Comics, Beer, and Shakespeare: Christianity's a religion

Years ago I snickered when a proselytizing lady on BART stated, "I'm not religious. I just love Jesus."

Yeah. And I'm not a comic book fan. I just love stories about Spider-Man told using sequential art.

Right now, there's a video making the rounds on Facebook entitled "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus". I'll post it down on the bottom of this page if you want to see it. Basically, the guy is saying the same thing, and I'm saying that it's a load of malarkey. I'll take it a piece at a time. (Luckily I found a transcript of it here, so I don't have to watch it again.)

What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion

I'd say that's ridiculous. Certainly he had problems with the religious establishment, but anybody who starts rituals based in his name, and claims to be the Son of God, is not somebody who's doing away with religion. Reforming religion? Sure. Abolishing it? Well, if so he did a crap job, and the apostle Paul REALLY screwed it up.

What if I told you voting republican really wasn't his mission
What if I told you republican doesn't automatically mean Christian

Fair enough.

And just because you call some people blind
Doesn't automatically give you vision

Irony senses...tingling...

I mean if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars
Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor Tells single moms God doesn't love them if they've ever had a divorce But in the old testament God actually calls religious people whores Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice Tend to ridicule God's people, they did it to John The Baptist They can't fix their problems, and so they just mask it Not realizing religions like spraying [perfume](undefined) on a casket See the problem with religion, is it never gets to the core It's just behavior modification, like a long list of chores Like lets dress up the outside make look nice and neat But it's funny that's what they use to do to mummies While the corpse rots underneath

I like the cut of your jib, kid.

Now I ain't judgin I'm just saying quit putting on a fake look, Cause there's a problem If people only know you're a Christian by your Facebook I mean in every other aspect of life, you know that logic's unworthy It's like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a jersey

Wait, that's not right? (Okay, I'm still on board with him here - just being snarky.)

You see this was me too, but no one seemed to be on to me
Acting like a church kid, while addicted to pornography
See on Sunday I'd go to church, but Saturday getting faded
Acting if I was simply created just to have sex and get wasted
See I spent my whole life building this facade of neatness
But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness
Because if grace is [water](undefined), then the church should be an ocean
It's not a museum for good people, it's a hospital for the broken
Which means I don't have to hide my failure, I don't have to hide my sin
Because it doesn't depend on me it depends on him
See because when I was God's enemy and certainly not a fan
He looked down and said I want, that, man
Which is why Jesus hated religion, and for it he called them fools
Don't you see so much better than just following some rules

Okay, so he apparently liked looking at naked women (I assume - he's not specific) and getting drunk. He liked them both to the point of it being a problem, and I'm guessing that his faith in Jesus made it better for him. Whatever, it's not my thing, but I can't fault him there.

Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and yes I believe in sin

Okay, now this is where it gets silly. His whole thesis is that he doesn't like religion. Well, sport, I hate to break it to you, but those are all RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS. I can maybe see people of faith who don't join a church because they don't like religion in the sense of an organized faith group. However, if you're going to church, you have joined a religion. The Bible is a religious book. It's not reliable history, and it's not reliable science, despite what some crackpots might tell you. And sin is a religious idea. It's an offense to a higher power, and you need to be on board with the teachings of this particular RELIGION before you can believe in it.

But if Jesus came to your church would they actually let him in See remember he was called a glutton, and a drunkard by religious men But the son of God never supports self righteousness not now, not then

Good point.

Now [back](undefined) to the point, one thing is vital to mention How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums See one's the [work](undefined) of God, but one's a man made invention

Oh yeah? Prove it. They're both man-made from where I'm standing.

See one is the cure, but the other's the infection See because religion says do, Jesus says done Religion says slave, Jesus says son Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you [free]Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see

I'm getting a vision of the future. I'm seeing T-shirts and bumper stickers. Seriously, what does any of that mean? Okay, he's being poetic, but it's all a bunch of meaningless rhetoric - especially considering that belief in Jesus is A RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

And that's why religion and Jesus are two different clans
Religion is man searching for God, Christianity is God searching for man

Somebody needs to spend some time reading about Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.

Which is why salvation is freely mine, and forgiveness is my own Not based on my merits but Jesus's obedience alone Because he took the crown of thorns, and the blood dripped down his face

And now I'm completely lost because supposedly Jesus is God and he's being obedient to himself.

He took what we all deserved, I guess that's why you call it grace

Two things:

1. While I'm one of the most highly self-critical people you'll ever meet, I refuse to accept this notion that I "deserve" the punishment that he took. Are there some who might have? Perhaps. But I haven't. And I'll be damned if somebody tells me that my toddler son deserves it. What a horrible thought - one that only religion could possibly drum into your head and make you believe it's a good thing.

2. Who decided that's what we deserved? He did. Basically, he created this crappy situation and we're supposed to thank him for it. Fantastic. Lucky for me this never happened, but like the late Christopher Hitchens, I'm an anti-theist. I think it would be HORRIBLE if this were true.

And while being murdered he yelled "Father forgive them they know not what they do."

He also asked why his father had foresaken him. Who the hell is he talking to? Again, only religion can convince a person that somebody can be his own father and that three is one and one is three.

Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you

Glad he gave me some say in all this.

And he absorbed all of your sin, and buried it in the tomb

He absorbed all of my offenses against him. Well, whew, I guess that's that. What about the sin of not believing in him? I'm good on that score too, right? Wait, you mean there's one sin he DIDN'T die for then?