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(1) Thu Jan 17 21:41:33 One Star in the Sky of Doubt : I heard earlier that Denzel Washington was at Brooks Army Medical Center here in San Antonio quietly visiting wounded Troops. He also donated some money to a veterens/fallen soldiers program here in San Antonio. He seemed like the iconoclastic Hollywood star in more ways than one.
Then I heard this:
Terri Gross: I guess I'm wondering if it has even more meaning because you were so brought up in [the church]. Because your father ...
Denzel Washington: No, it has meaning because it has meaning. Because I believe in the Scriptures. I'm a God-fearing man who believes what he reads in the Bible and that has meaning. The meaning that it has, the effect that it has on me it had on him and thousand, if not millions, of other followers.
. . .
"Everything I've done in my career, and hopefully in my life is a reflection of my spiritual upbringing and cultivation. I'm not saying I've been an angel all my life, heaven knows I haven't, you know. But you learn, you know, in fact, I was...because I had to go to church I rebelled against the church, and as probably many people out there who have gone through that based on whatever negative experiences they may have had. But I can say this to you, whatever success I've had is a direct result of my faith and the grace of God in my life. Period. It's not hanging out with the right people and it's not studying or training at some school, or acting school. It's a gift from God, I recognize that. We all have it, so the question is not what you have, but what are you gonna do with what you have."
I have just gained a new level of respect for The Man.
Terry tries to deconstruct Denzel's faith, but like Petros he stands firm in his faith.
At one point he asks "why do you keep going back to that [my rebelious years]." Sometimes I think the concept of faith is totally lost on the media and Hollywood.
(NPR 'Fresh Air' interview of Denzel Washington January 2008)
