For exmaple, you decide you're hooked on a song. I didnt want to believe thisI didnt want to leave this thing. I believe they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. Rhett's argument here against Christianity wrongly very wrongly assumes questions about sexuality are in some way new, as if, despite having survived thousands of years, Christianity is unable to withstand the whims of human desire. Starring filmmakers and comedy duo Rhett & Link, this non-fiction comedy series follows their travels to small towns across America where they develop and produce commercials for local businesses using local talent. And we dont have to wait a week for the next episodein many cases theres a new upload every single day. Remember that even John the Baptist had a little crisis and needed to be reassured (Matthew 11:1-11). As an apologist, my knee-jerk reaction was also to grab my computer and start typing refutations with the force of a thousand suns. So I think that I was primed to hear what they had to say with an open (but biblically-grounded) mind. 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. God draws people to Jesus, He saves them, and He doesnt lose any of them. Who will separate us from the Love of Christ? I was crushed. 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. This creates a sense of community, in which we come to experience love and loyalty for our favorite YouTube celebrities. This is how we know what there is to know about Jesus. or that could they even still call As believers, we should take comfort to know its not new,he said. If youre new to Godless In Dixie, be sure to check out The Beginners Guide for 200+ links categorized topically on a single page. But as Christians we should be encouraged to remember that for every Rhett and Link, theres a Lee Strobel, a J. Warner Wallace, a Holly Ordway, a C. S. Lewis, and a Rosaria Butterfield who tested their beliefs against the evidence, and found their atheism wanting. He occasionally sends judgments to earth to remind us of this. Norman C. Nevin, Theistic Evolution Edited by J.P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Ann K. Gauger, Wayne Grudem, & Christopher Shaw. This implies that they are, in fact, deceiving people. 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. But as I tasted from Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and other aisles of the supermarket I discovered the Christian faith was much more rich, varied, and delicious than I had ever thought. Blend that with Rhett and Links magnetic personalities, and its no wonder the faith of many Christians has been unsettled. 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. Around the time I was nursing a wounded ego for being stood up by the Ricky Schroder fan club, Neil Postman made a prediction in his 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. Were So Spoiled. If the below fields are visible, ignore them. As you listen to Rhett, he says that there were basically two things that converged to lead him away from the faith. With the precision of a gifted lawyer, he laid out roadblocks to the objections he knew would follow his statements. Rhett and Link already know theyll be accused of being arrogant. These discoveries challenged the underpinnings of his whole theological system, but like all of us he was encouraged to press on through with his questions without fear because: All truth is Gods truth. Rhett and Link, extremely well-known YouTubers, recently posted videos talking about how they left the faith. ), but he cant escape the fact that he is an image-bearer of God, living in Gods world. Theres a good chance the Christian kid who looks up to Rhett (and probably doesnt ever crack open his Bible) will never read those authors now. Rhett and Links deconstruction journey frequently mentioned the struggle they felt as they began to hold long held beliefs to the fire. But when evangelizing, is apologetics helpful or necessary? They decided to go get vasectomies together and filmed the experience for a video . The comment sections of their, pages reveal that their stories inspired many atheists and touched the hearts of some folks who experienced similar deconversion journeys, describing the videos as beautiful, candid, and vulnerable.. And deal with them now, but dont exchange Christianity with doubts for an empty belief system made solely of doubts. I jumped into the water. 2. For Rhett, it started with questions relating to science, the age of the earth, and evolution. I suppose Im still partially sympathetic toward the people whose job it is to make sense of these things on behalf of the church. Love these mugs! Peruse many a church website and youll find a Statement of Faith list of things you will need to believe in addition to Following Me. 4:10). The character is played by Mythical Crew member Jordan Morris, and is often portrayed as a creepy man who is obsessed with Rhett and hates Link. Christy Neal: Link's wife. The youth-group kids left flustered and agitated by doubt mightve been entirely unperturbed had they heard those arguments from another source. 