Although I have read and listened to a ton of his material, I can’t help but be a little irked every time he mentions Christ. I wasn’t originally going to talk about this because several others have covered the topic, but then I heard him talk about Jesus on the cross. He said that his interpretation of Jesus saying, “My god my god why have you forsaken me”, was proof that even the Son of God in his lowest moments doubts God’s goodness. This is patently untrue. I think (although I don’t know as a fact) that when Jesus was saying this, he was making reference to Psalm 22. This Psalm was written long before the life of Christ. It is a prophetic poem about the coming Messiah written by King David, who by all Jewish historical accounts, is considered a prophet. This Psalm depicts the crucifixion of Christ long before crucifixion was even a method of execution. Not only this, but it also gives reference to the casting of lots for His clothes. Simply mind-blowing revelation that any Jewish male who attended school would have realized. This error is made due to taking the bible out of the context of itself, that is, that the bible needs to be interpreted as a whole, and material cannot simply be taken out of the context of the other material (Despite this happening in modern biblical preaching almost all the time). The words of Jesus specifically, are inextricably connected to the Old Testament.
My second beef is that JBP essentially preaches works. Although grossly understated, his message is basically, “try harder and do better despite the world being a chaotic and unfair place.” He mostly argues that meaning comes out of struggling to obtain the highest good. This principle, however, only gets you so far. You cannot change your heart, your nature. Both are immutable; Immutable, that is, without Christ. Christ came to break us from our lineage of sin, to allow us to be “born again” and to free us from our inability to have right standing with God. This is only possible through the power of the Holy spirit, and the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. An individual brooding in self pity and living in their mother’s basement may somewhat improve their lives by putting a little effort in and taking responsibility, but sooner or later they will arrive at the same point. Their effort is not enough. No matter how hard you try or how much responsibility you take on, you are unable to fill the void and insufficiency in your soul. We’ve all made mistakes, we’ve all missed the mark, and we all feel the burden this creates. The bible tells us, “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23) and, “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.”(Romans 3:23). There is no hope apart from the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit. What JBP is saying is you must do good under your own strength and power. Although the results may be positive for a while, you will meet your limit. Telling people to do more and be more to find their peace and happiness is quite an empty and depressing message. Matthew 23:4 talks about religious leaders packing on burdens to people and not lifting a finger to help them. This is what happens when you tell people to aspire to the highest good, but give them no help to get there. As believers we know that we are not the ones accomplishing things, it’s the Holy Spirit in us that creates the change and empowers the action. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”(2 Corinthians 3:6 Paraphrased)
