Ilkley Baptist

Yesterday's sermon was about celebrity. I suggested that the cult of celebrity, by leading us to give so much of our attention to celebrities, devalues us and the lives we lead. By comparison we become dull and unimportant, and in a strange way, less real.

They say that a preacher only really has a handful of different sermons, and I'm sure this is true, but occasionally I feel I've discovered a new one, and this is a case in point. The bible talks of a God who chooses the obscure and identifies with the non-entities. Covenant and incarnation give honour and reality to the ordinary. Christianity and celebrity are profoundly opposed.

Perhaps it would also be right to say that the character of God reflects the same truth. God is not a god, not a powerful supernatural being or even the most powerful supernatural being. God is something else again. Christian theism is actually very close to atheism. And once again our fascination with power, honour, importance, beauty and reality is reflected back to us.