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. While Rhett and Link spend some time talking about their post-Christian lives in the deconstruction episodes, they devote the lion's share of the time to looking back on the life and belief. Doubt always accompany faith. 24:12). And, every time Rhett said, I know you are going to say _____________, I was thinking, Yeah, thats exactly what Id say.. 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. Remember that even John the Baptist had a little crisis and needed to be reassured (Matthew 11:1-11). Its got a destination. 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. But the same timeworn skepticism the church has interacted with since its inception is given a fresh dose of potency when delivered to a whole new generation by cool and funny guys whove become a fixture of their childhood. All their YouTube Channels have a good amount of engagement, subscribers, and views as a result of their engaging content. Or what about morality? What about the beginning? Ill confess I havent watched a ton of their stuff, but thats mostly because I dont watch much YouTube at all. I never got a reply. 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. Take Rhett, for example. 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. It would appear that despite how destabilizing and difficult their deconstruction processes were, they no longer wanted Christianity to be true. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they became convinced that Christianity is true as they gazed deeply at Christs beauty. But as both Rhett and Link recounted, there was something brewing underneath the intellectual questions. Only the dates and names were changed. 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. He was basically telling MY story, along with the stories of a hundred people I know who went through the same thought processes and the same emotional struggles. The younger generation is even more open about questioning their faith and leaving Christianity behind. 1) Deconstructing Statements of Faith is not the same as Deconstructing Faith itself When Jesus called his disciples he simply said, "Follow Me". I never got a reply. As part of their healing process, they are all told to declare to the world their reasons for why being a Christian is wrong. be One in Christ. Rhett (a.k.a. I was crushed. Listening to their podcast you hear the Over the course of a few days, social-media newsfeeds became inundated with hot takes, responses, disagreements, and praise for the comedy duo. Today, Rhett and Link have a net worth of $25 million as of 2021. I also appreciate him making a point of clarifying that bad experiences didnt push him out of the faith. He was the only one for me. Rhett and Link met each other way back in Elementary school in North Carolina and they've stuck together into adulthood, at one time passing through a ministry phase as full-time staffers with Campus Crusade (now called Cru ). As an apologist, my knee-jerk reaction was also to grab my computer and start typing refutations with the force of a thousand suns. avenge the attack on Scarlett that day. When Scarlett was seen in Ashley's arms at the saw mill she knew. 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. When I listened to their journeys from belief to hopeful agnosticism I was shocked at how much this looked like a one-two punch attack against Christianity. Our cultural moment is a cauldron of information and celebrity worship in which the cult of personality can ferment and grow. And thats no laughing matter. Im not gonna be scared of the truth. I could go on and on, but Ill wrap this up by looking at the last analogy Rhett used to explain what its like to leave the faith of your upbringing. Travis Tritt asked the question, but it seems Thomas Rhett knows the answer. Changed My Whole Entire Being: Ex-Strip Club Owner Born Again, Now Works to Help Victims of Sex Trafficking, UK Lawmakers Demand Stricter Pornography Laws to Combat Epidemic of Violence Against Women, Professor Reveals Why Asbury Revival Is Now Being Called Outpouring and What That Really Means, Christian Ex-Cop Fights Back After Resigning Over Social Media Post About Gods Design For Marriage, Researcher Warns Biblical Theism Is Much Closer to Extinction in America, Unveils Stunning Stats. / 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. 2. That tow-headed heartthrob took my breath away with every episode of the 1980s sitcom Silver Spoons. After all, when someone is conversant in apologetics and theology, knows his Bible, and can anticipate my suspicions and objections, its difficult to simply pass him off as someone who never really understood Christianity. The most recentand arguably most influentialone has come from entertainers and YouTube sensations Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal of the Good Mythical Morning channel and Ear Biscuits podcast. Rhett & Link are entertainers who primarily use the Internet to display their talents. Rhett and Link, extremely well-known YouTubers, recently posted videos talking about how they left the faith. This! When youve mixed with European Christians, 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. I imagine those types of responses will continue to roll in. And furthermore, who wants to embrace uncertainty? 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. What he learned in time was that history disconfirms pretty much every major story from the flood of Noah all the way down through the Conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, with things not much improving for the next several books. 