Jesus vs. Religion

There's a video that's going around the internet like wildfire, particularly over Facebook, called "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus" (it literally went from hundreds to millions of views in just a few days).

As someone who speaks a lot in church about the gospel and how at its core Christianity is first and foremost about what Jesus has done for us rather than what we can do for Jesus (our first Easter series at I-90 a couple years ago was called "Losing My Religion"), I found this video very compelling and moving... filled with truth (when rightly interpreted) and inspiration. But I also know that when something becomes so big so fast, criticism (justified or not) is soon to follow. And since it has spread so fast and received amidst its wild popularity a lot of criticism as well (from both Christian and non-Christian viewpoints), I feel compelled to address it for those in the I-90 community (and whoever else might find some further insights helpful).

But rather than write a lengthy post of my own words on the subject, I'd like to share another blog post I came across today that shares what I believe to be a thorough and very helpful examination of this video (I do, however, plan to address this video directly and teach on its subject matter @ I-90 in a few weeks - it actually fits quite well with our current series). So, the first link below is to the video itself (in case you haven't seen it yet). The second link is to the blog post I referenced above. And the third link is to a follow-up blog post from the same author that shares excerpts from an email exchange that the author had with the creator of the video (an extremely gracious, God-honoring exchange in my opinion).

I hope this all proves to be helpful and ultimately works to advance God's Kingdom.

-Pastor Dave

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really

Following Up on the Jesus/Religion Video