Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health? - Dr. Paul J. Dean

Shira Gabriel, a psychologist at the University at Buffalo, conducted a series of three studies on celebrity worship, focusing specifically on how admiration from afar may affect the admirer's self-esteem. "It was seven or eight years ago during the Michael Jackson trial," she says, "and I was fascinated by the people who were obsessed with him, who flew to the trial and made banners. I thought, What would bring somebody to do something like that?" One possible reason, which Gabriel decided to explore, was the vicarious pleasure that regular people get from following the lives of famous people; for some fans, there is something uniquely satisfying about carrying on an intense, albeit unrequited, relationship with celebrities. "Perhaps some people who don't feel good about themselves and are not able to get what they want out of a real relationship because of a fear of rejection can feel a connection with a celebrity and get something positive out of that," says Gabriel.

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A question often intended to evoke feelings of identification and knowing approval can often point to more truth than one realizes. Such a question was posed by Time CNN: “Who among us hasn't fallen victim to a little celebrity worship? Whether the object of our affections are movie stars, athletes, poets or politicians (just look at how many Americans are getting a buzz off Sarah Palin and Barack Obama), we're hungry for information about them. We want to know what they're saying, what they're wearing, where they're going and whom they're with. Indeed, billion-dollar industries revolve around our indefatigable obsession with celebrities.”

The truth is that human beings are spiritual beings that have been affected by the fall. Such celebrity worship is not uncommon nor is it spiritually harmless: it is idolatry. Believers must be aware of such that their minds might be renewed that they might stop being conformed to this world that they might be transformed into individuals who do indeed live increasingly for God’s glory.

Aside from the questionable method of research employed in this case, the assertion is made that “new scientific research has found that celebrity-crushes are not only common but maybe even healthy: a study published Sept. 10 suggests that the act of celebrity worship may be a boon to some people's self-esteem.” On a worldview opposed to the Scripture, the definition of health is self-esteem. In reality, people need a proper esteem in regard to themselves if they are to ever see their need for a Savior and the esteem that is to be had in Him.

The fact that people derive “vicarious pleasure…from following the lives of famous people” is not surprising. Human beings have a natural desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. The problem is that we identify with and derive an ultimate satisfaction from the wrong things. God has set eternity in our hearts. Our identity and pleasure in an ultimate sense must be derived from Him. The good news is that we don’t have to shrink the kingdom of which we are a part down to the size of our little lives or even the little lives of celebrities. By grace through faith in Christ we can be part of the biggest kingdom there is: God’s kingdom. And, that’s ultimate.

Religion: Praise the Lord and Pass the Business Plan as God Embraces Mammon - Dr. Paul J. Dean

God wants you rich, and as if to prove it His golden forefinger is pointing down through the stage ceiling at the Excel exhibition centre in east London. This is the International Gathering of Champions, one of the largest worship meetings of Pentecostalists ever held in Britain, and the three-metre (10ft) digit hanging above the preachers is a sign that they and the 80,000 who will come to hear them are, in the words of Deuteronomy, "empowered to prosper". It may seem like a Monty Python comedy prop, but how to get rich and then how to get richer is the message of this eight-day meeting of mostly west African and Caribbean Christians, which reaches a climax this weekend. In other words, the Bible is the business plan and Jesus is the financial adviser-in-chief. The loudest amen went to a preacher who told a parable of an IT consultant who went forth and multiplied his salary by 10. Thousands cheered as the preacher explained how a young man with few qualifications started on £14,000 a year and wound up working for a Swiss bank on £140,000.

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Indeed it was the Lord Jesus who said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24).” The loss of Scriptural authority opens the door to idolatry of all kinds. It is no surprise when such churches grow into the thousands as the way is broad that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13).”

What is truly surprising is the continued success of this newly packaged form of hucksterism. The pull of the flesh is strong and citizens of a fallen world naturally look to earthly treasure as that which satisfies. In a life that is quite difficult for some in an economic sense, how appealing a message of health and wealth must be. Not only is the religious desire that is universally present fulfilled, but the flesh is rewarded as well.

And yet, such a message is overwhelmingly mundane and unworthy of the Kingdom. It was also the Lord Jesus who said to the rich young ruler, “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me (Lk. 18:22).” Christ promises a far greater treasure for those who see Him as ultimate: a treasure that is “incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Pet. 1:4).”

Why I’m Leaving Guyland - Dr. Paul J. Dean

Today's guys are perhaps the first downwardly mobile—and endlessly adolescent—generation of men in U.S. history. They're also among the most distraught—men between the ages of 16 and 26 have the highest suicide rate for any group except men above 70—and socially isolated, despite their image as a band of backslapping buddies. According to the General Social Survey, a highly regarded decades long University of Chicago project to map changes in American culture, twenty something guys are bowling alone when compared with the rest of society. They are less likely to read a newspaper, attend church, vote for president or believe that people are basically trustworthy, helpful and fair. Meanwhile, saddled with an average of $20,000 in student debt and reared with a sense of entitlement that stops them from taking any old job, the percentage of 26-year-olds living with their parents has nearly doubled since 1970, from 11 to 20 percent, according to economist Bob Schoeni's research with the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.

