Matthew McConaughey won an Oscar. And, boy, are Christians happy about it. I mean, Christians are jumping up and down for this Texas boy for his big win because he actually thanked God in his acceptance speech. He did, he gave God credit and he thanked his wife like he should and he gave a rambling speech that really made me wonder why they weren’t starting up the music to cut him off. They let Matthew talk for almost four minutes, and the clip of his speech is all over the internet.
Christians are so proud.
And, I can’t blame us. I mean, how often do we hear a major celebrity, an Oscar winner, no less, identifying with us? How often do we get that kind of star power in our corner? It almost makes us seem sort of cool and legitimate.
I liked his speech, although I thought it was a little heavy on the Matthew McConaughey. He’s chasing a hero, who is himself in ten years? Really? But, no matter. He mentioned God and that’s all that counts. It obviously shows that he loves the Lord and lives his life for Him and we will all be fans of his forever because of this speech.
But, there’s one tiny issue with setting Matthew McConaughey up as our next great Christian idol. And, the problem is the movie he won the Oscar for. And pretty much every other movie he’s ever made. (Anyone remember a little film called Magic Mike?) According to pluggedin.com, Dallas Buyer’s Club opens with McConaughey’s character having sex with two girls at the same time in a rodeo stall. That’s only the beginning of the explicit sexual content in the movie. In addition to the nudity, masturbation, and pornography, the film contains over 100 f-words and God’s name is used as a curse word over 20 times.
Matthew McConaughey made this movie, which he was rewarded by Hollywood for making, which goes out into our society and poisons the hearts and minds of our men, women, and young people. And then he gets up to accept his award for making filth that turns hearts away from God, and he thanks God for the opportunity, and Christians applaud him as if he has done something incredible.
We have got to get over our obsession with celebrity and start making connections between what people say and what they actually do. It is never going to be a good thing for Christianity for us to hold these celebrities up as examples of what a Christian should be. If we want to show the world examples of Christianity that should make us cheer, it’ll be our faithful pastors, our grandmothers who have lived quiet sacrificial lives, our friends who would lay down their lives for us, the teachers who go to school every day and live out the commands to love the unlovable and to value every life.
Not Matthew McConaughey. I’m sure he’s a fun guy to hang around with, and I bet he’s a great dad and probably a really good actor. But he is not the next great champion for Christianity.
And that’s probably why I’m not a member of the Academy. Thank you, and good night.
**Please check out the follow-up to this post here!
**Due to the fact that everything that can be said HAS been said–many, many times–comments are now disabled. Thanks for stopping by!
I agree with you all the way. As Christians we aren’t perfect, but we have a higher standard if we really love the Lord. If we are living for Him we will seek to live by the standard He has set for us. How can one have an influence for good, if involved in worldly sins! How will young people be influenced by this! I am not a T.V. person, but if I were this would not be pleasing to the Lord for me to watch. Thank you for standing up and sharing your thoughts.
I agree with Cindy, he never mentioned Jesus, no one comes to the father except through the son……….a vague nonspecific God being glorified is blasphemy, either you are saved by the blood or you are deceived.
I am appalled that you would post something like this to a Christian blog. Shame on you!! Would you rather him to give all the glory to Allah? No one that I know of places Matthew McConaughey as an “idol” to mirror their lives. But in the day in which we live, it is refreshing to hear ANYONE, including celebrities, thank God!! We are ALL sinners saved by grace. There is not one of us that is perfect. We fall so very short every day. Your blog, so very judgmental in nature, is a reminder of that very fact. My husband is a pastor and the hardest thing that we have to work through, are non believers observing Christians act in this manner. They absolutely want no part of our “graceless” judgmental cause!! My prayer is that you will humble yourself before God and ask him to fill you with His Grace. And that when you post on your blog that it will be obvious! Thank you Matthew McConaughey and Joe Blow and anyone else who acknowledges my God!!
One question….how do you know he acknowledged “your” God?
Even Satan acknowledges God…
Because I know him personally and I know that he is a Christian!!!
Sorry that you see him as a Christian. I am not judging, only observing. If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit with you. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our actions. If the Holy Spirit lived in you, would you be able to spend countless hours to make scenes (I understand they are not real) that are misguiding and tempting the minds of other believers? Hmmm, I see a different god here. The Lord tells us we will know by the fruits they bear, not the words they speak. I never heard the Majestic name of our a Savior and King Jesus Christ. I observe a different god all together here.
