JULY 1 "THE RELEVANT CHRIST"

  “My personal feeling is the teachings of Christ are more relevant now than they’ve ever been.”


If you have even a surface-level knowledge of comedian, actor, writer and all- around provocateur Russell Brand, this is a shocking statement.


Though in recent years he’s become more and more vocal about social justice issues, for much of his career, Brand has been known for his uniquely raunchy brand of shock comedy (This is the guy who once brought his drug dealer to work with him when he was an MTV VJ.).


He continues: “When stripped of the cultural inflection of the time when it was first written and is variously being translated, there is an undeniable truth.”


Yes, Russell Brand, that Russell Brand, believes the world needs Jesus’ message now more than ever. It’s something he thinks a lot about.


Brand feels the world is profoundly broken. Technology, pop culture and social media have accelerated the worst impulses of human nature, and, in his view, never has there been a time in history that humanity has more desperately needed the message of Jesus.


“There’s a famous quote: ‘Every man who knocks on a brothel door, he’s looking for God,’” he says.


“Crack houses and these dens of suffering and illicit activity, they’re all people trying to feel good, trying to feel connected.


People are trying to escape. People are trying to get out of their own heads.


To me, this is a spiritual impetus.”


This is at the core of why he believes the message of Jesus Christ is so important right now:


Humanity is (metaphorically), knocking on a brothel door, in that they are looking for fulfillment in things that will only leave them empty.


And because instant, but quickly fleeting, gratification is always at our fingertips—Amazon Prime, Instagram likes, pornography, text messages and other modern trappings—we have become addicted.


And addiction is something Brand knows a lot about.


In his new book, Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions,


Brand not only further delves into his own struggles with addictions to drugs, sex, alcohol, food and fame, but also how he’s found a pathway to healing.


Recently, this journey has taken a surprising turn.


Brand now feels the answer to breaking out of this vicious cycle—not just as an individual struggling to get clean from drugs, but as a culture—is a spiritual one. It’s one he thinks can be found in Jesus.




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