Jefferson Bethke's 'Hate Religion, Love Jesus' Viral Vid Sparks a Worldwide Church Debate

• I see now where his church is practicing "shunning" - snubbing members who violate such oddball bans as having sex with your fiance!  http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Mars-Hill-church-again-a-source-of-controversy-140996563.html

• Mrs. Hannah- I would encourage you to do some academic research. No legitimate scholar doubts the existence of Jesus because there is SO MUCH evidence. The Bible is the most published book in the world & one of the most highly criticized, but no one doubts the legitimacy of it. You may be frustrated at religion, which is legitimate because Jesus was as well.

• Been there, its a cult.

• haha 

• you are crazy

• There is no historical figure named Jesus, the bible is an epic poem, this guy is a sociopath and religion will be dead in one hundred years.

• This is just a young kid who is all hyped up. Why doesn't he reach out and spread the word to them instead of condemning then to hell. Why doesn't he talk about his imperfect life and his sins instead of judging other when he is as much of a sinner as everyone else. Hypocrit!!!!!!

• Thank you joshua for your videos ,it's great. God bless you,Anna

• Thank you for your concerned questions, I thought about them seriously and here's what I came up with: Mars Hill does give faithfully, you can see where the money goes online if you wish. Acts 29 is funded by MH giving, and we just paid for 4 new churches to be started in the area, its pretty cool. I recently witnessed a single mother who was homeless have housing paid for her while she found a job. My campus pastor recently apologized to us on stage for being selfish the week before with his time, he does not keep his sin hidden. I have 3 friends who recently left MH for another church because the community was a better fit. They still hang out with a lot of people from MH and we all still love them. Mark Driscoll points us to scripture in every sermon, and in my small group we never talk about what Mark would do, it is always how JESUS has been in our lives. At church wide leadership meetings, the talk is of Jesus not any leader. While we are all invested in our church, because it is our community, we publically claim to be "all about Jesus." In fact--most the interns that MH trains and pours resources into (most for a year or more), don't end up working for MH. They usually return to their home towns and work in other churches

•  I love Jesus and Religion. I don't think they have to be in conflict. The conflict may come from a narrow view of religion or Jesus or both. Religion is just an avenue for people to encounter Christ, and for that I believe we owe it respect.

• Some things to watch out for - does your church give faithfully to the poor (ask for % of total giving)? Do the leaders humbly and Biblically repent of public sin? Are people treated well when they leave? Are followers more devoted to the teacher or the Bible? Is it all about YOUR church or THE church?

• I go to Mars Hill, and have often heard that it is a cult. I would encourage you to come see for yourself if it really is. If you do come, and still think it is a cult, I would really and truly love to hear why (I haven't really been able to get a straight answer on why so many view my church as a cult, hence the interested). 

• This is not a new concept.  One of the great ways that evangelical Christianity has won so many converts over the years is to claim that it is the opposite of religion.  And certainly in many ways Christianity is constantly reinventing itself, and then quickly settling in to something that has an uncanny resemblance to the "religion" it aimed to rehabilitate.  Why else would we have so many denominations, and even "non-denominational" denominations, such as Mars Hill?  It doesn't take a social scientist to point out that while Bethke talks of "relationship, not religion," his faith and his church have all the hallmarks of religion.  Changing the words doesn't change the reality.  But when you're in the middle of it--as I was for many years, believing I had a "relationship" that was really just religion dressed up in personal, emotional, human terms--it is hard to see that you're actually part of yet another religious structure.   But I do admire his passion.  

• I would suggest you come to Mars Hill and give it a try. If you actually come you'll see that it is not a cult and really is a church that put Jesus as the highest authority and point, "It's all about Jesus".

• "Why I hate religion but love Jesus" by a Churchgoer. I loves me some irony.

• Religion makes you "religious" - On a bumper sticker (apt description no matter who or what you worship, imho)

• Cult? Really, we're free to come and go, and think individually. That's why Jeff's poem is such a great hit - he takes exception to the traditional line of religiosity!

• Jesus si, church nada. Great thing about prayer is that it's portable.

• He's right that organized religion - the church system, whose first order is preserving the church, and has been co-opted by Christian conservatives - is a plague. But his own church seems more of a cult than a practitioner of Jesus' faith.

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