Dsolis, I would remind you that we are all climbing the mountain of sanctification in Christ. It is quite possible that Matthew McConaughy has trusted Christ, but even though we repent of our sins and we trust Christ as Lord and Savior, sometimes it takes a while for the lordship to reveal itself. We don’t know what is going on in his heart. All we can judge right now is his work and the projects he participates in. Rhonda, I was unaware that he has made any public profession of Christ. He seems like a great guy and I have not doubt he is easy to love and striving to learn and understand and I do hope that he does trust Christ. But the original point of Melissa’s blog was that just because he mentioned “God” in a speech, McConaughy should not overnight become the darling of evangelicals who seem to need celebrity endorsements, movies and fads to keep them convinced that heaven is real and their tribe is right. I know you may not have seen this in your circles, but the night of the speech there was tremendous applause on facebook for what he said, which was really nice and very gracious toward his wife and children, but it wasn’t by any means a speech that exalted Christ. It was peppered with bad theology. That isn’t Matthew’s fault. He’s probably doing the best that he can, but he needs teachers and pastors to work with him. But I didn’t think that Melissa was being critical of McConaughy by any standard she would expect to be judged by herself. I know her personally. I’m her husband and her pastor. she doesn’t claim to be perfect and she was very sensitive to all the ugly things written to her yesterday, but she does have an incredible gift of discernment and is quite prophetic in the way she views things.
Ahhh yes. Discernment. That is what we are called to, and we have the word that is quick and powerful and sharp to help us do so with grace and love. Melissa’s sensitivity to the issue, and the gracious way she pointed out the need for discernment in choosing heroes should be given affirmation by all believers; not in a spirit of self righteousness, but in a spirit of humility embracing truth. In point of fact the actor may have been acting, but he choose to fully engage his body immorally while in the act of acting. There are no stand-ins or green screens; the actors are actually doing exactly what it looks like they are doing. Praising God for being awarded for doing this blasphemes a holy God. That is not passing judgement, but holding to Biblical standards (which these days is worthy of condemnation since ever and always God’s word is satan’s chief area of attack). Thanks to Melissa for reminding us that Godly heroes are all around us. Choose wisely.
Good grief! She made EXCELLENT points that any Christian should agree with. Excellent points. Content of his film vs. a little throw back to “god”. Why praise him?? It’s ridiculous to laud praises upon this pagan for his filth. With his mouth he may have blessed “God”, but he also cursed Him in the film! Of course she wouldn’t rather he praised Allah. You do not make good points, as opposed to the blogger, who made excellent points. Take them to heart.
Amen!
When is the last time you stood up in front of several thousands of people and told them God was his friend, he was first in his life. Why do you want to crucify Mathew? Christ needs us to be strong soldiers for him, sharing his word not tearing people down. How sad.
Thank you. This is why so many non believers can justify their feelings today. Now if he had been one of these Preachers who go on TV and make millions for themselves and have Billion dollar homes then people just rant about how wonderful he is. Get real people. I’ve never seen the movie and nor do I intend to but I think that any time you see a celebrity stand before millions and praise God it is a good thing for our world. I hate that someone felt the need to ruin it for so many lives that it may have touched. You don’t know but what this is exactly what God wanted, as most things are.
ummmmm Joe Blow? And you are what/who? Need to look at the needle in your own eye first….The blogger did make mention the kudos given for acknowledging God….even said she liked the speech, but stated the obvious not judging….
hum I think you’re being a little judgemental of her blog there you hypocrite. she simply stated her opinion to be heard by a thinkless public to enlighten the ignorant of what is truth. Jesus saves and we all fall short of the glory if god. But The worst thing we can tell the public is that once saved always saved is a ticket to live in sin. Although it be that when Jesus died for me, it was for all my sin, me taking Jesus into my life has changed my desire to sin and through my daily walk with The Lord I have not watch these movies even though I am a fan of Matthew I love my jesus and will do what is pleasing to him and the father.
It’s not being judgemental to look at the fruit on the tree. It’s either good or bad. We are suppose to do that, not judge whether they are going to heaven or not. Not everyone that says Lord, Lord…I did this in or that in your name will enter….so even pastors are deceived and deceiving many. Many pastors today want to do whatever they can to get people into their church and it’s a number game….even if it means not judging the fruit on the tree. As long as people come to church and say they believe in God and try to be good people….yah we are all going to heaven. NOT! Sorry lady, but she got it just right! I’m so over people jumping on the band wagon of so called Christians…just because they are “famous” and say thank you to God…whoever they believe him to be since they don’t follow his word!
Rhonda!!!!! You hit the nail squarely on the head!
It’s blogs like these that make sinners like me weary to trust a “Christian”. I’m so thankful that I’ve been saved and am working so hard every day, yet falling and getting back up again… It’s just so sad to read something like this. Hope you haven’t turned the lost away from really seeking God because they’re worried that all Christians will judge them. I’m sure you wrote this post to get attention and ruffle some feathers. Hope you got what you wanted….
