Reacher the Preacher

Reacher is an action crime TV series showing on Amazon Prime Video. The story line is based on the Jack Reacher book series written by Lee Child. Alan Ritchson plays the title character, Reacher, who is a self-proclaimed hobo and former Army military police major who has extraordinary strength, intellect, and skills. In the show, Reacher comes across various criminals and finds himself doing battle with them.

Ritchson grew up in a very active Roman Catholic home, and in his youth was an altar boy and involved in the leadership of his youth group. However, as he grew older and got more deeply into his acting career, he drifted away from his faith. After a series of setbacks, and enduring sexual abuse on a variety of sets, he reached a breaking point and attempted suicide. Fortunately, he didn’t succeed, but the experience did make him think more deeply about his life. In that process, he turned to God.

Since that time, Ritchson has put himself out there in a way that very few actors have been willing to do by outspokenly professing to be a Christian, and frequently discussing his Christian faith. In fact, he even created a YouTube channel called InstaChurch where he posts video sermons/messages about his religious views.

But his Christian beliefs are really a mixed bag. He is quite outspoken about being a Christian, but the theological content of his Christian faith leaves a little to be desired. In defining his faith, he has said, “I'm a Christian quite simply because of what Jesus calls us to do. Love other people until death."

At the same time, Richson doesn’t want to have anything to do with a church. He is especially down on the Catholic Church. He turned against it because of the Church’s sex abuse scandals, and believes the coverups for that continue with too many people still not being held accountable. But he doesn’t seem to want anything to do with theologically conservative churches, either. He despises president Trump, calling him a rapist and a con man, and eschews Christians who “treat him (Trump) like he's their poster child.” So, he seems to be content to just be a religious floater and express his views on his YouTube channel.

There are some good and not so good elements to Richson’s religious faith.

What is really good is that he is outspoken about claiming to be a Christian. He is not really concerned about what other people say, and just keeps on sharing, to any and everybody, that he is a Christian. That is, certainly, commendable. But there are some other things that leave a little to be desired.

The first thing that can be seen from viewing his YouTube messages is that he does not proclaim biblical theology. The focus of what he shares does not even touch biblical salvation. His entire focus is on doing what we can to create utopia on earth. He characterizes that by saying Jesus’ purpose for us is “loving other people until death.” It is this theologically liberal point of view that accepts much of the sin that is prevalent in modern society that may explain why he has not received much blowback from his peers in Hollywood.

As opposed to his point of view, the ultimate purpose of God in sending Jesus to earth was not to create an earthly utopia, but to solve the sin problem so people could enter into a personal relationship with Him. Doing good works and creating a better society is a byproduct of that ultimate purpose, not its goal.

In preaching on his YouTube channel, Ritchson frequently disparages those who are on “the right” – both religiously and politically. He is particularly harsh in his criticisms of President Trump, Florida governor Ron Desantis, and all of the people who support them. He is especially critical of Christians who support them, accusing them of being against the very things Jesus was for.

As much as I appreciate the fact that Ritchson is outspoken about his Christian faith, he is misguided in several ways, and virtually all of his errors emerge out of his liberal theology. When a person’s theology is focused on creating utopia on earth, then suddenly, everything becomes political. The spiritual element is thrown out the window.

There are some of Ritchson’s criticisms of the actions of certain politicians and conservative Christians that do have some merit – no doubt about it. Sin in the world is not confined to one side of the ledger, and it is certainly true that those on the political and religious right have plenty to clean up.

But what he never addresses are the evil and abuses on the other side. In his preaching he excuses sin, rather than calling on people to repent. He criticizes those who want to bring order to society based on traditional American values, but has nothing to say concerning those who are creating chaos and promoting immorality in society by implementing laws and policies that promote lawlessness, substance abuse, human trafficking, racial hatred, anarchy, and the like.

Honestly, in some ways I appreciate Ritchson’s idealism. He wants to see utopia on earth. Who doesn’t? But his vision of utopia is more in line with a Marxist view than a biblical one. People’s actions will not change until their hearts change, and hearts will not change until they know God in a personal relationship. Ritchson’s preaching does not call people to a heart change. And until he changes his focus, he will continue preaching a false gospel. He is not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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