This spoken word piece by Jefferson Bethke has attracted a lot of attention over the last few days. (Almost seven million youtube views at this point.)
It’s central theme is that Jesus hates religion.
Have a listen.
While it sounds both plausible and inviting, how does it stack up against the Bible?
Kevin DeYoung provides a substantial and irenic interaction which identifies the piece’s strong points while also demonstrating where he (correctly, in my view) believes it overstates its case.
Here’s a short excerpt from the beginning.
More important is Bethke’s opening line: “Jesus came to abolish religion.” That’s the whole point of the poem. The argument—and most poems are arguing for something—rests on the sharp distinction between religion on one side and Jesus on the other. Whether this argument is fair depends on your definition of religion. Bethke sees religion as a man made attempt to earn God’s favor. Religion equals self-righteousness, moral preening, and hypocrisy. Religion is all law and no gospel. If that’s religion, then Jesus is certainly against it.
But that’s not what religion is. We can say that’s what is has become for some people or what we understand it to be. But words still matter and we shouldn’t just define them however we want. “Jesus hates religion” communicates something that “Jesus hates self-righteousness” doesn’t. To say that Jesus hates pride and hypocrisy is old news. To say he hates religion—now, that has a kick to it. People hear “religion” and think of rules, rituals, dogma, pastors, priests, institutions. People love Oprah and the Shack and “spiritual, not religious” bumper stickers because the mood of our country is one that wants God without the strictures that come with traditional Christianity. We love the Jesus that hates religion.
The only problem is, he didn’t. Jesus was a Jew. He went to services at the synagogue. He observed Jewish holy days. He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). He founded the church (Matt. 16:18). He established church discipline (Matt. 18:15-20). He instituted a ritual meal (Matt. 26:26-28). He told his disciples to baptize people and to teach others to obey everything he commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). He insisted that people believe in him and believe certain things about him (John 3:16-18; 8:24). If religion is characterized by doctrine, commands, rituals, and structure, then Jesus is not your go-to guy for hating religion.
Read Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really at Kevin DeYoung’s blog.
mgpcpastor's blog 
This article surprised me actually.
I hope DeYoung critiques Keller and Driscoll for their attack against religion. It seems to me that this guy is just saying what they have been.
Check out the next post for a stronger example of pushback.
I’ve used similar terminology, but it has to have contextualisation.
If the message of this is aimed at a specific segment within Christianity then I could see a point.
If it’s aimed at folks who aren’t Christians their first thought is probably that that’s what they already thought about Christianity.
My hope of salvation rests upon Jesus having perfectly kept the tenets of pure religion.
I am not completely disagreeing with the conclusions made above, but I do think that they are incomplete. Jesus did in fact reject many aspects of religion. It was this rejection that got him in hot water with the religious authorities of the time, like his rejection of the Sabbath. I believe His real message was about true belief. Prescribing to the teachings of established religious institutions is not the same thing as faith in God. In his time, Jesus rebelled against the corruption and misuse of power by religious authorities. Today, many churches and religious institutions are guilty of the same things. In this sense, Jesus was indeed anti-religion but not anti-belief. I think that Woody Guthrie summed it up aptly.
“Yes, if Jesus was to preach like
he preached in Galillee,
They would lay Jesus Christ in his grave.”
It is a subject worth coming back to again and again.
Folk I encounter get accountable obedience confused with the reason why people are saved instead of being the fruit (or evidence) that people are saved.
Christians can fail to be clear on this, and I think Jesus clarifies the distinction.
For instance it is not completely correct to say Jesus rejected the Sabbath, rather he demonstrated that it was not an activity that produces rightness with God, but rather it is an observance which demonstrates a heart which is at peace with God, and rests in His kingdom purposes.
His final mandates to the church in Matthew and Acts call for obedience and for an objective body of teaching to be passed on.