Friday, January 27, 2012

Why I Hate the "I Hate Religion" Guy

OK, Hate is a strong word.

And OK, I don't hate the guy.

Gotta be provocative with the title, ya know?  Otherwise you probably wouldn't have clicked to read this.

But I really think I do hate the video.  In case you haven't seen it yet, here it is.  In the last few weeks it's gone viral (yes, an overused term) and presently has over 17 million viewers on YouTube.


I admit, my initial reaction to his thoughts (once I got past him aiming his ire twice at Republicans but not at all at Democrats) was a qualified "amen."  After all, on the surface he makes a lot of sense.  Jesus did spend much of his time arguing against archaic rules and regulations that had been twisted by man, making in essence a self-service gospel without the power of God.  But after thinking (and thinking) about it, the way he makes his case and the words he says can so easily go without challenge.

I mean, did Jesus really hate religion?  Or did He simply hate what man had done to religion?  There is a difference, you know.

God instituted a religious order when he ordained the Temple system of the Old Testament.  He declared rules with the Ten Commandments.  He commands corporate worship directly in Hebrews 10:24-25 and indirectly throughout Scripture.  So to say that Jesus hates religion is really to say that Jesus hates what God designed.  And that of course is ridiculous.

Perhaps a better argument can be made in this video, which I just saw this morning for the first time.  Being new, it has significantly less views on YouTube, but I think makes a much stronger biblical case, if albeit a less flashy, hip one.


Listen, the Church has gotten many things wrong, from the crusades of the 1000s to the Catholic Church's indulgence system of the 1500s.  Way too frequently we still see news stories of funeral protests, abortion clinic bombings, racism and miscellaneous hatred, and when we see these things it's hard to believe that Jesus has any room for institutional faith.  And the church's insistence of using the term "personal Savior", though well intended, has the unintentional consequence of implying that Christianity is just between me and Jesus, and that's all that I need.

But au contraire, mon frère!  Christ loves the church and died for it.

I know, you're probably saying that the "I hate religion guy" (for the record, his name is Jefferson Bethke) tries to differentiate between the Church and religion, even saying (briefly) that he loves the church.  But how many people will watch him and not get that?  How many will use his thoughts to validate their hatred for the church, while they supposedly cling to Christ?  How many will see this as some sort of tacit approval to ignore the teachings of their pastors, while they claim that Jesus hated religion so they should too?

In an interview posted on Churchleaders.com, Bethke  all but admits that his position is not very well thought out, and comes from a narrow view of "religion."  We all have such blind spots, but we must learn to focus on what we read (especially online) and consider the words and the implications as well as the sentiment, before jumping to the conclusion that this is something that must be shared with the world.  I applaud his intentions.  I fear his consequences of his work.

1 comment:

  1. Some seem to forget that the church is the bride of Christ and He has chosen the church as the primary way to get the Word. The boy is accurate when he says it is about a relationship and not about tradition (my words on his take). But church (the Body of Christ on earth) must play a vital role in our Spiritual life.

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