Can You Follow Jesus Without Believing in Him? What Rhett & Rainn Get Wrong About Christianity
This week, we respond to a clip from Soul Boom with Rhett McLaughlin and Rainn Wilson. We unpack the allure of a “just-the-teachings” Jesus, why it falls apart under scrutiny, and why you can’t separate the words of Jesus from the person of Jesus. We explore the intellectual and theological inconsistency of cherry-picking Jesus’ words while ignoring the radical, exclusive claims he made about himself.
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:13) – Rhett & Rainn’s take on Jesus
(03:38) – The appeal of a softer faith
(05:13) – Can you follow Jesus without belief?
(07:33) – What Jesus actually said
(10:13) – Liar, lunatic, or Lord?
(12:23) – When smart people say absurd things
(14:13) – Does it matter if Jesus was real?
(16:58) – Belief vs. bias
(18:38) – The red-letter remix
(21:13) – No resurrection, no Christianity
(23:43) – Just a teacher?
(26:03) – The prophecies they can’t explain away
(27:43) – The new crutch: soft Jesus
(29:13) – Why it matters what Jesus said about himself
(31:13) – The question everyone must answer
Links
- Rhett and Link: https://www.youtube.com/@rhettandlink
- Rain Wilson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainn_Wilson
- Soul Boom: https://www.soulboom.com/
- Wesley Huff: https://www.wesleyhuff.com/
- Joe Rogan: https://www.youtube.com/@joerogan
- Joe Rogan Experience #2252 - Wesley Huff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwyAX69xG1Q
- Russell Brand: https://www.russellbrand.com/
- Candace Owens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Owens
- Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
- C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis
- Kanye West: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West
- David Koresh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh
- Jim Jones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones
- Derek Webb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Webb
- Caedmon's Call: https://www.caedmonscall.com/
- Christopher Hitchens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens
- A Skeleton in God's Closet: https://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Gods-Closet-Paul-Maier/dp/1401687121
- Muhammad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad
- Joseph Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith
- Homer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer
- Odyssey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey
- Jordan Peterson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson
- Confucius: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius
Connect with Adam
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- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown
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