This week, we respond to a clip from Soul Boom with Rhett McLaughlin and Rainn Wilson. We unpack the allure of a “just-the-teachings” Jesus, why it falls apart under scrutiny, and why you can’t separate the words of Jesus from the person of Jesus. We explore the intellectual and theological inconsistency of cherry-picking Jesus’ words while ignoring the radical, exclusive claims he made about himself. 

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:13) – Rhett & Rainn’s take on Jesus

(03:38) – The appeal of a softer faith

(05:13) – Can you follow Jesus without belief?

(07:33) – What Jesus actually said

(10:13) – Liar, lunatic, or Lord?

(12:23) – When smart people say absurd things

(14:13) – Does it matter if Jesus was real?

(16:58) – Belief vs. bias

(18:38) – The red-letter remix

(21:13) – No resurrection, no Christianity

(23:43) – Just a teacher?

(26:03) – The prophecies they can’t explain away

(27:43) – The new crutch: soft Jesus

(29:13) – Why it matters what Jesus said about himself

(31:13) – The question everyone must answer

Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. 

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.