Exploring Christianity is a journey about which Ben Affleck is not embarrassed to talk. He no longer describes himself as an agnostic. He says he has found beauty in the Christian faith.
“The world would benefit from more of Jesus’ instructions to forgive and extend grace…I think those are extremely powerful ideas and very, very relevant, probably more relevant today than ever.” (1)
Affleck calls himself a recovering alcoholic. (2) He has dark memories of his father being an alcoholic as he grew up in Cambridge, MA. So attending church and being committed to sobriety — is something he is doing for his kids.
“I really don’t want my children to pay for my sins, or to be afraid for me, which is one of the hard parts of being the child of an alcoholic. You think, ‘What if my dad gets drunk? What if he does something stupid? What if he ends up on ‘TMZ,’ you know? And on my newsfeed, and other kids see it?” (3)
Career Success
Although Affleck has hit a few lows as an actor and filmmaker, he has won most major movie industry awards – including The Oscars (Academy Awards), British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and many others. “At 25, Affleck became the youngest writer to ever win an Oscar for screenwriting.” (4)
Halfway to Death
Rarely is it easy to face the reality of aging and just how brief life is. Affleck struggled with his 40th birthday. Matt Damon, a lifelong friend and fellow actor, was among the few friends invited to his celebratory dinner party.
“It was not fun for me,” says Affleck of entering his fifth decade. “It’s this moment of bifurcation between youth and middle age. One wants to think of oneself as young. One does not want to think: ‘Wait a minute! How can I be halfway to death?'” (5)
Of course, how can anyone know if they have reached the halfway point between birth and death? At forty, no one can assume they are only halfway to death. So often, it comes much sooner. The Bible says:
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. James 4:13-14 Holy Bible
Hollywood’s Offer
Matt Damon captured the roller-coaster ride of fame – from abysmal failure to glittering success this way:
“He’s [Affleck] gone to the top and then to the bottom and now to the top again. He’s gotten the full measure of what this life in Hollywood can offer, and now he is comfortable with it.” (6)
God’s Word provides this assessment of what the world has to offer:
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from [God] the Father , but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave…” 1 John 2:16-17 Holy Bible
Engaging in Church Routines
Before her role in the movie “Miracles from Heaven” Jennifer Garner, Affleck’s ex-wife hadn’t attended church in years. But the movie awakened a desire to return to church. She grew up in a home where her parents took her to church every Sunday. Now, with three children of her own, she believed her kids needed the structure of attending church every Sunday. So, Garner, along with her three kids and now ex-husband Affleck started attending church. (7) Affleck and Garner divorced in 2018. Jennifer Lopez and Affleck married in 2022 – after first dating 20 years earlier.
In an interview with a BeliefNet writer, Affleck spoke about how he “got introduced to Christianity a little bit later in life”. The “Batman vs Superman” star said he became a Christian after his ex-wife Jennifer Garner invited him to church when her own faith was reinvigorated. (8)
But one must ask: what is the essence of Christianity? Routines and structure have their place and can spare us much pain and anguish. That’s all true. But what role do church attendance, character development, self-improvement and good works play in gaining acceptance into God’s family and being made right with God and being prepared for eternity?
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any person should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 Holy Bible
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:12-13 Holy Bible
The Christian faith encourages good works and does not disparage such positive things in our lives – but never as a means to gain God’s favour or merit His acceptance. Our efforts, reformed lifestyles and good works have nothing to do with our conversion to Christ or becoming a Christian in the Bible sense of the term. Good works are the outflow of genuine conversion to Christ but never the input. They are the result but never the cause.
Discovering Jesus Christ
There is no greater spiritual discovery in one’s life than to personally discover that Jesus Christ bore your death penalty by His death on the Cross for your sins. At the heart of the Christian faith are Bible verses like these:
… I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 1Corinthians 15:1-4 Holy Bible … when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly… God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6,8 Holy Bible … this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 Holy Bible
People often discover that they connect with many of the sayings and teachings of Jesus, but that doesn’t make them Christians. Jesus didn’t come to earth to be a spiritual guru, gifted teacher, or ethical leader of historical significance. Jesus came to earth to be the only Saviour for sinners – to open up the one and only way to God. He alone is the exclusive Saviour available to all people – if and only if they are willing to be rescued. Without Him, one will be hopelessly lost to God forever.
