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10 Christian Influences in Culture
By Cara Davis
From The Passion of the Christ to The
Purpose-Driven Life, these Christian influences and influencers have made
“Christian” the new “gay.” These Christians and their products have
created a significant cultural impact within the last five years.
(Whether each is biblically sound is up for debate.)
10. Switchfoot—The
Christians who form this alternative pop/rock group has enjoyed major
commercial success with their last album, The
Beautiful Letdown. This fall they release their next album and the
record label is reportedly pumping lots of money to ensure their continued
mainstream success.
9. Kirk Franklin—Since releasing his first album in
1993, platinum-selling Kirk Franklin has brought gospel
music to the masses. Franklin is also the first gospel singer to have his
music featured on a movie soundtrack (Spike Lee's Get On The Bus).
8. George W. Bush—Although his approval rating has
steady decreased since 9/11, the 43rd President hasn’t shied from
being vocal about his faith. His conservative stand on partial-birth abortion,
faith-based welfare initiatives, and same-sex marriage has rallied and unified
Christians and conservatives across America.
7. The Passion of the Christ—Inspired by
director Mel Gibson’s traditional Catholic beliefs, this grueling look at
Jesus’ last 12 hours leading up to the crucifixion has been called the
greatest outreach/evangelist tool for Christians (outside of the Bible). It
became the eighth
highest-grossing film in U.S. history.
6. J.K. Rowling—This J.R.R. Tolkien of the 21st
century has had more literary success with the Harry
Potter series than any other Christian author since, well, Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis. Only time will tell if future generations of Christians will embrace
the literature as they have other fantasy/science fiction works like Lord
of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia.
5. Bono—The Irish frontman of the world’s most popular rock
band has catalogued his spiritual journey in his songs over the last three
decades and used his platform for relief of world poverty and AIDS. He made
social justice cool, and nearly every celebrity has followed suit.
4. eHarmony.com—Psychologist Neil Clark Warren, an
evangelical Christian with a divinity degree, founded this immensely popular
online dating site, which encourages marriage (and refuses to create same-sex
matches). It consistently ranks among the top four online dating services.
3. Joel Osteen—The posterboy of the megachurch
movement, Osteen has found a home in a culture looking for a feel-good gospel.
Nearly 50,000 adults attend his services each weekend and his book, Your
Best Life Now, consistently sits in the top 10 on The New York Times Bestseller
list.
2. Left Behind—These 12
apocalyptic novels penned by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (70 million copies
sold at last count) have spawned movies, video games, and even comic books. Most
surprisingly is that 23 percent of its readers are made up of followers of world
religions other than Christianity (according to the Scripps Howard News
Service).
1. The Purpose-Driven Life—California
pastor Rick Warren struck gold with this 40-day inspirational guide through the
five biblical purposes for life. The
book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide as churches have hosted
40 Days of Purpose programs in what has to be one of the most widely marketed
books in church history.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2006, Cara Davis
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Cara Davis is the editorial director of
RELEVANT Media Group and the editor of Radiant magazine.