I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your responses! You did such a nice job giving thoughtful responses to the poets issues. I’m going to spread THIS on Facebook.
“This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth. Religion either ends in pride or despair. Pride because you make a list and can do it and act better than everyone…”
But pride can also manifest itself in making a YouTube video spouting off a bunch of unsubstantiated and poorly conceived anti-Church cliches. Here are some things this guy says, and my thoughts in response to them:
"What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?"
I would ask you why Jesus didn’t tell me this himself.
There’s lots of stuff Jesus said in the Bible, but “I came to abolish religion” isn’t in there.
"If religion is so great why has it started so many wars?"
It hasn’t started
any wars. Economics is the real reason behind wars, so make an anti-economics video.
"Why does it build huge churches…"
Like the Temple in which Jesus prayed, taught, paid the temple tax, and drove out money-changers?
"…but fails to feed the poor?"
The Catholic Church is one of the largest charity organizations in the world. Add the charities run by Orthodox Churches and Protestant denominations and you have the poor being fed in every corner of the world. My parish helped establish the local food bank, routinely staffs it with volunteers and takes up 12 collections each year to help support it.
"Tells single moms God does not love them if they’ve ever had a divorce"
Uh, exactly who ever said this?
"But in the Old Testament God actually calls religious people whores"
Yes, but the specific religious people being referred to were
idolaters.
"Tend to ridicule God’s people; they did it to John the Baptist"
Uh, exactly who is doing this ridiculing of God’s people?
And John the Baptist was not ridiculed. The Pharisees questioned him, and refused to accept him, and Herod Antipas imprisoned him and executed him, but I know of no instance of him being ridiculed.
"It’s just behavior modification…"
Ever hear of the Ten Commandments?
"…like a long list of chores"
Ever hear of the Book of Leviticus?
"I ain’t judging, I’m just saying…"
Well that’s good to know.
"Quite putting on a fake look, because there’s a problem if people only know you’re a Christian by your Facebook"
I thought you weren’t judging.
"Because if grace is water then the Church should be an ocean…"
My parish baptizes between 70 and 100 people a year. How’s that for some grace-filled water?
"…It’s not a museum for the righteous but a hospital for the broken"
My parish has an ER and an ICU. It’s called the confessional.
"I don’t have to hide my failure, I don’t have to hide my sin, because it doesn’t depend on me, it depends on Him"
A sentiment shared by every person who goes to the above-mentioned confessional.
"Which is why Jesus hated religion"
I didn’t know Jesus hated anything. And where in the Bible did Jesus say, “I hate religion”?
Maybe it’s in the place with that other hard to find passage about Jesus coming to abolish religion.
"Don’t you see it’s so much better than just following some rules?"
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
"But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let him in?"
He’s already there.
"He was called a glutton and a drunkard by religious men"
And other religious men called him “Lord” and the “Son of God.”
"But the Son of God never supports self-righteousness, not now, not then."
This is very true!
As a matter-of-fact, every time I feel compelled to create a YouTube video to tell people what I think is the proper attitude they should have in order to be true Christians, I remind myself of the dangers of self-righteousness and refrain from doing it.
"Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you free"
I would like to know of
one thing that my religion has enslaved me to that Jesus wants to free me from.
"Religion is man searching for God while Christianity is God searching for man"
I thought Christianity was a religion.
"Which is why salvation is freely mine, and forgiveness is my own, not based on my merits, but on Jesus’ obedience alone"
And this is a doctrine taught by the Catholic Church, all the Orthodox Churches and all the Protestant denominations. This guy acts like this is some sort of new revelation.
"That’s why I literally hate religion, in fact I resent it, because when Jesus said ‘It is finished’ I believe that he meant it"
And what exactly are you saying here? That when Jesus died on the cross it was supposed to be the end of religion? Then explain how you would have known that Jesus died on the cross for your sins without religion as a vehicle to preserve and teach this to every generation for 2000 years?
And I believe that when Jesus established the Church and gave his followers the Great Commission, he literally meant it.
Exactly how does a person have a Church and obey the Great Commission
not in the context of a religion???
