Mean Eastern Orthodox Priest Looks At Jefferson Bethke 's Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus Video

Yep talking about the Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus video again. :)

It appears this Eastern Orthodox Priest dared to critique the vid and boy were people upset about that in the comment section. He has a huge back and forth in the comments that is worth the read. See Why I Love (True) Religion Because I Love Jesus from Roads From Emmaus.

As the Priest keeps trying to point out this " young man " put this out to make a point. He also points out in one of his comments this is not just some dude swapping Jesus poetry at the local Coffee house:


I’m honestly fascinated by the emerging theme of the detractors here, that Mr. Bethke is a “kid” or a “young man” who’s just pouring his heart out and can’t be held to any sort of theological standards. As I’ve written in several comments, this man is a professional, and I have no doubt whatsoever that this is what he does for a living. His Facebook page even includes information on how to book him as a speaker.

That his professional “underwear” (so to speak) is so easily ignored is an indication that he’s quite good at what he does, namely, providing emotional content that plays into the existing theological prejudices of his viewers. It’s a testament to his showmanship that such a well-produced and slickly edited video gives not the impression of a sales pitch for his speaking career, but rather simply a direct and honest sentiment.

Now, I have no doubt that he is indeed sincere. It’s probably why this video has become so popular, because it’s hard (though not impossible) to fake sincerity. Nevertheless, this video represents a carefully crafted, designed, produced piece of work, complete with an emotionally stirring soundtrack.

All that aside, though, this man is making theological claims. If we’re not supposed to take his poetry seriously in a theological way, then one must ask why he chose such blatantly theological themes and returned to them with such frequency. It is poetry, yes, but he is also making a point. He hates religion, and he believes Jesus does, too. And I say that’s bunk (well, the second part; I’ll grant that he hates religion).

All that said, I didn’t put forth a particular “position” in this post. Its purpose was critique, not to set forth a particular argument. So there is nothing for me to defend.

As for whether a nerve has been touched, I was actually asked to write this by someone who wanted to know my thoughts. What’s really surprising to me is that this post has received more than 4,000 hits in the space of just six hours. So clearly there are some other “nerves” being touched, as well.

Nerves are, after all, what give us the ability to see.