Reponse to: “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” Video

I’m sure you’ve seen the video floating around titled, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus”.  I saw it shared on Facebook a half dozen times in less than an hour one day, so it caught my eye. The video is very well done, has rapped lyrics, and great camera shots. It’s totally effective for communicating, and totally geared towards a younger generation. You can tell the author, Jefferson Bethke, has a great passion for God. However, after watching this video, and carefully reading the lyrics, I was shocked as to why so many people were thoughtlessly sharing this message and promoting it as revolutionary truth.

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I do agree with this guy on many points. Worshipping in vain and habitual worship is everywhere and in every church and I applaud his passion for trying to encourage authentic Christ followers.

There are certain elements of this video that are misleading and inaccurate which is why I wouldn’t personally promote it. Using half-truths to justify a point, even if his point is legitimate, breaks the integrity of his message. Not to mention the overwhelming potential for it to be understood in a context that denotes the value of “pure and faultless” (James 1: 27) religion.

With so many churches and 30,000+ denominations today, all believing different teachings, I would understand why people of our generation (including Mr. Bethke) would want to be done with religion altogether and focus simply on Christ. I get that. How do we know which set of doctrine is correct? How do we discern one fact has the fullness of truth compared to another? Great questions—also very challenging and cumbersome to discern, especially alone.

The problem however, with disregarding religion is that goes against what the Gospel says:

“What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?”

Matthew 5: 17-18 Jesus says, “I have not come to abolish the Law but fulfill it”. He is misrepresenting what the Bible says, using a line from scripture that sounds familiar to most Christians, and twisting it out of context. God developed the Jewish religion over the course of thousands of years in preparation for Jesus’ coming. Jesus fulfills that with the new covenant, not abolishing it, but completing it. This line he claims as fact simply isn’t true. 

“Which is why Jesus hated religion and for it called them fools”

Here he is referencing Matthew 23:17-19 where Jesus calls the Pharisees fools for their inability to distinguish between important matters and insignificant things, their hearts were full of sin while putting on outwards signs of piety. Yes this happened; this continues to happen; and yes we need away with this type of behaviour in all Christians. However, Jesus didn’t hate the religion; he hated the way certain men used religion to gain, selfishly in the name of God. That’s not a problem with religion, that’s a problem with man and his sin. Again, he is misrepresenting what Jesus really “hated”.

Calling religion the problem is like stating food chokes and kills people. Food doesn’t kill people, people consuming food improperly (large bites or eating contests) can cause them to choke and die. People have used religion selfishly, but that doesn’t mean religion IS the fault. All the while, humans find food necessary to survive. Similarly, we can turn God’s blessings (take finances as an example) and use them for our selfishness. Religion is vital to the continued evangelization, just as Tradition has been used to evangelize, even long before the wide-spread use of the printing press.

“See the problem with religion, is it never gets to the core, it’s just behaviour modification, like a long list of chores” // “Don't you see so much better than just following some rules” 

This guy is right that we need a personal relationship with God. If our heart is not there, then it’s in vain. But John 14:15, says “If you love me, obey my commandments”. Loving God requires obedience. Jesus commanded us to do certain things, which includes honouring the Ten Commandments, feeding the poor etc., among other things.

Christ also commands “behaviour modification” when He said, “be holy for I am holy” (1 Peter 1: 16). Holiness requires persistence and requires us to modify our behaviour in order to achieve it, as we naturally attract toward our sinful nature. Mr. Bethke portrays it as negative, and something that Jesus didn’t encourage. On the contrary, scripture tells us He did.

Let’s pretend for a second that Jesus DID come to disregard religion…

What would be the state of the Bible? We wouldn’t have it, as the inspired text was governed, and passed on by Tradition. The complete index (Canon of Scripture, specifically outlining which books and verses) also wasn’t even decided upon until the third century by the council of Carthage.

How would we understand the doctrine of the Trinity? The word “trinity” isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It wasn’t confirmed until the third century as well by the first council of Nicaea, a "religious” committee.

What about the doctrine of the divinity of Christ (Christ being truly man and also truly God)? The early Christ followers understood the divinity of Christ, however it wasn’t until they attempted to explore the full ramifications of that belief, and when certain groups started to doubt it, that a formal doctrine needed to be defined. We start hearing about this in 110 AD, and it is echoed many times (Aristides, Tatian the Syrian, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Hippolytus, Cyprian of Carthage) until finally delivered in the council of Nicaea and included as part of the creed (statement of faith of the early Christians) by the successors of the Apostles.

Christians today take for granted the doctrines that took hundreds of years to compile by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible did not come with an index, so authentic scripture needed to be discerned. Without these Traditions of religion, we would not have these doctrines and many others, consistently. If it was left up to the individual, there would be thousands of ways of interpreting, twisting, and taking the context of the early writings. Religion provides a foundation of discernment so the Holy Spirit can effectively inspire and work in the Body of Christ (then and now).

“See one's the work of God, but one's a man-made invention”

I agree sometimes people can use the name of religion, to create unnecessary layers, taking away from the glory of God selfishly, rather than contributing. Again though, that’s not the fault of religion, but of man’s sin. And contrary to what Mr. Bethke raps in the line, “one’s a man-made invention” (referring to religion) is incorrect. Jesus founded one Church, “on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). He also created hierarchy in His church starting with the Apostles. He intended for his Apostles to have successors, which is why after Judas’s death, they elected someone to fill his office. (Acts 1: 15-26). They were given the authority to make decisions for the Church. Proof that Jesus did not come to abolish religion.

Again, this guy has a lot of passion and a heart for God, that’s clear. He speaks about salvation being something he can’t achieve by his own merits, but only by God’s grace. AMEN. However, misleading and misrepresenting scripture, making claims that aren’t true, even if it’s to validate a point that is righteous, isn’t right. That’s why I would not personally promote it. I’d hate for someone to get the wrong impression and think that they can simply do away with Church, its authority, and its importance in leading us and guiding us to Christ and His truth.

We know that there can only be one truth. Either there is a hell or there is not. Either Jesus died on the cross for our sins, or he didn’t. Truth can’t be relative to one person’s beliefs or interpretations. Gravity is gravity, whether I believe it or not. Yes, I believe God is merciful and just, and if we are truly committing our lives to Him and living our lives for Him, to the best of our understanding (even if that understanding has been taught to us incorrectly, not by our own fault), he will save us. But God isn’t calling us to live oblivious to the fullness of truth, but to be continually growing in it.  

So with thousands of different denominations, claiming different truths, as Christians we need a formulated method to discern it. That’s where religion and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit comes in. Ultimately, we need to be seeking the fullness of truth, and remember that authentic discernment requires confirmation from the Body of Christ (by the working of the Holy Spirit), not simply just from the individual.  For many people, seeking the fullness of truth is going to be uncomfortable—I know it is for me, but Jesus said it wasn’t going to be comfortable. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

That’s my point of view.

Let me sum up with what scripture actually says about religion, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:26-27).

I really like this guy’s personal testimony about sexual purity though… you should check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlJFvxad1_A

I invite your comments and feedback. I always like to hear different perspectives!