‘Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus:’ Controversial YouTube Video Goes Viral

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Jan. 10, is nearing 6 million views and has amassed more than 64,000 comments as of Friday morning.

According to Tacoma, Wash. resident Bethke, the video is a poem written to highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion, using his own experiences and lessons learned along the way to argue Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums.

In the spoken word video mixing near-expert video editing and a dramatic score, he asks some existential questions posed at religion, like, If religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? and Why does it build huge churches but fail to feed the poor?

Bethke goes on to point out the common dictum that many do not practice what they preach, saying, Religion is man centered, Jesus is God-centered.

Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice, he said. The problem with religion is it never gets to the core. It's just behavior modification like a long list of chores.

Bethke goes off on a tangent comparing religion to decaying mummies, since mummies are embalmed just so that on the inside they can rot.

 Religion's like spraying perfume on a casket, he continued on.

After a few bashes to the church and religion, Bethke moves on to explain his reasoning.

Now let me clarify: I love the church; I love the Bible, and, yes, I believe in sin, he said. But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let Him in?

The video has received reactions from support to disgust to piqued interest.

Watch TJ's video about this and you'll see how full of sh-t this guy is, user jlmdfnbo wrote.

Another user, axis462, wrote, This is absolutely moronic, self-contradicting, erroneous, and ignorant drivel. There is no? meaningful distinction here between Christianity and 'religion.'

Some users have even created memes using Bethke's image, with captions like, I hate Fascism, but I love Hitler, and have uploaded them to his Facebook page.

While some users are upset with his critique of the Church, others applaud his dichotomy of the different between church and faith.

Amongst others. MisterPimpK simply states, Thank you for being so real.

Jefferson Bethke is also a contributor to Chisel Season, where he provides spiritual encouragement, education, and conviction, according to the Web site.

View Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus below.