Missionary Road

We live in a celebrity driven society and tend to idolize celebrities for everything other than what they believe theologically. I can admit that I’m a huge fan of Will Smith, ever since “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” in the 80s and also because I appreciate his clean rapping style and movies such as Independence Day, Bad Boys, and Men in Black, to name just a few. I will usually go see a Will Smith movie if I know he’s in it; in fact, I’m really drawn to his new move “I am Legend” and plan on seeing that in a couple weeks.

Now, I don’t officially know what Will Smith believes about God and what happens when he dies, so I would have to admit that this hasn’t affected me to this point about how I support him as a celebrity. But, when he recently came out and said in a recent interview that Scientology is basically in line with 98% of what the Bible says, this certainly floored me and caused me to reexamine my support for him. This was his statement:

“Look, I use the Bible to explain the ideas of God, and life, and love, and relationships, and the life of Jesus Christ to teach my children how to defend their spirit. But in all of the experiences I’ve had with Tom [Cruise] and Scientology, like, 98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible.”

First of all, that statement is wrong and would not hold any weight in court. And, I would have no problem telling Mr. Smith this in the nicest way possible. Now, this revelation doesn’t shake my faith in the least either, because I already have a clear understanding of both faiths and their many differences. What bothered me more as I researched these reports was what Will Smith seems to believe about faith specifically, as reported by USmagazine.com:

“I love my God, my higher power, but it is mine and mine alone, and I create my connection, and I decide how my connection is going to be,” he added. Describing himself as a “student of world religions,” Smith — who was raised a Baptist — said: “I believe that my connection to my higher power is separate from everybody’s. “I don’t believe that the Muslims have all the answers and all the beliefs. I don’t believe the Christians have all the answers and beliefs, or that the Jews have all the answers.”

I would love to be able to sit down someday and have a great conversation with Mr. Smith, hear his story of faith and also share my heart for Jesus and how He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that’s it’s not about following world religions or Scientology, but it is all about following Jesus all the way and with all that you are.

So, Will Smith, if you somehow read this, please get in touch with me because I’d love to grab a coffee with you, not because of your celebrity, but because I would love to have a great stimulating conversation with you about God and see if we really do have this Jesus of the Bible in common, because either Jesus is Lord or He is not. And, I would lovingly declare that Jesus is Lord and He changes lives.

To see more reports on Will Smith and Tom Cruise, read the articles below.

Will Smith articles on Scientology:

http://www.usmagazine.com/will_smith_scientology_wasnt_for_me

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/20/will-smith-scientology-i_n_73469.html

http://www.celebitchy.com/7648/will_smith_says_scientology_teachings_are_98_identical_to_bible/

http://popsugar.com/77925

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22088489/

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