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That a decade-long odyssey of debauchery prior to entrance into the responsibilities of adulthood is the new normal for American males is not surprising in a culture that has cast off truth. When truth goes, responsibility, commitment, and morality go as well. These dynamics make no sense on a relativistic worldview.

On such a worldview marriage means nothing and the worship of self is glorified. The family man who is fulfilled cannot be touted lest the religion of self be undermined. The said reality is that statistically, such a self-centered and debauched lifestyle leads to nothing but spiritual, emotional, and even physical misery. As R.G. Lee once said in his famous sermon, “Pay-Day Some-Day,” “the devil pays off in counterfeit bills.”

Part of the message of the church must be the glorious nature of marriage both in theological and practical terms. That message will be heard when Christians understand the ultimate purpose of marriage as an arena for God’s glory and propagate that purpose through word and display. Christian couples find themselves in a context that is far more fulfilling than Guyland. May we live accordingly.

Sarah Palin: A New Twist in the Debate on Mothers - Dr. Paul J. Dean

When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska was introduced as a vice-presidential pick, she was presented as a magnet for female voters, the epitome of everymom appeal. But since then, as mothers across the country supervise the season’s final water fights and pack book bags, some have voiced the kind of doubts that few male pundits have dared raise on television. With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome and, as the country learned Monday, a pregnant 17-year-old, Ms. Palin has set off a fierce argument among women about whether there are enough hours in the day for her to take on the vice presidency, and whether she is right to try. It’s the Mommy Wars: Special Campaign Edition. But this time the battle lines are drawn inside out, with social conservatives, usually staunch advocates for stay-at-home motherhood, mostly defending her, while some others, including plenty of working mothers, worry that she is taking on too much. “How is this really going to work?” said Karen Shopoff Rooff, an independent voter, personal trainer and mother of two in Austin, Tex. “I don’t care whether she’s the mother or the father; it’s a lot to handle,” she said, adding that Ms. Palin’s lack of national experience would only make her road more difficult.

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There is no doubt that Sarah Palin has energized the conservative base of the Republican party and rightly so. In terms of her ideology and determination to govern in accordance with her values, if elected, she will be perhaps the closest thing to Ronald Regan the Republicans have put in the executive branch since him.

Governor Palin has also thrilled evangelicals. For the first time in quite a while, they along with other conservatives in the Republican party are truly excited about a Presidential election. Outsiders need look no further than her Down’s Syndrome baby, a living symbol of her commitment to the dignity of all human life, to see why they are exuberant. The only thing better would be to see her at the top of the ticket.

At the same time, too often evangelicals are prone to see through enculturated eyes. While the out of wedlock pregnancy of Governor Palin’s seventeen year old daughter can and does happen to the best of Christian parents, and while such a situation does not spell hypocrisy, two issues should give Christians pause.

First, though surely there have been some, I have not heard one Christian leader call Bristol Palin’s action sin. That does not mean that one should not vote for Governor Palin. That does not mean that Bristol cannot and should not be forgiven by God and her parents if there is genuine repentance. That does not mean that love and support should not be offered from her family: it should. But, it does mean that Christians should want to hear from their leaders an acknowledgement of sin in the discussion. They should want that message and the forgiveness that is to be had in Christ to go forth for the sake of the gospel. To my great disappointment, what I have heard from far too many Christian leaders is how this situation makes Governor Palin more appealing politically, how it humanizes her, and how Bristol is in a committed relationship. These are sentiments one would expect from party hacks and not servants of Christ.

Second, while the Scripture does not strictly forbid women, married women, or married women with children from working outside the home, it is clear that the home is their primary responsibility. Can Sarah Palin fulfill her biblical responsibility to her husband, her five children, including one new born with Down’s Syndrome, and one unmarried teenaged daughter who is pregnant, and serve as Vice-President? It is not unjust to raise the issue as many evangelical leaders have indicated. While it is certainly hypocritical for feminists to raise the issue, it is obligatory for Christians to do so. We must at least wrestle with Titus 2:5 wherein wives are commanded to be keepers at home. We can’t simply dismiss it. Once again, the rhetoric from Christian ministers is astounding.

Politically speaking, the Sarah Palin pick was a stroke of genius from John McCain and she is well-deserving of support apart from him. At the same time, Christians must learn that government, politics, and who wins the presidency are not ultimate. There are things that are far more important. Moreover, government will not save us or this nation. If this nation is to be changed, it will be changed by the church being the church. Sometimes that means doing what is not politically expedient that the power and glory of God might be put on display.