{"id":1432931,"date":"2022-04-12T11:29:52","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T15:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1432931"},"modified":"2022-04-12T11:29:56","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T15:29:56","slug":"homeless-to-hero-how-chris-pratt-became-hollywoods-leading-christian-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/homeless-to-hero-how-chris-pratt-became-hollywoods-leading-christian-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeless To Hero: How Chris Pratt Became Hollywood\u2019s Leading Christian Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhomeless-to-hero-how-chris-pratt-became-hollywoods-leading-christian-voice%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1432931&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/16x9-1%25401x_1.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Perhaps people are simply surprised to find any celebrity that worships someone other than themselves. Perhaps it\u2019s his almost-too-weird-to-be-true conversion story. For whatever reason, these days Chris Pratt is known almost as much for being a Christian as he is for being a leading Hollywood actor. This fact has caused quite the controversy over the years, but it has also earned Pratt a great deal of respect from some unlikely places.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 42-year-old father of two is outspoken about his beliefs and what led him to his faith. His story began after dropping out of college and taking a friend\u2019s advice to purchase a one-way ticket to Hawaii.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty awesome place to be homeless,\u201d he told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/features\/chris-pratt-from-parks-and-recreation-to-guardians-of-the-galaxy-9636202.html\"><span>The Independent<\/span><\/a><span> of his time living in a van or a tent by the beach. \u201cIt would be different if I lived on the streets of Chicago and ate garbage from a dumpster. We just drank and smoked weed and worked minimal hours, 15-20 hours per week, just enough to cover gas, food and fishing supplies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then came the moment that changed his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the \u201cGuardians of the Galaxy\u201d star recounted to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/tv\/a32814\/chris-pratt-interview-0914\/\"><span>Esquire<\/span><\/a><span> in 2014, \u201cThis guy came by and was like, \u2018What are you doing tonight?\u2019 I was like, \u2018Oh, I dunno\u2026\u2019 So he\u2019s like, \u2018Will you fornicate tonight?\u2019 I was like, \u2018I hope so.\u2019 \u2018And drugs and drinking?\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018Most likely, yeah. Probably all three of those things. I mean, at least two of them, possibly all three.&#8217;\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The encounter happened in a Safeway parking lot in Maui. The man speaking to him was a roadside evangelist affiliated with a group called Jews for Jesus, an organization focused on converting those of the Jewish faith to Christianity. Pratt was raised Lutheran, but the man felt called to speak with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe was like, \u2018I stopped because Jesus told me to stop and talk to you. He said to tell you you\u2019re destined for great things.\u2019 My friends came out, and I was like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m gonna go with this guy.\u2019 I gave my soul to Jesus within, like, two days. I was stuffing envelopes for his organization, Jews for Jesus,\u201d Pratt recalled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It wasn\u2019t long after that Pratt was discovered by a director while waiting tables at the chain restaurant Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Whether the chance interaction was by coincidence or divine intervention, he achieved fame and fortune soon after devoting his life to Jesus. Either way, his success helped affirm Pratt\u2019s conviction that he was on the right path.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The actor\u2019s faith has come up on multiple occasions over the years. He married actress Anna Faris in 2009, but the pair divorced eight years later. A source told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2017\/08\/09\/competition-fame-and-religion-drove-chris-pratt-and-anna-faris-apart\/\"><span>Page Six<\/span><\/a><span> that the couple was \u201cvery competitive with each other\u201d and claimed that \u201cat parties they [would] compete over who [was] funniest and get insecure if they [were] not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>More importantly, Faris reportedly didn\u2019t share Pratt\u2019s fire for the faith. \u201cWhen he started getting big roles and losing weight, she wasn\u2019t the big star anymore,\u201d the source told the publication. \u201cHe\u2019s also very, very religious, and she\u2019s not religious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It wasn\u2019t a real surprise that the \u201cJurassic World\u201d star met his second wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, while attending church. Pratt is a member of Zoe Church in Los Angeles. Headed by popular pastor Chad Veach, the congregation is composed largely of a younger audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The actor\u2019s faith journey came under scrutiny when he shared a faith-filled message about his wife which some on social media saw as a diss to his first son, whom he shares with Faris.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cGuys. For real. Look how she\u2019s looking at me! I mean. Find you somebody that looks at you like that!! You know!? We met in church. She\u2019s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter, she chews so loudly that sometimes I put in my earbuds to drown it out, but that\u2019s love!\u201d he wrote in an Instagram <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CVynGLRp_ju\/\"><span>post<\/span><\/a><span> lauding Schwarzenegger and their new baby, Lyla.