Take a moment and have a look (also download all the NPR podcasts now!)...
Amazing. Even I was touched in some way.
Also notable is that this video (at the time of the writing of this post) has nearly 20 million views. According to the NPR podcast the video was viewed 2 million times overnight with an additional 4 million views the following day. It has also spawned over 200 response videos.
Why has this video been so popular?
I like to think that it's because there are lot of (young) christians who agree with Bethky. Religion is not working for them but they love Jesus and his message (as they see it). I would take this as further proof of what I've discussed in my previous post and response that christianity has changed.
While many might question the sincerity of Gaga and Bieber, as we all did in class, Bethky claims that religion is like "spraying perfume on a casket", that "there's a problem if people only know you're a christian by your facebook". Religion, to Bethky, is a "man made invention", it's the "infection". This is no new idea, of course. The culture wars of Reagan did, as we saw in class, polarize society; since the 80s denouncing religion has been a popular activity for pop culture and its icons. But Bethky isn't just denouncing religion, he's promoting Jesus, who is "the work of God" and "the cure". It's a meeting of two formerly separate camps.
As with Gaga's (oh how she dominates discussion!), this is a christianity that accepts flaws and sins. Akin to her claim that "Jesus is my virtue, and Judas is the demon I cling to", Bethky's christianity is only the love of Jesus and his forgiveness. As he states: "Now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness"; there's no need to "hide my sin, 'cause it doesn't depend on me, it depends on him [Jesus]". Perhaps the most appealing part of his declaration is that "salvation is freely mine and forgiveness is my own, not based on my merit, but on Jesus' obedience alone... he took what we all deserve [crucifixion], I guess that's why they call it Grace."
It's as though the new christianity has had the epiphany that humanity is weak. All people are sinners; they are flawed, sexual, and abusive to themselves and others. Even as "God's enemy and certainly not a fan," God still "looked down and said: 'I want that man.'" As I've previously argued there's a clear reason for this change. Aforementioned cultural polarization nurtured the development of a popular culture of sex and drugs and sin, and that popular culture in turn nurtures the growth of a christianity that can accept it.
Of course, being on the frontier of this neo-christianity and fully immersed in Corona's "hypermodernity" it's still very easy to doubt the authenticity of these neo-christian acolytes like Gaga, who appear to be, first and foremost, profiting. And not missionizing. Further, it would be negligent not to consider that this neo-christianity is appealing to a younger audience, which study after study has shown to be increasingly narcissistic. This "me" generation scores exponentially higher on the Narcissistic Personality Index than any previous generation. They like anything uniquely created for them alone, exemplified in L'Oréal's change from a slogan of "Because I'm Worth it" (delivered by a beautifully coiffed Morgan Fairchild) to one of "Because You're Worth it." The draw to a Jesus who "when he was dangling on that cross he was thinking of you" to a "me" generation is clear.
But that is a discussion for another post.
Truly I don't mean to promote Christianity per se, but it would be (as I've said before) thoughtless to ignore its potential. And whatever the reason for its appeal, this neo-christianity is hopeful. If "religion says slave, Jesus says son," the real message of Jesus to love one's neighbour shines through. Moreover, however imperfect we might be, "Grace is water, the church should be an ocean." This new christianity really can be a "a hospital for the broken."
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