About That Jim Carrey Speech

The internet and social media has been all abuzz about a speech Jim Carrey gave to a group of former inmates. In the speech he talked about choosing forgiveness for our suffering over resentment. He used Christ as a model of what he was calling the inmates to do. Here are some of his words:

“He suffered terribly and He was broken by it, to the point of doubt and a feeling of absolutely abandonment, which all of you have felt. Then there was a decision to be made. And the decision was to look upon the people who were causing that suffering with compassion and with forgiveness, and that’s what opens the gates of heaven for all of us. I wish that for all of you. I wish that for myself.’

I saw many Christian groups and websites celebrating that Jim Carrey is now representing Jesus in Hollywood. One Christian magazine called the speech, “a pretty powerful—and Christ-centered—speech from Carrey about the power of refusing resentment.”

The only problem with this, however, is that Jim Carrey is not proclaiming in the Jesus of the Bible. Nor, as far as we can tell from his public words, is Carrey claiming to even follow the biblical Jesus. Consider the words of Carrey only a few short minutes after the above quoted words. Carrey said, “Every cell of your body is God. Everything is divine.” This isn’t Christianity it’s a bit of pantheism and Gnosticism.

Consider a similar speech (brief NSFW language) by Carrey a bit before the one that is circling the internet. It doesn’t sound to me like his views have changed all that much from 2013. In this one Carrey was ruminating about how Christ freed the world from sin. His answer? “He freed the world from sin from his perspective we have to do the same.” He went on to tell us the meaning of life. “Love yourself” was the answer he gave.

This Isn’t About Jim Carrey

Friends, this is the opposite of Christianity. Even his Jesus-sounding words that are making the rounds on Facebook are opposite the gospel of Jesus. When he talks about going through the gate of forgiveness or the gate of resentment and the former “leading to grace” this is getting the cart before the horse. This is the type of thing the apostle Paul railed against in Galatians. This isn’t the biblical gospel that grace comes first, and being forgiven by God leads to us forgiving.

Now, I’m not saying all of this to poo poo on what the Lord is (or is not) doing in Jim Carrey’s life. I’m sure that many would read my words as bigoted, because I’m assuming that there is an objective truth and an objective standard that Carrey’s speech is not measuring up to. That’s fine. But I’m really not intending to even speak to Carrey. My goal is to encourage the church to stop getting all excited when a celebrity mentions the name of Jesus. It doesn’t mean they are Christian or now representing the Christian faith.

Ask yourself, if what Jim Carrey said was said by somebody in my church Sunday school class would I be applauding and sharing those words on social media? If you would not then what does this reflect about our hearts? Does it not show that we believe the words of celebrity carry more weight than the common person? And does it not mean that we are weighing their words on a different scale? Friends, this should not be so.

Consider these words from D.A. Carson:

This is a point that our generation cannot afford to ignore. Why is it that we constantly parade Christian athletes, media personalities, and pop singers? Why should we think that their opinions or their experiences of grace are of any more significance than those of any other believer? When we tell outsiders about people in our church, do we instantly think of the despised and the lowly who have become Christians, or do we love to impress people with the importance of the men and women who have become Christians?” D.A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry, p.29

Let’s use a bit of discernment when celebrities start talking about Jesus. It’s no victory for the gospel when somebody promotes Jesus-sounding Gnosticism or pantheism. It’s confuses folks when we share on social media that Jim Carrey is representing Christ when his version of the meaning of life is absolutely contrary to the message of Christ. We must use discernment and make sure the gospel is actually being proclaimed—and this is true whether it’s Ace Ventura Pet Detective or President of the United States.