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. Theres one thing I respect about the deconstruction stories of Rhett and Link. before can enthusiastically answer, YES, Jesus never answered the thief on the cross who asked Christ to remember him when he came into his Kingdom with, This Day youll be with me in Paradisejust so long as you also believe the world was created in six days. And I want to say that because Ive noticed that when I tell my story, often people kind of conclude that I was never a true Christian. Their response has been very interesting; they have lamented this by retorting something like . Around the time I was nursing a wounded ego for being stood up by the Ricky Schroder fan club, Neil Postman made a prediction in his 1985 book, . Ill confess I havent watched a ton of their stuff, but thats mostly because I dont watch much YouTube at all. Christy was born in the United States of America. (Tim Challies reviewed the book once upon a time.) What about the rest of the world? Do you think you know more than all these other brilliant people before you? Of course that knife cuts both ways, although the people who say this never do see how it should undermine their own confidence, as well. (And they do have an audience - their personal channel alone has nearly 5 million followers. Cotton Candy Randy is known to whisper "sweet nothings" in people's ears, but in Rhett's house, where he had a fan going in his room as . I Work for a Pastor with Low Emotional Intelligence, Split or Stay? This brings us to the salient question. As they mixed with Christians that perhaps Alisa Childers is an American singer and songwriter who writes at alisachilders.com, an apologetics blog for doubting Christians and honest skeptics. 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 another's faces. First, he read Francis Collinss (the other Francis), The Language of God, and was convinced that evolution is true. If it can make something, can it make everything? I cant help but notice the similarities. How would it affect their revenue streams and net worth to remain faithful Christians in todays cultural climate? By naming several apologists such as Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Tim Keller, and Ravi Zacharias, he knocked the legs out from under their arguments. 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. Tokyo is a recurring joke on Good Mythical Morning. Of course not. I wont rehash all the arguments on which he touched (thats your own homework to do if youre interested), but in the end Rhett settled for himself that the gospels are a mix of religious propaganda as well as actual history. Like me, he leans toward believing that Jesus was a real person, even if he didnt do magic or come back from the dead. Goins-Phillips, in response, pointed out that Christianity has been around for 2,000 years and remains the worlds largest religion, so it has withstood challenges and investigations. 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. Theres one thing I respect about the deconstruction stories of Rhett and Link. Heres the deal, we (at SWO) have gone back and forth on whether or not to address this. Why were so many people rattled and even persuaded by them? Its not like hes throwing out the baby with the bathwater, its like hes throwing out the tub and trying to keep the baby and the bathwater intact. and African Christians, and South American Christians, and Indian Christians, Today, Rhett and Link have a net worth of $25 million as of 2021. About 24 minutes into the podcast, Rhett compares the development of human DNA to an instruction manual that gets two pages permanently stuck together, leaving the headers and footers in place to show exactly where one ends and the other begins. Demas traded eternal hope for earthly treasure. I was crushed. I imagine those types of responses will continue to roll in. I kind of saw Christianity as this boat in a very stormy sea. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to trivialize this. He suggested that if all these apologists and theologians were to recant their stories and change their opinions, their livelihoods would be at stake. In a church culture where those lines are increasingly blurred, their clarity is refreshing. They never talk about if it's morally wrong, but rather the person expressing who they think they are and who they think they love. While their degrees and first jobs were in engineering, funny video production ultimately became their claim to fame. That is why I read and study. Contents 1 The Early Years 2 Career 3 Personal Life 4 Kids 5 Appearances 6 What Link Neal Doesn't Like 7 What Link Neal Does Like 8 Trivia 9 References Where does that come from? As a creative team, Rhett and Link have consistently pushed their limits instead of sticking to their comfort zone, a fact that has helped them immensely. But it was while still back in North Carolina that Rhetts wife, Jessie, had taken Bible courses under agnostic biblical scholarBart Ehrman, and the historical questions those studies raised continued to impact their lives. The lesson we can learn from the Rhett and Link story is to observe the power of the media platform, recognize the roadblocks of the new apostles of unbelief, and keep a humble eye to history, remembering that our Savior told us some would fall away. 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