A Microcosm of Christian Culture as Seen Through American Idol
My wife and I started watching the show American Idol a couple of years back. It’s been entertaining to watch the rise and fall of amateur talent and it’s been fun to enter into a dialogue with people who also watch the show. Recently, I have noticed an unflattering trend among Christians who also are fans of the show. Related to my last post, it seems that there are many Christians who only want to support those singers who profess to be Christians regardless of how well they stack up vocally to the other contestants on the show. Conversely, these same people adamantly oppose and outright mock certain contestants that don’t seem to live by their standards. Of course this is not true among every Christian that I know watches the show, but just by perusing comments on Facebook, this trend has become loud and clear.
It makes me wonder if Jesus was sitting next to me, watching American Idol, who might he send a vote towards? Would Jesus say this: ”because Danny Gokey appears to profess my name, I am going to vote for him.”? I’m fine with people that support and encourage those contestants who line up with them on a personal level, but where it seems to go wrong is when the attitude becomes very assumptive and judgmental towards people who appear to live by different standards. Of course, I am speaking about Adam Lambert. In every interaction that I have seen of Adam, he has demonstrated humility and been one of the most modest contestants this season. He respects the other contestants (in last night’s show, he mentioned what an honor it was to be around Kris and Danny), he is sure to thank the judges for their critique, and he has not shown any type of blown-up ego that people might expect. So, I am trying to understand where this dislike of Adam comes from within Christian circles. Is it the eye-liner, painted finger-nails, or colored hair? Even though Danny’s story is touching and by the appearances of his job, he seems to be a Christian, Adam appears to have demonstrated Christ-like qualities in his interaction and relationships on the show.
I believe that we as Christians, bring a negative connotation to what it means to be a Christ follower with judgmental and condemning attitudes towards people who might look differently on the outside.
I Samuel 16:7
“The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I don’t know whether Adam professes the name of Christ or not, but his actions and words have spoken volumes about his character. For this reason, I have a great respect and admiration for Adam. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against Danny. He seems like a good guy and he does have a great voice. But I am not going to vote for him simply because he teaches church choir.
Michael, I really like the blog you have started. I sincerely hope and pray it will be a blessing to all exposed…I think it will be.
On the topic of American Idol, I would suggest that there are many reasons people might vote for one contestant or another. For instance, if Danny’s mom thought Adam was the better singer, should she be compelled to vote for Adam? I don’t think anyone would endorse that. Some people simply identify with one contestant or another for many reasons including musical style, look, marketability, popularity, moral character, etc. Who are we to “judge” why a person might vote for someone?
That being said, disparaging and mocking a contestant is plainly wrong. It is, in fact, slanderous in this case, as we really do not know enough about any one contestant to accurately portray them as a person. To say I just don’t identify with his or her style is one thing. To say they are immoral or not a good role model or anything else in that vein would be presumptuous at best and potentially outright character assassination.
I think Jesus would understand that each contestant has many positive aspects and some negatives. In the bible, Jesus was hardest on those who professed to be holy and had nary a disparaging remark for “sinners”. That is good news for me, for I am a lifelong sinner in need of a saviour.
Matt – I agree with you about voting based on a personal bias. That’s the benefit of a democratic voting process. I am sure some people vote for Danny just because they like his glasses, others vote for him because he is a church music director and others might vote for him because they think he is the best singer. At some level, American Idol is as much a popularity contest as it is a singing competition.
Really, the point I was striving to make is when Christians in particular go out of their way to make critical judgements against someone based on some superficial bias and how that type of character assassination is something God’s Word teaches us to avoid.
Thanks for your comment Matt!