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As we've noted, not everyone is a fan of 22-year-old Jefferson Bethke's “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” In addition to going viral, the spoken word artist's now infamous clip has spawned a plethora of responses. Among the flurry of videos offering rebuttal to Bethke's anti-organized religion commentary comes one from Fr. Claude Burns, a Catholic priest at Holy Spirit Church in Evansville, Indiana. Burns, whose stage name is Fr. Pontifex, is a rapper who has taken the Catholic hip-hop world by storm (yes, there is, in fact, a Catholic hip-hop genre).
Fr. Pontifex's response to Bethke is called "Why I love Religion, And Love Jesus," as it delves into the reasons why holding reverence for both religious structures and the individual who is central to Christianity is, in his view, possible. Rather than opening with a frame that reads "Jesus > Religion," as Bethke did, Fr. Pontifex's video reads "Jesus <3 Religion." (The "<3" symbol is a text way of sying heart or love.)
"What if I told you, that Jesus loves religion?," he says. "And that by his coming as a man, he brought his religion to fruition."
Then he continues, responding to Bethke directly:
"See this had to be addressed, the use of illogical terms and definitions. You clearly have a heart for Jesus, but it's fueling atheistic opinions. See, what makes religion great, is not errors of wars or inquisitions -- it's that broken men and women get to participate in his mission."
Fr. Pontifex continues, addressing the original video's critique of religion's handling of poverty and the other related elements. He defends what he calls the the church's "oceans of compassion." Then, he maintains that religion is needed to set parameters for those who worship Christ.
"And if I have the jersey and I'm playing for the Bulls, there's gonna be some boundaries, regulations and some rules," Fr. Pontifex raps. "You can't have Christ without his church. You can't have the king without his kingdom."
Watch the video response, below:
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