This is my reply to "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus" by Jeffrey Bethke

If you haven't seen his video yet, see it first, then come back here.

For some reason, I can't get my hotlink to work so you'll have to copy and paste this
link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Or just go to YouTube and search for "Why I Hate Religion."

Dear Jeffrey, my man, you’ve got a good heart
But this video you made is not very smart
You say you hate religion but I don’t believe it
If you hate it so much then why do you preach it?

You don’t hate religion you just hate the bad ones
You hate it that churches aren’t following God’s son
You hate all the hypocrisy, the wars and the strife
Good for you: you’ve made it to Step Two of your life.

Step One is your childhood, before all your fame
You trusted in God and Religion: they were the same
Step Two is that wake-up, that sudden awareness
That Religion is flawed – broken and dangerous.

Congratulations! You’ve grown out of childhood
But you’ve got some ways to go before you leave it for good.
Because you’re confused on one point
Like you’ve been smoking a joint.

You don’t hate religion – it’s obvious to me
Every word that you preach is religious, you see.

How did you learn about Jesus? From the Good Book?
Who wrote that book? It was religion – just look!
People devoted to God and to truth – just like you
Who happened to also be Christians and Jews.

Did you learn about Jesus while sitting in a pew?
Well, that church isn’t perfect – but it got through to you!
Where else did you learn about grace and forgiveness?
Did you learn about Jesus at Macy’s - some business?

Religion is no different from other institutions
Like hospitals and colleges: they’re organizations
They’re necessary structures that make things happen
Like healing, and learning, and praying with hearts open.

I don’t like all government – but we all need some leaders
I don’t like all schools – but we all need more readers
I don’t like all hospitals – but I’ll go there to heal
I don’t like all religions – but church is where I pray and get real.

You hate religion – but you’re a product of it
You’re like a college grad telling his school to shove it.

You’re like the man with cancer who thinks he’ll be well
As long as he stays out of hospitals – well that’s swell
But it’s also naïve – and he fails to see
That while hospitals aren’t all great – they’re necessary.

Sure: schools are boring and governments are flawed
But where would we be without teachers and laws?
Abolish religion – you think you’re above it
But what kind of world would we have without it?

A world without memory of Jesus or God
A world without mercy for those who are flawed
A world with no buildings where people can pray
A world with no shelters for the homeless to stay

So grow up, my friend Jeffrey, and smell that good coffee.
Religion is necessary – even good, to a degree.
Because if you and Jesus are in the tank
There’s a religion somewhere that you need to thank.