Jesus said … "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me. John 14:6 Holy Bible
As Ben Affleck reads his Bible, he is clearly noticing many of the teachings of Jesus. Also underlined in his thinking are the concepts of love, grace and forgiveness.
“The idea that God — Jesus — loves us and forgives us, all of us, everybody — all the people that you know and think are great and all the people that you wanna judge and be angry at …So if God loves all of us and encourages us all to love one another and not to judge one another, to forgive one another, I find that incredibly moving, because that’s really God setting an example for us for how we might be.” – Ben Affleck (9)
Affleck is awed by the “beauty” of grace and forgiveness as features of Christianity that give hope to anyone who feels too far gone.
“One of the things that I found most beautiful about it, and I struggle with my faith, I struggle with belief, but I do see there’s something enormously beautiful and elegant about the notion that we are all sinners, and that it’s our job to find our redemption, to find God’s love, to redeem ourselves, to live the best life that we can, to love one another, to not judge one another, and to forgive one another.” – Ben Affleck (10)
I have read many stories about Ben Affleck’s faith and watched numerous video clips of Affleck talking about some of the concepts within the scope of the Christian Faith that he so deeply admires. But in my research, I did not find anything to suggest that Affleck considers himself an aspiring theologian or an authority on the Holy Scriptures. Nor did I detect any arrogance or pride as he seeks to find the answers to life’s biggest questions and solutions to some of the very human frailties and weaknesses that plague the human family.
But let’s dig deeper into some phrases and concepts occupying Affleck’s mind on his spiritual journey.
“We are all sinners” – Ben Affleck
It’s more than a notion or a concept. The Bible presents this reality as an indisputable fact. No one has ever become a Christian without first personally identifying with this core issue. If we weren’t sinners, there would be no need for a Saviour and no need for Christ to die on a Cross for our sins.
… for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:22-23 Holy Bible
Rather than finding comfort in the fact that in God’s sight, sin has created a level playing field for all –from a pope or pastor to society’s worst offenders, we should be alarmed over our own sins in the eyes of a Holy God. Sadly, often we are more concerned with the disaster sin can bring into our horizontal relationships than the barrier sin causes in one’s vertical relationship with God. To put it bluntly – sin not only has the potential to wreck lives, but sin also shuts people out of heaven eternally. Sin against God is one’s biggest problem
… Your iniquities [sins] have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you … Isaiah 59:2 Holy Bible
One day Jesus was talking to people who thought the fatalities of a recent tragedy were probably greater sinners than themselves because of their fate. On the contrary, Jesus assured them they were no different – every single sinner must repent of their sins. He told them:
… unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:3 Holy Bible
Without repentance, there is no salvation or redemption.
“The idea that God — Jesus — loves us and forgives us, all of us, everybody” – Ben Affleck
Again, it’s more than an idea. It’s a fact. God proved His love for us through His words and His actions.
Throughout the Bible, God assures us of His love for sinners of all kinds. But the culminating proof of God’s love for sinners was when He sent His Son down to this world.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Holy Bible
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Holy Bible
The concept of forgiveness of sins is not some light and breezy matter with God. God can only forgive our sins and bring us into His family because Christ shed His own innocent blood on the Cross. Such was the price of the forgiveness that God offers. The precious blood of His Son is the only righteous basis upon which God can grant forgiveness. And, to be clear, no sinner can earn forgiveness.
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22 Holy Bible
In Him [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses [sins], according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7 Holy Bible
The price of forgiveness was His precious blood.
The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1John 1:7 Holy Bible
A genuine Christian is one who is indebted to Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. It would be a startling and tell-tale omission in one’s personal story of redemption and grace if their singular indebtedness to the Lord Jesus Christ did not become the obvious climax of their story.
