"Why I Hate Religion, But I Love Jesus".
I actually saw this 4 days ago due to one of my friends wanting me to check it out..and although I thought it was excellent on many points, many things can easily be taken the wrong way if the proper context is either forgotten or lost in translation when terms aren't defined.
If interested, here is a rebuttal of that video made by an Orthodox priest.
There are some things I didn't really agree with on what the Orthodox priest noted, as I think some things were read into more than necessary...and without understanding the context of how words are used in a given culture, one may assume something uncessary.
For many, when they speak of "religion" or "rules", they are often using the term the way others have when it comes to defining it as organization that's divorced from the Work of Christ in justification/sanctification and truly sharing His love with others.
The audiences familar with the vernacular--especially in young adult cultures--don't automatically assume all rules are bad since following Christ entails following a certain set of rules when it comes to His commandments...and the same theme is seen in the early church when they were guided by the commands of Christ/scripture as the boundaries while not being like the other religious leaders of the day in how they often made rules with their traditions/made things WAY more complicated than necessary.
The artists goes to an organized church, to my knowledge, and thus I don't think it'd be fair to assume he's speaking against all forms of rules since that wouldn't match the context he lives out daily.
When the Spoken Word artist speaks of salvation and Christ saying it's "Done", the context was that of seeing how many churches emphasize works to the point where they go counter to what Paul noted in Galatians 2-3 with our righteousness not being something one can earn by merit alone----whereas many churches exalt what they do and make it seem as if Christ didn't really have to do anything for them to be righteous.
Additionally, there are many churches that are organized in such a way that Christ would never need to be focused upon in order for Church to continue...and what they say doesn't match what they believe. Thus, it's why the spoken word artist spoke so much on hypocrisy--and I can definately relate to this when it comes to many churches only being able to condemn....yet never willing to be like the Good Samaritan and help.
That said, there were alot of things I think the artist/poet may need to consider. For religion isn't the best term to describe what it is that he was trying to convey. As James 1:26-27 notes"
James 1:22-27
New International Version (NIV)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Also, for another..
1 Timothy 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their
religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
1 Timothy 5:3-5
There is the reality that certain forms of religion were beautiful to the Lord...one that loved justice and mercy and kept oneself from spiritual compromise with worldliness.
There are other scriptures noting the reality of how false religion is worthless--especially when doing all of the outer aspects of what the Lord requires and yet completely missing the Spirit, such as when the Lord rebuked his people for doing as he commanded with sacrifices/temple worship and yet they couldn't care less for the Lord since they tolerated idolatry and injustice in the land...and to them, it was all good (
Jeremiah 7:1-3/
Jeremiah 7 , etc ).
The book of Amos is rather blunt on that issue, if seeing how much the Lord spoke through that prophet to declare how he was tired of buisness as usual/making a mockery of the religion he instituted:
Amos 5:21
“I hate, I despise your
religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5:20-22
Amos 8:10
Hear this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the poor of the land,
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market wheat?”—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating with dishonest scales,
6 buying the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.
7 The LORD has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done.
8 “Will not the land tremble for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt. 9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
I will turn your
religious festivals into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
Amos 8:9-11
Also, with religion, there's no escaping ( as Paul noted in
Acts 26:4-6 /
Acts 26,
Hebrews 10:10-12 /
Hebrews 10 ) that Christianity was connected to it. And not all forms of religion were bad
Thus, the author of the rebuttal you gave was very much on point when it came to acknowledging that religion isn't the same as being hypocritical in the ultimate sense----but when one doesn't care to live up to what they profess to believe, that's indeed a deadly religion.
Additionally, as
the author of the rebuttal notes, it was never the case that the Lord was against all aspects of the religious leaders of His day.
As he said:
Jesus Himself actually criticized the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees while explicitly endorsing their religion
When one understands the historical backdrop of who Christ is, the reality is that He often spoke directly IN line with the religious leaders of his context.
