Earlier today, Hannah wrote about how some Christians seem more concerned about whether Robin Williams accepted Jesus into his heart than any of the other serious issues surrounding his death.

Not all of those Christians are considered extremists by mainstream standards. But when some sound like a very clear fundamentalist, Pastor Steven Anderson, you know there’s a problem. Anderson doesn’t need to speculate about Williams’ beliefs — he already knows:

… Robin Williams committed suicide. Why? ‘Cause he’s miserable. You know why? Because he doesn’t follow Christ… … You say “Don’t get on Robin Williams.” You know what? I haven’t even started getting on that cross-dressing freak yet… … … It’s a sad day when Christians today are eulogizing, and praising, and saying “Rest in Peace, Robin Williams.” Robin Williams is burning in Hell. … [Williams] stood up as a stand-up comedian and mocked the Lord Jesus and made money by mocking Jesus.

Oh, and just watch the 2:45 mark if you want to see him get close to having an aneurysm.

This is one of the problems of putting a religious lens on a celebrity’s life. Even though we can look at all the joy Williams brought to the world, and even though we can and should talk about all the inner demons he had that none of us ever saw from a distance (and may have deemed non-existent simply because he was rich and famous), there are people who think the focus of the conversation should be on his religious views. It’s the wrong focal point and it detracts from a much more meaningful discussion they could be having.

