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 Asian Christians, and Pacific Islander Christians you soon realize the But that is no way to live. So, if you want to listen to them you can do so without fear. Since the release of their stories, several apologists and scholars have offered sound rebuttals to some of the claims made by Rhett in particular. 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. Listening to their podcast you hear the Celebrity YouTubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have caused a few waves following their collective decision to abandon the Christian faith. 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. And as a guy who loves Jesus too I quickly found myself resonating with their stories. Link asked, Why on airplanes? to which Rhett replied: Because when youre an evangelical Christian, when you sit next to a stranger, this may be the only opportunity you have to share the life changing message of Jesus with them. Why do Rhett and Link homeschool? Meaning I dont know, but I hope. Where does that come from? I was crushed. I Work for a Pastor with Low Emotional Intelligence, Split or Stay? Would Jack Black and Daniel Radcliffe guest star on their YouTube channel if they held to the biblical doctrine of marriage and homosexuality? I suppose Im still partially sympathetic toward the people whose job it is to make sense of these things on behalf of the church. Ray Comfort explains the reason why this happens so often with those who used to believe in Christianity. YouTube is putting $ behind branding Rhett and Link as talk show hosts. Rhett said, , to believe [Christianity], then why would I? Link expressed, Why was I working so hard to make Christianity work for me if it wasnt even true? Aside from encountering intellectual stumbling blocks, it seems that, to YouTubes favorite pair, the gospel had begun to stink. But when evangelizing, is apologetics helpful or necessary? 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 admit in the podcast that moving to L.A. did free them of some constraints that They were also Christians, former missionaries, and Campus Crusade (now, When they each recorded videos walking fans through their spiritual-deconstruction stories in February, it shot through the internet like a bolt of lightning. This was so convenient because the gift card is digital and gets sent right to your email! Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! I didnt have the opportunity to open my laptop (they didnt yet exist) or turn on our home computer (we didnt own one), hop on YouTube, and watch my future husband walk me through his breakfast choices, morning drive, and whimsical musings. Deconstructing from certain Statements of Faith doesnt mean you have to jettison the Christian faith altogetherin fact for many of us, its put the focus back on Jesus and the fire back in our faith! Then he skillfully planted a possible motive: money. There will be those among us who claim the name of Christ today, and tomorrow they wont. The stories themselves werent so different from others that have lit up social media over the past few years. It morphed into doubts surrounding biblical reliability, the historicity of the resurrection, and the general idea of hell and judgment. He even says that he understands the argument that you cant have a moral law without a moral law Giver But then he says, that he just doesnt know. Im almost sure I said those same words at some point in my journey. Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists, Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists, Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember my former Christian marriage therapist asking me point blank: What are you getting from this? If youre new to Godless In Dixie, be sure to check out The Beginners Guide for 200+ links categorized topically on a single page. Nothing? Second, he was troubled by the fact that he needed certainty and couldnt get it. Rhett was careful to say he doesnt think these apologists are intentionally deceiving anyone. Thats what pushed us out, in the end. After all, when someone is conversant in apologetics and theology, knows his Bible, and can anticipate my suspicions and objections, its difficult to simply pass him off as someone who never really understood Christianity. Love these mugs! Ill confess I havent watched a ton of their stuff, but thats mostly because I dont watch much YouTube at all. 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". For exmaple, you decide you're hooked on a song. They both felt a deep discomfort with biblical sexual ethics, which they perceived to oppress women and their LGBTQ+ friends. Lets keep this conversation going, please. 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. Man, does that feel familiar! Rhett and Link, extremely well-known YouTubers, recently posted videos talking about how they left the faith. That said, I sympathize even more with the ones who follow their own consciences out of the fold, in time being accused of every impure motive imaginable. And the question that Ive gotten from some people who are close to me, who love me. As an actor playing a character on a TV show, my access was limited. Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III is an American actor, writer, singer/songwriter known for being the comedy duo "Rhett & Link." Neal is also known for being the co-creator and co-host of Good Mythical Morning (2012) along with several other projects such as Commerical Kings (2011), The Mythical Show (2013), and Rhett and Link's Buddy System (2016 . Secondly, I have been preparing to teach John 6 where Jesus says in several ways that God draws people to Jesus, He saves them, and He doesnt lose any of them. Like in biological puberty where one begins to form an adult identity separate from their parents and begin to wrestle with the understanding that the world is much more complex and nuanced than originally thought. 4K Followers. Rhett is 0% left-handed. Here are nine things you should know about revival and the history of revivals in America. Rhett explains that his first step toward evolution came through Francis Collins' book The Language of God. Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day. Remember that even John the Baptist had a little crisis and needed to be reassured (Matthew 11:1-11). Apologetics books arent written for the lost, theyre written for the saved. They exist to collect dust on the shelves of believers who will now sleep better knowing that someone took the time to think through all that stuff long enough to get it down into print. Ive heard these things described dozens of times by now, but never before by guys I know my still-believing daughters have been watching for years. But I dont think its the actual arguments themselves people have found so persuasive. Could it be that the cultural influences driving these deconstruction stories needs to be re-examined, rather than Christianity itself? I love it. As an evangelical Christian, you learn to tackle controversial subjects by reading only books by other evangelicals as they talk through their own rationalizations for their beliefs. 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'm not saying that Rhett and Link walking away from the faith isn't a big deal . ). Francis Schaeffer once wrote about the fact that Christians need to have such a commitment to the truth that if it were proven to be false we would be the first to get out of line and join the rest of the world in their destruction. I didnt want to believe thisI didnt want to leave this thing. I laughed out loud when Rhett talked about engaging people on airplanes by spouting talking points from books byJosh MacDowell and Lee Strobel. To lose that community is a pretty scary thought. Heres the deal, we (at SWO) have gone back and forth on whether or not to address this. 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. As an apologist, my knee-jerk reaction was also to grab my computer and start typing refutations with the force of a thousand suns. When Rhett says hes read all the Ravi Zacharias books and found them uncompelling, the church kid probably wont even bother with more than 30 books, containing decades worth of complex and carefully thought-out arguments that have been tested by time, debate, and rigorous scholarship. How would it affect their revenue streams and net worth to remain faithful Christians in todays cultural climate? She's been showing up less and less on the main series so I've suspected for a . Actor Rupert Everett, who fell hard for her said: 'Her face had the illusion of beauty, but in fact it was wonky all over. Link is known to be awkwardly funny, a master of organization, the President of the Republic of Cheesistan, and prone to retching and gagging when introduced to strange or unfamiliar food. Anticipating the response he would get for opening up about all of this, Rhett addressed the No True Christian argument right off the bat: I want to emphasize how big of a deal it was to me. 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. Welcome to Ohio. Rhett, who makes up one half of the comedy duo Rhett & Link and co-hosts their hit YouTube talk show Good Mythical Morning, admits that while he is eager to "settle into the space we have,". Its got a destination. Frank had gone to Shantytown with some members of the Ku Klux Klan to. Receive weekly updates about fresh articles, videos, and audios, as well as new resources, special discounts, and upcoming events. We've known. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:1416 that through his missionary work, Christ spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of himself. Let me help you out here. When I was 11, I only had the opportunity to see Ricky Schroder once a week. 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. Christy was born in the United States of America. Then the format changed. Since Rhett and Link were relatively deep into religiosity, having learned "Christianese" and the culture, it took them years to complete their pilgrimage to secularism. Ill interact the most with Rhetts extimony as it covered the lions share of their reasons for leaving the faith. But the same timeworn skepticism the church has interacted with since its inception is given a fresh dose of potency when delivered to a whole new generation by cool and funny guys whove become a fixture of their childhood. Neil Carter is a high school teacher, a writer, a speaker, a father of four, and a skeptic living in the Bible Belt. 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. Yep. One element of his deconstruction story thats particularly compelling to young people is his seemingly exhaustive knowledge of Christian apologetics. Rhett & Link, best friends since 2 nd grade, currently host one of the most popular YouTube channels on the Internet, Good Mythical Morning. Because of that many former Christians suddenly and unceremoniously find themselves kicked outside the church wondering what just happened (with various levels of resentment and cynicism thrown in). That was one of the hardest pills for me to swallow, too. 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. 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. What does this obtain for you? I told him honestly that it could only lead to loss and pain, but that I didnt really have a choice. The joke first appeared in the episode called Odd . 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. Now, the debate stops at Rhetts conclusions. When the teenage years come and the questions and pushing the boundaries begin most churches are ill-equipped to handle it. I imagine those types of responses will continue to roll in. Rhett Butler (Born in 1828) is a fictional character in the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and in the 1939 film adaptation of the same name. As you listen to Rhett, he says that there were basically two things that converged to lead him away from the faith. The most recentand arguably most influentialone has come from entertainers and YouTube sensations Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal of the Good Mythical Morning channel and Ear Biscuits podcast. They understand if you cease to believe in core tenets of the faithlike sin, the atonement, the resurrection of Jesus, and the reality of heaven and hellthen you shouldnt still identify as a Christian. For more than a decade, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal have made videos together under the name Rhett & Link, cementing their bromance as one of YouTube's most memorable partnerships.In a recent vlog, McLaughlin and Neal who have been buddies since the first grade took their friendship to another level. In fact, at the conclusion of Links talk, they both indicated theyll be setting this whole topic aside for a while in order to get their bearings. But I also know from experience that the work of defending the faith requires enormous amounts of self-deception, closing one eye and squinting the other to make sure things look the way theyre supposed to look. Copyright 2023 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. It only even pretends to talk about how stuff became other stuff. If it can make something, can it make everything? The best chance I had of communicating with him was writing a letter to his fan club. Theres a lot of other people on it. 