As I read the article highlighting Brandon Flowers (lead singer for the Killers) and watched the video of him defending his Mormon faith on national TV, a few things came to mind.
First, I think it is awesome that he pursues his dream of being in a rock band but still living his religion so to speak. As I watched him defend his faith while he was in leather and looking like a rock star I thought about many of the people in the Mormon faith that I have seen who think being a Mormon means you have to dress and look a certain way. Our religion teaches us that God is no respector of persons, which means no matter our race or what our appearance is, God is there for us.
Next, how much easier would it be for him to decline opportunities to get up and share his faith and just say “I’m a Mormon, but I don’t do interviews”? Or even go so far as denouncing the religion altogether, which many stars do. This is a great example of what Jesus said about letting our light shine for the world.
Finally, I thought about the members of his band who are not Mormons. Obviously they respect him enough to allow him to do these interviews and as he says in this interview, he wants to promote the band professionally, but the Mormon question inevitably comes up frequently. This is a great example of people of other faiths working together.
For those of you who may have missed the interview, I’ve included it below:
Grace for Grace 
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September 22, 2012 at 7:41 am
Cal
Brandon is a good singer.
His hairstyle looks weird in that setting.
Is The Killer a popular band? Do they have top 40 hits?
I agree that it is awesome that he pursues his dream of being in a rock singer and still lives his faith. His voice gives him a platform from which he can promote Jesus.
GraceforGrace said, “This is a great example of people of other faiths working together.” Since Islam came up in the video, I want to make clear that evangelicals do not believe Muslims and Christians can spiritually team up together. Second Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?”
I believe in living with Muslims in peace as far as it is possible without compromising my faith. I believe, like the gray-haired gentlemen in the video, in being caring, respectful, and courteous toward all people. And I believe we can team up with them for common causes such as at work or even in the military. But Islam is anti-Jesus and Christianity (including Mormonism) is pro-Jesus.
Anybody disagree?
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September 23, 2012 at 12:55 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Cal,
I’d say I agree with you to a certain extent, but personally I may take it a step farther than you suggest with living in Muslims in peace.
In order to dig deeper into this and evaluate where exactly we are both coming from, it would probably be good to get your take on what it means to be yoked, from the scripture you cited.
For me, being yoked means that we are bound together and one can not move forward without the other. To be spiritually bonded in this sense is very deep…the equivalent of a marriage or something along those lines. I believe that we shouldn’t be bound to other faiths like this.
Where I agree with you is that they do not believe in Jesus the same way we do as a Savior. Where I disagree with you is that we can still team up on a spiritual level with them even though they do not believe in Jesus (yet).
I’ll admit I am a bit naiive with the Muslims’ faith and my views come soley from people I met in Europe on my mission who were Muslim and from the Quoran that I read parts of. To me, they seemed to be trying to live as God would have them live. Although they believed differently than I did, there were levels of spirituality that we could both agree on that are a part of Jesus’ gospel, from what I could see. Things such as loving one’s neighbor, family values, honoring God, etc. If there was a Muslim who had these spiritual qualities, I wouldn’t have a problem working together with them and being yoked in the sense that we are both striving to bring good into the world.
Just because a person doesn’t believe in Jesus yet, doesn’t mean that they do not receive blessings from God when they choose the right and follow His will (even though they don’t yet realize it is Him they are following).
What are your thoughts?
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September 23, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Samuel Rogers
Yeah I’ve always wondered how his bandmates feel about the whole thing
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September 24, 2012 at 8:48 am
Cal
Samuel, I wondered that, too.
GraceforGrace, your take was interesting. As you indicated, you would apparently attempt to team up with Muslims on a deeper level than I would.
I’ve never read the Koran. I wonder what kind of spirit is on it.
I had an encounter with Islam back around 1999 after I wrote a letter to the Islamic Headquarters of North America in Washington, D.C. As I recall, I asked them a couple quick questions: “Do you believe Jesus died on a cross for sin?,” and “Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?”
I knew Islam wasn’t Christian, but I was shocked by how aggressively anti-Christian the booklet they sent me is. Not only does it deny Jesus is the Son of God that died for our sin, but it actually uses the Bible to “support” its assertion that Jesus never claimed to be divine. For example, it quotes John 14:28, where Jesus said, “I do nothing of myself,” and Matthew 24:46 where Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” as “evidence” that Jesus was not divine!
I don’t doubt their sincerity, but as you can see, their thinking is not only perversely and sadly deficient, but they go to a root of Christianity, the Bible itself, to try to destroy the foundation of our faith. When I first received the Islamic booklet, I read it for 45 minutes. The spirit that came over me was the exact opposite of the spirit that comes into my heart when I read the Book of Mormon. Instead of the peace of God—which Satan is incapable of handing out—a nervousness came over me.