Mandy, you just judged the intent of her heart exactly the way you are accusing her of judging MM.
I find your cynical attitude, & assumption that you know why Christians are happy about what Matthew said in his speech, appalling. Did you know that I am happy about his recognition of Christ? (no you don’t know that – you don’t know me) And did you know why I am happy about that? (no – of course you don’t. you don’t know me, & I have not told you why I am happy about it) While I find it mundane to read one persons critical opinions a waste of time (I did not read all of your negative post), I wish to not remain silent this time. You need to understand that you do not know why other people think or do anything, unless they themselves tell you. I do not hail any hollywood star as a Christian idol, nor as any type of hero. I do realize that God is still working on all of us, and that we should not boast of our own doings, for not one of us is any greater in Gods eyes than another. Where some have only room in their hearts & minds for criticism, hatred & negativity – there are some of us who truly try to see the good, & the blessings, in others, & in situations. Quite frankly, I am happy that the network or the academy didn’t cut off his speech because of his recognition of God – or the speeches of the other stars who also gave full recognition to God. Perhaps as you ponder why you haven’t received raving accolades in our comments, to your post, you might consider looking in the mirror, & realize that not one of us is any better than another – and yes, that includes hollywood stars who make bad choices in the movies they choose to make millions from. God is still working on ALL of us.
I agree and I’d like to add a couple of things. We still have a choice to watch, read or listen to whatever we choose. If we don’t approve of the content, we shouldn’t watch it and definitely shouldn’t allow our children to. We can’t use ignorance as an excuse for partaking, since the R rating would be the first clue. To know what the opening scene depicts might lead one to assume you watched. Though I didn’t watch it and don’t necessarily approve of the content, I get the fact that it’s nothing more than telling a story, in this case, a true story. I’m wondering if the Bible was to be made into a movie, in it’s entirety, detailed the way it was written, what would the rating be for it? He told a story by portraying a character. He didn’t go on a world tour, encouraging all youth to learn and follow the examples in the story. He didn’t even encourage them to watch the movie…..rated R. He shared a story. There has never been more sexual immorality depicted than in the Bible itself. Humans are sinners, period. Since the beginning, with Adam and Eve. I don’t think anyone was trying to “idolize” a celebrity in this case. But there’s nothing wrong with a little “high five” for someone who admits, in front of the whole world, that God is who he looks up to.
TgrR–that was the most “silence” I’ve ever seen written in one place.
He never recognized Christ, he only mentioned god…….which could be allah, buddha, lucifer, and many other gods. Without the mention of Jesus Christ, you can not say he is speaking of the true God the Father.
I for one have never been a Mathew McConaughey fan. The fact he thanked god on a stage in acceptance for an award in a town so far removed from god is simply astonishing. I was caught off guard with that and all the attention he has received so far (maybe more than winning the actual award).
In any case I like this blog and it is right on point. Thanks for that.
If Mr. McConaughey wants to thank God, let him. It will be between him & God as to his fate. “The one without sin cast the 1st stone” or “before attempting to remove a splinter from his eye, 1st remove the beam from your own eye”
We complain that no one says anything good about God in Hollywood, when a sinner(we all are) chooses to mention his name on a TV program that is seen world wide…guess what, we complaint that he is not perfect Christian and he mention God in a good light.
If 1 person decides to open the bible & turns their life over to God because McConaughey thanked God in his speech….I’d said Thank You God for using McConaughey to reach that 1 person!
Wow. A man can’t even thank God without being picked apart by these comments. How do we know he thanked our God and not their God? Was he giving credit to a Hindu God? I’m not sure… How do we know he’s not Satan acknowledging God but not praising God? How do we know he isn’t dyslexic and meant to recall Dog from his notes and talk about his Golden Retriever? I didn’t see a rosary in his hand…did you see a rosary? Hhhmm….he didn’t offer to baptize Ellen Degeneres on stage, so…..
For crying out loud. Some of you are so skeptical it’s as though you don’t want him to be Christian or to talk about God. Some of you like this division of wholesome church going regular folk and Hollyweird liberal heathens. He grew up in TEXAS, USA. What “kind” of God do you think he’s referring to?
Big oil?
That’s funny, right there!!
well, he’d be in good company. It’s the same God that Christian Right wing politicians worship who are from that area.
