How would it affect their revenue streams and net worth to remain faithful Christians in todays cultural climate? Rhett James McLaughlin) and Link (a.k.a. As part of their healing process, they are all told to declare to the world their reasons for why being a Christian is wrong. At some level, my therapist knew what everyone in his position knows: Once you start seriously considering the unthinkable about your faith, so many scary questions begin to plague you that it keeps you up at night. Of course, I had never looked at the evidence for evolution. Frank had gone to Shantytown with some members of the Ku Klux Klan to. And I pulled my wife and my children with me. It only even pretends to talk about how stuff became other stuff. Postman posited that in the future, we would be oppressed not by an outside force like Big Brother in George Orwells dystopian novel, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think,, He predicted that with the rise of technology and communication, people wouldnt be deprived of information, but rather they would be given, that they would become passive and egocentric. Its no wonder, then, that every time we turn around there is yet another, Rhett and Link have grown their brand performing hilarious satirical songs and engaging in zany stunts such as duct-taping themselves together, playing wedgie-hangman, crushing glow sticks in a meat-grinder, and flinging bags of dog feces at one anothers faces. Ill interact the most with Rhetts extimony as it covered the lions share of their reasons for leaving the faith. When he identified as a Christian he said that he had to have certainty, but now he is fine not having certainty. Whether it's Rhett and Link, who used their platform to honestly discuss their deconstruction and deconversion; or Abraham Piper, son of influential pastor John Piper, who's publicly deconstructing evangelical Christianity on TikTok; or . 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. you? Rhett was careful to say he doesnt think these apologists are intentionally deceiving anyone. Why were so many people rattled and even persuaded by them? As believers, we should take comfort to know its not new,he said. I would also love to hear somethinganythingfrom their wives about how they experienced the transition out of the faith while still remaining intact as a family. The stories themselves werent so different from others that have lit up social media over the past few years. I think Postman was on to something when he wrote, WhatOrwell feared were those who would ban books. One can believe in a literal Adam OR that Adam is a metaphor and still follow Jesus. They already know people are saying one of them led the other astray, as if we arentall being influenced by one person or another at any given time. How can two guys who make a living as YouTube personalities go from making possum corndogs one day to throwing 2,000 years of Christian history under the bus the next? Help! With a successful career line as YouTubers, Rhett and Link have a net worth of $25 . Could it be that the cultural influences driving these deconstruction stories needs to be re-examined, rather than Christianity itself? The two men, known for their daily Good Mythical Morningbroadcast, have, over the last few years, gone through what they have described as their spiritual deconstruction[s]. After having spent years in young adult ministry, Rhett and Link now call themselves hopeful agnostics.. 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. Alisa Childers is an American singer and songwriter who writes at alisachilders.com, an apologetics blog for doubting Christians and honest skeptics. That was the key for all of us, wasnt it? It morphed into doubts surrounding biblical reliability, the historicity of the resurrection, and the general idea of hell and judgment. Thats what pushed us out, in the end. 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. I hope theres something. Do you see the problem? Yep. I believe they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. I Work for a Pastor with Low Emotional Intelligence, Split or Stay? News flash, these are all grounded in the Christian worldview that he is trying so hard to distance himself from. Rhett and Link have grown their brand performing hilarious satirical songs and engaging in zany stunts such as duct-taping themselves together, playing wedgie-hangman, crushing glow sticks in a meat-grinder, and flinging bags of dog feces at one anothers faces. What about the beginning? So you "offline mode" it. Confession: When I was a kid, I was in love with, As much as I felt undying love for Ricky Schroder, I knew little about him. Just over a month ago in two hour+ podcast episodes, Rhett and Link told their stories about how they came to believe that Christianity wasn't true. This was so convenient because the gift card is digital and gets sent right to your email! However, when they got to the point where they turned the corner away from the God of the Bible, our paths split and my heart broke. No one that I was in personal contact withpastors, Christian friends, elders in the churchnone of them disappointed me or let me down. 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. But then on top of all this, adding insult to injury, they keep underestimating the sincerity of our search, which may be the thing that stings the most of all. The YouTube comedy duo Rhett and Link are well-known for eating bizarre foods, making wacky music videos, and more recently, walking away from the Christian faith. Giza Theme by Pixel Object, G.O.P. Link Neal. My understanding of who Jesus is is not just based on my experience with him personally, but its also based on what the Bible has to say about him. YouTube is putting $ behind branding Rhett and Link as talk show hosts. It gives you something to hold on to. Just like always, our biggest mistake was thatwe did as we were told. Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day. 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. And, every time Rhett said, I know you are going to say _____________, I was thinking, Yeah, thats exactly what Id say.. Evolutionary theory doesnt have a sufficient cause for the universe coming into existence out of nothing. God draws people to Jesus, He saves them, and He doesnt lose any of them. Living Waters exists to inspire and equip Christians to fulfill the Great Commission. In Book VIII, Chapter IV of Confessions, St. Augustine relates the conversion of a famed Roman rhetorician, Victorinus, whose public conversion caused great rejoicing. But, Continue reading, When we talk about what it means to be a man from a biblical perspective, we have to realize that we are working completely against popular culture. Then the format changed. Not only was I taught everything I ever needed for my faith in Christ could be found in that aisle but later, sadly, that was what I went on to teach others. Much to the chagrin of their critics who Norman C. Nevin, Theistic Evolution Edited by J.P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Ann K. Gauger, Wayne Grudem, & Christopher Shaw. Would. It was a relationship. First, I am right in the middle of teaching an Apologetics course for the Snowbird Institute, so my mind is already focused on reasons to believe in God. The best chance I had of communicating with him was writing a letter to his fan club. The answer many of us who deconstructed Its okay to have doubts. Fast forward 35 years to a day replete with a global internet and smartphones, and Postmans words ring with the chill of prophetic accuracy. These apostles of unbelief are on a mission to help others deconstruct with the same evangelistic zeal they learned from their previous tribe. Listening to both Rhetts and Links stories, you can feel how much pushback they anticipate encountering from people who love them. 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). Popular YouTubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have publicly announced that they have left Christianity and landed in agnosticism.. Their deconversions are especially noteworthy given how publicly the two had once been with their Christian faith (e.g., missionaries for CRU, featured in Phil Vischer's What's in the Bible?It's also noteworthy that Rhett and Link have over 15 million . Rhett and Links deconstruction journey frequently mentioned the struggle they felt as they began to hold long held beliefs to the fire. He is still living as if he has value, that there is a purpose to his life and the lives of his family, that there is a standard of morality that people should follow, and that it matters how someone chooses to live their lives. I could barely stay in my car seat listening to Rhetts story. On Feb. 22, the Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment agreed to buy Smosh in a deal that would unite two long-running YouTube channels. 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? Lets keep this conversation going, please. It's easy Christianity-it left Jesus out a long time ago. 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. This creates a sense of community, in which we come to experience love and loyalty for our favorite YouTube celebrities. And as a guy who loves Jesus too I quickly found myself resonating with their stories. So, if you want to listen to them you can do so without fear. Watch the rest of their discussion in the video above, and read Goins-Phillips story on Rhett and Link here. 1:24; Col. 4:14). The Gospel Coalition supports the church by providing resources that are trusted and timely, winsome and wise, and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. What am I gonna teach them now? Blend that with Rhett and Links magnetic personalities, and its no wonder the faith of many Christians has been unsettled. So I think that I was primed to hear what they had to say with an open (but biblically-grounded) mind. But when evangelizing, is apologetics helpful or necessary? Rhett echoed that hes more interested in what happens during his life on earth: , Its not so much what happens after you die, but what happens while youre alive., Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:1416 that through his missionary work, Christ spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of himself. 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. They no longer identify as Christians so it is not judgmental to refer to them this way.) As far as Christians believing in the theory of Evolution or not, there is too much to go into in this short post. I have a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving Day. Her exact date of birth and lace of birth is currently not known yet. Ill confess I havent watched a ton of their stuff, but thats mostly because I dont watch much YouTube at all. Its not like God was all of the sudden blindsided by the fact that people are struggling with their sexual orientation or that some people have gender dysphoria. Now, the debate stops at Rhetts conclusions. As an apologist, my knee-jerk reaction was also to grab my computer and start typing refutations with the force of a thousand suns. And when I jumped ship, I didnt jump to another boat. Home of #GMM, Rhett and Link, and everything else #Mythical @rhettmc @linkneal @mythicalstore @mythicalchef Theres one thing I respect about the deconstruction stories of Rhett and Link. 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.. , an apologetics blog for doubting Christians and honest skeptics in a literal Adam or that Adam is metaphor. 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