Relevant Magazine: Interview with Moby

I've been meaning to post about an interview with Moby published in the May/June 2005 issue of Relevant magazine. I found it an extremely refreshing read - a celebrity who seems very thoughtful - honest about his own shortcomings, up front about his beliefs, conscious of making ethical decisions.
Here's some excerpts from the interview:

Moby says, "As a Christian, I feel very shut out from a lot of contemporary Christianity. My understanding in what it means to be a Christian is to, in our own subjective way, recognize Christ as being God, and recognize our shortcomings and our failings, and try and live according to the teachings of Christ as best we can. And what I find so strange is I look at the behavior of so many Christians, and I don't see any aspect of the teachings of Christ represented there. But [I remember] the quote about taking the log out of your own eye before you can see the speck in someone else's eye, so I don't want to get in the position of judging other Christians. I fully admit that a lot of my actions and a lot of things that are still in my life are inconsistent with my beliefs as a Christian. I'm very secular."
and
"[My friends say,] 'Well, you know with Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl, I think people are more offended with the direction our culture has taken.' And I'm like, 'Well, why not be offended by the Super Bowl? Why not be offended by the crass commercialism—that buying a new car is going to provide you with happiness and salvation? Why not be offended by the notion that grown men who beat the sh-t out of each other get paid $15 million a year, while schoolteachers in the inner-city get paid $24,000 a year?' That's offensive. If we're going to start talking about things that are offensive, a bare breast is at the bottom of the list."
and
"In the Gospels, the only people who are subject to God's wrath are self-satisfied religious leaders, and if I had to characterize mainstream Christianity in the United States, I would say it's self-satisfied."
and
"In a perfect world, what would happen is that we would apply a litmus test to contemporary Christianity," he suggests. "[Ask ourselves] what is the scriptural foundation for the priorities and the teachings of most contemporary Christians? And basically say, if you can't justify your beliefs and your actions and your ideologies - if you can't find justification for them in the Gospels, in the teachings of Christ, then you really have to examine them."

There are many musicians and actors/actresses that I admire for their art, their skills, but not many I admire for their character and their beliefs and their ethics, so it's nice to read about someone who seems not-your-usual-'celebrity'.