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 . The two Im almost sure I said those same words at some point in my journey. They both felt a deep discomfort with biblical sexual ethics, which they perceived to oppress women and their LGBTQ+ friends. Do you see the problem? What Huxley 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? 4:10). Co-founder of @mythical. As an actor playing a character on a TV show, my access was limited. If youve been taught your whole life that I imagine those types of responses will continue to roll in. Its far easier to dismiss this all with the wave of a hand, ascribing imperfect motives to us as if that changes the facts themselves in any way. 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. We homeschool because the public education system is a liberal conspiracy to brainwash children into believing things like global warning is real. Postman posited that in the future, we would be oppressed not by an outside force like Big Brother in George Orwells dystopian novel1984. I suppose Im still partially sympathetic toward the people whose job it is to make sense of these things on behalf of the church. 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. They no longer identify as Christians so it is not judgmental to refer to them this way.) But dont throw the tub out. Today, Rhett and Link have a net worth of $25 million as of 2021. And if you like what you read on Godless in Dixie, please consider sponsoring me on Patreon, or else you can give via Paypal to help me keep doing what Im doing. And, in reality, hes not living that way either. That the simple childlike answers of your youth which at one time gave such clarity and certainty no longer sufficed. After all, remember, we are talking about nothing. Role. Gone with the Wind as Bildungsroman or Why Did Rhett Butler Really Leave Scarlett O'Hara? Yep. If the below fields are visible, ignore them. Confession: When I was a kid, I was in love with Ricky Schroder. Its the people behind the arguments. My heart is breaking and my head is spinning in light of the so-called deconstruction of Rhett and Links faith. Did you know that these entertaining goofballs were once evangelical Christians who specialized in student ministry? 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. Back in seminary they warned us that the world out there hates truth, and wants to be free to create their own reality. 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 . If youre new to Godless In Dixie, be sure to check out The Beginners Guide for 200+ links categorized topically on a single page. Why? What about the beginning? I laughed out loud when Rhett talked about engaging people on airplanes by spouting talking points from books byJosh MacDowell and Lee Strobel. 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. As any parent will attest teenagers are difficult, children are much easier to control. So to Rhett and Link I say enjoy the journey and keep bringing Life and Light to those around you!Peace, Steve, this resonates so much with me, Thanks , 2023 Beyond The Pale. Through the deal, Mythical has expanded its busine It's easy Christianity-it left Jesus out a long time ago. Theres a lot of other people on it. Christians today must be ready to provide a compelling defense for Christand even. In later episodes, Rhett and Link each go into depth describing what led them, ultimately, to deny their earlier faith. If you believe in him and love him, he is supposed to be the most important thing you can speak about with anyone you meet. I often joke that most of the people I YouTube is putting $ behind branding Rhett and Link as talk show hosts. We still believe the truth and the opinion of two YouTube comedians cannot change that. Do you want to read more articles like this? Read what Steve Ham has to say on this subject. 1:24; Col. 4:14). My advice to Rhett and Link (and borrowing from the Immortal words of Douglas Adams) is Dont Panic; across the Jordan River of spiritual deconstruction exists a promised Land of a deeper, richer, and more beautiful faith in Christ and his Way. ), but he cant escape the fact that he is an image-bearer of God, living in Gods world. This implies that they are, in fact, deceiving people. If youre younger than 30, you likely have a list of favorite YouTube channels that you follow. This brings us to the salient question. Rhett says hes lost his appetite for certainty, and I know what he means. Rhett and Link met each other way back in Elementary school in North Carolina and they've stuck together into adulthood, at one time passing through a ministry phase as full-time staffers with Campus Crusade (now called Cru ). Now that they no longer need to outsource their morality to God they begin to take more responsibility for it themselves. As the logic goes, a God who is not on board with the LGBTQ agenda is not a God worth serving. Would Jack Black and Daniel Radcliffe guest star on their YouTube channel if they held to the biblical doctrine of marriage and homosexuality? Thomas, 31, wrote his chart-topping hit, "Die a Happy Man" a story about a man's need for nothing more in life than his woman's "crazy love"for and about his wife, Lauren (Gregory) Akins, 32. While God is love, we must remember that Hes also just and holy. Fast forward 35 years to a day replete with a global internet and smartphones, and Postmans words ring with the chill of prophetic accuracy. Christy was born in the United States of America. But as both Rhett and Link recounted, there was something brewing underneath the intellectual questions. Home of #GMM, Rhett and Link, and everything else #Mythical @rhettmc @linkneal @mythicalstore @mythicalchef Ray Comfort explains the reason why this happens so often with those who used to believe in Christianity. 