A Course Blog for Elon's REL 204: Christian Traditions.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Religion vs. Jesus
*Disclaimer: I'm a Christian, so if the following sounds preachy, I'm sorry! I thought the video was really interesting and wanted to share/provide my own context for it. Thanks :) *
Jefferson Bethke is a well-known Christian youtuber, author and speaker. Recently, one of my friends sent me this video, which a spoken-word poem he did on why he hates religion, but loves Jesus. It touches on the idea that religion is something that has been socially constructed, whereas Jesus isn't and can't be. It brings to mind the idea of CEO Christians (Christmas and Easter Only), but also people who may call themselves Christians just because they go to church every Sunday. Christianity is not whether you go to church or serve on mission trips or how many hours you devote to your weekly small group Bible study, but how you live your life. It's the decisions you make, the lifestyle you choose to lead, the beliefs you choose to reflect. I thought this video did a great job of making a distinction between religion and faith itself. I think that religion is the reason why so many Christian denominations and other faiths have so much tension between them. I think it's why so many people are offended by Christians or have negative stereotypes against them, because the basis of faith itself is love -- it's simply loving others unconditionally because of the belief that Jesus did and does the same for us. Anyway, watch the video and let me know what you think. I think it challenges Christians to take another look at their faith and non-Christians to see it from another perspective, which is really cool.
I am not so much interested in debating what it means to be a Christian, but one thought I had is this: Like any collection of traditions which share a common name, the Christian traditions are very diverse. In Jewish Traditions, being a "cultural Jew" rather than a "religious Jew" is akin to being an, as you say, a "CEO Christian." One isn't frowned upon by others, in fact I have had discussions with Rabbi Meir about serving both groups and the challenges that brings. Why do Christians have a tendency towards this judgement of the practices of other Christians? For some, attending Christmas and Easter services is being Christian. For others, participating in small groups and highlighting a study-bible is being Christian. As scholars of religion let us remember to look at what the insider is saying about their tradition, and to privilege the insiders perspective.
Looking at this video through that lens, I think it shows Evangelical themes of sharing conversion narratives, accepting Jesus as one's personal savior and could be read as an altar call. This is certainly an example of extending evangelism into the virtual (and at times sacred) space of the internet. It is also interesting how its author reifies religion to refer to the Jews of the New Testament, which gets into a whole discussion of "what is religion," which we'll save for another time.
I think there's a fundamental flaw in his logic; saying that religion has nothing to do with Jesus is simply false. Even when Jesus was still on Earth, he was establishing the religion that would grow into the Catholic Church. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter "18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." This is, from the Bible's perspective, the beginning of an organized religion devoted to Jesus, and sanctioned by Jesus. It is the foundation of the Catholic church, the papacy, Petrine privilege, and several other traditions that have all become integral parts of the Catholic "religion," as well as in the religious traditions of other sects. Therefore, I don't think it's necessarily correct to say that Jesus and religion are separate.
I acknowledge what this guy is trying to accomplish; he's recognizing the hypocritical and inhumane tactics of many organized sects of Christianity, and is repulsed by what he sees. He'd rather focus solely on the message of what Jesus preached rather than be bound by religious dogma. But even the Jesus he thinks he knows has had his image and words edited, molded, and shared exclusively by the very religions this guy claims to be separate from, notably the Catholic Church. Basically, I just don't see how one can claim that Jesus and religion are separate; everything he knows about Jesus came from organized religion.
I agree with Luke on all points about his logic and I would like to add one thing; I feel frequently in discussing religion, (especially Christianity) the people engage in the discourse resort to something called a "no true Scotsman" fallacy. (link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman) If someone says they are something, a Christain for example, we must simply believe them in the same way we would if they said their favorite color was green. They may be an out-lier or an extremist but because no one person (discounting God for sake of argument if you believe in him.)has the authority to determine what it truly means to be Christian it is counterproductive to simply label someone "not a real (blank)"
I am not so much interested in debating what it means to be a Christian, but one thought I had is this: Like any collection of traditions which share a common name, the Christian traditions are very diverse. In Jewish Traditions, being a "cultural Jew" rather than a "religious Jew" is akin to being an, as you say, a "CEO Christian." One isn't frowned upon by others, in fact I have had discussions with Rabbi Meir about serving both groups and the challenges that brings. Why do Christians have a tendency towards this judgement of the practices of other Christians? For some, attending Christmas and Easter services is being Christian. For others, participating in small groups and highlighting a study-bible is being Christian. As scholars of religion let us remember to look at what the insider is saying about their tradition, and to privilege the insiders perspective.
ReplyDeleteLooking at this video through that lens, I think it shows Evangelical themes of sharing conversion narratives, accepting Jesus as one's personal savior and could be read as an altar call. This is certainly an example of extending evangelism into the virtual (and at times sacred) space of the internet. It is also interesting how its author reifies religion to refer to the Jews of the New Testament, which gets into a whole discussion of "what is religion," which we'll save for another time.
I think there's a fundamental flaw in his logic; saying that religion has nothing to do with Jesus is simply false. Even when Jesus was still on Earth, he was establishing the religion that would grow into the Catholic Church. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter "18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." This is, from the Bible's perspective, the beginning of an organized religion devoted to Jesus, and sanctioned by Jesus. It is the foundation of the Catholic church, the papacy, Petrine privilege, and several other traditions that have all become integral parts of the Catholic "religion," as well as in the religious traditions of other sects. Therefore, I don't think it's necessarily correct to say that Jesus and religion are separate.
ReplyDeleteI acknowledge what this guy is trying to accomplish; he's recognizing the hypocritical and inhumane tactics of many organized sects of Christianity, and is repulsed by what he sees. He'd rather focus solely on the message of what Jesus preached rather than be bound by religious dogma. But even the Jesus he thinks he knows has had his image and words edited, molded, and shared exclusively by the very religions this guy claims to be separate from, notably the Catholic Church. Basically, I just don't see how one can claim that Jesus and religion are separate; everything he knows about Jesus came from organized religion.
I agree with Luke on all points about his logic and I would like to add one thing; I feel frequently in discussing religion, (especially Christianity) the people engage in the discourse resort to something called a "no true Scotsman" fallacy. (link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman) If someone says they are something, a Christain for example, we must simply believe them in the same way we would if they said their favorite color was green. They may be an out-lier or an extremist but because no one person (discounting God for sake of argument if you believe in him.)has the authority to determine what it truly means to be Christian it is counterproductive to simply label someone "not a real (blank)"
ReplyDeleteGreat conversation!
ReplyDelete