Story
Frank Sinatra had many friends in the Mafia. Frank was once spotted kissing the ring of hit man Sonny Franzese in an act of respect. Sinatra was grateful to Sonny because the mobster had done him favours. Frank Sinatra Junior was playing at the San Su San nightclub in New York; the paying punters were thin on the ground and Frank Jr was bombing. Famous dad telephoned Sonny and explained the problem. The next night and for many weeks, the nightclub was packed with hit men, bookmakers, loan sharks and prostitutes. They cheered loudly for Frank Jr and his singing career really took off. The famous crooner was deeply grateful to Sonny Franzese. You might be surprised to learn that Frank Sinatra believed in God!
Background Notes
Frank Sinatra was interviewed by the infamous Playboy magazine and he was asked if he believed in God. This was his answer:
“I think I can sum up my religious feelings in a couple of paragraphs. First: I believe in you and me…..I believe in nature, in the birds, the sea, the sky, in everything I can see or that there is real evidence for. If these things are what you mean by God, then I believe in God. But I don’t believe in a personal God to whom I look for comfort or for a natural on the next roll of the dice. I’m not unmindful of man’s seeming need for faith; I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s…….Well, I believe that God knows what each of us wants and needs. It’s not necessary for us to make it to church on Sunday to reach Him. You can find Him anyplace. And if that sounds heretical, my source is pretty good: Matthew, Five to Seven, The Sermon on the Mount.”
Frank Sinatra was not an atheist but he didn’t believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. His comments about ‘religion’ are pantheist. God is not a person at all because God is the same as nature. We should add that this impersonal god does not expect you to pray or to repent of your sins. After all this deity is in everything, both Mother Theresa and brutal hit man Sonny Franzese.
Four Ways of Looking at the Story
Materialist faith: “We believe that Frank was misguided because everything is just matter in motion.
Relativist faith: “We believe that Frank was being true to himself. He picked a faith that worked for him.”
Pantheist faith: “We believe that there are sparks of the divine in everything. No need to pray, repent or confess your sins. Relax and sip Jack Daniel’s with a Mafia pal.
Christian faith: “We believe that God is revealed in Jesus Christ. Sonny must repent and stop killing people. If he does that, the Holy Spirit will come and live in him.”
Questions
1) Did Frank Sinatra have a convenient faith?
2) Is this a dangerous faith?
3) What is the difference between pantheist and Christian faith?
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
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