This is the poem about Jesus vs. Religion that has received over 11 million views in its first 5 days on YouTube.
Why has this video become so Viral? Its message—which Bethke wrote “to highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion,” according to its YouTube entry—is striking a chord with viewers.
Love it or hate it, it seems impossible to not have an opinion about this controversial, hip-hop styled video.
Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus by spoken-word artist Jefferson Bethke
What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?
What if I told you getting you to vote republican, really wasn’t his mission?
Because republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,
And just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.
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 been divorced
Yet God in the Old Testament actually calls the religious people whores.
Religion preaches grace, but another thing they practice,
Tend to ridicule Gods people, they did it to John the Baptist,
Can’t fix their problems, so they try to mask it,
Not realizing that’s just like spraying perfume on a casket
Because the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core,
It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores.
Let’s dress up the outside, make things look nice and neat,
Its funny that’s what they do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath,
Now I ain’t judging I’m just saying be careful of putting on a fake look,
Because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by that little section on your Facebook
In every other aspect of life you know that logic’s unworthy
Its like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a jersey.
But see I played this game too; no one seemed to be on to me,
I was acting like church kid, while addicted to pornography.
I’d go to church on Sunday, but on Saturday getting faded,
Acting as if I was simply created to have sex and get wasted.
Spend my whole life putting on this facade of neatness,
But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.
If grace is water, then the church should be an ocean,
Cuz its not a museum for good people, it’s a hospital for the broken
I no longer have to hide my failures I don’t have to hide my sin,
Because my salvation doesn’t depend on me, it depends on Him.
because when I was Gods enemy and certainly not a fan,
God looked down on me and said, “I want that man!”
Which is so different from religious people, and why Jesus called em fools
Don’t you see He’s so much better than just following some rules?
Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and I believe in sin
But my question, is if Jesus were here today, would your church let Him in?
Remember He was called a drunkard and a glutton by “religious men”
The Son of God not supported self-righteousness, not now, not then.
Now back to the topic, one thing I think is vital to mention,
How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums,
One is the work of God one is a man made invention,
One is the cure and one is the infection.
Because Religion says do, Jesus says done.
Religion says slave, Jesus says son,
Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free.
Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see.
This is what makes religion and Jesus two different clans,
Religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.
Which is why salvation is freely mine, forgiveness is my own,
Not based on my efforts, but Christ’s obedience alone.
Because he took the crown of thorns, and blood that dripped down his face
He took what we all deserved, that’s why we call it grace.
While being murdered he yelled “father forgive them, they know not what they do”,
Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you
He paid for all your sin, and then buried it in the tomb,
Which is why I’m kneeling at the cross now saying come on there’s room
So know I hate religion, in fact I literally resent it,
Because when Jesus cried ‘It is finished’, I believe He meant it.
Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus | by Jefferson Bethke
Entheogen – That Which Causes God To Be Within You
As far back as you can go in recorded history, man has been at the center of all forms of rituals in order to get closer to God. Through his yearning to understand the Divine Creator, man has relied on Entheogen (That Which Causes God To Be Within You).
Entheogen fills someone with god by use of a substance that causes one to become inspired or to experience feelings of inspiration, often in a religious or “spiritual” manner.
Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within is a feature length documentary which invites the viewer to rediscover an enchanted cosmos in the modern world by awakening to the divine within.
The film examines the re-emergence of archaic techniques of ecstasy in the modern world by weaving a synthesis of ecological and evolutionary awareness, electronic dance culture, and the current pharmacological re-evaluation of entheogenic compounds. Within a narrative framework that imagines consciousness itself to be evolving, Entheogen documents the emergence of techno-shamanism in the post-modern world that frames the following questions:
How can a renewal of ancient initiatory rites of passage alleviate our ecological crisis?
What do trance dancing and festivals celebrating unbridled artistic expression speak to in our collective psyche?
How do we re-invent ourselves in a disenchanted world from which God has long ago withdrawn?
Entheogen invites the viewer to consider that the answers to these questions lie within the consciousness of each and every human being, and are accessible if only we give ourselves permission to awaken to the divine within.
Ben Breedlove asks "Do You Believe In Angels or God?"
Well, year 2011 has only hours left on the clock and as it winds down I thought I would squeeze one more story into the MindfulGod Blog. This story has touched many hearts; it is about a teenage boy named Ben Breedlove who was born with (HCM – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) – where a portion of the heart muscle thickens without any obvious cause.
