If you believe in him and love him, he is supposed to be the most important thing you can speak about with anyone you meet. They loved not the things of the world, but repented of their sin and put all their hope and trust in him. Then the format changed. With the YouTube-ification of our culture, though, consumers are connecting not with actors playing characters, but real people who allow them to peek behind the curtain of their lives. Much to the chagrin of their critics who When it comes to apologetics, its a very helpful tactic to show unbelievers the truths of the Bible. And if you like what you read on Godless in Dixie, please consider sponsoring me on Patreon, or else you can give via Paypal to help me keep doing what Im doing. Their response has been very interesting; they have lamented this by retorting something like . She articulates her argument well as she did in a recent debate with Lisa Gungor, (and Im more in the Gungor camp) so Childers article became my on ramp into the deconstruction stories of these YouTube celebrities who seemingly had gone astray. He cohosts the award-winning television program Way of the Master, which airs in 190 countries. Whether it's Rhett and Link, who used their platform to honestly discuss their deconstruction and deconversion; or Abraham Piper, son of influential pastor John Piper, who's publicly deconstructing evangelical Christianity on TikTok; or . This brings us to the salient question. He further likens the endogenous retroviruses shared between humans and other ape descendants to a coffee stain that shows up in later versions of a manual, demonstrating an earlier common ancestor who must have experienced the original mutation/stain. But I also know from experience that the work of defending the faith requires enormous amounts of self-deception, closing one eye and squinting the other to make sure things look the way theyre supposed to look. The answer many of us who deconstructed Frank had gone to Shantytown with some members of the Ku Klux Klan to. But it wouldnt have shaken. Before this week I did not, and now that I think about it, it explains A LOT. before can enthusiastically answer, YES, Jesus never answered the thief on the cross who asked Christ to remember him when he came into his Kingdom with, This Day youll be with me in Paradisejust so long as you also believe the world was created in six days. I didnt have the opportunity to open my laptop (they didnt yet exist) or turn on our home computer (we didnt own one), hop on YouTube, and watch my future husband walk me through his breakfast choices, morning drive, and whimsical musings. I quickly downloaded and submerged myself into Rhett and Links respective stories (which you can also see on YouTube here and here). That was the key for all of us, wasnt it? Francis Schaeffer once wrote about the fact that Christians need to have such a commitment to the truth that if it were proven to be false we would be the first to get out of line and join the rest of the world in their destruction. Rhett & Link preempt their critics But I dont think its the actual, people have found so persuasive. Could it be that the cultural influences driving these deconstruction stories needs to be re-examined, rather than Christianity itself? Several people reached out to me personally, including pastors who reported that the faith of several kids in their youth groups was rocked by the broadcasts, leaving them shaken and doubting. I had been pulling on this thread for a really long timeLets call it the sweater of faithI had been pulling on this thread until it had sort of turned into a vestand then a midriffand then a halter tapand now it was a string bikini. All their YouTube Channels have a good amount of engagement, subscribers, and views as a result of their engaging content. They began their career as engineers and ended up in the field of comedy. Today that simple choice to follow Jesus and learn to engage Life through his Way comes with a whole lot of additional belief requirements. But, Continue reading, When we talk about what it means to be a man from a biblical perspective, we have to realize that we are working completely against popular culture. Remember that even John the Baptist had a little crisis and needed to be reassured (Matthew 11:1-11). Help train Christians to boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that clearly communicates to this secular age. When Rhett says hes read all the Ravi Zacharias books and found them uncompelling, the church kid probably wont even bother with more than 30 books, containing decades worth of complex and carefully thought-out arguments that have been tested by time, debate, and rigorous scholarship. To put it bluntly. I jumped into the water. Receive weekly updates about fresh articles, videos, and audios, as well as new resources, special discounts, and upcoming events. It may not be them but the have to obey the labels they are partnered with. Confession: When I was a kid, I was in love with, As much as I felt undying love for Ricky Schroder, I knew little about him. We've known. As any parent will attest teenagers are difficult, children are much easier to control. What does this obtain for you? I told him honestly that it could only lead to loss and pain, but that I didnt really have a choice. As an apologist, my knee-jerk reaction was also to grab my computer and start typing refutations with the force of a thousand suns. Governor Bullock's presence at Scarlett's crush made Melanie feel. Rhett and Link's collective spiritual deconstruction isn't ultimately a deconstruction of the Christian faith but of Christian subculture. He feared that truth would be lost in a sea of irrelevance.. Hopefully, they also realize these accusations are shots fired out of fearfear that one day they may wake up to find that we are making at least as much sense as they are. Bingo! Indeed they become: From the short exposure Ive had to the spiritual journey