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. 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? 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. That tow-headed heartthrob took my breath away with every episode of the 1980s sitcom Silver Spoons. With every hit of the like button, the personalities weve subscribed to have become our authorities for truth. be One in Christ. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. 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. These apostles of unbelief are on a mission to help others deconstruct with the same evangelistic zeal they learned from their previous tribe. The REAL Reason Why Rhett and Link Fell Away from Christianity 268,033 views Premiered Mar 4, 2020 11K Dislike Share Save Living Waters 1.12M subscribers Rhett and Link, extremely. I guess my biggest frustration with what he is saying is that he is painting the picture that if you are a Christian you are not allowed to have any doubts, but if you arent a Christian then you dont have to believe in anything. As I listened to them walking through their journeys I was surprised to see that we have covered much of the same terrain. This is why growth is stunted, why people abandon the faith: our church is too shallow for roots to dig deep. more Christ-like now that they no longer see themselves as Christians. Is Apologetics Helpful or Necessary in Evangelism? A former church elder with a seminary education, Neil now writes mostly about the struggles of former evangelicals living in the midst of a highly religious subculture. If I wouldve found out he was a former Christian now identifying as agnostic, it would have broken my heart. If youre younger than 30, you likely have a list of favorite YouTube channels that you follow. This creates a sense of community, in which we come to experience love and loyalty for our favorite YouTube celebrities. Gods in control. Rhett & Link are entertainers who primarily use the Internet to display their talents. It may not be them but the have to obey the labels they are partnered with. I might get a new episode once a week if I was lucky. Should we watch it? Back in seminary they warned us that the world out there hates truth, and wants to be free to create their own reality. Rather, he foretold, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think, pointing to Aldous Huxleys satirical Brave New World. 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. Much of their appeal comes from their history together. What about the rest of the world? Thats worse than a house of cards. Both guys were raised in an environment that assumed Christianity as a part of the culture, and ultimately that did them a grave disservice. They offer videos that present everything from video-game hacks to make-up tutorials to opinions about political and religious issues. That the simple childlike answers of your youth which at one time gave such clarity and certainty no longer sufficed. While their degrees and first jobs were in engineering, funny video production ultimately became their claim to fame. By Dawson Gaillard FOR about some the reason seasoned, as I aged sat in bricks a French dating Quarter back to patio the musing 1700's, about the seasoned, aged bricks dating back to the 1700's, I began to think of Gone with the Wind. 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. Get resources, podcast episodes, and SWO updates sent directly to your inbox. 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. If I wouldve found out he was a former Christian now identifying as agnostic, it would have broken my heart. They acknowledge that Christianity, The apostle Paul identifies his friend Demas as a fellow worker who was with him while imprisoned in Rome (Philem. Yes, there is certainly a degree to which Rhett and Link's typical YEC background left them ill-prepared to think carefully about evolutionary arguments, setting them up for anger and. Several people reached out to me personally, including pastors who reported that the faith of several kids in their youth groups was rocked by the broadcasts, leaving them shaken and doubting. Rhett said, If I dont have to believe [Christianity], then why would I? Link expressed, Why was I working so hard to make Christianity work for me if it wasnt even true? Aside from encountering intellectual stumbling blocks, it seems that, to YouTubes favorite pair, the gospel had begun to stink. 2 2.The REAL Reason Why Rhett and Link Fell Away from Christianity; 3 3.Rhett Bought a Bible - Rhett's Deconstruction 2 Years Later - YouTube; 4 4.Let's Deconstruct a Deconversion Story: The Case of Rhett and Link; 5 5.Why Rhett and Link Broke Up with Jesus | Neil Carter - Patheos; 6 6.Why Rhett & Link's Deconversion Feels So Right . Evolution by natural selection seemed intolerably non-intuitiveit didnt make any senseand it struck him as a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to explain how a world like ours could come into being without an intelligent designer. 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. I quickly downloaded and submerged myself into Rhett and Links respective stories (which you can also see on YouTube here and here). 4:10). 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. For Rhett, it started with questions relating to science, the age of the earth, and evolution. That's why the recent Rhett and Link controversy has been so upsetting. What would Rhett and Link stand to lose if they didnt capitulate to culture on an issue like same-sex marriage? I was crushed. God draws people to Jesus, He saves them, and He doesnt lose any of them. Confession: When I was a kid, I was in love with Ricky Schroder. Really good analogy. Get your FREE eBook about deconstruction: 'Before You Lose Your Faith'.