Down with Religions!!

"Say what?" they say, looking at the title of this post. "This guy says he's a Christian, yet calls an entry 'Down with Religions!!' What's up with that?!"

I am a Christian, and I do say down with religions. The reason for this is, quite simply, because Christianity at its finest, at its most pure, at its most perfect, is not a religion at all. It is nothing short of a personal, loving, intimate relationship with God. It is getting to know your Father in Heaven better than you could ever get to know your father on earth, or your mother, or your siblings, friends, or spouse. It is the perfection of the most pristine relationship imaginable.

According to the good people at Merriam-Webster, there are several definitions of "religion." The most vague one refers to the worship of God, but because a person can worship God in their own mistaken way with no religion at all, this definition is a little weak. Standing before the ocean, taking a walk in the woods, or looking at the night sky can be a worshipful experience devoid of religious content, so I reject this definition as simply being too imprecise.

But Merriam-Webster offers a second, more detailed definition: "2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices" Ah, yes. Now that's far more precise, and is far more in keeping with the definition most people have in their own minds upon hearing the word "religion." And it is to this definition I say, "down with religions."

Look carefully at that definition. What exactly is it saying? First of all, it is relating religion to a huge, monolithic institution, not unlike a modern government or other massive bureaucracy. Think of the IRS or some similar organization. Now, emanating from this monolithic institution are a whole long list of things that the adept must do and say, clothes that they must wear, and other details of their outward life. It also speaks of a desire to control what one holds in his or her heart, but the reality of this situation is that religions are far more interested in what outward behaviors one exhibits rather than the purity of one's heart.

So what we have here is a massive organization that has produced vast amounts of rules, regulations, and dogmatic literature in an attempt to effect the outward actions of the alleged faithful.

So if I claim Christianity, when properly practiced, is not a religion, what are some examples of a religion? Almost needless to say, Islam comes right to mind. There are few better examples of a "religion" by the definition of a monolithic organization bent on controlling one's outward actions. I will talk far more on this collection of insane ramblings later, so suffice it to say now that Islam is indeed a religion I'd like to see go down.

Next in line is Catholicism. "OK, now wait," they say again. "Isn't Catholicism Christianity?" No, it is not. Catholicism is its very own religion loosely based upon Christianity. But thinking that the precepts and beliefs of the Catholic Church represent the beliefs of Christianity is like saying the precepts of the KKK represent the belief system of the United States. It doesn't, and it couldn't be further from the high ideal of the original founder. Once again, I'll devote an entire post to the Catholics, so just allow me now to say that this is another religious system that needs to go down before people can be fully free.

Some other religions? Shinto and Hinduism, and Buddhism as most people perceive it. Actually, let me take a moment to say something about quasi-religions like Buddhism. Buddhists are wonderfully peaceful people and are truly some of the most dedicated humanists I know. However, Buddhism itself is not a religion at all. It is a philosophy, not unlike the many systems that came from ancient Greece. The only difference here is that none of the Greeks tried to turn Aristotle, Plato, or Socrates into some sort of divine personage. Siddarthur Gautauma, or Buddha, or whatever you want to call him, was a caring, compassionate, lovely individual, but he was no divine person -- nor did he ever claim to be. So the problem with Buddhism is that people spend their entire lives thinking about a philosophy when they could have been spending their lives getting close to God. It is a wonderful pursuit when combined with Christian faith, but as a philosophy, it is a real waste of time, and therefore needs to discarded with yesterday's garbage.

So how is Biblical Christianity different? When practiced properly, there are no barriers between you and God. You pray to him when you want, how you want, where you want, in whatever way you want, and you can say what you want. There are no formulas to remember, no magical words He has pre-approved at the expense of all other words. You bring him your pain, your troubles, your concerns, you wishes, your thanks, and your sins, and he takes them from you and makes them right. There is no ritual involved, no cleaning process; you're a sinner when you come to him, and a drop of water won't wash away sin. There is no direction to point, as the entire Earth is holy. Because of Christ's sacrifice, we have an open line directly to God, and we can access that line whenever we wish. Christianity recognizes your freedom and encourages you to use when speaking to God.

Christianity doesn't tell you want to eat or what to wear. All of God's creation is holy, so there is no food that could possible make a person "unclean." Why would God make the pig less holy than the cow, or the cow more holy than the goat, or the lobster less than the chicken? He wouldn't, of course. This is just one of those silly, outward control things religions do in order to allow their faithful to ignore the evil in their heart and focus instead on the meat on their plate. What a man puts in his stomach doesn't make him clean or unclean, but rather what he has in his heart. Similarly, Christianity doesn't tell you what to wear. No need for flowing robes from the 10th Century, no need for prayers tied to your forehead (prayers should etched on your heart, not plastered to your forehead!), and certainly no need to hide women's faces.

