Eminem, Madonna, Mick Jagger and many other popular singers have the reputation of being "rebels." So do pornographers like Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt, and pro-abortion activists like Patricia Ireland and Frances Kissling. These men and women—as well as those who actively support gay rights, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia—are consistently portrayed in the media as courageous citizens who are rebelling against the status quo and fighting for their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Or so we are told.

But are they really rebels? Or, in reality, are they exactly the opposite?

In a Supreme Court decision a few years ago, Justice Anthony Kennedy stated, "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life."

That’s the philosophy of our modern American culture—in one short line! And that’s precisely the philosophy of all those people I mentioned a few moments ago: Eminem, Madonna, Hugh Hefner, etc! Like Justice Kennedy, they believe that everything in life is subjective and up for grabs.

Which means that these so called "rebels" really aren’t rebels at all! They’re actually the guardians and promoters of the status quo.

The real rebels are those who courageously oppose this philosophy—and who usually get persecuted for their opposition! The real rebels are those who believe in objective truth and traditional, biblical morality. The real rebels, in other words, are those who follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist, whose birthday the Church commemorates this weekend.

John was what I would call "a holy rebel!"

He rebelled, first of all, against the materialism of his day, living out in the desert on a diet of grasshoppers and wild honey.

He rebelled against pride and hypocrisy, especially when he encountered those realities in people who professed to be religious, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a "Brood of vipers!" (Can you imagine what he would say to "Christian" politicians of our day and age who actively support evils like abortion?)

John also rebelled against hedonism and sexual immorality. He said to King Herod, "It’s not right for you to live with your brother’s wife!" In other words, "Face it, Herod—you’re committing adultery!"

And in response to all this "rebellious activity," Jesus called John the Baptist "the greatest man ever born of woman." Obviously, our Blessed Lord loves this kind of rebellion—because it’s rebellion against evil and sin!

So let’s not buy into the lie that Eminem and Hugh Hefner and all their friends are the rebels of our society, because they’re not! They’re the promoters of the status quo; they’re the advocates of the philosophy of the world.