As I’m sure you know, there are Christians in Islamic countries, especially Christians who have converted from Islam, who are tortured and killed by Muslims. (Do you know of any Mormons who have that way?) But when a Christian converts to Islam, we continue to love them. Jesus said, “Love your enemies.”
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September 24, 2012 at 9:24 am
graceforgrace
Hi Cal,
I don’t know any Mormons persecuted by Muslims…but I know Mormons who have been persecuted by Christians.
What you describe in loving one’s enemy is something that I am most impressed with about the Mormons as a whole. They have been persecuted over the years verbally and physically and it hasn’t been until the last decade that people have began to try and see them for who they really are.
I’ve seen people judge me for being Mormon and assume that I believe things that I don’t just from something they may have read somewhere in some pamphlet that a Christian gave them that was anti-Mormon. Perhaps that’s why I’m not quick to judge the Muslim faith.
However, that being said I’ll be honest and say I really don’t know much about the faith. Maybe they are way off base and all wacko. I’d have to do research and probably read the Quroan in more detail.
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September 25, 2012 at 6:11 am
Cal
As you know, I see the persecution of Mormons by Christians, especially the historical persecution, as a tragedy, a sign of our immaturity, and it embarrasses me. We owe you a big apology.
Are LDS elders ever assigned missions in dangerous Islamic nations where the Bible is outlawed and where it’s illegal to convert from Islam to Christianity?
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September 25, 2012 at 10:35 pm
graceforgrace
One of the things LDS leaders are big on is following the laws of the land. Therefore, they don’t send missionaries to countries that outlaw it such as China and other Islamic nations. Our belief that this life isn’t the only chance people will get probably allows us to not feel the sense of urgency to go and convert them right away. The sin will be on their leaders’ heads, I’m assuming.
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September 27, 2012 at 9:20 am
Cal
Interesting.
In any case, we know God will reward us for sharing in the suffering of the Lord. It’s a great privilege to experience persecution simply because we’re obeying the Creator of the Universe.
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September 24, 2012 at 8:56 am
Cal
In my last paragraph I meant to say, “Do you know of any Mormons who have suffered at the hands of Muslims?”
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September 24, 2012 at 9:34 am
graceforgrace
BTW, Cal.
The Killers are a very popular top 40 band. Their biggest album was “Hot Fuss” that came out nearly a decade ago. You probably know some of their songs:
“Mr Brightside”
“Somebody Told Me”
“All These Things that I’ve Done”
“Smile Like you Mean it”
There are a lot of hits they have…check them out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killers
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September 25, 2012 at 6:33 am
Cal
Thanks. They sound like a good band.
I still like rock. I was a radio announcer from about 1978 to 1986 and found I could give many of the lyrics of the secular songs Christian meaning in my mind. For example, remember that song of the mid-80s that went, “Nobody’s gonna break my stride. Nobody’s gonna slow me down, ah, ha, I got to keep on moving”? (If it wasn’t for my bad singing, you’d recognize it!)
Now, sometimes I listen to Christian rock, but as you can tell, I’ve left the Top 40 scene. I prefer praise music that gets me into the presence of God. It’s far superior!
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September 25, 2012 at 10:31 pm
graceforgrace
Hi Cal,
That’s very interesting that you were an announcer. I’ll bet that was fun! I do know that song. My first radio I got was when I was 8 and I’d listen to the American top 40 each Sunday.
I listen to a lot of talk radio nowadays so I’m not real up to speed on the top 40 and what I hear of it turns me off now anyways. All about sex and things inappropriate.
I do listen to a little christian rock. Jeremy Camp is one of my favorites. Who do you like?
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September 27, 2012 at 9:36 am
Cal
Jeremy Camp? I’ve heard of him and have probably heard him on radio.
I used to really like Petra. They were one of the most popular Christian rock bands for many years. They finally closed up shop.
I love Michael W. Smith’s version of the old Simon & Garfunkel hit “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” I’m convinced it was intended in the Halls of Heaven to be a Christian song to begin with!
I used to listen to American Top 40, too—with Kasey Kasom! I’d write down the songs as he went. How excited I was when I heard John Lennon’s new hit song “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” for the first time, learning that it had shot up to #3 or whatever number it was.
I read an article once that claimed that John Lennon became a Christian before he was shot. As I recall, John kept saying, “Praise the Lord,” which irritated Yoko Ono!
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