Frederick Faith Debate

If handled correctly, controversy sharpens the understanding of the message of Scripture and its application to the contemporary world, so the church can emerge from a period of theological discussion and debate with a much greater clarity on the issue at hand.  However, if badly handled, contention over a point of doctrine can be destructive and harmful for the church, potentially leading to unnecessary division and ill-feeling between brothers and sisters in both biological families and the spiritual family of God.  Just such a controversy is raging right now over what has been called the “Social Gospel”.

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Adam AD Robles.  Host of the “AD” YouTube podcast, used to interact with cultural issues in the church.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This marks the fourth installment of a four-episode arc of shows featuring the same three men on the panel.  Each episode has opened with commentary on a political video produced by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales.  Please don’t misunderstand, the show likes Veggie Tales, and likes Pill Vischer. However, the cartoons do not represent Christ the way that most seem to think. And neither does Phil.

Many Christian families look at Phil and his Veggie Tales creation and trust him as a biblical voice for the Gospel.  Actually, exactly because of Phil Vischer’s work on Veggie Tales he cannot be a trustworthy voice for advancing the biblical Gospel.  Many Christian kids have seen all the videos.  Many Christian parents have laughed alongside their children while imbibing most of the videos themselves.  These animated short stories are examples of good clean fun, highlighting messages of moral behavior.  This is good, particularly when compared to most of what passes for children’s entertainment these days.

However, the Veggie Tales universe is a kindhearted moralistic universe.  It is not a Christ-exulting, cross-centered universe.  Let the body of Christ never forget, moralism is not the biblical message.  The Gospel is the biblical message.  Vischer’s 17-minute political video is well-crafted and advocates for his point of view very effectively.  Yet, as committed Bible students who are humbled by the Good News, the video doesn’t resonate with many followers of Christ because Phil’s not talking to them.  At best Phil’s talking at them, which is about all that Critical Race Theory allows.

Undoubtedly Phil means well, and without doubt you do, too, if you’re one of the thousands who have shared the video with others.  But Phil’s video offers no solution because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the solution… and Phil’s video does not offer Him.  And this is a snapshot of what’s going on in today’s world.

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Jonathan Harris.  Writer of the WorldviewConversation.com blog, host of the “ConversationsThat Matter” podcast, author of the new book “Social Justice Goes to Church”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The past two shows opened with comments about a political video produced by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales.  We started there because when discussing big worldview ideologies that use big fancy philosophical terms it can seem so irrelevant to everyday life, so “out there somewhere”.  But it’s right here, right now.  And some are warning that it’s a great danger to the Christian church.

Some, administering a generous dose of “benefit of the doubt”, suggest that goal of people like Phil Vischer is to educate evangelicals who, if the broad caricatures are to be believed, are ignorant of (or at least in denial about) the history and the lasting effects of what Critical Race Theororists call “systemic racism”.  It’s all rooted in white supremacy, don’t cha know?

But hey, Phil is the creator of the Veggie Tales cartoons and the voice of Bob the Tomato.  Those cartoons are marketed to Christian families, so he absolutely must be a trustworthy voice to evangelicals and followers of Christ everywhere, right?

If you have the time and want to take a deep dive into the variety of errors and biases evidenced in Phil Vischer’s 17-minute video, then watch a different video presented by this week’s Faith Debate guest, who spent lots and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of time digging into the research behind Phil Vischer’s comments.

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Jonathan Harris.  Writer of the WorldviewConversation.com blog, host of the “ConversationsThat Matter” podcast, author of the new book “Social Justice Goes to Church”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One can only wonder why such an army of professing Christians have offered up teachings (represented pretty well by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales, in a viral video) as something delicious for other Christians to gobble up.

Consider, for example, that the video does not quote Scripture once.  It does not point to the Gospel even one time.  It does not utter the name of Jesus at all, nor does he even use the more generic (and “politically correct” term) “God”.  Not once.

Instead Mr. Vischer rattles off a long series of political talking points (from a progressive point of view, as it turns out).  The worldview represented is rooted, or influenced by, or at least accidentally borrowing from Critical Race Theory (which is not a biblical philosophy).  In fact, Critical Race Theory is a hindrance to the advance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What does the panel have to say?

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Jonathan Harris.  Writer of the WorldviewConversation.com blog, host of the “ConversationsThat Matter” podcast, author of the new book “Social Justice Goes to Church”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile, if you like to waltz with potatoes up and down the produce aisle, then you’ve probably seen the 17-minute video posted in mid-June by the creator of Veggie Tales.

Phil Vischer’s masterfully crafted presentation of his political views has been making the rounds in social media, especially among professing Christians.  As a result, I’ve had several in-person and on-line conversations about Phil’s words.  Now, we’re tackling the topic on the Faith Debate.

What exactly is supposed to be the edifying message for Christians in this video?  The concluding point made by Mr. Vischer is that people should care about the devastating effects of sin.  It took 17 minutes of selective history nuggets, fast-talking statistics, and highly effective marketing language to tell Christians to care about sin?  Any true Christ follower already cares, even before hearing Phil’s words.  So, the viewer might be excused if feeling a little confused, and perhaps even shortchanged for having wasted 17 minutes of their life.

So, what gives?  What is this all about and why should you care?

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Jonathan Harris.  Writer of the WorldviewConversation.com blog, host of the “ConversationsThat Matter” podcast, author of the new book “Social Justice Goes to Church”.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do Christians have reason to not support the Black Lives Matter foundation and the movement bearing their name?  What about defunding the police?  How should Bible believers understand the widespread response of rioters?  The political response?  The church response?  In a world that has shifted very sharply into Postmodernism, Deconstructionism, Cultural Marxism, and cries for Social Justice… what is the way forward?

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Faith Debate host and moderator.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Darren Gerald.  Pastor of Strong Tower Christian Church in Frederick, Maryland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On social media a self-professing Christian who grew up in the church said to me, “Do I think you or white conservative Christians are less likely to oppose murder?  No, absolutely not.  However, are you more likely to try to justify the actions of a white police officer killing an unarmed black man?  Are you less likely to recognize the long-standing, systemic problems that have led to these killings?  Are you less outraged when there is no accountability for officers involved in these killings?  Are you as concerned about insisting on accountability in these cases?  Perhaps, you could tell me.”  So, this episode works toward telling him.

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  Faith Debate host and moderator.

Jonathan Switzer.  Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.

Darren Gerald.  Pastor of Strong Tower Christian Church in Frederic, Maryland.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.