Celebrities Who Don’t Believe in God
July 5, 2015
When I first saw this ubiquitous online listing of 29 Celebs Who Don’t Believe in God, I was intrigued. There have been gazillions of famous (and infamous) persons who have fallen (pun intended) into that category. How did these few (both living and dead) make the author’s list of the godless elite? Upon perusing her selection it became very evident that this was no ordinary group of non-theists. Everyone included was characterized by their well-known grandiose narcissism, boastful hubris, and insufferable arrogance. “It’s all about me, not Thee.” Humility or piety as traits were non-existent; hedonism and self-indulgence were the guide-posts of their personalist moral codes. Politically-correct to the inth degree, it is composed of former Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Buddhists, blacks, whites, Asians, women and men, straights and gays. Virtually all listees are/were stentorian political progressives (with one token self-described “libertarian anarchist”).
Update: I have received much feedback from readers on this controversial LRC blog. Many of the celebrities (living or dead) included on the above list are some of the most outstanding and distinguished artists or entertainers in their respective fields (such as actor Marlon Brando, actor Sean Penn, actor/director Woody Allen, actor Bruce Lee, actor Jack Nicholson, actress Katherine Hepburn, actress Jody Foster, actor/producer Brad Pitt, actress Angelina Jolie, actor Hugh Laurie, performance artist Bjork, actress Emma Thompson, etc.). Yet what is the distinguishing characteristic among this particular group of persons, if one eliminates their common denominator of non-theism? Anyone who has followed their stellar careers over decades through interviews, profile articles, and confessional memoirs or autobiographies knows that each is “characterized by their well-known grandiose narcissism, boastful hubris, and insufferable arrogance.” Are purported persons of religious faith free from this sin of pride, and have a monopoly on virtue and goodness? No, all persons are born mortal, conceived in original sin, and have the capacity of free will or moral choice. I am confident that millions of such purported religious believers, including well known artists or entertainers, could be similarly characterized upon close examination. But I was dealing with the specific list of these specific persons.
The Church Must Resist the Encroaching State