There’s this trend where people on TikTok will replace Jesus with LeBron in Christian prayers and pronouncements. On the surface, it's satire, a mockery of the often-formulaic and seemingly out-of-touch way Christians talk about their faith. But beneath the humor, there's a serious point being made, a point that actually exposes the inconsistencies and absurdities of much of traditional Christian theology. And, believe it or not, "LeBron died on the hoop for your sins" is, in a strange way, more biblically accurate than the standard Christian claim that "Jesus died on the cross for your sins," at least if we're talking about Paul's Gospel.
Our LeBron, who art on the hardwood,
Hallowed be thy game.
Thy buzzer come, thy dunks be done,
On the court as they are in heaven.
Give us this day our daily buckets,
And forgive us our fouls,
As we forgive those who foul against us.
And lead us not into turnovers,
But deliver us from blowouts.
For thine is the kingdom, the MVP, and the GOAT status,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Now, before anyone gets mad, I'm not saying LeBron James is the Messiah. I'm not saying we should replace Jesus with LeBron in our prayers. What I am saying is that the way many Christians talk about Jesus, the way they understand His death and resurrection, is so distorted, so removed from the actual biblical message, that replacing Him with a basketball player doesn't actually make things less accurate. In fact, it might even make it more accurate, in a twisted sort of way. Think about it. What do most Christians believe about Jesus' death? They believe He's "fully God" and "fully human," possessing both a divine nature and a human nature. They believe that when He died, only His human nature died, while His divine nature remained alive and conscious. They believe that His death was a payment for sin, a substitutionary atonement, where He took the punishment we deserved so that we wouldn't have to. But this creates all sorts of problems. If Jesus is "fully God," then He cannot truly die. God is immortal, unchanging, impassible. To say that God died is a contradiction in terms. So, if only Jesus' human nature died, then it wasn't really Jesus who died, but only a part of Him. It's like saying, "My body died, but I didn't die." That's not real death. That's just a separation of body and soul, which is a Greek philosophical idea, not a biblical one. And if Jesus didn't really die, then His death can't be the basis of our salvation. Paul's Gospel is clear: "Christ died for our sins... He was entombed... He was roused the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). It's the fact of His death, His real, physical death, that's crucial. If He didn't actually cease to exist, then death hasn't been defeated, and we have no hope of resurrection. Furthermore, the idea that Jesus' death was a payment for sin, a substitutionary atonement, is also problematic. It turns salvation into a transaction, a bargain, where God demands a price for forgiveness. But this is not how the Bible describes salvation. It describes it as a free gift, something we receive by grace, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's about God reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them (2 Corinthians 5:19). It's about God's unconditional love, not about His need for payment. Now, let's compare this to "LeBron died on the hoop for your sins." It's absurd, of course. He didn't die for anyone's sins. But, in a strange way, this statement is more accurate than the traditional Christian claim, if we're talking about Paul's Gospel. First of all, LeBron James is undeniably, unequivocally human. There's no question about that. And when he (eventually) dies, he'll really die. He won't continue to exist consciously in some other realm. He'll cease to be. To say "LeBron died on the hoop for your sins" doesn't imply any sort of transaction. It doesn't say you have to do anything, believe anything, or accept anything to be saved. It's just a statement of fact (a ridiculous, nonsensical fact, but a fact nonetheless). It doesn't contradict itself either, unlike the doctrine of the trinity. In a weird, twisted way, "LeBron died on the hoop for your sins" is closer to Paul's Gospel than "Jesus, who is fully God and fully human, died on the cross, but only His human nature died, and you have to accept this sacrifice to be saved." The former, while absurd, at least acknowledges the reality of death and the unconditional nature of the act. The latter denies the reality of death and turns salvation into a transaction. Of course, I'm not saying we should replace Jesus with LeBron James. I'm saying we need to rethink our understanding of Jesus, of His death, and of salvation. We need to abandon the man-made doctrines of the Trinity, the immortal soul, and eternal torment, and embrace the biblical truth of the human Messiah, who truly died, who was raised by God, and who guarantees the eventual salvation of all humanity. That's the true Gospel, the "good news" that is actually good for everyone, not just for a select few. And until we grasp that, we're closer to worshipping LeBron James than we are to worshipping the true God. To learn more about the true gospel, you can find a lot of information here.
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