Miss California Aftermath (Part 2)

Hopefully this will be the last post I will be making concerning Miss California, Carrie Prejean. In my previous two posts I discussed certain theological issues that swirled around the controversy that all started when Carrie came out in opposition to gay marriage during the Miss USA pageant question session. Good on her for taking a stand but I was never endorsing her as a Christian role model. Her comments merely served to contrast with Rick Warren's pathetic cowardice on the issue and also to question mainstream evangelicalism's rush to embrace her as a role model and spokeswoman.

Miss Prejean has been doing the rounds of the Christian speaking circuit and even addressed students at Liberty University. Earth to Liberty University - HELLO! She parades on TV in a skimpy swimsuit, we know little about her theological views or practice, but she holds to orthodoxy on a theological no-brainer. C'mon guys, is modern evangelicalism that pathetic and wimpy that we can't find a prophet who stands for righteousness crying "thus saith the LORD"? What does it say about our shallowness and lack of discernment when we are so quick to embrace someone just for agreeing with us on one point. Sarah Palin may be another classic example of willingness to compromise certain views (ie biblical motherhood) in order to have "one of us" running for the White House.

I suspected that something embarrasing would emerge considering Miss California's meteoric rise to the "voice of evangelicalism" . . . . and it has. Racy modelling photos (I'll say no more than that) have come to the surface of Carrie Prejean that she should be ashamed of and her "Christian constituents" should be embarrased about. But hey, we all have a past and Carrie can just come forward with remorse and repentance over her foolishness. But no, Carrie actually tried to justify her conduct by saying "I am a Christian and I am a model. Models pose for pictures including lingerie and swimwear photos". Yes and Bill Clinton didn't inhale!

Ultimately, my criticism is not directly aimed at Miss California. I am disappointed with undiscerning Christian leaders who are so quick to jump on a bandwagon in their desire to gain some sort of public credibility or "relevance" - ditto for Bono! Here are some points to consider for personal benefit and future wisdom:

1. Church discipline - we need pastors who love us enough to shield us from the public limelight when we are not ready to articulate a biblical worldview or become a public rolemodel. Also to tell us where the boundaries are and the principles concerning being salt and light before a sinful culture.

2. Expository preaching - we need pastors who teach the whole counsel of God. In Carrie's time at her local church it would seem that the virtues of being a godly, modest Proverbs 31 woman were not impressed on her strongly enough that she might aspire to that lofty goal.

3. Parenting - do we parents, raising our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, want to expose our daughters to "beauty pageants" as a barometer of feminine beauty.

4. Choosing our feeding grounds - we need to be discerning as to where we get our spiritual food. Obviously, the Bible is the starting place! It is from there that we can have spiritual ears to hear what resonates with a biblical worldview and what doesn't. Let's choose our teachers and role models cautiously and carefully. We need to be better Bereans than the Bereans were.

5. Association - don't be so quick to join a camp without a decent working knowledge of their overall theology and practice. The Muslim world can only maintian unity as long as they have a common enemy - us. Were the enemy to be removed they'd be pointing their guns at each other. As Christians, we also need to be wary of a unity based upon what we oppose rather than what we believe.

Chew on that today!

Go Back To Part 1