TGC compares Taylor Swift to Jesus?

The Gospel Coalition’s Deleted Taylor Swift Article

Hello. Did the Gospel Coalition actually compare Taylor Swift to Jesus Christ? That's kind of what they did. Here is an article from the dissenter, TGC Compares Pro-LGBT Pop Star Taylor Swift to the Revealing of Jesus in His Eternal Glory to His Followers.

So, I'm recording this Friday, October 13th. The original article was posted to the Gospel Coalition website yesterday on the 12th, and it was swiftly removed because of its absurdity. So they caught a lot of flack and took it down right away.

But, as you probably know, when you post something to the internet, it's there forever in one way, shape, or form. So there is this thing called the Wayback Machine, and I'm looking at the original article right now on web .archive .org.

I'll link to this in the description. Here's the original article under Arts and Culture. The Gospel Coalition says, Seven Things Christians Can Learn From Taylor Swift's Eras. And the article is by Blake Glasson.

So we're going to look at this in a moment, because that's what they're doing. They're saying, well, they're either comparing Taylor to Jesus, or they're at least saying that you can learn some sort of biblical or spiritual truth from Taylor Swift and her secular pop tour.

Who the Gospel Coalition Is and Why the Comparison Matters

Yeah. So you have to ask the question, who or what is TGC? Some of you know, but some of you don't. TGC, or the Gospel Coalition, is one of the largest online Christian ministries, and it was founded by Tim Keller and D .A. Carson.

And they're sort of like Christianity Today. You know, Christianity Today was founded by Billy Graham, you know, many, many decades ago in the 1950s or whatever. Maybe, maybe it was doctrinally sound and reliable back then.

But Christianity Today has had this liberal drift going on for a long time so that people now call it Christianity astray. Well, it's the same with Gospel Coalition. Maybe they started out writing some good theological articles, but now you're getting stuff like this that, hey, if you want to find some spiritual truth, just look to Taylor Swift.

I mean, what is this? It's people that are bored with this book right here. So if you're bored with the Bible, you're going to want to read seven things you can learn as a Christian from Swift's heiress tour.

Critique of the Dissenter’s Summary of TGC’s Drift

Okay, so let's read from the dissenter article. It says there is a bewildering trend overtaking certain corners of evangelicalism, and it's impossible to ignore the glaring departure from orthodoxy when publications like TGC keep putting secular pop culture on a pedestal.

And then they get into how TGC was reviewing the Barbie movie and their spiritual truth in Barbie. And I think I did a video on this channel where a pastor on Sunday morning from the pulpit actually did a whole sermon reviewing the Barbie movie and what spiritual truths could be cleaned from that in Oppenheimer and everything else.

Yeah. And by the way, on the original article about Taylor Swift, the picture shows her in some scantily clad outfit, like doing the devil sign like this. It's like you can't even make this stuff up. And listen, if you like Taylor Swift, I'm not against you.

I'm just saying that for a Christian ministry to be putting out stuff like this, comparing her to Jesus or saying there's spiritual truths you can learn from, it's outrageous is what it is. So the dissenter continues that this TGC article, they have plummeted into a canyon of worldly preoccupations, such contortions to align the church with the modern secular zeitgeist are foolish at best, but undoubtedly destructive.

So foolish at best, and I'm sure some would say blasphemous. If we weren't already convinced of TGC's wayward trajectory, this latest piece that published and then deleted should erase all doubt. So I'm going to go to the original TGC article and just read three points and you can decide whether or not this is valuable spiritual nourishment that you're getting from the gospel coalition.

TGC Point One: Seen and Known

Number one, they say we were created to be seen and known. Part of what makes Taylor's music so powerful is that it leaves many saying, she gets me. Many feel her lyrics perfectly encapsulate their emotions and experiences and even help them understand themselves.

The heiress tour allows fans to draw near to the one person who seems to really know them. Of course, Taylor doesn't know 99 .9 of her fans. Only foolish ones would think otherwise still the joy that Swifties feel in Taylor's presence.

And by the way, that's what Taylor Swift fans are called. They're called Swifties. The joy that Swifties feel in Taylor's presence, perhaps even catching a glance from Taylor herself. It reflects the joy of drawing near to the only one who knows and loves us perfectly, the Savior.

Okay, now that's a real stretch to say the least. Number two, we were created to image greatness. Witnessing tens of thousands of Swifties flooding Chicago streets and shops hours before the show was surreal.

You could spot a Swiftie a mile away as they all dressed as her. While every Taylor follower reflected her differently, they all imaged her corporately reflecting the full array of her dazzling ensembles.

And did a man write this? Yeah, yep. Her dazzling ensembles. Okay, Swifties appreciated Taylor's beauty more than sorry, I'm struggling to get through this. Swifties appreciated Taylor's beauty more because of each other's imitations.

The words, I love your dress were exclaimed countless times that day. Yet it wasn't just Swifties who noticed the shimmering attire of Taylor's fans. Taylor's dresses became more visible when worn by her followers.

Through Swifties, the world saw Swift. And one of the greatest joys and privileges given to Christians is to put on Christ, Romans 13, 14, to put his sparkling attributes on display to a watching world.

TGC Point Three: Christ Revealed to His Followers

Number three, the object of our greatest affection will be more beautiful than we imagined. Each heiress show began with a climactic unveiling of Taylor Swift from beneath a giant canvas of pink petals.

The roar of the Chicago crowd when Taylor was unveiled was deafening. One of my friends reflected on that moment when Taylor was revealed, her appearance seemed flawless. I had high expectations. But when the petals came off, I wasn't disappointed.

Somehow she was more beautiful than I imagined. I think this Blake guy has a thing for Taylor Swift. What do you think? He goes on, my friend observed that this moment is a dim reflection of the day Christ is revealed to his followers.

Okay, stop. Hold on. No, that's it. I'm not reading anymore. This is this is outrageous. Taylor revealing herself at a concert. There's no connection between that and Christ revealing himself to his followers.

And if the Gospel Coalition thinks that this is comparable, we need to pray for TGC. So thanks for dealing with this and, you know, enduring it with me. It wasn't easy. But until next time, may the Lord be with you.

Have a great day.