Comedian Matt Rife Shares His Baptism Story
By Movieguide® Contributor
Though comedian Matt Rife is best known for his raunchy material, he took a step of faith earlier this year when he got baptized after the death of his grandfather.
“I got baptized in August in a dude’s pool,” Rife told the History Hyenas podcast.
Rife explained that despite growing up in a religious home, he attended church infrequently growing up when he was invited by friends. Though he moved away from Christianity once he got older, his interest in religion has slowly been growing since his grandfather passed away two years ago.
“I’ve never been a super religious person, but when my grandpa passed away, something hit me that I was like, ‘I’ll never see this person again,’” Rife said. “So something has to exist. I skew Christian, so I started going to church a little bit more.”
His conversion to Christianity, however, has not been smooth sailing as he has had trouble connecting with church, though he is committed to continue going.
“I find [church] excruciatingly boring,” he said. “But I want to believe in God, and it’s obviously a huge part of the process.”
Rife isn’t the only celebrity to turn to Christianity this year after years of searching. Russell Brand became a Christian this spring after searching for religious truth for years. His journey began decades ago after he realized that his life of indulgence and debauchery was leaving him empty. After experimenting with nearly every religion, he came to understand that Jesus was the only one who impacted him in a real way.
“It seems that it’s taken quite a lot to recognize that you need — I need — a personal relationship with God,” Brand said in January. “It occurred to me that instead of always talking to myself inwardly, I could replace one of those voices with an indwelling God.”
READ MORE: RUSSELL BRAND BAPTIZED ON SUNDAY: ‘I FELT CHANGED’
Brand went on to get baptized in April and has since posted frequent updates about his walk in faith where he has shown an incredible depth of understanding in the months since his conversion.
READ MORE: RUSSELL BRAND GRAPPLES WITH THIS MYSTERY OF FAITH