I did not watch the awards show but saw a brief segment of his speech..God knows the hearts of every man..Whether Mr Mcconnaughey was giving honor to the one True God? WE will never know..I believe he was..Was he really giving him the Glory? That is between him and God.. If he was, he probably just butchered his career with Hollywood..Because Hollywood only believes in themselves…
That goes for politicians, too. Don’t think a politician is a Christian role model just because he says he’s a Christian, and ends each speak with “God Bless America”. I am sick of politicians claiming to be Christians, and then having their wife and “girlfriend” have an abortion, or have an affair, or steal, or do drugs, or abuse their wife or children . . . . . and the list goes on. It is time to stop voting for someone JUST because they thanked God! It is time to realize that Satan thanks God every day, for allowing people to make choices, and for them being so gullible. People, THINK! Don’t you think Satan would tell say “God Bless America” if it would get people to follow him blindly?????
Just because someone thanks god and likes god, doesn’t mean they are a Christian, just because someone goes to church, it doesn’t mean they are a Christian. Matthew may or may not be a Christian, there are no champions in Christianity, and the fact that people look for one is the biggest problem. Jesus didn’t come to make us perfect, he came because we aren’t. Stop looking for a role model, look at Jesus.
Christians condemning other Christians…interesting at best or not. He is part of a story that is repeating what happened 20 years ago. Open your eyes.
You can’t be a part of an R rated movie and then thank God for the opportunity. I didn’t watch the movies, or the Ocsars but just found this post somehow. God is never glorified when we sin and I wouldn’t think He would want the glory from a child of His being involved in a movie that promotes things contrary to righteousness, whether or not it is based on actual fact.
The Passion of The Christ was rated R.
According to your logic, I suggest you choose carefully the days of your life for which you thank God…I’m certain that many of those days were contrary to righteousness!
Lots of self righteousness in this blog. My generation of fellow christians is very disappointing, this being an example. We drive sinners away from the church with the cynical judgment we throw around everyday, as you have in this blog. I wish christians would follow Jesus’s example and encourage fellow sinners. Maybe then we would stop driving sinners away from the church. Matthew, with his flaws might have brought sinners to christ and probably was an encouragement to christians with his display. This blog only causes sinners to fear the judgement of christians if they were to come to christ. So who did more for evangelism, Matthew or your blog?
Bravo!
See, this is my thing about it. He’s ACTING. That’s what he does. By taking this role and winning best actor he’s drawing in an audience other than die-hard Christians and saying oh, by the way, God is really great. That’s what Christian actors do. If he hadn’t taken the role it would’ve gone to someone else who may not have brought up God in their speech. The movie’s script would’ve stayed the same. People arguing that he shoud’ve done things differently need to see that this was the best possible situation.
I came to this blog thinking I was going to read something worth the couple minutes it took to press and come and read – however, I just spent 2 minutes I am NEVER going to get back. You and some of the people commenting on here are what SCARE people away from having a relationship with God because they think that all religion and all Christians are like you….I think you are a hypocrite and it saddens me that you would take a man and find the need to tear him apart and judge him when he brought the name of God to tens of millions on a national stage. You are the one who needs to rethink your attitude. You need to go back and read your bible about NOT JUDGING and about treating others the way you would like to be treated and about Jesus calling all to him no matter what paths they have taken to get there. I would rather a million times follow Matthew’s example of spirituality and a relationship with God then even wasting one more minute on your blog. Your Mom Has a Blog – should be named Your Hypocrite Mother Has a Blog….
What people SAY in movies is much different than what they DO in their real lives. Are Christians to be punished for going to work on Sundays if it means feeding their families? Sheeeesh
The height of the horse that this author is riding on is unfathomable. And we wonder how Christians get a bad name. I’m just so glad that I see more comments giving negative feedback than positive, because this article right here is why we can’t have nice things.
How many of you saw “Son of God” this weekend? There are movies out there for Christians to see. It even played at the drive-in.
Reblogged this on shesilentobserver.
You are all missing the real point here. It is based off of a true story. If it were made up, I could see how Christians would be upset. However, he portrayed a character that lived in a time that many young people didn’t see or experience. That movie gives light to the true events or history of that time when AIDS was real and rampant in our society. No Christian mom dared to write a blog about 12 Years A Slave and Solomon Northup’s experience, so why criticize Matthew McConaughey for portraying a character with AIDS and the life he lived to get that disease? History is history and often times it includes a lot of ugly things we as Christians don’t want to see like slavery, rape of slaves, the purchase of human beings, splitting up families for profit, sex in a rodeo stall with two women, drugs, and curse words, but if we choose to ignore it and pretend it never happened, we will never progress as a society. And who the hell are any of you to stand in judgment of him or anyone else in this world? I don’t judge any of you writing criticism of this man or anyone on this blog because I am a real Christian. Find something better to do with your time like making the world a better place like God, Jesus, or whoever you worship wants you to do instead of putting garbage out into the universe.
