Russell Brand’s “brand” is crass British actor, comedian, and freethinker. However, he recently offered a profound take on the Ten Commandments, human nature, and contemporary culture:
"When it says in the Old Testament, ‘Worship no other gods than me,’ the implication ... is that we are a species that worships, and if you do not access the Divine, ... you will worship the profane. You will worship your own identity. You will worship your belongings. You will worship the template lai[d] before you by a culture that wants you ... relatively dumb."
Wow. John Calvin called the human heart a “perpetual factory of idols.” St. Augustine wrote that the heart remains restless “until it finds rest in” the One Who made us. Pascal talked about the God-shaped hole in the human heart we are always trying to fill.
I did not expect Russell Brand to join that esteemed list of keen observers of human nature ... but let’s hope God grabs a hold of his heart.
For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org