 Rhett and Link believe Christianity is harmful? Has their Christian deconstruction led others astray? And how can we address the accusations against Christianity that it teaches harmful and hateful things? Let's talk about that. Hey, what's up, guys? It's Isaac David, and this is The Daily Disciple, where I help you find Jesus and follow him daily if you're new to the channel, subscribe because I'm putting out new videos all the time. I just want to give a huge shout out to everyone on Patreon. It is only because of your support that this ministry can keep going and growing. And just on a personal level, this is my mission. This is my dream. This is what I'm most passionate about in this whole world. And through your support, you're enabling me to continue to do this. So thank you. If you want to help support, link in bio to join Patreon. Okay, so what you're about to see is a clip from the Rhett and Link podcast, which is called Ear Biscuits. If you're unfamiliar with Rhett and Link, they're popular YouTubers first off. They had a video series of podcasts that came out about a year ago, talking about their Christian deconstruction. And recently they've kind of reflected on that. And a number of people have called into their podcast talking about the fact that they've left the faith after listening to Rhett and Link's podcast. This is kind of interesting. And Rhett also has some things to say about Christianity and his whole motivation with making this the kind of Christian deconstruction podcast. It's pretty interesting. So let's watch it and then I'll respond. We don't tell these stories so that people will stop being Christians. Like that's not the motivation. I will say that my motivation is that people will remove themselves from harmful belief systems. It's interesting there at the end, it's like Rhett's like, Oh, you know, it's not that I want you to stop being a Christian. I just don't want you to believe in a harmful belief system. There's some trickery going on there. There's some weaseliness going on at the end there. I'll talk about that in a second. But I want to talk more about, you know what? Have Rhett and Link led all these people astray? Are these these terrible guys that how could they do this? They talked about their questions about Christianity, how they left, and now all these people are leaving the faith. Oh no, what's going on? This is my take on it. I would rather somebody come to recognize their own unbelief than fooling themselves into thinking they are a Christian. I'd rather have somebody have clarity about where they stand with God than deceiving themselves in thinking that they're in the camp when they're actually not. Those who left were never truly with us. In 1st John 2 19, it says, They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. So it's not that Rhett and Link are convincing all these true Christians to pack up their bags and deny the faith and all this kind of thing. It's like, no, you were never truly of the faith. You were never truly a sheep. And I would much rather you have clarity about that and come to terms with that so that people, Christians can come around you and say, Hey, look, here's what the true gospel is and call you to repentance and faith. That's way better than having somebody in a church that is unconverted. But everyone just assumes, oh man, they're heading to heaven. They don't really need any of our attention or help or witness or anything like that. And they're just kind of right out the rest of their days in church as a lukewarm person. That's not even a Christian because they haven't actually put their faith in God. And so I much prefer clarity than deception. Okay, so I want to go back to what Rhett said at the end there. He said, you know, it's not that we want people to stop being Christians. We want people to stop believing in harmful belief systems. And the reason that I kind of said that was a little bit weasley is because that some people will come at you very aggressively and make accusations against God and the Bible. God is evil. And you've seen that on this channel if you've been on here for a while. Atheists coming forward and say, he's an egotistical narcissist, murderer, all this stuff. And they're really antagonistic in their approach. And Christians are kind of easy to, you know, push that back and be like, you know, who are you to question God type thing. But what Rhett does is he comes at it with, look, hey, you know, I'm okay if you're a Christian, but you know, you're teaching a lot of harmful and hateful things. And I don't think that's very Christian of you. And so I think, you know, you might want to take a look at some of your beliefs and some of the things that the Bible says, because they're just kind of harmful. And I'm not saying that Rhett's the only one like this, of course not. This is just an example. This isn't an outright attack on Red or Link or anybody like that. I still watch those guys. I still watch their podcasts. I listen to the watch their shows sometimes. So it's not this kind of thing where I'm like hating on them or anything. It's just an example because a lot of other people do this too. You know, maybe people in your own life will come to you and say, hey, look, you know, I heard