Let's Discuss This Video.

I'm not sure if this 1.5 year old video has been discussed here before, but in case it hasn't, maybe we should.

  • How would you define religion?
  • Is religion good or bad?
  • Is this guy right or wrong?
  • Is religion necessary or can it be put aside?

 
Well, I didn't watch the video-yet...

But there is 'religion' according to the world-which Jesus opposed and warned about; and confronted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees about.

Then there is "True Religion"; which is the genuine worship of a Holy God by His people. To worship God in "Spirit"/ "spirit". This is the goal of the Christian seeking truth in God.

For all things God there is an opposing manifestation in this world of the same thing.
 
Well, I didn't watch the video-yet...

But there is 'religion' according to the world-which Jesus opposed and warned about; and confronted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees about.

Then there is "True Religion"; which is the genuine worship of a Holy God by His people. To worship God in "Spirit"/ "spirit". This is the goal of the Christian seeking truth in God.

For all things God there is an opposing manifestation in this world of the same thing.

What are your thoughts on what this gentlemen specifically said?
 
What are your thoughts on what this gentlemen specifically said?

It seems he is addressing hypocrisy in the Body of Christ-which is very real. So you have to differentiate the two: religion & True Religion. If we are truly 'religiously' following Christ; hypocrisy is abolished. Problem is, we are trapped in human flesh and subject to carnality. Thus attaining 100% true religion is impossible for us-that's why Jesus Christ died on the Cross! He paid the sin debt, because we were unworthy of being a HOLY sacrifice.

Therefore we have the 'Good News"! We don't have to pretend to be Holy-we aren't. But we are called to 'improve' ourselves through the Holy Spirit- to become more like our Savior. We are free from the 'law'-but-But -BUT- BOUND to the ways of Christ when we ask Him to be our Savior.

We are only 'free from the law' when we are 'walking in the Spirit'. There is much theology and historical understanding in this. But you need to differentiate between: 'religion' and "True Religion".
 
It seems he is addressing hypocrisy in the Body of Christ-which is very real...

If he is addressing corruption in the Church, I am with him. However, he said "Jesus hated religion" and said that religion is "the infection." He also seemed to confuse Jesus saying "It is finished" in reference to religion.

I'm not with him on those things. I think what he's misunderstanding is that religion is man's response to God, not an automatic hypocritical concept. The younger me would've agreed with him.
 
If he is addressing corruption in the Church, I am with him. However, he said "Jesus hated religion" and said that religion is "the infection." He also seemed to confuse Jesus saying "It is finished" in reference to religion.

I'm not with him on those things. I think what he's misunderstanding is that religion is man's response to God, not an automatic hypocritical concept. The younger me would've agreed with him.

As a novice myself, I would say we all need more 'teaching' in the Word before 'Preaching of the Word. ;)

Still reading through this:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs...s-jesus-hate-religion-kinda-sorta-not-really/
 
I understand what the guy in the video and others are saying when they say they love Jesus but hate religion, but I don't see religion as being opposite of Jesus. To me, there's good religion and there's bad religion. Good religion is trusting in Jesus and obeying him. Bad religion is trusting in anything other than Jesus. Really bad religion is adopting and following a creed which serves your own interests at the expense of others.

The trouble is that the term "religion" is fairly vague, and I think that condemning religion runs the risk of condemning some traditions, people, practices, values, etc., that are pleasing to God. It invites us to sit in a seat of judgement based on stereotypes. For instance, it is only a certain segment of American Christianity that identifies closely with the Republican party. Many Christians vote predominately Democrat. Should people be condemned if they vote one way or the other? Should they be condemned because it is assumed that they vote one way or another? Why is one of the first things he mentions voting Republican?

I think it is good that he challenges us to live lives true to our faith, and to have a faith worth living, but I don't think it is very helpful to couch it in terms of rejecting religion. Better, IMHO, to focus on specific things like hypocrisy, lies, idolatry, greed, lust, etc.
 
I think the real heart of the matter is that gentleman in the video really is promoting his own agenda and theology and Jesus Christ seems to be a vehicle to reach to a new generation of unsure youth rather than expounding upon the greatness of our Savior.

Verse 1:
What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion
What if I told you voting republican really wasn’t his mission
What if I told you republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian
And just because you call some people blind
Doesn’t automatically give you vision


Clearly the author's intent is not about Christ, but about jumping on a bandwagon. My personal opinion is that he probably is an agent working for the Democratic Party. There is a very real gap forming in both political parties with disenchanted youthful voters. So much so there is open season on third parties like the TEA party and the Libertarians. People are sick of getting lied to in a way- unfortunately we are still ruled by the 'old heads' that have their own agenda and money tied up in 'big oil' which is in both sides of the aisles- not just "Republican" as it is touted in the media.

It all comes down to power and control-it all leads to oil and money- no matter how you slice it. This gentlemen is trying to draw support away from the GOP (Republicans). Two very important votes coming up n the next couple of years. (Hillary Clinton 2016).
 
I understand what the guy in the video and others are saying when they say they love Jesus but hate religion, but I don't see religion as being opposite of Jesus. To me, there's good religion and there's bad religion. Good religion is trusting in Jesus and obeying him. Bad religion is trusting in anything other than Jesus. Really bad religion is adopting and following a creed which serves your own interests at the expense of others.

The trouble is that the term "religion" is fairly vague, and I think that condemning religion runs the risk of condemning some traditions, people, practices, values, etc., that are pleasing to God. It invites us to sit in a seat of judgement based on stereotypes. For instance, it is only a certain segment of American Christianity that identifies closely with the Republican party. Many Christians vote predominately Democrat. Should people be condemned if they vote one way or the other? Should they be condemned because it is assumed that they vote one way or another? Why is one of the first things he mentions voting Republican?

