YouTube and the Spiritual Decline of Christian Broadcasting

Written on March 28, 2025.

YouTube and the Spiritual Decline of Christian Broadcasting

In recent years, many Christians have noticed a spiritual shift occurring on YouTube. What once served as a vibrant platform for edifying sermons, gospel preaching, and Christian fellowship has now become a place of spiritual confusion, emotional hostility, and, in some ways, subtle persecution. This article explores how the social dynamics, AI algorithm manipulation, and legal constraints of YouTube have contributed to a darker environment where true gospel preaching struggles to survive.

From Light to Shadow

There was a time when YouTube was filled with voices boldly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ministries—some small, some large—could speak plainly and freely, testifying to salvation by grace through faith, without fear of being throttled, demonetized, or struck down. Now, those brighter voices seem either to have disappeared or have changed their tone entirely. This transition has not happened randomly, but systematically, through:

• AI-driven algorithms that reward divisive, controversial, or emotionally charged content rather than truth
• A legal and policy framework that increasingly suppresses biblical truth under vague labels like "misinformation," "hate speech," or "community guidelines violations"
• A social structure that simulates fellowship through likes, comments, and live chats—but often leaves believers spiritually drained, addicted to attention, and vulnerable to self-performance

Is YouTube Becoming Spiritually Hostile?

In some ways, the evolution of YouTube resembles the situation for Christians in countries where persecution is more covert than overt. India, for example, uses legal systems and societal pressures to stifle Christian witness. Similarly, YouTube now suppresses gospel content not with jail cells, but with shadow bans, algorithm suppression, and strike systems.

While it's not violent, the spiritual impact is still severe: silence, fear, burnout, and compromise. In this sense, YouTube has become a digital wilderness. It is still possible to speak, but the cost of doing so truthfully grows higher.

The Jacksmack77 Case Study

One example of this spiritual tension can be seen in the YouTube channel of Jacksmack77. Known for his Free Grace theology and relentless attacks on Calvinism, Jacksmack77 produces videos almost daily—sometimes humorous, sometimes harsh, and often doctrinally sound. But a recent video titled "Calvinists Caught on Hidden Video!!!" raised eyebrows for its symbolic approach.

The video, set to music with no voiceover, shows a man tripping and falling, captioned with phrases like "All of this was predestined" and "Calvinism damns, Jesus saves." At the end, the text concludes:

Calvinism is founded on sinking sand because these devils don’t know that Jesus died for them. They have no objective biblical assurance, this explains why they look to themselves, fruit inspect, and believe one must persevere to the end. The saddest part is that in Calvinism, all of this was inevitably predestined, with no chance of an alternative reality. Furthermore, no Calvinist can duly gripe about this video because it was all ineluctably decreed by their Calvinistic man-made god. Thank you and we are off, Jacksmack77.

While meant as a rebuke to a false gospel, some viewers have begun to sense a darker undercurrent in his tone. The daily output may be taking a toll, as some videos reflect less the Spirit’s leading and more the raw expression of bitterness, exhaustion, or vengeance. Ed Pfenninger, another Free Grace preacher currently battling cancer, warned that Jacksmack77 is "risking becoming a lordshipper" by emphasizing fruit (such as the man tripping) in a way that ironically mirrors the behavior-focused thinking he opposes.

Not Just Calvinism, But a Broader Lostness

Some viewers see Jacksmack’s intense focus on Calvinism as missing the bigger picture. While Calvinism is indeed a false gospel if taken to its full doctrinal conclusions, most people in the Western world today are not Calvinists. They are unsaved moralists, baptized at birth into cultural Christianity, who might call themselves Lutheran, agnostic, or even "Christian" but have never believed the gospel.

For these people, the real issue isn’t predestination—it’s **lostness**. They don’t go to church, don’t preach the gospel, and don’t even know what justification by faith means. They may cling to moral values or celebrate Christian holidays, but they have not received eternal life. In this view, the landscape is not "Free Grace vs. Calvinism," but "Free Grace vs. the lost masses." That includes both atheists and religious traditionalists alike.

When the Platform Becomes a Trap

The deeper problem may not be just individual preachers or viewers, but the platform itself. YouTube has become something like a digital Babylon—offering a stage, then slowly twisting its users through pressure, performance, censorship, and distraction. Many who once preached clearly now obsess over views, comments, and enemies. Others, like Jacksmack77, continue strong in doctrine but risk becoming bitter, isolated, or performative.

As one viewer put it, “YouTube no longer edifies Christians. The brighter broadcasters have either left or changed their ways. It is becoming dark.”

Conclusion

The time may be coming when believers will need to leave platforms like YouTube behind—not necessarily in a rush, but in **discernment**, knowing when the river has turned into a swamp. In that moment, the true fellowship of believers will return to something older, quieter, and more enduring: house meetings, private letters, offline friendships, and the quiet voice of the King James Bible.