Miley Cyrus: Forget Jesus?

Posted by Jim_Daly Mar 9, 2012

I certainly don't follow Miley Cyrus' tweets, but many kids do, so parents might want to be aware of the latest controversy surrounding the former Disney star and her Twitter account.

According to a story that a colleague sent me, Ms. Cyrus posted a photo on Twitter the other day of Lawrence Krauss, a physicist best known for his belief that there is no God and that the universe came from nothing. Accompanying the photo of the scientist was the following quote from him:

“You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, all things that matter for evolution) weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in stars. So forget Jesus. Stars died so you can live.”

Mr. Krauss is certainly entitled to his opinion. He believes that stars died on his behalf. I believe that Jesus died so that we might have eternal life (John 3:16).

I suspect that Mr. Krauss has as difficult a time understanding my biblical perspective of life as I do understanding his belief that we're somehow descended from specks of stardust from outer space.

But in the aftermath of her tweet, Ms. Cyrus encountered strong reaction from many of her Christian friends, and not all of it was charitable, which is unfortunate. There is never room within the bounds of civil discourse for rudeness and personal attacks. Ms. Cyrus was taken aback by the outcry and responded with the following tweet:

“How can people take the love out of science and bring hate into religion so easily. It makes me sad to think the world is this way."

Ms. Cyrus' response needs to be understood in context. She was hurt from some of the comments of her followers on Twitter, but there is also irony to her reaction given the beliefs of Mr. Krauss, a man whom she apparently admires.

The very man Lawrence Krauss is lobbying others to forget (Jesus) is the only perfect man to have ever walked the face of the earth. In fact, in His actions, words and teachings He brought love and truth to a world that was weary of lies.  To "forget Jesus" is to do the very thing Ms. Cyrus doesn't want done - to take the love out of science or any other aspect of life.

Furthermore, Ms. Cyrus' lament that the world is broken is the very reason Jesus came to earth in the first place - to show people the way forward and the path to eternal life. That Ms. Cyrus is "sad" regarding the current depraved state of the world is understandable. But it's this depravity that caused Jesus to declare Himself "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:16).

To "forget Jesus" is to forgo any hope of a better tomorrow.

Many will remember the Broadway hit musical, "Jesus Christ Superstar."  At the height of its popularity in the 1970s, the late Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen once pondered rhetorically, "Jesus Christ Superstar? No, no. Jesus Christ Superscar!"

I am reminded of that observation, in light of Mr. Krauss' suggestion that we somehow, inexplicably, come from the stars in the sky. I believe we come from Him who put the stars in their places - and that we are saved not by the stars but by the scars in His hands, feet and side (Isaiah 53:5).

Follow me on Twitter @Dalyfocus

Follow me on Facebook

Keep up with Focus on the Family on Facebook