Oliver Anthony Starts Concert By Reading Bible Passage

Since Oliver Anthony broke onto the scene with “Rich Men North of Richmond” it seems that everyone has an opinion about him. One thing that many can agree on, though, is that he does things his way. For instance, he opens his concerts by reading from the Bible.

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Much to Anthony’s dismay, many have tried to pigeonhole him to one side of the political spectrum or the other. He has stated that he is a centrist and stands on what he believes. In a recent social media post, the “Rich Man’s Gold” singer showed a packed crowd where he stands where religion is concerned.

In the video below, Anthony stands on stage in front of a cheering crowd, not ready to sing just yet. Instead, he reads the crowd a passage from the Bible while his guitarist throws posters and other items into the audience.

In the post’s caption, Anthony shared a portion of the passage he read to the crowd. It comes from 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. The passage begins with, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

The quote continues with, “God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the thing that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

The passage Anthony quotes is about being humble in the face of God. It seems that this is at the core of the singer’s belief system. Anthony continues to grow in popularity, selling out large venues wherever he goes. By all accounts though, he is as humble as he was when he started.

Many have looked at the lyrics of “Rich Men North of Richmond” and tried to assume his entire worldview. In fact, the very politicians he derides in the song have decided that he’s on their side, despite his statements of the contrary.

“It’s hard to get a message out about your political ideology or your belief about the world in three minutes and some change,” Anthony said in a video. “But I do hate to see [“Rich Men North of Richmond”] being weaponized. … That shit’s gotta stop.”