Hollywood Responds to “Paparazzi in the Hands of an Angry God”

The goal of Two Handed Warriors is to foster an ongoing conversation seeking to redefine, re-envision, and then reconstruct the relationship between faith and culture.

Toward that end, I am posting a few responses to Paparazzi in the Hands of an Angry God from leaders in the Hollywood community in hope it might spur others to join the conversation. (Tomorrow, I will post responses from leaders in educational community.)

They begin with the most congratulatory and move on to the most critical, which is of course where all conversations get interesting.

They raise some important questions both those who build faith and those who create culture, and more importantly, for those who do both.

Read Paparazzi and the thoughts below and then jump into the conversation,

Gary

———-

I am no historian, theologian, philosopher, or qualified cultural critic, but your article hit a cord with me.  The whole idea of celebrity, pseudo or otherwise, is a fundamental dilemma for our culture in general and certainly for Christians in particular.  Well done!

David McFadzean
Writer, producer, and partner in Wind Dancer Films; Executive producer, Home Improvement (ABC), What Women Want (2000)

————

Great article! Well done.  I wish this were still the case today: “Yet for a cultural hero to be a public role model, they need to be both virtuous and famous.”

John David Ware
Founder and President
168 Film Project
Burbank, CA

Great article. You cannot help but be humbled by the life of Edwards and Whitefield.

We are indeed…”called to be missionaries in a media‐driven culture. Wishing it weren’t so won’t make that fact go away. To impact our image‐driven generation for the kingdom of God will require entering the fray prayerfully, thoughtfully, and with great excellence.”

My great fear is that we may not now have men who have the humility and virtue needed to be used by God in the way He used Edwards and Whitefield.

I hope you consider composing a shorter version of this call for use in more popular Christian publications (for the less scholarly of us readers).

Michael Warren
Executive producer: Family Matters, Step by Step; Associate producer: Happy Days, The Partridge Family.

———

I very much enjoyed your paper about Edwards and Whitefield and the notoriety they experienced.

I was just looking for a bit more differentiation between God-given celebrity and human-driven celebrity.  I just know of too many young Christian actors and writers out here who dream of being famous so they can be used of God, when it’s actually the opposite – letting themselves be used of God might lead to recognition.

I think the threads are all there, but I was looking for a paragraph or so on the last page that made those clear.  Your example of C.S. Lewis was well-chosen.  This was a man who would have very much preferred his solitude and small circle of friends, but responded humbly when the attention came.  Edwards and Whitefield had to have been similar in their approach to obeying God, wherever He led.

Jack Gilbert
Writing Program Resident Faculty
Act One: Hollywood Above the Line

Read more responses and join the discussion at: Paparazzi n the Hands of an Angry God