Indisputably, the current state of American pop culture and entertainment is abysmal both morally and artistically. Most people with good character and taste have disengaged from it completely, or limit themselves to a few carefully selected shows or performers. While I do not blame anyone for choosing not to wallow in the toxic sewage pumped out by the so-called entertainment industry, the sad fact is that we share a world with millions of people who are enthralled by it, so I believe we should keep up some degree of awareness. In a recent piece I detailed how many A-list celebrities are pushing an unmistakably satanic agenda on the now spiritually empty, morally rootless American population. The train continues to careen full speed towards the lake of fire. While satanic expression used to be a fringe activity practiced by a few heavy metal performers and shock artists, today it is standard fare offered by the most celebrated pop stars. There is no more pure embodiment of this sick trend than relative newcomer Billie Eilish, a teen from Los Angeles, who could have been Ozzy Ozborne's hip zoomer granddaughter. Songs like "All Good Girls Go To Hell" and "Bury a Friend" are accompanied by blood-chilling, waking-nightmare style music videos. The current "it" girl of American music, she has been plastered on countless magazine covers as of late, and she even broke records at the most recent Grammy awards for being the youngest artist in history to sweep multiple categories. While the normalization of satanic imagery and ideas is horrifying, I don't believe this trend is the most dangerous thing being pushed by the American entertainment industry. Christ warned of wolves that would appear in sheep's clothing. I fear more real harm can be done by deceivers, such as the "Hollywood Christians" who wander among the credulous sheep. It is my strong opinion that there are NO real Christian Hollywood stars. You can no more be a Christian Hollywood star than you can be a Christian drug lord or a Christian mafia boss. You do not become a household-name star, with all the accompanying wealth and societal influence, by being an enemy of the system that sustains you. This seems to be a hard point for many people to accept. Many American Christians swoon when a star thanks God for their Oscar, or tweets a prayer request for a sick child. They excitedly share stories on Facebook whenever a celebrity gives a boilerplate interview about the importance of faith. Recently there has been an undue amount of fanfare about the supposed Christian conversion of rap artist Kanye West. Last year he released an album called "Jesus is King," and hit the talk show circuit to talk about his faith. He has been offering a series of concerts called "Sunday Services" that are attended by selected fans and fellow celebrities. Christians all over the country have been gleefully celebrating Kanye's supposed salvation, and are hopeful that Kanye will bring many souls to Christ. Where, oh where, do I begin debunking this nonsense? First, there is no evidence of spiritual fruits. In the past, Kanye declared himself to be a god, dubbed himself "Yeezus," and often mimicked Christ, portraying himself in a crucifixion pose or with a thorny crown. He even taunted an actor dressed as Christ on stage during a live performance. A true convert would unequivocally, forcefully denounce his prior behavior, begging forgiveness from God and grieving for any fans he had led astray. Nothing like this has happened. There is not only an appalling lack of repentance, but also of humility. When appearing with megachurch "prosperity preacher" Joel Osteen last fall, Kanye was pleased to inform the crowd that he, "the most talented man in the world" was now serving God. On another occasion, he claimed God was using him "to show off." He continues to keep company with the worst kind of blasphemers. Just a few days before the Osteen appearance, Kanye appeared at the Astroworld festival where he shared a stage with a number of sickening performers, including openly satanic shock artist Marilyn Manson, who burned a Bible on stage as part of his act. The above-mentioned Billie Eilish even attended one of his "Sunday Services." Unbelievably, there are still plenty of Christians excusing his behaviour as the missteps of a "baby Christian." The lack of discernment among American Christians is mind-boggling. Osteen is but one favorite "preacher" of the glitterati. Other "Hollywood Christians," such as Justin Beiber, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas, Chris Pratt, Bono, and various members of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, have been spotted at megachurch Hillsong. Hillsong's stadium-filling worship services feature heavily tattooed, skinny-jeans wearing pastors and concert-style musical shows with performers who are staples of Christian contemporary music stations. Calling Hillsong a modern-style church does not fully convey the lack of sanctity their "worship" services display. For example, one Hillsong rendition of Silent Night - I am not making this up - opened with a lengthy drum solo and featured a burlesque-style dance troupe. The problem isn't simply that Hillsong is too worldly. The problem is that it is not even a church. Instead of a cross, the center stage is often lit with a pyramid-shaped "hill" overwhelming the stage, and other non-christian symbols are frequently used. The Christmas pageant featured a soloist who looked more like Ishtar than the Virgin Mary, and dancers under a bright moon carrying glowing orbs. One popular Hillsong tune, Oceans, begins with the lyrics "You call me out upon the waters/The great unknown where feet may fail/And there I find You in the mystery...Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders." Not only is Christ not mentioned, the lyrics make more sense as a promotion of new age spiritualism or ancient mystery religions. Similarly, video of Kanye's Sunday Services show attendees wearing pastel robes, swaying in circles while singing hypnotic, rhythmic chants. The costumes, music and symbolism bear little if any relation to traditional Christianity. (Attendees are required to sign non-disclosure agreements, so there is no telling what goes on behind the scenes at these events). If these "churches" were merely watering down Christianity to neutralize it, that would be bad enough. But it is worse than that. In my opinion, these churches are part of a calculated plan to herd nominal, lukewarm Christians towards the coming One World Religion. While the Pope welcomes Muslims and Pagans to his fold with talk of tolerance and inclusiveness, Hollywood Christians are slowly, insidiously, helping to transform American Christianity into a hybrid of all faiths. American church-goers, who have been convinced that there is no such thing as wolves, only different kinds of sheep, have no idea.
1 Comment
|
AuthorThe Carolina Contrarian, Anne Wilson Smith, is the author of Charlottesville Untold: Inside Unite the Right and Robert E. Lee: A History Book for Kids. She is the creator of Reckonin' and has contributed to the Abbeville Institute website and Vdare. She is a soft-spoken Southern belle by day, opinionated writer by night. She loves Jesus, her family, and her hometown. She enjoys floral dresses and acoustic guitar music. You may contact Carolina Contrarian at [email protected]. Archives
September 2024
|