So Elon Musk likes Jesus, but…

...that’s not enough

There’s something I’ve been noticing a lot lately relative to high-profile figures and their comments about Jesus. Honestly, it’s likely been this way for a long time and I’m just more sensitive to it now given that I just started a year-long study on how we can strive daily for that lofty goal of being more like Christ. But the startling superficiality with which Jesus is often referenced, characterized, regarded, and understood in pop culture has really been glaring to me in recent days.

Start with the interview Tesla CEO Elon Musk granted to the boys at The Babylon Bee. Initially, most of the attention from the conversation focused on Musk’s feud with Senator Elizabeth Warren or his derogatory take on CNN. But in the last week or so, the Christian Post and others have highlighted the final portion of the interview that involved Musk’s take on Jesus.

In a semi-serious back-and-forth about his personal views on the Savior, Musk said that he respects and agrees with “the principles that Jesus advocated,” and specifically applauded the notion of forgiveness and the Golden Rule, or “treating people as you wish to be treated.” Musk also complimented Jesus that, “things like turn the other cheek are very important, as opposed to an eye for an eye,” which Musk quipped would “leave everyone blind.”

If I can be blunt, whenever I hear people say things like this – that is, compliment Jesus on His great and profound teaching – I’m left kind of dumbstruck. It’s a terrible analogy, but it reminds me of people talking about Einstein’s significance and focusing on his cooking abilities. He may well have been a great cook, but a person is certainly missing the obvious importance of Einstein if they talk only about cooking while failing to mention his incredible contributions to science.

That’s exactly how I feel every time I hear others talk about Christ’s great moral teachings in the same way they would talk about Gandhi, Confucius, or Plato. No question His teaching was revolutionary, but you are missing the obvious importance of Jesus if you fail to mention the reality that His substitutionary death for all who will accept it offers the only path to eternal salvation.

Besides, I’m curious if Musk and others who say these things really do “respect and agree with the teachings of Jesus.” It’s not that I doubt their sincerity, it’s that I question whether they are even familiar with the totality of those teachings.

• It’s one thing to say you agree with His teaching to treat others as you would want to be treated, but do you also agree with His teaching that He alone is the doorway to heaven?

• It’s great to celebrate His call to turn the other cheek in the face of hostility, but what about His declaration that the road to eternal destruction is broad and only a few are choosing the narrow path?

• It’s wonderful to applaud forgiveness, but can you also accept His affirmation of eternal condemnation for God’s enemies?  

Pop culture Jesus isn’t Jesus. And verbally supporting pop culture-approved positions of Jesus isn’t worshipping the actual Jesus. In fact, it’s actually worshipping yourself. If you are the one selecting the positions and ideas that fit into what you think is right, then you are trusting your own mind and your own feelings to guide you. That’s wholly different than trusting in the Lord with all your heart and leaning not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

This last week I wrote a challenge to former DC Talk singer Kevin Max who tweeted a sentiment very similar to Musk’s:

kevin max’s weirding module @kevinmax

Last year I was lambasted by right wing fundamentalist Theo-bro’s & sisters for progressing in my thoughts & views on life.. this year I hope to continue my work.

Again, much like Musk, I think this reveals a startling superficiality in understanding who Christ is and the example He really set for us. The primary difference is that Musk has never claimed to be a Christian and subsequently generated great wealth off of that image.

Someone who did (like Max) should be able to answer: did Jesus "choose unpopular friends," or "upset religious people" simply for the sake of being different? Was He just telling "stories to make people think" in order to be known as a great philosopher or deep, contemplative theorist? Was He "kind, loving, and merciful" just to be known as the nice guy from Nazareth? Or was there something more that motivated Jesus?

At the heart of all of Christ’s teachings, the motivation for His miracles, the driving force behind all His interactions was the reality that our sinful rebellion to God had created a chasm we could never cross on our own. He came to make atonement for that rebellion and provide the narrow path necessary for us to cross that chasm into the redemptive embrace of the Father we once rejected.

That’s why I wrote this week that relegating Jesus to a “great moral teacher” you merely seek to emulate as Musk alluded to, choosing to publicly announce your interest in "being more like" Him as Max did, is totally insufficient and inadequate to overcome our real problem.

Sure, being like Jesus is a noble pursuit, but it won't save Musk, Max, or any of us.

So my prayer for both those men, as well as for you and me, is that our restless, self-centered hearts would surrender more fully to the Sovereignty of God and the unmerited salvation of His Son, and that we would preach Christ crucified more boldly and more passionately and more urgently than ever before.

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ICYMI…

Here’s a video I made this week upon the passing of well-known Hollywood actor and comedian Bob Saget:

And here are the articles I wrote about both Saget and Kevin Max:

• DC Talker Kevin Max has a goal for 2022, but I have a better one for us both

• A word about Bob Saget and the topic we try to ignore