of Rhett and Link it seems they will produce even more love, joy, peace, gentleness, and kindness that Jesus says will come from those who are following him. Christy Neal: Link's wife. But as both Rhett and Link recounted, there was something brewing underneath the intellectual questions. Do you think you know more than all these other brilliant people before you? Of course that knife cuts both ways, although the people who say this never do see how it should undermine their own confidence, as well. The stories themselves werent so different from others that have lit up social media over the past few years. Its the. This is something Jesus himself said would happenand it will continue to happen until he returns (Matt. Since the release of their stories, several apologists and scholars have offered sound rebuttals to some of the claims made by Rhett in particular. I believe they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. Our media fueled siloed communities dividing us in politics, religion, race, culture, and various interests meant I was totally oblivious to Rhett & Link despite their being YouTube comedy sensations with nearly 17 million subscribers. Anticipating the response he would get for opening up about all of this, Rhett addressed the No True Christian argument right off the bat: I want to emphasize how big of a deal it was to me. They offer videos that present everything from video-game hacks to make-up tutorials to opinions about political and religious issues. That the simple childlike answers of your youth which at one time gave such clarity and certainty no longer sufficed. These discoveries challenged the underpinnings of his whole theological system, but like all of us he was encouraged to press on through with his questions without fear because: All truth is Gods truth. We homeschool because the public education system is a liberal conspiracy to brainwash children into believing things like global warning is real. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Alisa Childers wrote a piece for The Gospel Coalition critiquing Rhett & Links shared spiritual deconstruction from evangelical Christianity. / Politics / Trump / Uncategorized, find a Statement of Faith list of things you will need to believe, had to the spiritual journey of Rhett and Link. Co-founder of @mythical. Blend that with Rhett and Links magnetic personalities, and its no wonder the faith of many Christians has been unsettled. Youre gonna get through this. Encouragement for Anglican Pastors, Downplaying the Sin of Homosexuality Wont Win the Next Generation, 9 Things You Should Know About Revivals in America, When You Dont Feel Like Having Sex with Your Spouse, The Burning Question from Asbury Isnt About Asbury, Megachurch Marriage for the Bachelor Pastor: A Story of Love that Lasts, Ordinary and Extraordinary: A Day at the Asbury Awakening, Tim Keller on the Decline and Renewal of the American Church. This was my LIFE. And then my heart broke hearing not only where they are in their faith, but how they have made it easier for others to abandon their belief in God too. When I discovered that there were many other aisles in the supermarket that contained delicious spiritual food I was at first nervous and suspicious. Thats why leaving it is so damned scary. The REAL Reason Why Rhett and Link Fell Away from Christianity Ray Comfort Founder & CEO, Living Waters Rhett and Link, extremely well-known YouTubers, recently posted videos talking about how they left the faith. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. In Rhett & Links deconstruction they frequently site their growing struggles with reconciling these add on requirements with the reality of science, morality, and basic common sense. Rhett said, , to believe [Christianity], then why would I? Link expressed, Why was I working so hard to make Christianity work for me if it wasnt even true? Aside from encountering intellectual stumbling blocks, it seems that, to YouTubes favorite pair, the gospel had begun to stink. Demas traded eternal hope for earthly treasure. Link Neal. Maybe YouTube said "we want to get behind you and do such and such but it has to be about Rhett and Link, not random crew members". Last month, the GMM duo moved one of their podcasts, Ear Biscuits, to a separate channel in order to devote that space to an increasingly personal line of conversations about what led them to leave their faith and look for new sources of meaning and inspiration in the world in which they find themselves. While their degrees and first jobs were in engineering, funny video production ultimately became their claim to fame. This is the effect the gospel has, and we should expect these types of reactions. Rhett and Link grew up as evangelical Christiansand worked extensively with Christian organizations in the past, including working for Campus Crusade for Christand playing the Fabulous Bentley Brothers for a children's Bible education series on Jelly Telly. Its hard not to feel insulted by his unwillingness to accept this. Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day. No one that I was in personal contact withpastors, Christian friends, elders in the churchnone of them disappointed me or let me down. How can two guys who make a living as YouTube personalities go from making possum corndogs one day to throwing 2,000 years of Christian history under the bus the next? The REAL Reason Why Rhett and Link Fell Away from Christianity 268,033 views Premiered Mar 4, 2020 11K Dislike Share Save Living Waters 1.12M subscribers Rhett and Link, extremely. And thats no laughing matter. Now that they no longer need to outsource their morality to God they begin to take more responsibility for it themselves. Today that simple choice to follow Jesus and learn to engage Life through his Way comes with a whole lot of additional belief requirements. This is the effect the gospel has, and we should expect these types of reactions. As with most