Keep Praying For Katy Perry

I know, I know.

The thought of us praying for Hollywood celebrities and Music Industry pop stars is probably not something that comes to mind too often. Admittedly, it's not at the top of my own prayer list.

Still, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't pray for them, specially when we see stories like this...

Katy Perry Rejects Christianity, Heaven And Hell, But Believes In 'A Higher Power'

Katy Perry is the daughter of Christian ministers. But the widely popular singer recently made it clear that she no longer identifies with Christianity.

"I don’t believe in a heaven or a hell or an old man sitting on a throne. I believe in a higher power bigger than me because that keeps me accountable," the 29-year-old pop star told Marie Claire magazine in an interview for the January issue. "Accountability is rare to find, especially with people like myself, because nobody wants to tell you something you don’t want to hear."

Perry, who stormed the charts with her 2008 hit "I Kissed A Girl," said she no longer considers herself Christian.

"I’m not Buddhist, I’m not Hindu, I’m not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God. I pray all the time—for self-control, for humility. There’s a lot of gratitude in it. Just saying 'thank you' sometimes is better than asking for things."

Perry was just a teenager when she scored a gospel contract as Katheryn Hudson. She moved to Los Angeles when she was just 17 to reinvent herself, and had been dropped by three record labels by 23. Her fourth studio album, Prism, released in October.

Though she has strayed far from the days her parents tried to "keep her away from all things secular and sinful," Perry told Marie Claire she still has a good relationship with her parents.

"People don’t understand that I have a great relationship with my parents—like, how that can exist," she said. "There isn’t any judgment. They don’t necessarily agree with everything I do, but I don’t necessarily agree with everything they do. They’re at peace with it ... they pray for me is what they do. They’re fascinated with the idea that they created someone who has this much attention on her."

How said, isn't it? And yet, far too common a belief system these days.

Sadly, Katy Perry is guilty of the sin of idolatry. She has created for herself a god that doesn't exist; a god with only the label(s) she wants to attach to him, her, it.

Sure, she can claim "accountability" to this so-called "higher power" but the terms of that accountability (or what she personally considers "good" and "evil" or "good" and "bad") is entirely up to her and her own preferences in this life.

In that sense, what she refers to as a "higher power" that she believes in is actually the "God of Self" that we've all worshiped at one time or another (and still do from time-to-time).

How many of her fans will be influenced by her own religious beliefs though? That's why I keep think about. While we're at it, let's pray for them too.

As heartbreaking as it is to hear of someone publicly admitting they have rejected the faith, especially when they were raised in a Christian family, it shouldn't be all that surprising for we know that this is always a possibility that the Bible warns us about.

Plus, it's certainly not the first time that Katy Perry has publicly shared her religious beliefs.

As Katy Hudson, Perry recorded for the Christian music record label Red Hill, releasing a faith-based rock album. Some cynics have suggested she used the Christian market as a way to break into the mainstream.

And while Katy has rejected much of her strict evangelical upbringing, she told Rolling Stone magazine that she still retained a belief in both Jesus and God. Oh, and also space aliens:

"God is very much still a part of my life. But the way the details are told in the Bible, that's very fuzzy for me. I still believe that Jesus is the son of God. But I also believe in extra-terrestrials, and that there are people sent from God to be messengers, and all sorts of crazy stuff."

[Via]

Like I said, a god and faith of her own choosing and on her own terms, or idolatry.

In a 2011 interview with Vanity Fair, Katy Perry shared some additional details about why she is no longer a Christian...

"I didn’t have a childhood," she tells the magazine, adding that she was not allowed to say things like "deviled eggs" or "Dirt Devil," to listen to secular music or read any other books but the Bible.

"Growing up, seeing Planned Parenthood, it was considered like the abortion clinic. I was always scared I was going to get bombed when I was there … I didn’t know it was more than that, that it was for women and their needs. I didn’t have insurance, so I went there and I learned about birth control."

"I come from a very non-accepting family, but I’m very accepting," Perry says of her current religious beliefs. "Russell is into Hinduism, and I’m not [really] involved in it. He meditates in the morning and the evening; I’m starting to do it more because it really centers me. [But] I just let him be him, and lets me be me."

"I’ve always been the kid who’s asked 'Why?' In my faith, you’re just supposed to have faith. But I was always like … why?" she says. "At this point, I’m just kind of a drifter. I’m open to possibility…. My sponge is so big and wide and I’m soaking everything up and my mind has been radically expanded. Just being around different cultures and people and their opinions and perspectives. Just looking into the sky."

Thus, such a pious form of parenting (and preaching moralism over and above the Gospel too I'm sure) only contributed to Katy Perry's current perspective. I don't want to absolve her of any kind of responsibility whatsoever, but I will say that all of that definitely didn't help.

Worse, her public comments over the years and now most recently only perpetuates the stereotype that non-Christians are already so familiar with when it comes to those of us within the Body of Christ.

All of this is also demonstrative of the importance of being able to describe and explain the "WHY?" behind the "WHAT" it is that we believe.

At the end of the day, here's what I know for sure...

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.


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Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Q: Can you lose your salvation and if you can, what do you need to do to regain it again?

A: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod believes and teaches that it is possible for a true believer to fall from faith, as Scripture itself soberly and repeatedly warns us (1 Corinthians 10:12; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 3:17; Hebrew 2:1-3; Hebrews 3:12-19; Hebrews 6:4-8, etc.). Such warnings are intended for Christians who appear to be lacking a right understanding of the seriousness of their sin and of God's judgment against sin, and who, therefore, are in danger of developing a false and proud "security" based not on God's grace, but on their own works, self-righteousness, or freedom to "do as they please."

By the same token, the LCMS affirms and treasures all of the wonderful passages in Scripture in which God promises that He will never forsake those who trust in Christ Jesus alone for salvation (John 10:27-29; Romans 8; Hebrews 13: 5-6, etc.). To those who are truly repentant and recognize their need for God's grace and forgiveness, such passages are powerful reminders of the true security that is ours through sincere and humble faith in Christ alone for our salvation.

A person may be restored to faith in the same way he or she came to faith in the first place: by repenting of his or her sin and unbelief and trusting completely in the life, death and resurrection of Christ alone for forgiveness and salvation. Whenever a person does repent and believe, this always takes place by the grace of God alone and by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God's Word in a person's heart.

Usage: We urge you to contact an LCMS pastor in your area for more in-depth discussion. Published by: LCMS Church Information Center ©The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 888-843-5267 • infocenter@lcms.org • www.lcms.org/faqs

It's clear that Katy Perry has fallen from the faith. I pray that she will come to repentance and belief somehow soon by the grace of God alone and by the power of the Holy Spirit working through His Word in her heart.

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, I will be praying for Ms. Katy Perry and all her fans and followers.

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with Lutheran doctrine -- in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word -- so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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