Spoken Word Poet Drops Some Controversy in New Viral Video "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus"

By Matthew Santoro

Are you a Christian who spends a lot of time online? Then perhaps you've heard of Jeff Bethke. Bethke, aka bball1989, is a spoken word poet whose rhymes and videos are capturing the attention of thousands of Christians across the web.

Spoken Word poet Jeff Bethke, via Twitter @JeffuhsonBethke.

His latest video is going viral among online Christian communities. Provocatively titled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus,” the poem is a unique fusion of prophetic criticism, personal testimony, and a call to action.

Passion 2012 Calls Young Christians to Rise Up Against Modern-Day Slavery

By Matthew Santoro

Image from Passion 2012.  Photo by: Kenny Hamilton,
11Alive News, used with permission.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? – Isaiah 58:6 (NRSV)

A pervasive criticism of modern Christians, both from outsiders as well as concerned Christians, is that people of faith are not taking seriously Jesus’ call for us to serve “the least of these.”

Thankfully, we may be turning a corner.

Last week in Atlanta, more than 42,000 Christians packed the Georgia Dome for four days to participate in Passion 2012. Spearheaded by Passion Conferences founder Louie Giglio, Passion 2012 is another in an ongoing series of conferences intended to engage the “university moment” with Jesus’ compelling message.

What made Passion 2012 so compelling for so many wasn’t the impressive list of popular Christian speakers, including Francis Chan, John Piper, and Beth Moore. It wasn’t the popular worship music of Chris Tomlin, the David Crowder Band, Charlie Hall, and Kristian Stanfill. Nor was it the presence of 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.

It was the call to action — the invitation to make Jesus’ message of social justice a reality in this world.

Bachmann Bows Out

By Matthew Santoro

After a poor performance last night’s Iowa Caucus — with a sixth place finish and only 6 percent of the evangelical vote — U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann announced earlier today that she is suspending her campaign for President of the United States.

While a surge of evangelical support pushed former Sen. Rick Santorum within eight votes of first-place finisher Mitt Romney, the evangelical vote was much more fractured than in 2008, when former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took about half of the demographic.

Some 58 percent of yesterday’s caucus-goers identified as evangelical Christian.