOW, EPISODE 141
It’s hard to be a Christian. It can be harder to be a Christian celebrity.
Take Chris Pratt, the megawatt star who also happens to be an outspoken Christian. He’s come under fire for his supposed connections to Hillsong Church, a congregation characterized by its detractors as “anti LGBTQ.” In a cover story for Men’s Health, Pratt said he’s “never actually been to Hillsong,” and that he actually isn’t all that religious—drawing a sharp line between religion and faith.
“I think there’s a distinction between being religious—adhering to the customs created by man, oftentimes appropriating the awe reserved for who I believe is a very real God—and using it to control people, to take money from people, to abuse children, to steal land, to justify hatred,” he said. “Whatever it is. The evil that’s in the heart of every single man has glommed onto the back of religion and come along for the ride.”
Some Christians took Pratt’s comments as backtracking, earning the celeb ire from some of his most fervent fans. Of course, he’s hardly the first Christian celeb to be sniffed at by fellow believers.
We talk about that phenomenon in today’s episode of The Plugged In Show, unpacking the complexities of worshipping God in a very public space and the weird relationship that we non-celebs might have with the rich, famous and faithful.
And speaking of our sometimes weird relationship with pop culture, we’ll explore the phenomenon of fanfiction—when ordinary Joes and Janes pen their own sequels to some of culture’s most popular stories. Plugged In’s intern Marsella Evans takes us on a tour through this curious, entertaining and often problematic realm.
So listen in, why don’t you? And then chime in with your own thoughts on Facebook and Instagram. Or write us an email at [email protected]. And if you’re curious to read more about the stuff we talk about in this episode, check out the links below.
Additional Resources:
- Plugged In Blog: “Chris Pratt Seems Like a Great Guy. But …”
- Plugged In Blog: “Culture Clips: Celebrity Second Chances, Chris Pratt Edition”
- Plugged In Blog: “Culture Clips: The Chris Pratt Talks About God on MTV Edition”
- Plugged In Blog: “Celebrities Doing God”
- Plugged In Blog: “Serious, Brutal, Doubt is Biblical, and God Welcomes It”
- Plugged In Blog: “What You Need to Know About Fanfiction”
- Plugged In Review: The Kissing Booth (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Kissing Booth 2 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Kissing Booth 3 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Fifty Shades of Grey
- Plugged In Review: Fifty Shades Freed
- Plugged In Review: Twilight (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Twilight (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: New Moon (Book)
- Plugged In Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Eclipse (Book)
- Plugged In Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Breaking Dawn (Book)
- Plugged In Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Last Jedi
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Hunger Games (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: The Hunger Games (Book)
- Plugged In Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Catching Fire (Book)
- Plugged In Review: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Mockingjay – Part 2 (Movie)
- Plugged In Review: Mockingjay (Book)
- Focus on the Family: Setting Media Standards
- Focus on the Family: Making Wise Entertainment Choices
- Plugged In: Tech Guide
- Focus on the Family: How to Develop Media Intelligence in Your Home
One Response
-I have to call Bogus on Johnathon’s answer. The question was “who is the best tv character and why” and nearly all his reasons were just listing random facts about the character he picked, not really why Beaver is a good character, himself. And his last two points; about being well shot and having a good score, have nothing to do with the character and should not have counted as points at all. In the end he didn’t really actually answer the question, he just listed a lot of things about his character and somehow won. Not fair