Russell Brand announces he will be baptized as a Christian

Actor and comedian Russell Brand announced Friday that he plans to be baptized this weekend, the culmination of months of public wrestling with Christian doctrine.

“This Sunday I’m going to take the plunge and get baptized,” Brando, 48, said in a video posted to X.

baptism. I’m going to take the plunge this Sunday! How was it? pic.twitter.com/DnwcUrzoqa

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— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) April 26, 2024

Brand says baptism is “an opportunity to die and be born again, an opportunity to leave behind the past and be born again in the name of Christ, as written in Galatians, an opportunity to live as an enlightened and awakened person.” He said he heard it explained.

He also cited Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Buddha in what he suggested were non-Christian reflections on the same theme of accepting death for life. did.

“All this seems very charming and beautiful,” he said.

Mr. Brand also suggested that more people are returning to Christianity as the empty values ​​of modern times crumble and people want more.

“I know a lot of people are being cynical about the growing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me it’s obvious,” he said. “As meaning degrades in the modern world and our value systems and institutions crumble, we are all awakening, within and around us, this eerily familiar figure we have known all along, beckoning. I’m becoming more and more aware that there is. And for me, that’s very exciting.”

Mr Brand added that he would be baptized in the highly polluted River Thames, joking that he might also be baptized with toxoplasmosis and E. coli.

“I may be left guilty, but I may have a pretty serious virus,” he said.

Brando’s baptism comes after other videos he has made in recent months about his spiritual journey to the Christian faith.

In December, he told his followers he was reading the Bible. pain problema 1940 book by C.S. Lewis that explores the role of suffering in the Christian life.

In January, he said he was reading Rick Warren’s book. purpose-driven lifeAnd although they once viewed many churches as too “old-fashioned” or too modern, as they grew older they realized the importance of Jesus Christ and began to develop a “personal relationship with God.” He said he wanted it.

“The reason I wear a cross is because as I learn more about suffering, purpose, self, and non-self, Christianity, and especially the figure of Christ, seems to inevitably become more important,” he said. Ta. he said at the time.

In March, he posted a video explaining that he was visiting churches of various denominations with the possibility of being baptized, and asked the faithful for their opinions on the sacrament.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson last year, Brand said, “Like so many desperate people, I need spirituality. I need God. Otherwise I can’t deal with this world. “We need to believe in the best of the world.”

He admitted that he “didn’t have enough self-control to resist the lure of stardom” and said, “I fell face first into its glow. Now I’m just pulling myself up.” Told.

The brand faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct dating back several years, including reports that he assaulted a 16-year-old girl after drawing her into an “emotionally and sexually abusive” relationship.

Brand denies the “very serious criminal charges” and claims that while he has been “very promiscuous” in the past, all sexual relationships were “always consensual.”