I like Russell a lot, but this
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“First, I love Russell Brunson. I've used ClickFunnels for years (generating multiple six figures) and read both of his books. I applaud nearly everthing he does. He's amazing. I have zero animosity toward him, and lots of respect.
But after sampling this new podcast, particularly the third episode where Russell recounts his (Mormon) perspective of the history of Christianity from the time of Christ, I'm just shocked that someone as obviously smart and thoughtful as Russell would accept and espouse these egregiously bad claims so uncritically.
Russell's account of Christian history is just so wildly off-base that even non-Christian historians would scratch their heads at most of it.
For example, he suggests a great apostasy happened immediately after the apostles died. Besides the fact that this contradicts Jesus' affirmation that the gates of Hell would never prevail against his Church, and that he promised to always be with his apostles, there's simply zero evidence for such an apostasy. We have a steady stream of writings from every early century of the Church showing orthodoxy flourishing and the Church growing. And we have zero evidence of any sort of universal apostasy. Notably, Russell doesn't cite any evidence to support his view of history, and that's because there isn't any.
Second, Russell fast-forwards three hundred uears to 325 A.D. when he claims Constantine decided to "formalize Christianity" and make Christianity the national religion, all to gain power for himself. Again, this is demonstrably false and no serious historian would agree. It's true that Constantine changes the law regarding Christianity, but he did not make Christianity the national religion. He simply changed the law so that it was no longer illegal to be Christian (a huge difference). This was quite prudent of him given that Christianity was steadily growing and might have turned into an ugly rebellion against him if it remained illegal.
Third, Russell skips the next nearly THOUSAND years of Church history (!!) and brushes away the "Dark Ages" (a polemical term no serious historian uses) because there "you see all these evil, horrible things happen in the name of Christianity." He's right that some churchmen were corrupt. But this is true in every period of history, and this fact does nothing to undermine the authority Christ gave the Church, as virtually all Christian recognize.
Notably, Russell mentions not a single positive accomplishment, council, saint, doctrine, or contribution of any Christian during the first thirteen-hundred years of Christianity. That's telling. Russell covers ~1,300 years of Christian history in less than a minute and paints the whole thing with a dismissive, dark brush. It's just breathtaking to anyone familiar with basic religious history.
Next, Russell turns to 1388 when the dissenting Catholic priest John Wycliffe advocated for more translations of the Bible. This was because, according to Russell, in the fourteenth century there "were only one or two people who had the Bible, so Church leaders are saying you have to this or that, just controlling people." Again, this is just demonstrably false. It's true that most Bibles were in Latin, but many people were familiar with Latin and people still had access to the Bibles. They were available in nearly every church, and the Bible was proclaimed every day in every liturgy. It was not at all hidden. The people were saturated with Scripture, and many of them knew long passages by heart. Suggesting that people were not exposed to the BIble until Wycliffe came around is just false.
From there Russell focuses on the history of Mormonism. I won't spend time commenting on his views here, other than to say that the claims of Mormonism are so clearly baseless, and its history and doctrines so rife with contradiction, that anyone who sincerely and critically examines it with an open mind can't but help dismiss it.
(I encourage you to just Google "why Mormonism is false" and you'll see a slew of articles, by Catholics, Protestants, and even atheists pointing out the obvious flaws and contradictions.)
So in all, while I love Russell and think his work in online marketing is innovative and helpful, this new podcast offers such a distorted view of Christian history, and Christian doctrine in general, that I can't think of anyone I'd recommend it to.
Hopefully Russell decides to read some books critical of his own tradition (as I've done many times with my own tradition, Catholicism, to which I converted) and opens his mind beyond the pseudo-history propogated by Mormon leaders.
(And Russell, if you're reading this, I'd be totally open to talking with you, or recommending good books/resources--even on the podcast!)”Read full review »
Brandon Vogt via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
04/16/18
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“I admire your courage Russell, to share your journey and your personal testimony of the Book of Mormon. I am quite confident that you are not challenging anyone's belief in Jesus Christ.
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Kdkirkman via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
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“I began listening to Russell today. I’ve enjoyed two podcast episodes so far and I’m hooked. I’m looking forward to Russell not only bringing the Book of Mormon to life for me but also the opportunity to have him help me discover the insights the Lord will reveal to me personally.
Margaret Whitlow”
maggie7043 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
09/16/18
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“I’m eager for the next episode to post. I especially love the heroes journey insight and I absolutely love the Book of Mormon readings and commentary. It’s helping me reignite my testimony. I look forward to listening to the whole book this way. I’d pay $20+ if it meant I could download the whole...”Read full review »
The Heathens via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
08/16/20
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