Let me just say, Elton John and I go way back. And at first, I was quite fond of him. Our long-distance relationship all started when I was a wee little lad of six. I can remember quite vividly the night I first met him. In fact, it was a "dark & stormy night" in Columbus, Ohio. My sister Tam was babysitting my three sisters, brother and I while my mom and dad were out on a date. An hour after they left we heard tornado sirens blaring and my sister commandeered us all down into the basement. She was a fearless general; but being only novice foot soldiers, the rest of us were terrified. We thought we were going to die. Without skipping a beat my sister pulled out a record player and her brand new 45 single of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." When she turned that song on, our fall-out bunker in the basement was transformed into a rockin' disco-tech. We forgot about any impending doom because we were too busy dancing to the groovy beat; and most of us kids became instant Elton John fans! Over the years I grew to love his music: "Rocket Man" (a great song to go to sleep by), "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (a dangerous song when you have two violent sisters that like to hit their younger brother), "Bennie and the Jets" (a fun song for learning how to hit your high notes), "Your Song" (the ultimate first crush song). And on and on I could go... I remember when my brother Don was moving out of the house to work in Tennessee; I took Elton John's "Daniel" and rewrote it to "Donald." I changed the verses around to this: "Donald is traveling to Tennessee, I can see the read tail lights heading there without me...I can see Donald waving good bye. God it looks like Donald, must be the exhaust in my eyes... Donald my brother, you are older than me......." When I sang it it brought many tears to my family. You see, Elton John & I have shared a lot together. Even when my dad bought a brand new 1983 Ford "Thunderbird", he let me take it out for a spin; and when I turned on the radio the first song I heard was, "I guess that's why they call it the blues." All through the years, even though I enjoyed his music, I had questions about the man himself. Let's face it, he dressed a little funny! I wondered to myself..."Doesn't he know he is starting to look like Liberace?" And mind you, looking like Liberace was not a good thing. Liberace was Flamboyant, he talked creepy, and he was...well....I better not say. And then I started hearing rumors: Elton John was...well..I better not say. (If you are wondering, the word rhymes with 'say'). While I still admired the man's song, (I mean who didn't enjoy the Lion King's "Can you Feel the Love Tonight" when it first came out) I began to question his social agenda and sanity. Let's just say, when you go bankrupt because you spent over $55 million in a mere 20 month period of time, you know something is just not right. During his spending binge he spent $450,000 on flowers alone. I like flowers, but, c'mon? Needless to say, I distanced myself from him, and I almost completely forgot about him -- that is, until yesterday. I was reading the daily news on my tablet and came across this in "The Guardian": The musician, who plans to marry his civil partner David Furnish next year in a "very quiet" ceremony, said that rules preventing gay clergy from marrying and requiring Catholic priests to be celibate were "old and stupid things". He told Sky News's Murnaghan programme: "The church hierarchy, the traditionalists, might be up in arms about it but times have changed. "If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen. "He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that is what the church should be about." Wow, Elton is not just a pop-musician anymore, he has become an expert on Roman Catholic Church Polity! While I am not shocked that he is getting married to a man (you had to be blind not to see that one coming), it bothers me how he now thinks he can speak for Jesus. Not only did he reject the church over the years; but in this quote he seems to be claiming intellectual and moral superiority over the church. Seems sort of arrogant and foolish to me? When did he change from being a pop-song writer to becoming the Pope? Elton, while I still like some of your music, I can't join you in this. This is the problem with our fascination with fame: we don't rightly discern stupidity because we are blinded by popularity. Because a man can sing about two cartoon lions falling in love, doesn't make him an expert on the biblical portrait of marriage. All he really is doing in this press release is trying to "justify his decision to marry a man" before the world. We do this all the time - - when we ignore the clear will of God to do whatever we want, we often mock the teachings of the church and the intelligence of God. This is not a good place to be, nor is it a wise way to understand the truth. So while you may enjoy crying to "Candle in the Wind" don't throw your convictions into the wind because a famous man said a stupid thing. Oh Elton...how could you do this to me after all these years?
2 Comments
Keith Sytsma
6/30/2014 11:41:25 am
It's sad to see people fail to check the statements of celebrities just because a celebrity said it. What's even more sad is when a "pastor" says something that goes unchecked and is taken as God's Word when it clearly goes against it. Some of the Bible is several millennia old and still stands today. It doesn't change just to be socially correct for the times. It stands the test of time and I can stand on it without fear because it is always true. Thanks Pastor Chris for continuing to speak the truth of God's Word in a time when truth to so many is relative. We can think on the other side.
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Christopher Weeks
6/30/2014 11:42:22 am
Thanks Keith!
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