I hear what you are saying…and honestly there is some wisdom in running to put any celebrity who mentions love or trust of God on a pedestal. Sadly that is what happens with virtually every mega-church pastor as well, often to the demise of treasuring Christ as the True Hero.
But from your visceral response, I do question what you would have done if your Father had welcomed home the younger brother with embraces and kisses, and robes and feasts, and then invited you into the banquet. Is is not right to celebrate? Ought not we be chasing after the lost brothers and celebrate when they seem to return?
You may want to revisit Luke 15 before despising McConaughey.
The prodigal son in Luke 15 repented of his sin… The big question, is it sinful for McConaughey to sleep with women in films, such as in the movie which he won his award, and is it okay that he act in movies such as Magic Mike? If it is sin, and he shows no repentance for that sin, then the Father will not accept him back…
Jesus did start in Matthew 5 with “repent and believe.”
Did the tax collectors and “sinners” clearly repent? Yes, by coming to Jesus. That is what repentance is…coming to Jesus. That seems, on the surface to be what McConaughy is doing. And we should celebrate. Not because he is a celebrity. But because he was a lost sheep, lost coin, lost son…and seems to have been found.
Thanking an ambiguous god is not repentence, and you are reading far more into it than what he actually said.
It’s very sad that this woman speaks for us all. I am a Christian and I actually saw “The Dallas Buyers Club”, I hope I’m not judged for that in itself. I was interested in the story because it dealt with the early era of AIDS. The movie was very raw. This movie was based on a true story. I don’t condone movies with sexual scenes, but that was necessary to tell the story. I think judging who’s a Christian and who’s not is so wrong. I heard Ruth Graham ( daughter of Rev. Billy Graham) say in an interview recently…”I’d rather error on the side of grace, than on the side of judgement.” I applaud Matthew McConaughey, not because I consider him a hero, but because he looks up to the same Heavenly Father that I look up to.
Let me start off by saying – I am a Christian. I am NOT religious and NEVER will be again. i.e. – I will not identify my self or be beholden to a church. Why? Because of “Christians” like you. I guess people forget that God and Jesus loves ALL of his children – even the worst of the sinners. We are ALL works in progress and are on different paths in our journey. Some of us may get to the place you think we should be sooner than others, but others may not. But guess what? If we are Christians (and, no one knows my heart, your heart, my neighbors heart but God), we will ALL gain access to the Kingdom of Heaven at our time of death. Yes, should we strive to follow his 10 commandments, of course. Does that make you a “better Christian” than me if you get more of them right daily than me? No. God still loves me the same as he loves you. Sorry. At the end of the day, it has been “good” Christians who have done more to destroy the sanctity of Christianity and the name of the Church. I am going to keep on loving my God (because he is my personal Savior and Lord) and leading my children by example, and showing them that when it is a bad example, God forgives, and shows us his GRACE. A little GRACE goes a LONG way.
Let those without sin cast the first stone…
Sunday afternoon, before the Academy Awards, our family attended the movie, ‘Son of God’. One of the most poignant scenes, that really left a vivid impression on me was when they were going to stone the adulterer. Jesus has a stone in His hand and when questioned by the Holy men about keeping the law, judging the sinful woman guilty in their eyes, Jesus reaches out and offers the stone….to be thrown by anyone “who was without sin” in their lives. Your post on your blog makes me wonder if you would have been “the one”….to accept the stone to throw?! I gave my heart to Jesus Christ 53 yrs ago, I do not have any Christian idols…I put no other God’s, people or…celebrities before Christ/or my Father God. I was amazed and delighted to witness Matthew’s boldness in front of his very liberal peers in Hollywood, giving God thanks FIRST and not slipped in at the end of his speech…which the programmers would probably MUCH preferred because they could have cut him off and skipped his bold act of faith! I was thankful that this young actor was not considering, concerned or afraid of what giving God first place and first thanks would do to his acting career in an industry that, for the majority, denies God. Because someone does not live their relationship ….key words…”their relationship” with God the way you do does not mean they are false, evil, improper , “less than” a Christian or that YOUR RELATIONSHIP ….key words….is the ONLY relationship acceptable to God. That would be pretty egotistical ….and be very similar to the way the Pharisees acted. Instead of climbing up high on a pedestal, to elevate yourself above the rest of your brothers and sisters in Christ….come on down here with the rest of us and join us in encouraging, embrasing and being “the Barnabas” that we each need to get through the trials/ roughness of this world. When we as Christians begin to tear at each other, why would anyone want to join us….who wants to step into the middle of a fight?!
Matthew 7
New International Version (NIV)
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
I hear what you are saying. However, the first point you used, about not casting stones, had a very interesting end to that story. Jesus’ words to the lady at the end of the event were, “Go and sin no more.”
