“I became a Christian man, and not in a fucking bullshit way – in a very real way.” Not exactly how you would expect most testimonies to begin from within the warm baptismal waters of First Baptist Church. However, according to a recent article in Interview Magazine, the Jewish-born actor Shia LaBeouf has decided to reject Judaism and convert to Christianity after he “found God” while working on his new film “Fury” starring Brad Pitt.
LaBeouf said “I could have just said the prayers that were on the page…but it was a real thing that really saved me…it’s a full-blown exchange of heart, a surrender of control.” Shia mentioned that Fury director David Ayer and co-star Brad Pitt helped him through the conversion process. Interesting.
Concerning Brad Pitt, in a 2011 Time magazine interview he mentioned that there is an “unexplained power; there is this force. And maybe peace can be found, but not by trying to explain it with the religion. Maybe there’s peace to be found just in that acceptance of the unknown. Christianity is opium for mankind.” Pitt briefly mentioned that he grew up in a Christian environment but that the religion is no longer for him. “As I became an adult – it doesn’t work for me.” Interesting.
Concerning David Ayer, in an interview with the director in Relevant Magazine discussing the theology found in the movie “Fury” Ayer says that “in war films, you’ll often see a person of faith, but the way they’re depicted often feels caricatured. It doesn’t feel like a grounded faith or a living faith. It was important to me to show how someone can lean on Scripture and their relationship with Christ in an environment where they’re seeing this much inhumanity and destruction.”
One of Ayer’s favorite scenes in the movie is an exchange between Boyd Swan (LaBeouf) and Wardaddy (Pitt).
Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan: “Here’s a Bible verse I think about sometimes. Many times. It goes: And I heard the voice of Lord saying: Whom shall I send and who will go for Us? And I said: Here am I , send me!”
Wardaddy: “Book of Isaiah, Chapter six.”
LaBeouf’s character seems surprised that Wardaddy was familiar with the passage. As Ayer explains it gets to this notion of calling. We hear ads for military service that speak of “answering the call.” At the same time, people who go into ministry speak of being called by God. The people who answer these calls often find themselves set apart from the rest of society. They’re either held to a higher standard or put on a pedestal.
In his personal life, LaBeouf has not done well atop that pedestal. He has been on a steady climb to the top of the Hollywood A-List for his roles in all 3 Transformer movies, Wall Street, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, iRobot, etc. But Shia has also been in the headlines for unexpected behavior in his personal life. In January he famously “retired from public life” with a stunt on the red carpet at the International Film Festival wearing a paper bag over his head that said “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE.” The former Disney star also earned global attention when he hired a skywriter to apologize for plagiarizing and then plagiarized the apology. Not a good run.
Shia is a confused soul. But a soul on a journey. Just like us all. I think there is a deeper truth revealed in the article. One much more profound than his journey guided by Pitt and Ayer. He says in the article that “I’ve always been a runner my whole life, running from myself. Whether to movies, or drinking and drugging or fucking calamity or whatever it is, I’ve always been a runner.”
Doesn’t faith begin by admitting we are runners? Consider Ezra 10, David in Psalms 51, and Paul in 1 Timothy 1. And is there a better example of an admission of running than the Prodigal Sons in Luke 15? The younger son ran away from everything good towards everything bad. He finally admits, “Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.” (MSG)
[Spoiler Alert] One of the more memorable lines from Pitt comes toward the end as they are facing down the steady advance of 300 German soldiers. When given an easy opportunity to tuck tail, Wardaddy says, “We ain’t never run before. Why we gonna run now?”
Shia, dear brother…keep running from yourself. You wont find the answer there. None of us do. I think you know that. But keep running. In the movie you quoted from Isaiah 6. It was actually 6:8. Take a moment and read 6:1-7. That is Who I pray you run towards. The One that is called Holy, Holy, Holy. Run to Him and “behold, your guilt will be taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Run there.
I think we can all learn from Shia’s confession. Not merely reading “prayers on the page” but understanding faith begins by first admitting we need to stop running to ourselves for answers.
This movie is rated R for strong sequences of violence, some grisly images, and language throughout…sort of like your life and mine.
Latest posts by drewdickens (see all)
- Eager To Do Good - March 13, 2024
- Enhancing Athletic Performance: The Power of Christian Meditation in Barcelona World League Soccer - March 13, 2024
- Stillness in the Spirit: Embracing Christian Meditation in Modern Life - March 12, 2024