For this day in Volume 1 of Today’s Page, written eight years before this one, I recited the story of a movie star, who telephoned Billy Graham in 1950 asking him to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, and hold a Bible Study in her home. In our discussion, Graham and I agreed the project would be too distracting from other proposals on the schedule, and we both feared the possible whiplash that might arise from the situation damaging his effort to cultivate Christian world mission and evangelism. Hollywood was less acceptable to churchgoers in 1950 than today, especially because of differences identified with racy, sexual accents, and celebrity poor habits. Even so, the film industry is not greatly appreciated, in careful analysis, even if gaining tolerance. For general serious publics, Hollywood remains: tinsel town and make believe.
Graham politely turned down the invitation. Sixty years later, early in February, 2011, the report came over national television that Jane Russell had died at the age of 89 years. The newspaper on the following day, and later TV reports added that she spent her later years partly in the service of her church. Her marriages and her son were mentioned in the stories. She reached the zenith of her movie career in the film, Some Like It Hot, with Marilyn Monroe. Monroe’s career was reaching toward zenith. Russell’s faded from this point. After Russell reached 40 years of age, her film career ended. She had nearly fifty more years to live. The public lost touch and interest. Her career died rather naturally, but I wonder if she may have deliberately backed away from the kind of roles that would have been offered to her, and may have privately deplored. Full report is not public, perhaps unknown. There is an underlying belief held by most actors that they are to play any part requested without concern for personal values.
It is interesting to speculate why some Hollywood personages appear to become serious Christians, but do not use their celebrity to publicly witness, on a meaningful scale, to Christian faith. The list includes a number of names that one is reluctant to use, because they have not voiced themselves publicly. They appear to want to keep their faith somewhat private, or within a personal orbit. One would like the full story of the faith of Russell, of Jane Fonda, of Ronald Reagan and others who are reported, without analysis, to have resolved the matter of Christian repentance and faith in Christ. In the meantime, the marginal, sometimes exotic, and newly minted religions gain considerable attention in the press, in the electronic media, and in meaning to adherents. For example, this is extensively discussed in the story of one whose handicapped son died and became a major and sensitive news story for a period during 2010. The accent was on Scientology, a rather small but reviewed religious group attractive to some celebrities. The views, effects, cultures, and the general story of rather new, somewhat eclectic and demanding leadership, have received considerable publicity – some quite negative. The righteous, long applied, effective culture of Christians receives little attention, or it may be made to sound objectionable – as it was in the reporting of the excessive language of the pastor of presidential candidate, Obama, published during the 2008 presidential race. The pastor’s pulpit bombast was often replayed, and led to adjustments for the candidate.
Christianity, even in variant contexts espoused by some mainline groups includes sensible concerns about human life, culture, service, and contributions to human order. The inner tensions relate to the person of Christ and the offering for sin – which is the key to biblical Christianity. Usually the human concerns for care, love, unity, peace, service to others remain vital to groupings representing themselves as Christian. Concepts of celebrities, of business persons, even of intellectuals are their own, and belong to freedom. It is important to believe Scripture provides the Christian teaching of belief and conduct. These can become our own, but they are found in faith, humility, devotion and measured in the obedience they receive in the submission of the faith person. Modern Christians, often in my hearing, find success or failure in the careers they have built, the wealth accumulated, and the general concepts of success. Christ prefers that we accept his and the Apostles’ words about life and meaning, of righteousness and success. Gaining the earth and losing the soul is the way of the spiritual pauper – the ultimate loser. That meaning applies as an exclusive reference. We rest on the quality of faith and conduct – part of our defense. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020