Reclaiming Religion 3-8-09
There seems to be a stigma against the word “religion”; in fact, many seem to have an odd distaste for the very concept of religion. I cannot count the times that I have heard someone say “it’s about relationship, not religion.” This statement has always irritated me, but I could not put my finger on why – until now.
In my readings I recently came upon a passage written by Lactantius in the fourth century A.D., in which he wrote:
For we were created on this condition: that we pay just and due obedience to God, who created us. We should know and follow Him alone. We are bound and tied [religare] to God by this chain of piety. And the word “religion” [religio] is derived from this … Religion is the cultivation of truth. (A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, David W. Bercot, Editor)
This is what bothered me all along about the “it’s not about religion” crowd: religion is the discharge of obligation of man to God; it is how we submit ourselves to God. Those who scoff at religion are in effect scoffing at our obligatory submission to God – which is not surprising, as you often hear these comments from the same people who make claims such as “all you need to do is tell people about God’s love”. God’s love is absolutely amazing, but so is his wrath at our sins and the coming destruction of the Godless. In light of the terrible day of judgment approaching, and the wonderful work of redemption by Jesus, it is most definitely about religion!
” ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”-safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 7:9-11 NIV)
Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ “ (Luke 19:45-46 NIV)
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. (1 Timothy 5:4 NIV)
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:26-27 NIV)
These passages show God’s view of religion: it is not something to be scoffed at, but rather it is to be treated with the upmost respect in our lives. The Jews thought that they could hide behind the temple, but God said that he saw the evil they did. Jesus, by quoting from Jeremiah, told the money-changers and the Temple rulers what he thought of their practices. The passages in Luke and James show that Godly religion is one of caring for others and of pursuing purity.
Now, back to this concept of “it’s about relationship, not religion”. Those who believe this way have fallen into the trap of thinking without engaging the organ most useful for that process. Religion is all about relationship! After all, words like obligation and submission by their very definitions indicate relationships! This inability to understand the basic nature of religion stems from a paradigm that emphasizes only the positive and fun passages, ignoring those that are negative in nature or that require real change in character and living. When you hear the word “worship”, do you think of prayer, singing, and teaching? Or do you think of reorganizing your life to be conforming to God’s standard of holiness? Before you answer, read Romans 12:1-3.
God wants to be in a relationship with us, no doubt about it. But that relationship that he seeks is one in which he is our God and we are his people! That relationship is defined as religion. Embrace that relationship and let’s reclaim religion the way God intends.
-Charles Peterson