The Problem with Religion

I sat in the pew and listened as the sweat glistened on the forehead of the man behind the pulpit.  "We should fear God!" he thundered to the 400 or so people listening in front of him.   I shifted in my seat and thought, why does that statement bother me? 

After biting my tongue about a million times for half an hour, I stood against the wall and watched the congregants surge around the pews in groups, talking and picking up family members.  Watching them,  I wondered what is it about this philosophy, this aspect of religion that appeals to us as humans?  This religion of fear-- because all religion boils down to fear at it's most basic. 

Fear of death.  Fear of failure.  Fear of not being enough.  Fear of other people.  Fear of the different.  Fear of losing control.  Fear of being seen as who we are.  Fear of losing ourselves.

And so to control our fear, we start the rules and bartering.  Every religion has them.   Hinduism has the idea of karma, doing good deeds.  The Egyptians had that one too.  Actually most moral Americans have subscribed to it.  Hopefully at the end of life we've been good enough to outweigh our bad and move up to whatever belief we've held about what's next. 

Islam has the dress code and the separation of genders for moral purity.  Mormans don't drink caffeine.  The Pharisees are pretty famous historic and Biblical examples of following the rules.  Even primitive tribes have certain ways they pray or sacrifice.  Gotta get it right, do it right, be right.  Or else. 

Christians?  O yes, we have rules.  In fact, God actually gave us most of them.  We share them with the Jewish religion.  The Ten Commandments, the first five books of the Old Testament, and various other parts of the Bible have a lot of rules.  And as if that weren't enough rules, people have added onto them over the centuries.  The Pharisees and other Jewish sects had whole other books written full of rules by the time Jesus showed up.  The Mishnah and the Gemara are still being interpreted and used today.

So if God gave us rules, the point must have been for us to follow them.  Because we must be able to be good enough.  Do it right.  At some point reach the tipping point on the scales of good and evil. 


Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Romans 3:20

As it is written:
   "There is no one righteous, not even one Romans 3:10


So, what, exactly was the point of all that writing?  All the rules and regulations and do this and not that and the Ten Commandments everywhere?  It kind of all goes back to the beginning.  The bottom line of what started it all.  Eve had a problem.  So did Adam, to be gender equal.  They wanted to be as big of a deal as God.  All Eve had to hear were the magic words, you will be like God...and she had a tasty bite of the forbidden. 

So God decided to make a point.  You want to be as good, as holy, and righteous as I am?  Ok, here is a place to start.  Try keeping these rules perfectly. 

So how is that working out for the human race?  Anyone told a lie recently?  Wanted something that someone else has?  Had a lustful thought?  Yup.  Me too. 

So after God made his point, he did what He had planned to do all along:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Col. 2:13-14

Did you get that part?  He canceled the written code.  Canceled it.  Like a check.  Like a debt.  Done, gone, over with.   Because we as the human race with our dress codes and our special diets and our lists and lists of things to do can't ever, not ever get it right.  

So why do we still try to do follow the lists?  Because we do.  Clearly.

In fact we make new lists.  Ok, so the debt is canceled and Jesus has saved me.  But for Jesus to love me, I have to do this, and this and this.  We are broken people.  We are still trying to be as good as God or good enough for God, in the middle of the biggest ocean of grace and love the world has ever known.  We look at the canceled check and ask God to give it back to us.  Because this time we will get it right.  We treat lightly the riches of his grace.  

And we live in fear.  We live in religion.  We live in lists.  The fear is there because we all know, at the bottom of our hearts whether Hindu, Muslim, Mormon, or Christian that when we live a religion of working for the balance to be good, we're not going to make it.  Even worse, we want other people to follow along with the lists because than we can compare and see how much better we are doing.

Jesus had some interesting things to say about religion, actually.

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.  John 9:40-41.

 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"  He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Leave them; they are blind guides.  If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Matt. 15:12-14

 So, what then is the answer?  More importantly, what is the question?

Are you a list-builder?  Do you live in fear? 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  1John 4:18

The answer, friends, is that God loves you enough to do your work for you.  The work is done.  The check is canceled.  The rules have no more place.  God doesn't want your list, he wants your heart.  

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15.

Christian brothers and sisters, let's get rid of the lists.  They are worthless.  Let's hold fast to the things that matter.  Let's preach Christ crucified and risen.  Let's bear with each other in love and forgive each other as Christ has forgiven us.  
  
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1John 3:18

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  1John 3:16