So, is Matthew continuing to sin/be hypocritical of the grace he has received from Jesus by acting certain parts/roles in movies? If he is sinning, does that mean he needs to stop being involved in those types of parts/roles?
How can you be saved so long and miss the point so entirely??!! We are called to be discerning, and we are called to morality and holiness. Obeying that call is the essence of humility not self-righteousness. His faith was not judged, only his actions. Playing the part of a real person or not, in order to make the film he had to actually do things with his body, with his mouth that are judged and condemned by God in his word. How is that any different than a preacher who praises God on Sunday after having an affair with his secretary on Saturday? This mom blogger could not have hit the target more squarely or expressed more carefully and accurately the one simple issue, yet rediculous points are read into what she so eloquently stated in kindness and grace; please don’t elevate to hero status those who defy God, defile their body, on film no less, then thank god for the opportunity to do so.
Christ’s blood that was shed for ALL of our sins…was complete. It took care of ALL of sins, past, current & future…FOREVER. I have not been saved a “long time”…I am saved FOREVER though the power of Christ’s blood shed for us and the PROMISE made complete through is resurrection. I don’t have to perform to receive His gift of grace, all I (we) have to do is accept it. We do not live our salvation that is ROCK SOLID under legalism, but under powerful, unending, MERCI-FILLED GRACE provided by the “Great I Am”….who is greater than any sin we ever commit, any failure on our part to perform they way the world(and other Christians) decided we should perform. God is love. It’s very simple. It’s pure, not weighed down with bondage of our actions/or lack of actions. We are forgiven! We are made brand new,… each day… through the power of His resurrection….not by our actions. Praise God that He does NOT give up on us…but says, “He delights in us”!!
The whole problem with your article is “how a Christian should be” cannot be attained ever- grace is what we were all given by Christ. There is no recipe of what a good Christian is, only each of us different, bringing our own faults and sins to the feet of Jesus. It is only our job to love, love, and love not only our friends but our enemies, and those who’s sins we absolutely don’t understand! So please mom with a blog- Love as Jesus would 🙂
There is a recipe for the Christian who wants to please God. It is the Word.
He is an actor, that is his job. He does not become any less Christian doing his job. It is a part nothing more, he is not the man he portrayed. If you are so Christian what right have you to judge him, are you God? I don’t think so. The quieter the tongue the louder the prayers so that you may be heard and forgiven for overstepping your Christian teachings or did you not read that because you were too busy thumping your Bible? Judge not lest thee be judged. If you are a true Christian, act like one. This is why so many people dread your religion. You don’t practice what you preach and you judge others like you’re God almighty. God bless and forgive you. Amen.
As much as I agree that his movies do not always need profanity, sex, and other crude uses of attention-grabbing content, I think it’s important to note that the film Dallas Buyer’s Club also promoted a large idea of acceptance. I saw the film in theaters and besides the obvious uses of unnecessary sexual content, I thought the message was one that Christians today should be listening to very carefully. The film depicts a man of ignorance and arrogance who through the hands of fate (or God) was plagued with a disease that impacts a large amount of people in our world today. Throughout the film his character development shines as he goes from displaying hate towards Jared Leto’s character because of his lifestyle (a cross dressing man) and the fact that he has contracted AIDS.
While it is obvious that as Christians we are told homosexuality is a sin, it is also important to remember that Jesus loves and accepts all who open their hearts to Him, and the message of Matthew McConaughey’s character as he develops throughout the story also promotes this love.
It is not our place to idolize celebrities, as you said. But it is also not our place to condemn them for being celebrities and choosing to take part in films that they believe in, even as “Christians.”
We should all remember that love above all is the most important part of following Jesus.
“According to pluggedin.com, Dallas Buyer’s Club opens with McConaughey’s character having sex with two girls at the same time in a rodeo stall” Wait, are you trying to tell me that you are criticizing a movie you haven’t actually seen?
All your arguments just lost any validation.
There it is. Thank you.
“Christians” are the most judgemental and hypocritical beings on this planet. Very few actually act Christ-like. I doubt Jesus approves if this social media where self-proclaimed Christians cast stones. The Bible itself tells of violent stories with some of the most graphic scenes of torture, perversion, murder, betrayal, etc. Yet Christianity recommends relying on it for faith and daily guidance. Why? To learn? To be shown a negative story so as to turn to the righteous path? If an actor is a Christian, and a artist, poet, storyteller, can it not be conceivable that the telling of a true story can have a message? A story to learn from? How must you “Christians” who are commenting so harshly know about the movie at all? We’re you not sinning by watching the film? Followers of Christ should not be so mean, judgemental, and hypocritical. I so badly want to follow Christ, but the “Christians” confuse the hell out of me these days with their hateful judgement. It is not a good example, and if I didn’t have a strong Christian foundation from my upbringing, actions and comments like these would not make me want to join any Christian church. Where is the love and compassion???