I think it is good that he challenges us to live lives true to our faith, and to have a faith worth living, but I don't think it is very helpful to couch it in terms of rejecting religion. Better, IMHO, to focus on specific things like hypocrisy, lies, idolatry, greed, lust, etc.


For the most part, I agree with you. If he's saying "I don't like hypocrisy," well, that's like saying "I don't like rotten eggs." It goes without saying. However, I think he's throwing out the baby with the bathwater. He seems to be rejecting the things that Christ asked us to do in obedience and response to Him.

I've watched a few of his other videos, and he seems to treat Christianity as a sort of subjective religion. It's the sort of "Meh--it's up to you how you want to believe it." Either it's truth or it's not. It can't be both. One concern is how people are beginning to make these things much more relative, and often times for the sake of not wanting to offend others.

I think you brought up a good question though; Should people be condemned for voting a certain way? While I agree with the author of the video that voting any certain way doesn't make you a Christian, I do think that if you are a Christian, you should be careful about how you vote. I tend to avoid voting for either of the two major parties. :p
 
In continuance of my last post:

It should be evident that he is trying to create a rift between youth and authority. Since rebellion appeals to our flesh- it is yet another attack on the Christian home trying to divide parents and children. If children see the 'rules' and the 'law' as invalid (uh hem...'free from the law') then they begin to justify their rebellion from mother and father as well as disobedience from God. A very slippery slope.

After further consideration-this is a very well placed and played trick on Christian youth seeking something different. It uses pop-culture 'hip-hop', it denounces authority undermining the home and the Church subversively, it uses the false doctrine to be 'free from the law'. I would say the whole thing was extremely well planned at appealing to youth to create division. And typically-the youth won't see it that way...so then you have the additional argument that us old people parents are just 'haters and you don't understand!' Anyone that has dealt with teenagers can testify to that...

I stand by my claim- he is an agent working for an agenda that discounts Christian values in the home and anti-authoritarian living (liberal in the new definition). It is simple to see when you consider he is attacking all the bad attributes that come along in the history of 'Christianity' (which can be applied to all 'religions'; anything run by humans is corruptible).

As someone who was once attached to US Army Psychological Operations, I would say this is part of a 'PSYOP'. Clever....
 
I think the real heart of the matter is that gentleman in the video really is promoting his own agenda and theology and Jesus Christ seems to be a vehicle to reach to a new generation of unsure youth rather than expounding upon the greatness of our Savior.

Verse 1:
What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion
What if I told you voting republican really wasn’t his mission
What if I told you republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian
And just because you call some people blind
Doesn’t automatically give you vision

Clearly the author's intent is not about Christ, but about jumping on a bandwagon. My personal opinion is that he probably is an agent working for the Democratic Party. There is a very real gap forming in both political parties with disenchanted youthful voters. So much so there is open season on third parties like the TEA party and the Libertarians. People are sick of getting lied to in a way- unfortunately we are still ruled by the 'old heads' that have their own agenda and money tied up in 'big oil' which is in both sides of the aisles- not just "Republican" as it is touted in the media.

It all comes down to power and control-it all leads to oil and money- no matter how you slice it. This gentlemen is trying to draw support away from the GOP (Republicans). Two very important votes coming up n the next couple of years. (Hillary Clinton 2016).

I don't know if I'd say he's working for the Democratic Party, but I do think he has been swept up in Liberalism. One thing I've noticed which I find very strange is on one hand, I've heard over and over again, from multiple types of media "Stand up for what you believe," but then when it comes to Christianity, I've heard "Believe it if you like, but keep it to yourself." HUH? Which one is it?

I don't know how he votes, what he's registered as, or even if he's a registered voter at all. However, he does seem to be catering to what I've been seeing in The New York Times, MSNBC, Buzzfeed, Huffington, and Mother Jones, which is "If you're a Christian, don't make it so abruptly obvious because it's annoying to others who don't like it."
 
It should be evident that he is trying to create a rift between youth and authority. Since rebellion appeals to our flesh- it is yet another attack on the Christian home trying to divide parents and children...

...it uses the false doctrine to be 'free from the law'...

If that's true, I think the irony is he has no idea how much of a follower he is to the world. It seems everyone who claims to be a rebel today is a huge follower of the establishment.

Listening to my neighbors at Occupy DC back in 2011/2012, they kept acting like the rebels but constantly promoted more government authority. (Am I ranting? Sorry).
 
All run by the corporate run military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about... (six corporations run all main stream media- research it out...) They are in 'spin damage control' mode.

I have very, VERY little faith in the media. I read it and watch it to hear how they are going to spin stories (MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, Huffington, etc), but they are all extremely untrustworthy now. I often have to go to rogue news sources online.
 
If that's true, I think the irony is he has no idea how much of a follower he is to the world. It seems everyone who claims to be a rebel today is a huge follower of the establishment.

Listening to my neighbors at Occupy DC back in 2011/2012, they kept acting like the rebels but constantly promoted more government authority. (Am I ranting? Sorry).

Just goes to show how effective 'confusion' as a PSYOP weapon can be- kids don't even know what they believe any more. Destroy reason and common sense and then you end up creating 'factions' or better off "fractions" of society. It is the old 'divide and conquer' principle. 'Nothing new under the sun' like the Bible says.
 
kids don't even know what they believe any more. Destroy reason and common sense and then you end up creating 'factions' or better off "fractions" of society...

To be fair, and this isn't my attempt to defend my generation blindly, but it seems to be most ages now. I have heard this rhetoric from people as old as 70. In fact, I think it's the older generation's influence on the younger generation.
 
Back
Top