you're a Christian and that's cool or whatever, but doesn't Christianity teach a lot of harmful and hateful things? Like, how could that be? How could you believe something like that? And in responding, I want us to go deeper than just that surface level question. In them asking that question, they've determined their own kind of standard of morality. What is harmful? What is hateful? They've determined that and they put themselves as the judge and prosecutor of God and His Word. So it's not like they have some great foundational backing to say and make these accusations against God and His Word. It's just their opinion. And so we need to recognize that and say, okay, look, you know, you may think this is harmful and hateful, but I want to explain this for you from the Word of God. So I'm going to give you guys some practical examples of how to respond to some of these critiques of certain biblical positions. So one of these beliefs that I have heard to be called harmful to people is this idea that we are all broken and sinful people. Where do we get this? We get this from Romans 3.23, for all of sin and fallen short of the glory of God. This isn't the only place that you get that doctrine from. Of course, it's throughout the scriptures, but this is just one short example. People say that this is harmful because it hurts people's self-esteem and causes people to live in guilt and shame, which is not good. Here's the thing. Self-esteem has a lot to do with our identity, how we see ourselves. And that needs to be grounded on truth. It can't be grounded on a deception or a false sense of self or pride in ourselves. Like that is a big problem. People are like, I'm so cool. Self-love, like, you know what? I'm the best, that kind of thing. And it's like, well, is that based on truth or is that kind of manipulated, made-up identity that you've created for yourself? I want your personal identity to be based on truth. And the truth of the matter is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And this isn't some, you know, oh my goodness, that's just religious indoctrination. No, it's like we can actually know in our hearts that we've sinned because we do feel guilt and shame. And that's not just because cultural, religious indoctrination. No, it's because we've been given a conscience and we know right from wrong, right? God has laid His law on our heart. And so it's like, okay, well, a lot of that guilt and shame is justified. We have sinned. We have broken God's law. But then we look at Jesus and Jesus dies on the cross for our sin. For all the wrong things that we've done, He takes that on Himself. He takes our guilt and our shame on Himself, giving us a new identity in Him. When we are called children of God, and now we have an identity not based on deception or false sense of pride in ourselves, but now we have an identity based on who God says we are. A problem comes in when people continue to hold onto that guilt and shame, feeling like they need to work enough in order to gain God's love or gain His approval. But ultimately, we need to be looking back to God about what He says of us and then finding our identity and security and self-acceptance in knowing that God has already accepted us. Second belief that some non-Christians think is harmful is this idea that non-Christians are spiritually blind. In 1 Corinthians 2.14, it says this, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to Him and He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Now the thought here is because this is a Christian belief, Christians may feel better than non-Christians. You know, I'm so cool, I'm so awesome. I see with these kind of spiritual eyes, I'm not spiritually blind like you are. I can process things better. I'm probably a better person too. I'm smarter as well. Like all these kind of things that, you know, some Christians do believe that stuff which is not good and it's not a proper outflowing of the gospel because when we understand the true heart of the gospel, that it is a free gift, that we are simply beggars showing other beggars where they can find living bread to quench their hunger. Like that's the amazing thing. We are no better than other people, than non-Christians. Ephesians 2, 8-9 says, For by grace you've been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing. It is a gift from God, not a result from works, so that no one may boast. So if a Christian is boasting because he's not spiritually blind, this is a direct contradiction to what God has called us to and that person needs to repent. Okay, so this is probably what they would consider one of the most harmful beliefs in Christianity is that God has a standard for sexual behavior. Genesis 2, 24 says, They would say that this is a hateful belief because it causes people to hate themselves for who they are and their identity. Here's the thing, everybody has a standard of what is proper sexual behavior. It's not that Christians are the only ones who have a standard. It's just other people's standards are different. Often they resolve, revolve a lot more around consent. Or they are, is everyone consenting in this? And as long as that happens between consenting adults as the phrase goes, it's all good, whatever. Christianity has