Kristi, one day we will all give an account. He will not ask you about Himself based on your perceptions of what others say of Him. He will ask you directly, “Who do YOU say that I am?”
Love the sinner, hate the sin in yourself!
Haven’t watched the speech and probably never will. Haven’t watched the movie & am positive I never will. Just cutious about those who are getting all judgy & preachy while condemning the blogger for being judgy and preachy…how do any of you know he was talking about the God of Abraham and not some New Age being he just called “God”?? I happen to also remember God saying to either be hot (as in on fire for Him living every moment for His glory and being repentant of your sins) or cold (living life however you want to with no regard to glorifying Him) but not lukewarm (saying you serve Him while not having it be reflected in your life) or it would make Him want to barf. If Matt actually was talking about God and giving Him accolades for the opportunity to star in a filthy film, well I can’t speak about how that makes God feel but it certainly makes ME want to barf. And finally, for those who think this is a wonderful opportunity to reach unbelievers who might reach out to the Christian community now that Matt seems to have said we’re cool, which of you wants to explain to said unbelievers that Christianity is actually more than warming a pew on Sunday after bangin’ two chicks on Friday night??
Wow. You stirred up quite the controversy with this post. Only God and MM know his heart. It’s that simple. It’s none of our business what roles he decides to play in movies. It’s between him and God. We aren’t on this earth to “wonder” what God someone is referring to. We aren’t on this earth to save people. We are here to love people. When we accept Christ, we become love. We, as humans, can’t save anyone. We plant seeds. We may even water the seeds. But ultimately, it’s out of our hands.
I hope and pray MM was sincere with his thankfulness to God.
I simply cannot fathom all of the people who are castigating this woman for posting her thoughts. I happen to agree with her. Let me put it into perspective for you. Young Saul held the cloaks of those who were stoning Stephen. He thought he was serving his God. So, we totally forgive him and put him on a pedestal BEFORE his eye-opening (or closing, actually) experience on the road to Damascus? Really? He was performing that service for God, right? That’s what he said, so “Woo-hoo! What a champion for God!” Let Matthew turn out a Christian film exalting Jesus and we’ll talk. In the meantime, those who keep bringing up the “Judge not lest ye be judged…” phrase, that’s what the non-Christian liberal/progressives keep bringing up to excuse abortion, gay marriage, and any other perversion of what is right and true. Tell you what, I’ll cook two perfect steaks for you to choose from, only one will be so well-done as to be crispy through and through, will have been dropped on a filthy floor, stepped on, and sprinkled with dog poop. Which one will you choose? Uh-uh, now don’t judge!!
You’ve done a great job making the point without spewing hate … Which is the way we seem to disagree these days. Well done.
While I enjoy a lot of his work, I agree with what you say. I’m glad he acknowledges God in his life, but I agree with the sentiment in your post.
Ramona
Have you even seen the movie or know what it is about? Because I am pretty sure that Jesus would have been on the side of McConaughey’s character. Think about the sheep and the goats.
LIGHTEN UP FOLKS!!. Maybe your ‘holier than thou’ attitude is part of the ‘group’ that give Christians a bad name, not Matthew McConaughey.
He wasn’t asking to be anybody’s hero, just trying to strive to be a better person within himself.
As for the movie, he was portraying a role. The Oscar was for “best actor’ not ‘best Christian’. The movie has a sad, yet powerful message, Yes, the lifestyle Ron Woodruff led goes against Christian behavior, but nonetheless, he made the best out of a bad situation. The real tragedy is, that all these years later, as Americans, we have no control over our medical care, It doesn’t matter what illness you have or how you do it. The. pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and the FDA are the true sinners, putting greed before all else, not an ACTOR! I’m not saying that Matthew McConaughey doesn’t sin, of course he does, he’s human, but he wasn’t hesitant or ashamed to profess his faith in front of millions of people.
Don’t judge others because they sin differently than you!
Excellent! You just stated exactly why the whole thing bothered me, but I didn’t have the words for it. I think it boils down to words v actions. His words were great. I applaud him for sharing what may be his faith. However, we are called to live our faith through our actions, which is our fruit. And the Word says you can see our faith by looking at our fruit. The fruit of his work–the movies he chooses to act in–are truly not edifying of the Lord. And maybe his faith isn’t there yet. Who knows. Maybe it can be there one day. And yes, I thought the whole “chasing Matthew in 10 years” was a little…odd. So I applaud YOU for sharing your thoughts on it. I think they are spot on!