Sadly, Ben passed away this Christmas right after opening presents with his loving family. His life long suffering had not slowed him down and instead lifted this young man to heights we can only dream of achieving. Throughout his life Ben used Social Media to reach out and share his life story with millions of people.
Prior to his final days, Ben recorded his last video that went viral on YouTube where he retells his story of several Near-Death Experiences and even a faith message via flash cards. The video sparked numerous responses as it was played on the national networks.
The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die
“The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences” encompasses every aspect of the near-death phenomenon: the experience, aftereffects, and implications. P.M.H. Atwater’s simple, appealing format includes drawings and cartoons by Spirit Painter and Chuck Vadun and sidebars from experts. She investigates and reports on the power of changed lives, the reality of deceased who come back, visitors at death’s edge, out-of-body travel, the expansion of normal faculties, the awesome presence of Deity and the importance of spirituality. “The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences” examines near-death studies from the Moody Miracle early days, through the myths of the light at the end of the tunnel and the religion of the resuscitated. After 32 years of work with clinical prospective studies in several countries, the reality of the near-death experience has been verified, confirming its importance in the study of consciousness.
The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die
NBC Nightly News played excerpts of the video on live TV however where Ben answers the question “Do you believes in angels and God?” the segment was rushed across the screen blurring out the part where he answers the question with “I DO”.
Here is the complete video without any cut off or blurred out segments. May his message of love, hope and peace he shared with all of us reflect in your own heart.
Do You Believe In Angels or God? (‘VIRAL’ Ben Breedlove Flash Card Video)
Happy New Year America, may you live long and prosper!
On a recent interview Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor“, Bill O’Reilly and Deepak Chopra M.D. discussed religion and the existence of a deity. The interview begins with a heated debate O’Reilly had with atheist author Richard Dawkins claiming the Judeo-Christian philosophy is merely a myth.
During the interview Chopra accused Dawkins of being emotionally reactive and of hiding behind his scientific credentials to “camouflage his bigotry”.
After briefly discussing Dawkins view point, O’Reilly bluntly asked Chopra “What has convinced you that there is a deity? And do you believe in an active God, a God that actually intervenes in human life?”
Chopra replies:
“The more we understand the nature of the Universe though science, the more we also understand there’s more unknown and there’s the unknowable. The unknowable because the scientific discoveries show that the laws of physics themselves preclude us from intellectually getting in touch with the source, you have to go beyond the intellect, you have to listen to the heart. The heart has reasons that reason doesn’t know. And you have to in a sense understand the great prophet ‘Jesus’ (who ever), they transcended to a level where they were in touch with the mystery…
I think there’s an active source, an intelligent source that is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and that we have a connection to that…”
Watch the complete interview below:
Be sure to check out ‘War of the Worldviews: Science Vs. Spirituality‘ by Authors Deepak Chopra M.D. and Leonard Mlodinow
“What The Bleep Do We Know!? Down The Rabbit Hole” is a film dedicated to bringing to our attention the spiritual connection between the new science of Quantum Physics and consciousness. The film introduces the idea that matter is not solid as originally thought by science but rather a vibration of electrons that pop in and out of existence. What we see and the way we think of the world is not exactly as it appears, the universe is best seen as constructed from thought or ideas rather than from substance. Our consciousness creates our reality; we simply play with the infinite possibilities presented to us. The belief of who we are and what is real is simply a direct result of our realities.
The film featured several interviews by Amit Goswami (Theoretical Nuclear Physicist), John Hagelin (Physicist), Stuart Hameroff (Anesthesiologist), JZ Knight (Spiritual Teacher), Andrew B. Newberg (Professor of Radiology), Candace Pert (Neuroscientist), Fred Alan Wolf (Physicist), David Albert (Philosopher of Physics), Joe Dispenza (Chiropractor), Michael Ledwith (Professor of Theology), Daniel Monti (Physician), Jeffrey Satinover (Psychiatrist), and William Tiller (Professor).
What The Bleep Do We Know!? Down The Rabbit Hole (Full Length Movie)
On a recent interview Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor“, Bill O’Reilly and Deepak Chopra M.D. discussed religion and the existence of a deity. The interview begins with a heated debate O’Reilly had with atheist author Richard Dawkins claiming the Judeo-Christian philosophy is merely a myth.
” to Dawkins’ children’s book on evolution, “
“.
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