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I may not know much about you, but I do have a sneaking suspicion that on January 11, 2012, you logged into YouTube to watch this video. More than 7 million others did, too. In the process we discovered a medium of viral power and a young man by the name of Jefferson Bethke.

The 22-year-old Seattle resident quickly became a hot—and controversial—topic of conversation in the blogosphere and in news media outlets such as The Washington PostCNN, and CBS. Now, almost two years later, Bethke has unpacked many of the poem’s provocative themes in a new book titled Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough (Thomas Nelson).

I talked with Bethke about how he’s changed since the video, moralistic mentoring, the new millennial fundamentalism, and more.


It’s been a year-and-a-half since the release of your “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” poem on YouTube. With 7 million views in its first 48 hours, and close to 26 million as of today, the four-minute video clearly struck a chord. How have you grown and changed since then? 

It honestly feels like a million years ago. I’d say the biggest thing the video did was give me a gentleness that can only be had when you’re on the other side of the computer screen, if that makes sense. I now try to understand what people are really trying to say. I try hard to not straw man (one of we Christians’ favorite tactics, if we’re honest). And I’ve also learned that language is a beautiful, multifaceted, contextual, regional, awesome mess.

For those familiar with the YouTube video, what might surprise them most about the book?

The video has little or nothing to do with it, actually. The book is heavily memoir/narrative-driven, with each chapter taking an overarching theological concept and showing how false religion inverts what Jesus really taught.

“Many people [have] been sold religion with a nice Jesus sticker slapped on it,” you say. How can parents and church leaders practically guard against this tendency toward moralism?

Draw your kids up in something beautiful, grand, deep, and great. Stir a sense of wonder in them. Moralism is the band-aid when what we’ve settled for is cheap, thin, hollow, and stale.

“Fundamentalists don’t always wear suits,” you observe. “Sometimes they wear skinny jeans.” How do you see fundamentalism operative in millennial circles today?

I see it in myself in a lot of ways, which might operate as a microcosm of my generation. I think my generation has lost an appreciation for humble, unnoticed, long-trajectory faithfulness. So we become fundamentalist about things in a way that often calls something bad if it’s not extravagant social justice (justice is a good thing, but hopefully you get my point) or artistic in its disposition. We need to come to appreciate humble faithfulness, however and wherever it shows up.

“If you care more about flaunting your Christian freedom than promoting Christian unity,” you warn, “you’re probably not free.” How is freedom commonly misunderstood and misapplied by young believers today?

It’s a common spectrum debate. The Bible is filled with myriad tensions, and if you aren’t leaning closely on the Spirit you will be inclined to pick one side or the other without discernment or guidance from Jesus. Freedom is one massive example of this challenge. We caricature legalists and then think, Well, if they say everything is sinful, then I’m going to smite them by doing it. Freedom in Christ! This, as we know, is a horrible heart attitude.

There’s a lot in the Scriptures about doing things with a view to how your brother will receive it. But there’s a biblical tension I love that gets at this concern. At one point Paul encourages Timothy to be circumcised for sake of the brothers (Acts 16:1-3), but elsewhere he seems to stand firm against the Judaizers on his freedom not to be circumcised (Gal. 2:3-5). It all comes down to the people on the other end. In one case the gospel itself is not at stake (Acts 16); in the other, however, it is (Gal. 2).

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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