REACHER Star Alan Ritchson Shares Gospel with Bill Maher
By Movieguide® Contributor
REACHER star Alan Ritchson shared the gospel while appearing on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast.
The actor began discussing Christianity, explaining that it began with “somebody who claims to be the Messiah pointing the way toward a whole, radically different new way to love…And that’s through self-sacrificial care of your neighbor.”
“And when you talk about just that, it’s a really beautiful thing that a lot of other religions don’t talk about,” Ritchson continued. “You’re talking about religions that talk about the way to salvation is through doing it over and over and over again and living a million lives or finding your own self-elevation through meditation or contemplation.”
“But [Christianity] is talking about admitting that we are flawed and admitting that there’s a path toward joy that comes through self-service and self-sacrifice,” the actor added.
While Maher isn’t a Christian, he “acknowledged that the message of Jesus was ‘revolutionary’ because it told slaves and others on the lower tiers of society that it ‘gets good in the afterlife,'” WFIL AM560 reported.
And at one point in the episode, Maher admitted, “Maybe you’re right.”
Ultimately, Ritchson explained, being a Christian should affect every area of one person’s life.
“The message is that the Kingdom is coming to us… that we’re earthly creatures made for this place, and that this resurrection will take place on Earth,” he said. “If you’re truly following the way of Christianity, you will be a good steward of this place.”
Ritchson frequently shares his faith on social media. When he faced backlash for playing REACHER, he explained that God often reveals who he is through imperfect people.
“[God] reveals who He is through an imperfect people, so we get stories of paganism and war and bloodshed and ghost stories, mysticism,” he explained. “We see miracles and magic; we see life and resurrection and death; and we see this incredible canvas where God is completely unafraid to tell the story of who He is through less than morally ambiguous characters: through pure evil sometimes.”
“I think it’s laughable when people criticize me for playing characters that are not saintly, you know. That’s not my job, and I don’t think God cares about only telling those kinds of stories,” Ritchson added.
He hopes to use his platform to bring others to Christ.
“People are hearing the name of Christ in movie theaters…And if that’s where the pulpit is for people who wouldn’t normally step foot in a church, then that’s still a great way to have that conversation. It matters that these films get supported,” he said of faith-based content.
Most recently, he appeared in ORDINARY ANGELS. Movieguide® previously reported:
ORDINARY ANGELS stars Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson recently sat down with Movieguide® to talk about the movie’s inspiring themes of receiving help and developing faith.
“It’s just as important that you’re willing to receive help as a broken individual,” Ritchson said about the movie’s theme in an interview posted on Wednesday. “A lot of us like to think, like, I’m not worthy of that. That’s right, let’s wait till I’m cleaned up and worthy of accepting help, you know, and that completely defeats the purpose of it…”
Ritchson also felt inspired by its real-life themes and essential elements of faith.
“I mean, look, I’m gonna be completely honest. I did not—when I read this script for the first time, I didn’t say to myself, like this is a great faith-based movie. This was just a compelling, heartbreaking true story that had a hopeful and inspiring message, you know?” he said.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +4