Jesus Got RizzJesus Got Rizz
Untoxicated Podcast
Matt Salis reads his essay "Jesus Got Rizz," mixing sharp humour and religious scepticism with reflections on alcohol, arrogance and doubt. The episode circles around confusion about faith and doctrine while valuing compassion, community and honesty.
12:42•24 Sept 2026
Jesus Got Rizz: Faith, Wine and Honest Confusion
Episode Overview
- Questions the arrogance of religious certainty and atheistic certainty alike.
- Highlights how huge industries built on alcohol, gambling and pornography reveal struggles with self-control.
- Challenges long-standing church policies on celibacy and exclusion while noting their real-world harm.
- Shares a story of a church choosing compassion over punishment for someone in a manic episode.
- Affirms that confusion and doubt can coexist with community, kindness and a recovery mindset.
“Maybe it's my perpetual insecurity, but it strikes me that the people who know always come across as arrogant.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? Here, Matt Salis reads his essay "Jesus Got Rizz" from his Underlying Issues series, blending sharp humour, religious questioning and sober reflection on human behaviour. While the show often focuses on alcoholism and recovery, this piece zooms out to look at belief, arrogance and how people chase pleasure, including alcohol, on a massive scale.
Matt compares biblical marketing flair to modern-day hype, joking that "Jesus could read the room" by turning water into wine rather than healing the sick first. From there, he riffs on how alcohol, gambling and pornography pull in over $2.5 trillion annually, linking that appetite for indulgence with shaky doctrines about celibacy and self-control. A big thread is his confusion about faith and labels.
He talks about attending various Christian denominations, why he no longer calls himself a Christian, and his discomfort with certainty. He notes that "the people who know always come across as arrogant," whether they're religious leaders, atheists, or institutions clinging to harmful policies. At the same time, Matt describes the Methodist community he attends with his wife, a children's minister, as messy but kind.
He shares a story where a man in a manic episode grabbed the microphone and shouted obscenities; instead of calling the police, the congregation walked him to a coffee shop for a donut. That moment of compassion sits alongside his scepticism about doctrines like transubstantiation and bans on condoms. For anyone in recovery who wrestles with faith, shame, and confusion, this episode offers a raw, funny, and non-judgemental look at how belief, alcohol, and human frailty intersect.
It might leave you asking: is it better to have certainty, or to sit honestly with your doubt?
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