former evangelicals (henceforth ex-vangelicals), the majority of key turning points in Rhetts deconversion story coincide with changes in his relationship to the Bible, and to his own traditions reading of it. Love these mugs! She Leaves Once This Christian Brings Up This Topic. I have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving Day. Its not like hes throwing out the baby with the bathwater, its like hes throwing out the tub and trying to keep the baby and the bathwater intact. Later in Pauls ministry, however, he writes that Demas ended up loving the present world more than the things of God and walked away (2 Tim. But heres the thing; spiritual deconstruction is in many ways just spiritual puberty. I read books about it by people who didnt believe in it. A former church elder with a seminary education, Neil now writes mostly about the struggles of former evangelicals living in the midst of a highly religious subculture. Listening to their podcast you hear the Good Mythical Morning Net worth- $30 Million. But as Reformed Evangelicals these werent simply add on beliefs. The sweater of faith. The comment sections of their Reddit, Facebook, and YouTube pages reveal that their stories inspired many atheists and touched the hearts of some folks who experienced similar deconversion journeys, describing the videos as beautiful, candid, and vulnerable.. Rhett and Link have grown their brand performing hilarious satirical songs and engaging in zany stunts such as duct-taping themselves together, playing wedgie-hangman, crushing glow sticks in a meat-grinder, and flinging bags of dog feces at one another's faces. Rhett and Link Controversy and Deconstruction Over the years, we learned that YouTubers Rhett and Link had been on staff with Cru, served as missionaries, led Bible studies, and worked with campus ministries. Over the course of a few days, social-media newsfeeds became inundated with hot takes, responses, disagreements, and praise for the comedy duo. Why We Should Not Redeem Deconstruction, Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstruction and the Church, Why Progressive Christianity Cant Bring Reformation, Jen Hatmaker and the Made-to-Order Gospel. And deal with them now, but dont exchange Christianity with doubts for an empty belief system made solely of doubts. For more than a decade, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have made videos together under the name Rhett & Link, cementing their bromance as one of YouTube's most memorable partnerships.In a recent vlog, McLaughlin and Neal who have been buddies since the first grade took their friendship to another level. Therefore they had to halt all the crew stuff. In fact, he said that he jumped out of the Christian ship, but not into another ship, per se, but into an ocean of uncertainty more on that later. (And they do have an audience - their personal channel alone has nearly 5 million followers. The two And then my heart broke hearing not only where they are in their faith, but how they have made it easier for others to abandon their belief in God too. I guess my biggest frustration with what he is saying is that he is painting the picture that if you are a Christian you are not allowed to have any doubts, but if you arent a Christian then you dont have to believe in anything. fear that if they stopped believing in this When they each recorded videos walking fans through their spiritual-deconstruction stories in February, it shot through the internet like a bolt of lightning. Ill confess I havent watched a ton of their stuff, but thats mostly because I dont watch much YouTube at all. Ray Comfort explains the reason why this happens so often with those who used to believe in Christianity. As far as Christians believing in the theory of Evolution or not, there is too much to go into in this short post. Ill interact the most with Rhetts extimony as it covered the lions share of their reasons for leaving the faith. If the below fields are visible, ignore them. The youth-group kids left flustered and agitated by doubt mightve been entirely unperturbed had they heard those arguments from another source. They acknowledge that Christianity, The apostle Paul identifies his friend Demas as a fellow worker who was with him while imprisoned in Rome (Philem. They never talk about if it's morally wrong, but rather the person expressing who they think they are and who they think they love. What am I gonna teach my kids? ), and both have made it abundantly clear that they are 100% pro-homosexuality, and take serious issue with Christianity because of it (I mean it is the 21st century - Helloooo? They acknowledge that Christianity means something. Rhett was careful to say he doesnt think these apologists are intentionally deceiving anyone. I'm glad that so many are able to turn their jobs at GMM into better careers down the line :) We'll miss you Jen, I guess the old saying is true, "If you love something, let it go". And I pulled my wife and my children with me. On the other hand, we need to be confident in our faith, so we need to listen to what non-Christians say about Christianity. Only the dates and names were changed. Link asked, Why on airplanes? to which Rhett replied: Because when youre an evangelical Christian, when you sit next to a stranger, this may be the only opportunity you have to share the life changing message of Jesus with them. She's been showing up less and less on the main series so I've suspected for a . Much of their appeal comes from their history together. Therefore, we also explored this topic f. Would. I mean really loved Jesus! Celebrity YouTubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have caused a few waves following their collective decision to abandon the Christian faith. Would Jack Black and Daniel Radcliffe guest star on their YouTube channel if they held to the biblical doctrine of marriage and homosexuality? 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