a different standard and it is based on what God has called us to and how God has designed us. And this isn't just some arbitrary thing, it is God's best for us. And it's not about this idea of trying to single people out for their orientation or their own proclivities or their own tendencies because the Bible calls up people heterosexuals that look with lust as well. Like pornography, that is not acceptable at all. Sleeping with your girlfriend, yeah, it's all included there. So it's not this matter of singling out anybody, especially within the LGBTQ community. That's not the idea at all. God simply has a standard for proper sexual behavior, his best for us, and he's called us to hold to that. And though we may find identities in other things, whether that be different orientations or different lifestyles, God calls us to find a new identity in him. In 2 Corinthians 517, it says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, behold, the new has come. Whatever you're finding your identity in, if it is something other than Christ, then God is calling us to give that over to him, to put that to death and find a new identity in him. Now, that doesn't mean that we're never gonna struggle with temptation. We may still be tempted to look at pornography or sleep around or whatever it may be, but it does mean that God has given us his power and his presence in our life to overcome the temptation and live for him. In 2 Peter 1 3, it says this, his divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. God has not left us out to dry here, people. God has given us everything that we need through his power and his presence to overcome the temptations of this world. And when we fall and when we fail, he looks us in the eyes and he welcomes us again to get up and follow him. It is not going to be easy, but it's better to understand the truth of the situation, to continue to walk with Christ, to understand that he is the only way to eternal life. And he is our life even here on earth, not just eternal life, but he is life right now for us. And that is so much better than dwelling in this kind of fake or kind of deceived identity that we think is going to fulfill us when it is not. At the end of the day, many non-Christians may still think that our beliefs are harmful or hateful. There's really nothing we can do about that. We are not the ones that are going to change their hearts. Only God can do that. But I want to encourage you in two ways. First thing, be a light through your words. Don't compromise what you believe just because you're scared of being called hateful or stupid. I know it's scary and I know it's a lot easier for me to sit in this studio and tell you that than it is for you to be on a college campus and actually vocalize what you believe and take in that pushback, that rejection. I know it is scary, but I'm with you and there's plenty of other Christians out there that are in that same boat that are trying to stand without compromise on what they believe in the Word of God. Because at the end of the day, if we're going to die on any hill, if we're going to hold to anything, it needs to be the Word of God. It needs to be the truth. And ultimately, Christ endured the cross on your behalf. I think it's well within our means to withstand a little bit of awkwardness and social rejection just to stand to continue to stand on the truth for Him. The second thing is be a light with your deeds. You say, love people, show it. In Matthew 5.16, it says, in the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. See, ultimately, that's what it means to be a daily disciple. Committing your life to live daily for Jesus through Word and Deed. And it's not about being perfect at all. That's not what it's about. It's not working hard enough in order to get God's approval. No, it's that we've already received God's approval and acceptance of us, not through our own doing, but because of Jesus' work on the cross, bringing us into right relationship with the Father so that we can now live out of love and joy and not of fear and obligation. And so now we live daily trying to reflect Christ through Word and Deed. And we're going to fail, but God, once again, is lovingly welcoming us to follow him again. I'd encourage you to pray for Rhett and Link and pray for the people that are watching their podcast. They're exploring some different kind of spiritual topics around Christianity and deconstruction. And I just hope that people are going to find the truth of who Jesus is and find a transformed and reconciled life to God. Thank you so much for watching. Once again, thank you to everyone on Patreon that makes this content possible. It's an amazing blessing over the last couple of months. So many people have joined and that's made it possible that I can continue to do what I'm doing, which is like, this is my favorite thing in the world. I love doing this. And I hope to do it full time one day and by you joining Patreon, you get me closer to that goal. So thank you so much. If you enjoyed this video, give a like down below and share it with a friend, because I think this is going to be a helpful thing for people, helpful resource for people. Thanks again for watching, guys, and I'll see you next time. God bless.