Christianity,  Culture

Miley Cyrus and the Moral Gag-reflex

John Stonestreet suggests that Miley Cyrus may have pushed the envelope too far, even for our hypersexualized American Culture. He writes:

It’s too soon to call it a “reformation of manners” but a backlash to what one recent author called our cultural vulgarity is already asserting itself—not via the boycotts of angry culture warriors but by some of the unlikeliest cultural allies in politics, the media, and the music industry. For example, several celebrities have spoken out who’ve been repulsed by the shameless pornification of “entertainers” such as Miley Cyrus…

Now, many of these new allies have little on which to base their revulsion of the new vulgarity other than their feelings. They know it’s destructive and hurtful to women, children, and families, but they don’t know why. And that’s where Christians can step in with a little gentle teaching about worldview. We might even be surprised at their response.

I am not sanguine that our culture has reached a limit to its tolerance of moral decay. But I agree that Christians certainly do have an opportunity to bear witness to those whose consciences are pricked by the darkness. You can read the rest here, download the audio here, or listen to the commentary below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2014/010714_BP.mp3]

3 Comments

  • Lauren Bertrand

    Color me cynical, but I suspect that Ms. Cyrus is only doing what her agent/publicist recommends. Moral depravity sells. A controversial shift in a person’s image always attracts rubberneckers, which is exactly what we’re getting here from the formerly squeaky-clean Cyrus. It’s happened time and time again, and yet we the public are duped every time. Fortunately for us, the novelty of each shock-fest wears off quickly (until the next one comes along). Look at Marilyn Manson these days. This short shelf life, however, won’t help Miley one bit when she’s a has-been and has to look back ruefully on her post-adolescent decisions. We can only hope she remains of clear enough mind (and not addled by substance abuse) to accrue wisdom through hindsight.

  • James Bradshaw

    I’m not a fan of Miley or her music, and I find her a bit shallow in her interviews. However, I’m trying to understand why her performance was so offensive to many. She was less exposed than most women at public beaches. Her “twerking” involved less body motion than the hip-shaking and gyrations of Elvis Presley.

  • Ian Shaw

    Exposed less than on beaches, perhaps. But I dont’ think you see novelty sized foam fingers emulating a lewd act in pat most beaches. What she’s clearly doing is for attention because she knows or her publicist knows it will get her attention. But what she’s doing is nor origianl for sure. At best, she’s giving a nod to her predecessors, and at worst she’s plaugerizing the method of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and going back even further, Madonna.

    At least in Ms. Aguilera’s case, she can actually sing.

Leave a Reply to Ian ShawCancel reply