urban salad. of discoveries and manifested fetishes.

elijahlain:

blakebaggott:

This video has been getting a lot of attention from Christians and even non-Christians. I thought I’d give my two cents on it.

I’ll explain firstly that I actually like the message of the video.

However, I do not like the terminology he uses. By using the word “religion”, it causes more confusion than anything. When said like that, it makes Christianity seem like it’s not a religion… when it is. What he is truly describing is dead religion… but that is not the same as simply religion. 

I’ve covered this a little bit in a post that I reblogged from Johnny. In summary, the Christian faith is a religion. But it’s not religion that will save you… it’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But when you say that Christianity isn’t a religion, you tend to get comment like I saw on Facebook saying, “This is why I don’t go to church,” or “This is why I don’t read the Bible,” or “Finally, someone who loves Jesus without getting all theological.” And I didn’t even want to comment on them. These really kind of break my heart. It doesn’t make me mad as much as it saddens me.

I don’t think that it was even Jefferson Bethke’s intention. I like him and his videos. But I think he could have chosen his terminology much better.

^ My thoughts precisely. I’m relieved to see I wasn’t the only one troubled by this video. As I said elsewhere, instead of Jesus>religion, I propose Jesus>legalism.

Mmkay. Here’s my take. The root message of this video is on target, I believe, if you read into it in a particular way. It serves a concise purpose that I respect. While there is a point of over-analysis, Elijah’s concerns are legitimate. This guy uses the words “religious” and “religion” with disturbing looseness.

Check it out. Merriam-Webster defines “religion” as this:

(1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

Okay. Now let’s put that in Mr. Bethke’s context:

“What if I told you that Jesus came to abolish [the service and worship of God]?”

Yeah… obviously he’s talkin’ about something else. So what’s going on here?

Well, when he goes on, we get to see the nature of what he’s talking about. He’s using “religion” as an interchangeable term with “hypocrisy”. The point of the video is that people are calling themselves “religious”, but they’re not living it out. People these days have begun to use this title as a mask to hide behind. And I agree that this is a serious, serious problem in society. “… which is why Jesus hated [hypocrisy] and for it he called ‘em fools.”

A’ight.

“Now back to the point; one thing is vital to mention: how Jesus and [hypocrisy] are on opposite spectrums. See, one’s the work of God and one’s a man-made invention. See, one is the cure, and one is the infection.”

In this context, we can all agree. But his next line is where things start exploding:

“Religion says do; Jesus says done.”

We have freedom from eternal condemnation, yes! And it’s a beautiful thing. If we believe in God, we no longer have to work for our salvation. But this freedom does not mean we have ability or right to rule out religion altogether simply because its definition has been tainted by hypocrites. That’s a dangerous thing. The pure *act* of religion without a sincere heart to match is NOT true religion. It’s superficiality. It’s hypocrisy.

Do you see the issue here? The video neglects to mention the place of true religion in our relationship with God; that is, the gravity of the basic rules of Christianity and the reality of our natural responsibility to our Father as his children.

So I just want to address one more thing. His dramatic closing line is suuuuper ambiguous:

“So for religion? No, I hate it. In fact, I literally resent it. Because when Jesus said ‘It is finished’, I believe that he meant it.”

Now, if we substitute in our textbook term here, stuff gets kinda sketchy:

“So for [the service and worship of God]? No, I hate it. In fact, I literally resent it. Because when Jesus said ‘It is finished’, I believe that he meant it.”

Um… please check all possible meanings of what you’re telling the world, Mr. Bethke. You mean to say you hate hypocrisy, I know, but do you really believe that ALL our responsibilities as the sons and daughters of God were taken away at the cross?

I can only suppose so. And that’s where we disagree.

When I live out my religion, I do it as a sacrifice of my life. I’m not trying to gain my salvation by my actions. Thank God I don’t need to, because I’d be hopelessly condemned by now. I want to be religious yet not hypocritical because I want to show God that despite his sacrifice for me, I’m devoted to giving all I am because I am eternally thankful for his undying grace.

I’m not a perfect person, but I’m redeemed by his love. And all I can do in return is intensely live with the purpose of pleasing him with my whole heart, my whole mind, and the entirety of my actions.

That’s what real religion is, folks. It’s a labor, yes. But it’s one of love alone.