You are missing the point of a very powerful and important message. This movie was a true story about how ALL the things you are so upset about- the characters lifestyle, basically killed him. It amazes me how some people can be so narrow minded and YES most of them are Christians. Before you all start jumping on me for being a Godless heathen, my husband is in the ministry. He felt the same thing, that the role McConaughey played, and how he kept it true to the life story, serves as an example of what NOT to do, and did not, in our opinion glorify it. Too many people had that message fly right over their heads. I’m sure everyone would be raking him over the coals if he didn’t thank God. You can’t please everyone.
No one ever said we thought of him as our Christian idol. The reason Christians are happy about what he said is due to the fact that so many people that are famous don’t have the courage to stand up and say something like that to a room of people that probably aren’t Christians. No one is perfect and no one is saying he is now that he gave that speech. Everyone sins. I’m not saying it’s right that he plays in the movies he does but that doesn’t mean that he is not a Christian. A good Christian wouldn’t be judging him like that either!
So many hateful comments towards each other on here.. I thought the foundation of Christianity was forgiveness. It’s not anyone’s job or right to judge another human. If you’re that concerned, pray for him and let God handle it.
this was an amazing and an EXCELLENT article. Please continue to hold a high standard for those who say they are “followers” of Christ. (although I did not here him mention Jesus) Isn’t it funny how when someone speaks the truth and points out sin you are considered the bad guy?
Good this a relationship with God is personal and not up for you to decide shut up and love if you wanna walk the walk don’t talk the talk by smashing someone
To begin I am a Christian, a mother and someone who openly acknowledge my need for grace. I was pleased with his speech for the most part but you are upset about the wrong thing in my opinion. Clearly you have not looked past the offensive parts of the movie to see the full content and theme. Yes there is sex etc but more importantly they suffer great consequences when they discover they are HIV positive. This isn’t the celebration of debochery you have described. The movie focuses on the suffering the lifestyle they have led can lead to! Sick, scared and without hope.
The only offensive part of this is your decision to put another down to show what? How much more spiritual or mature you are? I am confused? Is this your way of reaching others or is it more important for Christians to fit into a very specific mold?
And you completely missed the point of the movie! Not that I condone the character’s actions but this movie was more about the control of the FDA and it’s grip on who gets rich based off of other peoples suffering. A lot of people with your thinking need to open your eyes and minds. Jesus said love thy neighbor- NOT love only your “Christian” neighbor.
Yes! Thank you for saying this. I live in Austin and he’s a big deal here. He goes to a big church here and I saw that they let him speak to the youth there and I’m thinking what is going on here???? He makes morally terrible movies and is not someone I would want my child looking up to. He seems like a nice guy, but not a Christian, even if he claims to be. His actions give us no reason to applaud him for thanking God in an acceptance speech.
I am a Christian and I loved his speech not because he thanked God and not because he did anything but because HE WAS REAL! I have such a hard time with people Christians and non Christians alike that get pointed at, judged, and basically ripped apart if they do not perform the way others feel like they should or what is right! I will never understand why we get to pick a part another human being and say what is Christ like or not Christ like we do not know the heart of anyone – I sure want to be real and authentic way before I’m approved of by Christians! If we could see, We would probably be appalled at the heart of many pastors and church people that say all the right words- God help us-
wow, you seem to have struck a nerve here! I am glad he thanked God, but really, the celebrity worship in this country is crazy out of hand. I will continue to publicly praise my husband, my pastor, and other godly men who are upright, raise their children right, are good husbands, and not men who do one thing and say another. We will be known by our fruits.
Well said! Thank you for being bold enough to share your exhortation. I tuned in that night just in time for his speech – thought it was weird! And, incidentally, God does not want that kind of praise. I get the same feeling when an athlete thanks God for the touchdown or goal he just made.
I agree the film is not full of christian values or family values. However, if Christians don’t stand up in the secular world in the MARKETPLACE where they work (no matter what they do) how in the world will people OUTSIDE the church ever come to know God? He was brave and honored God, his wife and his family publicly in the secular realm …he’s an entertainer and has chosen to live in that world to expose himself to that kind of world and that takes MORE GUTS to do than preaching to a choir of believers. What about organizations like “we are cherished” who go into strip clubs to help girls come to know the lord and stop stripping…you gotta start somewhere!
Are you perfect? If not, then perhaps you should keep your love & gratitude quiet as well…
That’s imperfect logic and you know it. We are all sinners. We are all imperfect. It’s sad to me that his public gratitude isn’t enough…. It’s sad to me that in order to pass the standards of many on this blog, he has to sabotage his career—the one thing that gave him the platform to show his gratitude to God and over 43 million people.