“It’s our Job to Find Redemption – to Redeem Ourselves” –Ben Affleck
The word ‘redemption’ is often used to describe a person making a comeback after some humiliating defeat or failure. Perhaps they have worked very hard to turn things around, and people say: “She redeemed herself.” But that is not the thought of redemption in the Bible.
As Bible teachers explain – redemption means to secure the release or recovery of persons or things by paying a price. Redemption in the Bible refers supremely to the work of Christ on the sinner’s behalf, whereby He purchases and ransoms a sinner—at the price of His own life—securing the sinner’s deliverance from the bondage and condemnation of sin.
Regarding our standing with God, we cannot redeem ourselves. A Christian’s Redeemer is none less than Jesus Christ Himself.
Unless a sinner comes to God in honest repentance and trusts Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour (Acts 20:21 Holy Bible), they will never experience the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24 Holy Bible
Sinners can be justified freely by His grace.
“Grace is humbling and restorative. It pulls you down because Christ had to die for you, but also lifts you up because he wanted to die for you. God’s grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver.” –Timothy Keller
“I’d like to find some sort of sense of meaning and purpose…” – Ben Affleck
Depending on one’s interests, aptitudes and abilities, there are many worthy causes and purposes to which people can devote their lives. Like other celebrities, Ben Affleck has supported some very worthy causes. But when Diane Sawyer of ABC News interviewed him at age 47 (2020), she asked Affleck this question: “So, what’s the question you would ask you, right now?” Affleck responded with –
“Now, that’s a question I didn’t expect. I guess I would ask myself, you know, what do you want, you know, the rest… the next… maybe I’ve got forty more years – what do you want that to look like…. I’d like to find some sort of sense of meaning and purpose, you know …I was not raised religious. I am not a very good Christian, although I go to church …with my kids because it was important to Jennifer and now I go too, and I like it quite abit …inside every ordinary moment, the extraordinary gift of another chance…” (11)
Golfing may be Tiger Woods’ life. Acting may be Brad Pitt’s life. Tom Brady seemed to live for football. For others, their identity is wrapped up in their musical talents or their business acumen. The list is a long one. But a Christian’s purpose is to please Christ and glorify God.
The Apostle Paul, in the New Testament, was once a Jesus-hater and a vicious persecutor of Christians. But after being converted (saved or born again), he wrote: “For me to live is Christ!” Philippians 1:21 A Christian is one who has found a deeper meaning in life and a higher purpose. Christ quenches one’s thirst in life. He brings satisfaction and contentment.
A Closing Request
If you are a Christian, pray for Ben Affleck and his three children with Jennifer Garner and his two step-children with Jennifer Lopez. Pray for him and his circle of relationships. Obviously, there is a spiritual search going on.
My prayer for Ben Affleck is that his search for satisfaction, fulfillment, inner peace and purpose in life will soon come to an end – if it hasn’t already. This can only happen when he embraces Christ as his Saviour and Lord. That’s what true, genuine and authentic Christianity is all about, according to the Bible.
Jesus said: “… whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 Holy Bible
Sources:
- https://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/movies/ben-affleck-on-being-a-christian-and-the-need-for-redemption.aspx
- https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=150756976064817
- https://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/movies/ben-affleck-on-being-a-christian-and-the-need-for-redemption.aspx
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Ben_Affleck
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ben-affleck-thr-cover-argo-oscar-377611/
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ben-affleck-thr-cover-argo-oscar-377611/
- https://www.insights.uca.org.au/jennifer-garner-inspiring-spiritual-connection/
- https://www.christiantoday.com/article/ben-affleck-sees-something-enormously-beautiful-in-christian-faith/134381.htm
- https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2020/march/ben-affleck-opens-up-about-christian-faith-being-a-father
- https://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/movies/ben-affleck-on-being-a-christian-and-the-need-for-redemption.aspx
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pos8Z7Zwbd4&t=114s&ab_channel=ABCNews