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? 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. Then the format changed. I could go on and on, but Ill wrap this up by looking at the last analogy Rhett used to explain what its like to leave the faith of your upbringing. be One in Christ. Watch the rest of their discussion in the video above, and read Goins-Phillips story on Rhett and Link here. Maybe YouTube said "we want to get behind you and do such and such but it has to be about Rhett and Link, not random crew members". Rhett led off with his intellectual doubts and Link countered with an emotional appeal. As I listened to them walking through their journeys I was surprised to see that we have covered much of the same terrain. Receive weekly updates about fresh articles, videos, and audios, as well as new resources, special discounts, and upcoming events. At this point in his story, Rhett uses some of the exact same language I use when trying to explain what its like trying to look at the world through a completely different lensjust to see if things look any clearer. They began their career as engineers and ended up in the field of comedy. With the YouTube-ification of our culture, though, consumers are connecting not with actors playing characters, but real people who allow them to peek behind the curtain of their lives. After having spent years in young adult ministry, Rhett and Link now call themselves "hopeful agnostics." Their shift away from Christianity, though, raises quite a few red flags, especially given so much of it seems to hinge on their own experiences and desire to embrace the LGBTQ community. Ill interact the most with Rhetts extimony as it covered the lions share of their reasons for leaving the faith. I didnt want to believe thisI didnt want to leave this thing. Since the release of their stories, several apologists and scholars have offered sound rebuttals to some of the claims made by Rhett in particular. I have read and listened to many atheists over the years who have explained why they didnt believe, but what made Rhett and Links (anti) testimonies so disheartening is the fact that they use much of the same vocabulary to describe their faith as I do. Thats humanism in a nutshell, and I feel the same way. 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. I had been pulling on this thread for a really long timeLets call it the sweater of faithI had been pulling on this thread until it had sort of turned into a vestand then a midriffand then a halter tapand now it was a string bikini. The answer many of us who deconstructed Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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. Our media fueled siloed communities dividing us in politics, religion, race, culture, and various interests meant I was totally oblivious to Rhett & Link despite their being YouTube comedy sensations with nearly 17 million subscribers. Mark Spence, a Christian, discusses some controversial subjects with a couple, and they leave once he brings up one topic in particular. 4:10). Let me help you out here. 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. Much to the chagrin of their critics who I never got a reply. SUBSCRIBE to Faithwires (free) YouTube channel. For those who don't know, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal are a musical comedy duo who have built their YouTube show Good Mythical Morning into one of the biggest shows on the channel, with over 17 million subscribers. I found myself identifying with them a lot through experiences from our very similar pasts. The reason Rhett and Link's deconstruction is so important is precisely because they are not scholars and neither are most members of their audience - which is no longer limited to Christians looking for wholesome entertainment. Before February 2020 I had never heard of Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. They acknowledge that Christianity means something. Ill leave you with Rhetts self-description, since it seems a good place to stop: I would call myself a hopeful agnostic. and Asian Christians, and Pacific Islander Christians you soon realize the Who do you think you are? people will say to them. Aside from the fact that most apologists have day jobs, this leads to a fair question: what would Rhett and Link stand to lose if they didnt capitulate to culture on an issue like same-sex marriage? So Rhett got hung up on the way that one pair of chromosomes looks (okay?. 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. It was a relationship. If I wouldve found out he was a former Christian now identifying as agnostic, it would have broken my heart. He predicted that with the rise of technology and communication, people wouldnt be deprived of information, but rather they would be given somuch that they would become passive and egocentric. I think Postman was on to something when he wrote, WhatOrwell feared were those who would ban books. That he is an image-bearer of God, living in Gods world love, we are talking nothing. 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