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The \u201cAvengers\u201d leading man faced immediate backlash for describing his daughter as \u201chealthy,\u201d\u00a0 considering his son, Jack, was born prematurely with medical conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After Jack\u2019s arrival, Pratt had said that his son\u2019s difficult birth and extra needs had renewed his faith in God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe were scared for a long time. We prayed a lot,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cIt restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As for the controversy that followed the \u201chealthy daughter\u201d comment, the actor turned, once again, to Jesus to sort things out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI went to bed last night really kind of upset and depressed,\u201d Pratt said in an Instagram story after the headlines blew up, MSN <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-ca\/music\/news\/chris-pratt-credits-exercise-and-good-worship-music-for-helping-him-through-hard-day\/ar-AAQnjOG\"><span>reported<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cAnd I woke up feeling crappy and I didn\u2019t want to work out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI knew though that if I put on my Christian music playlist, and I got out of the woods and ran that I\u2019d feel better, but I just didn\u2019t want to,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd I did it anyways and, gosh, was I right. It felt amazing. I got out of the woods, got my blood pumping.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Pratt went on to explain that listening to Christian music helped him find peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat moment, it really captured me and so I just want to say, all glory to God,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cGet some exercise, maybe listen to some good worship music or maybe get the word in because it really helped me this morning,\u201d he concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Somehow, Pratt has managed to remain neutral on politics, despite being married to the oldest daughter of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the niece of President John F. Kennedy. It\u2019s understood that the \u201cZero Dark Thirty\u201d star probably leans more to the right and identifies more with conservative values. He doesn\u2019t address politics directly, but he does drop hints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI don\u2019t see personal stories that necessarily resonate with me, because they\u2019re not my stories,\u201d Pratt told Men\u2019s Fitness in 2017, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/celebrity\/chris-pratt-says-he-wants-to-help-bridge-political-division-i-dont-feel-we-have-to-be-at-war-with-each-other\"><span>People<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cI think there\u2019s room for me to tell mine, and probably an audience that would be hungry for them. The voice of the average, blue-collar American isn\u2019t necessarily represented in Hollywood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI really feel there\u2019s common ground out there that\u2019s missed because we focus on the things that separate us,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou\u2019re either the red state or the blue state, the left or the right. Not everything is politics. And maybe that\u2019s something I\u2019d want to help bridge, because I don\u2019t feel represented by either side.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Perhaps the best indication of how Pratt is perceived in Hollywood is how vehemently his co-stars jumped to his defense in the wake of yet another scandal just ahead of the highly contentious 2020 election. Pratt never publicly indicated support for Trump or Biden, but that didn\u2019t stop followers from making assumptions, especially after he declined an invitation to attend a Biden fundraiser along with other Marvel actors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After massive social media backlash for what fans took as tacit support for Trump, Pratt\u2019s co-stars jumped to his defense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou all, @prattprattpratt is as solid a man there is,\u201d staunch liberal Mark Ruffalo <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkRuffalo\/status\/1318646841324560385\"><span>tweeted<\/span><\/a><span> in reply. \u201cI know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat a world\u2026 The \u2018sinless\u2019 are casting stones at my brother, Chris Pratt\u2026 A real Christian who lives by principle, has never demonstrated anything but positivity and gratitude,\u201d Robert Downey Jr. shared on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CGlMURZlYWZ\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He continued, \u201cAND he just married into a family that makes space for civil discourse and (just plain fact) INSISTS on service as the highest value.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Downey Jr. went on to say anyone taking \u201cissue\u201d with Pratt should \u201cdelete\u201d their social media accounts. He concluded, \u201cSit with your OWN defects of character, work on THEM, then celebrate your humanness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Could Chris Pratt be the moderate voice of reason Hollywood so desperately needs? At least, for now, he\u2019s able to find a place to worship beyond looking in the mirror.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Enter for the chance to hang out with Gina Carano at the premiere of her new Daily Wire movie, \u201cTerror on the Prairie\u201d! Two lucky Daily Wire members will be given the complete red carpet treatment \u2013 free airfare, hotel, premiere car service, and exclusive merch. Daily Wire members can click<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/redcarpet\"> <i><span>here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span> to enter for a chance to win. If you\u2019re not a Daily Wire member yet, click<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/dailywire.com\/subscribe\"> <i><span>here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span> to join us so you can win this once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perhaps people are simply surprised to find any celebrity that worships someone other than themselves. Perhaps it\u2019s his almost-too-weird-to-be-true conversion story. For whatever reason, these days Chris Pratt is known<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1432931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1432931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1432931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1432931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1432931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}