There's been a video going around called "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus." Originally I think it was finding its way around Facebook, and since I don't have one, I hadn't originally seen it. However, someone posted it to one of my friends' Tumblrs and so I ended up being in the digital loop that is normally constrained to Facebook. When I first watched it, I pretty much agreed. But what sort of person would I be if I just took one person's opinion and accepted it without looking at the others? I started to look at the video responses. And what I found began to add a whole new separate part to this story.
Here's the original video, entitled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus."
So now that that's floating around in your head, I next watched this video called "Why I Dislike Your Poem, But Love God."
He does it in the same manner that the first video did: spoken word, lyrically; almost rapped. He makes a lot of good points. He brings up a lot of the criticisms that many people had while watching the first. That Jesus IS religion. That what Jesus did is the center of our religion (that's my take on it anyway). Unfortunately while the first video had tons more "likes" than "dislikes," everybody seemed to be hating on this guy.. and I honestly cannot for the life of me figure out why.
Another video called my eye, called "I Hate Religion, and Jesus Too."
This guy's youtube tag is TheAmazingAtheist, and even though I am a wholehearted believer, I decided to watch it. He makes some really good points. There are, of course, things that I don't agree with that he says. But he points out some of the flaws in the logic of the original video. While he perhaps may have taken it to a more harsh and extreme level, he's entitled to that. Regardless, I'm glad I watched. I would encourage those reading to watch all three, especially if you consider yourself a devout Christian. For me, I think it's going to change how I look at things. And it's going to change how I attempt to grow more spiritually.
For me Jesus and God are at the center of my religion. They are the reason for my religion. Without them, what would we be believing? There are and will always be flaws with the church. Unfortunately, things happen. And no matter how high up the Christian totem pole you are, you are not entitled to anything. I love my religion (Catholicism) but that doesn't mean that I endorse everything that happens to or by the people that claim to share it. I can only control one person's actions, and that is those of myself. But even I by myself can make a difference. It reminds me of that story with the boy walking along the beach throwing starfish back into the water... An old man saw him and thought the boy foolish, saying 'you're never going to save all of them, and they'll just watch up again tomorrow. It won't make a difference.' The boy picks up one starfish and throws it into the ocean. Looking back at the old man he says, 'It made a difference to that one.'
Amen. So, it can be rough sometimes. But that's okay. Religion isn't perfect. We're all a work in progress. Life, is life. But I still love having something like the church that I can be a part of. It's like a little reminder to myself that I can always be better. And while we can strive for perfection, though we may never reach it, we can always change the little things -- bit by bit.
That video is quite the doozy, isn't it? As I understand it, he's originally trying to say that "religion" is something that all faiths share, being mostly customary and ritualistic. You can brush your teeth religiously, just like you can go to church, take communion, kneel, sing, etc religiously. I think his argument is that most of the time, the formal, ritualistic nature of church can actually get in the way of our relationship with Jesus, the one who gives the meaning to the rituals. He's trying to say that this can get in the way of God's will for you, if you're satisfied with nothing beyond participating in church.
ReplyDeleteWhat's sets Christianity apart from other religions is the fact that we do have a personal relationship with our God, so if we have the right mindset during our rituals, they can be very useful tools, helping us to make that relationship stronger. He doesn't say much about this important part of the whole Jesus-Religion relationship, which I'm sure caught your attention, because I know the rituals during mass are important to you(I'm curious to see them myself soon). Jesus and Religion aren't mutually exclusive like he's painting the picture as... even if you're never go to church, but believe in Jesus, there's no way you can have a good relationship with Him unless you do rituals like reading the Bible or praying, which qualify as religion.
I think that's kinda what guy #2 was talking about, but he started grouping religions together, saying how there's not just one way(you can't be a christian and believe that), and missed why Christianity is special, which is probably the underlying reason why there are so many dislikes. Jesus is more than a role model, fortunately.
The Atheist guy was great. Had a lot of legitimate points and exposed some flaws in the primary argument. The Coke metaphor was very good. Obviously, he doesn't believe in christianity, and doesn't understand why Jesus didn't come to bring world peace... yet. When He comes back, though... that'll be a good day.
Back to #1 real quick, I don't think he understands the thinking behind big churches or cathedrals.. as an architecture student and as a visitor to the Sagrada Familia yesterday, the passion for God clarified in that building by men cannot be hated on. I believe that is true worship, using the gifts God gave you to glorify Him.
Sorry that was so long... I felt led to share.