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. Meaning I dont know, but I hope. Aside from the fact that most apologists have day jobs, this leads to a fair question: what would Rhett and Link stand to lose if they didnt capitulate to culture on an issue like same-sex marriage? He suggested that if all these apologists and theologians were to recant their stories and change their opinions, their livelihoods would be at stake. Blend that with Rhett and Links magnetic personalities, and its no wonder the faith of many Christians has been unsettled. Relocating with their families to Los Angeles around this time almost certainly made it easier for Rhett and Link to think through some of their questions, removed as they now were from the Christ-Haunted atmosphere of the Bible Belt. We have to understand were not the first people to grapple with these sorts of questions, said Andros, noting Ecclesiastes 1:9, which says, There is nothing new under the sun., In one interview, Rhett argued that, if Christianity is true, it should be able to withstand investigation and inquiry.. Please help us to continue to make our videos and movies available on YouTube free of charge. It didnt take long before quickly discovering these two were not some boys who got saved at some church youth camp alter call and then used their new found Christianity merely as a buttress against sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll after that. That said, I sympathize even more with the ones who follow their own consciences out of the fold, in time being accused of every impure motive imaginable. This is the effect the gospel has, and we should expect these types of reactions. Governor Bullock's presence at Scarlett's crush made Melanie feel. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Why ban a Tim Keller or Ravi Zacharias book when you can create a community in which no one will want to read one? After all, remember, we are talking about nothing. It gives you something to hold on to. It still provides the stability and the community on which peoples lives depend. He feared that truth would be lost in a sea of irrelevance. Fast forward 35 years to a day replete with a global internet and smartphones, and Postmans words ring with the chill of prophetic accuracy. Therefore they had to halt all the crew stuff. God draws people to Jesus, He saves them, and He doesnt lose any of them. I Work for a Pastor with Low Emotional Intelligence, Split or Stay? Exvangelicals remember this compulsion well. Norman C. Nevin, Theistic Evolution Edited by J.P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Ann K. Gauger, Wayne Grudem, & Christopher Shaw. I have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving Day. For those who don't know, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal are a musical comedy duo who have built their YouTube show Good Mythical Morning into one of the biggest shows on the channel, with over 17 million subscribers. Before February 2020 I had never heard of Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. 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. Why? This insatiable need for certainty is something the still-faithful need to confront about themselves, not us. the opposite is often true. I read here a lot more than I comment, but Neil was ", "Then the LORD said to Hosea, Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. This is something Jesus himself said would happenand it will continue to happen until he returns (Matt. 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. Anticipating pushback from those who say you have to trust Jesus over the noise of your own intellectual questions, Rhett reminds us you cannot separate an historical figure from actual history and still say youre talking about the same person. Frank had gone to Shantytown with some members of the Ku Klux Klan to. I believe they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. I dont know. Rhett & Link, best friends since 2 nd grade, currently host one of the most popular YouTube channels on the Internet, Good Mythical Morning. But it wouldnt have shaken my own faith. 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. Please make sure all fields are filled out. By the way, Evolutionary theory doesnt have a sufficient cause for the universe coming into existence out of nothing. On the one hand, we dont want people who are not having doubts in their faith to listen to Rhett and Link and start doubting (Id rather have a millstone necktie). I mean really loved Jesus! Actor Rupert Everett, who fell hard for her said: 'Her face had the illusion of beauty, but in fact it was wonky all over. That's why the recent Rhett and Link controversy has been so upsetting. Its no wonder, then, that every time we turn around there is yet another deconversion story being proffered as the newest ex-evangelical smoking gun. And, think of what the Apostle Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15) where he said that if it isnt true that Jesus rose from the dead, then we need to be pitied more than anyone else. ", "Until we meet againhttps://www.youtube.com/wat". I love it. This week, Faithwire managing editor Dan Andros discussed some of those concerns with editor Tr Goins-Phillips. He suggested that if all these apologists and theologians were to recant their stories and change their opinions, their livelihoods would be at stake. Christians today must be ready to provide a compelling defense for Christand even. And deal with them now, but dont exchange Christianity with doubts for an empty belief system made solely of doubts. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln's hosts are known for their comedic viral videos and have gathered an estimated net worth of 30 million dollars. These apostles of unbelief are on a mission to help others deconstruct with the same evangelistic zeal they learned from their previous tribe. 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. Ill leave you with Rhetts self-description, since it seems a good place to stop: I would call myself a hopeful agnostic. Link Neal. One article about Rhett and Link said, "they both felt a deep discomfort with biblical sexual ethics, which they perceived to oppress women and their LGBTQ+ friends.". Theres a lot of other people on it. Ill interact the most with Rhetts extimony as it covered the lions share of their reasons for leaving the faith. 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. . 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