the Speidi monster: ‘celebrity conversion’

spencer and heidi pratt

Something inside me bucks against the “post-worthiness” of this post.

Maybe its because I have to begin with the confession that I actually watched an episode of NBC’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, having been hooked by commercial spots depicting a Baldwin brother baptizing Spencer Pratt in “the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” in a South American River.

Maybe its because I have to confess that I even who Spencer and Heidi Pratt – that I am actually familiar with the sordid history of these two less than savory ‘reality’ TV celebrities from MTV’s The Hills.

I know, I know, but cut me a little slack, its a college carryover from when Beth and I could only afford a steady diet of ‘noodles in a bag’ and ‘whatevers on’ television entertainment. (side note: apologies aside, there actually is much to learn about our culture by watching some shows that depict a ‘reality’ that is no true reality, yet somehow resonates with a large number of people).

Enough with the personal disclosures and apologies, take a look at ‘The Gospel Accoding to Speidi“, a biting piece of commentary by Jason Boyett at The Daily Beast, which presents some substantial (and heartbreaking) food for thought:

In case you’ve only been paying attention to Iranian elections and other events that don’t merit coverage in Us Weekly, here’s a recap: Last week, the (Spencer and Heidi Pratt) appeared as contestants on the first two episodes of NBC’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here, during which Montag prayed with Patti Blogojevich (wife of the disgraced Illinois governor), Pratt got baptized by fellow contestant and born-again Christian Stephen Baldwin, and the two of them generally annoyed the other D-list contestants. Then they quit the show. Then they unquit, and then quit again. At some point, Montag was rushed to the hospital with a gastric ulcer, and Pratt alleged that they were tortured. Then he took it back, presumably for contractual reasons.

Montag recovered, thankfully, in time for the publicity tour, during which we learned that the couple is still very committed to Jesus, and that Montag posed for the September issue of Playboy. “God made humans naked,” she told Ryan Seacrest on Monday. “We weren’t even born with clothes!”

But the couple’s awkward public embrace of religion has left some true believers flummoxed. The pro-Christian message that Speidi is espousing becomes garbled when blended with TV’s need for sensation and sleaze. Then again, in an era where the church could use a PR boost, Montag and Pratt are providing Christianity the type of pop-culture credibility that could wrangle new followers. Whether this tradeoff is worth it depends on who you ask . . .

[Click to read the complete article over at the Daily Beast (which is worth reading)]

I think that most people, whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, are likely to watch Speidi’s televised religious spectacle, read about it in the news media, or hear about it around the coffee pot at work, and shrug it off with a dismissive “stupid publicity hungry wanna-be celebrities”.

I get that.  I agree with that because I think it is probably true, but I think there is more here.

I definitely have my own thoughts, but I posted this excerpt mainly because I am curious to see what you pull from Boyett’s article.

. . . . . . .

What does this say about the state of Christianity in America?  How does this influence people’s perception of Christianity?  Or, is all of this so foolish that it is basically meaningless?

And, what I am most intrigued by is your responses to the idea of ‘celebrity conversion’ and the potential influence that it has on our culture.

Is there any truth to Boyett’s statement that, perhaps, “Montag and Pratt are providing Christianity the type of pop-culture credibility that could wrangle new followers”?

If you don’t buy that, do you think you are representative of most Christians?  Do you think that most people in American churches would affirm that the  “pro-Christian message that Speidi is espousing becomes garbled when blended with TV’s need for sensation and sleaze.”?

I am dying to hear your thoughts . . . happy thinking!