In early October, Chris Pratt, star of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, was promoting his Pixar film “Onward” and encouraging his fans on Instagram to vote for this year’s People’s Choice Awards.
And because the awards happened to land during the contentious election, he joked, “With all that’s going on in the world, it is more important than ever that you vote. Just ask any celebrity. They will tell you…to vote. But me? I will tell you EXACTLY who to vote for,” he declared. “The upcoming 2020 People’s Choice Awards is the most consequential vote in the history of mankind times a million infinity. Vote for #Onward for family movie of the year.”
Not everyone was amused. At first, social media followers criticized the comments as poorly timed and insensitive. But then things got testy and Pratt, a Christian, was attacked as a “conservative Trumper” and a “Bible pusher.” Of course, cancel culture got in on it. On October 17 writer Amy Berg called out Pratt for being the “worst Hollywood Chris” and asked her followers which Hollywood Chris — from Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pine and Chris Pratt — “has to go.”
Hollywood heavyweights from the Marvel universe rushed to his defense. Mark Ruffalo, aka, the Hulk, defended Pratt’s political neutrality, tweeting, “He is just not overtly political as a rule. This is a distraction. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize, friends. We are so close now.” He was referring, of course, to his anticipation that Biden would win the election.
Robert Downey, Jr., supported Pratt in a tweet that referenced John 8:7, “What a world… The ‘sinless’ are casting stones at my #brother, Chris Pratt.” He then called Pratt, “A real #Christian who lives by #principle, has never demonstrated anything but #positivity and #gratitude.”
And Guardians director James Gunn defended Pratt, tweeting, “Please stop assuming what he believes, politically or in any other way, [just] because he’s a Christian.”
I commend Chris Pratt. The very fact that his friends know widely of his Christian faith speaks of the positive impact that he is making in a culture typically antagonistic toward Christians.
On the other hand, the way his Hollywood friends defend him reveals a bias. To me, it seems that they regard faith as a defect, but they are willing to tolerate Christians who are nonconfrontational. That is, in Hollywood, as in most of secular culture, acceptable Christianity equates to being nice.
Ruffalo implies that Pratt’s faith is acceptable because Pratt keeps his own opinions to himself. Downey, Jr., seems to see Pratt’s faith as a weakness, like a “sin” that competes with the sins of fans in the Twitter-verse. He suggests that Pratt’s “sin” of being a Christian doesn’t bother him because Pratt’s a nice guy.
The challenge for a Christian like Pratt is the same for all of us. Maybe you are a likeable, nice person and people enjoy being around you. But how do they perceive your faith? Do they know what you believe?
And what if you are placed in a position where you need to speak for Christ in a way that will sacrifice your popularity? Would you do it?
Nice or not, popular or not, here are a few things to keep in mind in our culture that typically tolerates Christians until Christ becomes a problem:
- Be sure you know what you believe. And assume they don’t.
James Gunn suggests that people “assume” they know what Christians believe. But in today’s culture, the true doctrines of Christianity are lost in the fog of feel-good false teaching, angry and belligerent believers who shout more than they share, and, worst of all, confusion over the difference between political parties and theological beliefs.
But once a person becomes familiar with biblical Christianity, it is precisely “because he is a Christian” that Pratt’s beliefs should be clear. If he tells me he is a Christian, politics aside, I should be able to make informed assumptions about what he believes.
Christianity is anchored in a certain set of non-negotiable beliefs to be considered biblical Christianity (for instance, John 3:1-16, 1 Cor. 15:3-5). Be sure you know what those beliefs are so that you can talk about them, as well as clarify and, if needed, defend them (1 Peter 3:15).
- Being nice is not a substitute for being a Christian.
Like Pratt, some people are just likeable. Maybe you are one of those people. You have charisma, a disarming attitude when confronted, and people just like to be around you. And that’s good. That’s how God wired you.
And there is no reason that living the truth or talking about Christ needs to be inherently abrasive or intentionally confrontational (Col. 4:5-6). And Christians, shaped by the love and character of Christ, should treat people with respect, honor people as God’s creation, be gentle, kind, and patient (Gal 5:22-23).
Even so, always remember that being nice is not the same thing as being a Christian. Some people are already likeable when they come to Christ. Others are channeling the Grinch. For both, and for all, being born again in Christ produces the character of Christ. God shapes character and changes people from the inside out (Eph. 5:20-24).
So don’t confuse your likeable nature for a witness to Christ. Your amiable attitude toward others opens the door to profess your faith in Christ and demonstrate your Christian values, but it is not a substitute for the Gospel.
- Intolerance should be a response to Christ, not to you.
Even if you are a nice person by nature, if you are living for Christ not everyone will like you. Born again Christians who faithfully live their faith are by nature counter-cultural (John 15:20). But our job is not to be liked. It is to live for Christ.
But if someone has a problem, it should be with Jesus, not with you. Don’t go looking for confrontation. There is no virtue in that. But don’t be afraid of it, either (John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:16). Nor is there any particular virtue in claiming you are acting like a Christian when in fact you’re just being a jerk (1 Peter 3:17).
Instead, be the believer that God calls you to be and live for Christ faithfully. And when the time comes, share Christ, stand for the Gospel, and be faithful to God’s Word.
After all, for a Christian, if there is one thing that’s worse than just being tolerated, it’s being irrelevant.