When I was an evangelical, I wanted to volunteer for a Christian radio station. There was an interview. I was asked if I believed in a pre-, post-, or mid-tribulation rapture. Later, I was asked to share my story about how I came to Christ. The problem with that was I didn't have a very good story. I just made a decision one day. I didn't find myself in jail. I didn't hit rock bottom. I never said the Sinner's Prayer in the drunk tank, and I have never woken up next to a hooker in a cheap hotel room with a few lines of blow on the table. As conversion stories go, mine was pretty boring.
Churches sometimes have an affinity for people with stories of coming to Christ after a trauma or a life spent on sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And that does a disservice to many Christians who, like C.S. Lewis, concluded that Christianity was true after a preponderance of the evidence was presented to them. That isn't to say that they don't have baggage to deal with or messes that need to be cleaned up. They just do not have a collection of lurid war stories to give their listeners a fascinating and entertaining before-and-after picture of their faith journey.
Russell Brand has, by all accounts, led an interesting life. He made a few headlines recently by announcing that he had been baptized as a Christian:
I got baptised!!!!
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) April 29, 2024
And… pic.twitter.com/c1JamCk49x
Brand's testimony would probably be riveting. But notice that his final decision came when he realized that all the other avenues and options available were dead-ends.
When celebrities come out for Christ, Christians tend to get excited because someone famous is now going public about their faith. And on occasion, those conversions don't last or were perhaps not serious in the first place. Brand caught heat for a Monday post on X, in which he was seen fiddling with tarot cards:
Take the blindfold off and you will see... pic.twitter.com/eQ3jykRkoE
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) April 29, 2024
The Washington Examiner notes that some on social media took umbrage with Brand and his tarot cards:
You do realize that baptized Christians don’t play with tarot cards? God is the only force you need.
Do not mess with tarot cards. They’re demonic.
No Tarot. Not if you’re truly walking with Jesus. C’mon now.
You are playing with demons and endangering your soul. Burn that and pray the rosary.
I highly recommend avoiding Tarot cards, astrology, etc. It’s important not to ‘mix’ in spiritual elements that aren’t of God. All you need is Jesus—He is the source of all Truth and wisdom.
Yikes, man. I thought you were just baptized. What church they do this at? (sic)
If you’re going to become an adult in Christ, then it’s time to put childish (and demonic) things away.
One commented, “Already revealing that you’re a fraud.”
Christianity indeed prohibits dabbling in or practicing the occult. Tarot cards, Ouija boards, sage bundles, crystals, Reiki, yoga, divination, and all the other esoteric practices are out. And with good reason. But let's keep in mind that Brand's tarot card post came approximately 24 hours, give or take, after his baptism. Brand was remarkably level-headed that his baptism had not made life any easier. He did not get baptized, answer an altar call, or say a prayer with the expectation that his life would be cupcakes and balloons immediately thereafter. It may take Brand a while to rid himself of all his old habits. More often than not, faith is a journey as opposed to strictly a destination.
Time will tell if Brand's conversion was legit. In the interim, if we are tempted to mark him a fraud, we would do well to re-read the epistles of St. Paul. Paul has some important yet often overlooked points that all of us Christians, even the mature ones, would do well to remember: there have been times in our lives when we, too, have been frauds.