Which brings me to another, vital difference. Christianity respects and holds up all people -- even the women (Can you hear the collective gasp from non-Christians all around the world?!) The view of women in Christianity was perverted in the Middle Ages due to sexist political practices and power issues, but the truth, the Biblical truth, is that Christianity lifted women up as equals to men in all respects. If the world had implemented the proper Biblical Christian belief system, we would have had complete gender equality long ago.

I could go on and on and on, but I hope you begin to see that there is a huge difference between religions and Christianity. Religions seek to control and dominate people's lives, even to the extent of what foods they can eat and the clothes they can wear. Christianity seeks to change the thoughts people have in their minds and the feelings in their hearts, and seeks to make these changes for the betterment of everyone. Religions seek to force people to do this and to think that, Christianity seeks to have people want to change themselves as a way of expressing their gratitude to Christ for his sacrifice. In the end, religions seek to control people through fear, while Christianity seeks to have people control themselves because of joy and thankfulness.

So because of this, I say down with religions, and up with Christianity!!

Thanks for What?!

Ah, yes. Here we all are, basking in the food-induced coma after glow of Thanksgiving. The family, the football, the food. And today, Black Friday, is all about the consumerism. The greed. The money. The stuff. Ah, yes, Thanksgiving.

But, dare I ask, thanks be to whom? And for what purpose? It is not so much a question anymore of for what are you thankful, but to whom are you thankful?

See, our society, thanks to the careful and patient guiding of Satan (a very real entity in the world, do not delude yourself into thinking he's not) has become so accustomed to cutting God (another very real entity in the world, do not delude yourself into thinking He's not) so far out of the picture that He is rarely even considered in our regular everyday lives. He is not come to when there are concerns. His word is not counseled when there is confusion. He is not leaned upon when they are issues. He has been slowly and very nearly cut away from the fabric of our lives.

But He is here, none the less, waiting, helping, thinking, loving. All for you. Simply because you choose to ignore Him doesn't make Him any less real. He is here, and he is waiting for you.

So I ask again, to whom are you thankful? When you stopped yesterday to consider all the reasons you have to be thankful (assuming, of course, you actually did do that; the modern world, and Americans in particular, are awfully good at having everything and appreciating nothing) did you thank God for His love, and beneficence, and gifts to you? Or did you thank luck? Or did you thank "the universe" -- whatever that means. Or did you thank -- and I'm willing to bet this was most people -- yourself?

Did you thank yourself for providing yourself with all the wonderful things you have. Because, after all, it was all you, right? You're the one who works your tail off, isn't it? You're the one who went through school to get where you are, right? You're the one who earns the money, makes the budget, pays the bills, and does every other damn thing to make your life livable, right? Why shouldn't you thank yourself for all your hard work?

Why not? Because you didn't actually do any of that, it was God working through you for your own good and His own reasons, even if you never have or never will acknowledge Him for it. It was God that gave you the will and the strength to work hard everyday, whether its at a factory job or making your way through grad school. It was God who gave you the talents that make your job possible at all. It was God who has provided you with gift upon gift upon gift, regardless of whether you deserved it or not. It was God, is God, and always will be God.

Now, I can just here all the angry, bitter people getting their hackles up. "What did God ever do for me?" they sneer. "Where was He when I was hurting and in pain? Where was He when I was suffering? I've made it this far without God, I don't need Him for anything, and I don't need to thank Him for anything."

To which I can only say its a matter of seeing what is right before one's face, or choosing to ignore what is there instead. When you were hurting and in pain, did you survive? Did you make it through? Are you now alive? Where did the strength, the will, the skill to do that come from? Yourself? That's laughable! If you are alive, if you still have breath in your lungs, you are enjoying a beautiful gift from God. If you choose to deny its source or to deny the giver, that's on you, but your denial doesn't make that any less a gift from God.

So stop now if you haven't already and take a hard look at your life. Were there times that you just didn't know how things would work out, yet they did? Were there times when you just didn't know where they money for a bill would come from, or where the food for the family would come from, and yet it did? Did you wish for a miracle, and it happened? This is God working in your life, this is God whispering to you, "I'm here, my love, and I'm not leaving you. Ever."

If you choose to ignore that, fine. If you choose to deny that's actually God, fine. If you are too angry to see the gift for what it is, fine. But these are your choices, your actions. Not God's. He is not walking away from you. He is not abandoning you. He is not ignoring your need. You are being an arrogant, spoiled brat who doesn't appreciate everything the Father is doing. But at least recognize that God is here, and God is giving to you everyday, whether you want to thank him for it or not.