Religion
I think it was Karl Marx who said that religion is the opium
of the people. Karl wasn’t known for his religious convictions but in fact he
exposed the reality that religion can easily distract people from a relationship
with God.
Jesus came not to establish a new religion but to
reintroduce us to the Father. It was because of this that he ran into trouble
with the religious leaders of his day. Those leaders were much more interested
in preserving their way of life than reconnecting with the Creator. I have come
to understand that the number one goal of any human institution is
self-preservation. This means that relationship with the Father is almost
always trumped by doing God’s work man’s way.
It’s the three “R’s” of religion that can eclipse Jesus’
message of hope and reconciliation: Reverends, Rituals and Rules. In and of
themselves they can be a help to point us in the right direction. It is when we
put the Reverends on pedestals, fall in love with Ritual and become rigid with
Rules that we lose our way back to the Father’s house. Having been raised,
trained and served in several religious traditions, I am sensitive to religious
dead ends.
Here are several quotes I found on Facebook concerning
religion:
“A liberal church says you are welcome here but you don’t
have to clean up your life. A legalistic church says you are not welcome here
until you clean up your life. Jesus says you are welcome here and I will change
your life from the inside out.”
“Religion says: God will love us if we change. The Gospel
says: God’s love changes us.”
“I’d rather attend church with the messed up people seeking
after God, than religious people who think they’re His enforcers.”
So much for religion!
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