You know society is in a bad place when the word “religion” is a bad word. Why? I feel the hate towards “religion” is usually geared towards the Catholic Church so I took it a bit that way. In response to this video I would like to point out a couple of things:
- Without a church to lead you in your beliefs, you can quite literally just create a god. In turn, you aren’t worshipping our one, true God. You’re worshipping someone you make Him out to be. Religion helps shape that for you.
- The Roman Catholic Church has some pretty bomb churches. It really does. And why shouldn’t it? It holds the Body and Blood of Jesus! I would think every believes Jesus deserves that respect.
- The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t just build churches. It is the single largest charity organization in the world. Catholics doesn’t “fail to feed the poor.” The Catholic Church clothes, feeds, gives water, administers health care, counsels, and gives shelter to the poor. I’m not sure which religions this guy was talking about, but it surely wasn’t the Catholic Church.
- Jesus did not come to abolish religion. He came to save us from our sins. He started His own church. He set it up to guide us to Him. To love Him. The Church isn’t about rules or “a long list of chores.” It’s about living a godly life and finding forgiveness for your sins. The Church is there to help you find a community of others who love and worship God just as much as you do. It’s not a bad thing.
- God doesn’t hate you for getting divorce. He doesn’t hate anyone. It’s impossible. He is love. Love can’t hate.
- We are human. We are sinners. We are corrupted. Religious followers sometimes go astray. Jesus came and brought us back to the path we were meant to be on. Jesus didn’t hate religion or come to abolish it. He came and improved it.
- Jesus already lives in my Catholic Church so we’ve already let Him in. Boom.
- Religion is an infection? Really? Religion and Jesus are NOT on opposite sides of the spectrum. “Religion says slave. Jesus says son.” My religion does not say slave at all. Mine encourages me to live for Jesus with all my heart and that I should be doing works for Him. I think that’s a pretty darned good idea.
- The Catholic Church has not put me in bondage. Or made me blind.
- “Religion is man searching for God. Christianity is God searching for man.” Ummmm He doesn’t have to search for us so that doesn’t make any sense. Christianity is a religion (awkward…) and man should always be seeking out and looking for God.
That is all.
YES to all the things except the last one.
Man-made religions are the search of human beings for God. Christianity is by nature a revelation religion, which does mean “God sought after us,” to tell us the Good News, so we could choose Him and eternal life. Christianity is the religion that God made and gave to us.
So many fallacies here. For starters, “Religion” doesn’t do anything. People do things. People use all sorts of justifications to do whatever they want to do. He clearly doesn’t know the Bible: “I come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.” Jesus didn’t abolish religion, he perfected it. And Paul uses both words: we are “slaves” in Christ and “free sons and daughters” in Christ.
I’m glad this guy is making a distinction between politics (Republicans) and Christianity, which desperately needs to be done, and that he’s calling out hypocrisy (after all, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore thban sitting in a garage makes you car,) but he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t defined “religion” and yet equates it the hypocrisy of individuals—which makes so sense. All of which is unfortunate, because his rap is really well done. And I don’t like rap.
Also, Romans 4:5 taken drastically out of context! But that’s Protestantism for you.
^added commentary
Some good points are made in this video but others, as the commentary has already pointed out, are not so good. The commentary is wonderful.
To my Christian friends, especially to my fellow Catholics, just because this video is circulating all over the internet, don’t be swayed by the entire video or let it doubt our beliefs. I had to reblog this for the commentary because it’s written much better than I can say it. Eventually, I hope to be able to write and speak about our Church’s teachings when I hear or see misconceptions.
BTW, this isn’t rap, it’s Spoken Word.
(via natedawg23)
