Speak the Speech: The Spoken Word

Standing in front of a church, Jefferson Bethke utilizes Spoken Word poetry to powerfully critique religion. He opens with a controversial suggestion: “What if I told you that Jesus came to abolish religion?” Drawing upon biblical passages and his personal observations, Bethke seeks to illustrate that organized religion and even Christian individuals do not necessarily follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The title card flashes “Jesus > Religion.” One might ask, why should we view them on the opposite sides of the spectrum? Bethke argues that “religion is man centered, and Jesus is God-centered.”

First uploaded on January 10, this video has gathered 13,179,175 hits, with 233,818 likes and 32,850 dislikes. This has made it the hottest video among 13-17 year olds. This video is most popular among 13-17 year old girls and 45-54 year old men and women.

Bethke asks a series of intriguing questions that highlight the disparity between Christian vision and reality: “Why does it build huge churches but fail to feed the poor?” Such failures exemplify the self-righteousness and self-justification that have plagued some churches, according to Bethke. Furthermore, the video is just so well produced, featuring Bethke’s passionate recital from various angles, switching between color and black & white, and reinforcing key phrases with impressive, eye-grabbing captions. Female vocalization and string music beautifully complement one another to create a very somber and spiritual aura, mirroring this poem’s confessional and passionate nature.

For example, this blogger also utilizes Spoken Word, even incorporating Bethke’s opening anaphoras of “What if I told you,” to refute the original poet’s contentions. So far, 292,744 people have viewed it.

With over 13 million hits in four days, the video has reached people of all ages and backgrounds. Bethke’s poem has inspired numerous responses of criticism and support. The modes of response have widely varied, ranging from Spoken Word poetry to self-composed songs to video blogging. This one video has inspired at least twelve response videos–clearly, it has fueled an enthusiastic open forum on this topic. While a lot of people expressed opposition to criticizing organized religion, many others praise the powerful message. One woman even stated that Bethke’s poem inspired her to attend church again.

Some of the popular response videos include:
594,214 views I Hate Religion, And Jesus Too – [The blogger critiques the original video line by line.]
136,781 views Re: Why I hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [She sings a song and speaks in opposition to the original video.]
86,750 views Re: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus – [This is a video response to the original poem.]
43,921 views Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word (My Response)- [This is a video response explaining that Christianity is not just a religion but also a relationship with God.]
27,289 views Hallelujah, Hallelujah (Re: Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus, Spoken Word) -[The blogger sings a self-composed song and rap in response to the poem.]
26,732 views In defense of — Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word
– [This is a video response that addresses both sides of the debate.]
12,153 views Why I Love Religion, and Jesus. A spoken word response. -[Spoken Word poem attempting to reconcile both religion and Jesus' principles]
11,915 views Reaction to Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [A video response in support of the original poem]
4,675 hits Video response to “why I hate religion, but love Jesus” – [Video response in support of the original poem.]

Combining these two vehicles of expression – spoken word and video-sharing – have created a powerful soapbox, fostering a productive exchange of emotions and ideas. Because Spoken Word poetry enables one to aesthetically convey personal stories and observations, it empowers people of all ages – including youth – to creatively form and express social commentary in a way that has the potential to reach millions.

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