On the side of my blog...the "About Me" section...I refer to the decision to give up on religion. Every now and then I get a question about that. People asking if that means I'm an atheist. Because of that, I thought I should clarify how I'm using the word "religion" there.
One definition of "religion" refers to a system of beliefs pertaining to a god or gods with their accompanying traditions and rituals. These, of course, include the major world religions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. While a true use of the word, this is not the definition that I am referring to. I still own my Christian faith.
Another definition of "religion"...the one that I am talking about...refers to the tendency to make rules, duties and right thinking the substance of a quality faith. People do, do, do to earn the favor of their god and/or obtain a higher standing in their system or in their own eyes. Spiritual life and identity is drawn from the doing. What accompanies this, though, is that the god in question tends to be framed as a distant figure who should be feared. That fear permits people to judge each other in ways we were not intended. It also traps people into a life of shame. An example would be the Pharisees described in the New Testament of the Bible.
I departed from that type of religion some years ago. It wasn't that I wanted to live an immoral life...not the case at all! I simply began to see that there was something truer than all the "do's" and "don'ts". There was an intimacy that permeated everything around me...a divine intimacy...and my heart longed to receive life from that at the core. All of the beauty in the world screamed it was true. All of the miracles of science. All of the goodness in humanity. There had to be something deeper than "doing". Every day since I have found it to be true and wonderful. There is a God that pursues the human heart out of desperate love, and it is out of that embrace that living better can flow. It's no longer striving to "do the right thing". Instead, it's enjoying a relationship with God that is potentially so full of life from Him that it overflows onto everything...even "doing". There is delight and joy and beauty flowing straight out of God's heart that unlocks our identity and destiny to become...
So, that's what I mean by parting from religion. Jesus called the pharisees "white-washed tombs"...looks good on the outside but still dead inside. I think a faith of "rules only" does that to people, and it's so sad. But there's so much more. I know it's true from stories like John the Beloved who leaned back against Christ and heard his heart beating. That's the reality I want. And while I'm not 100% there...I'm enjoying the journey.
1 comment:
I'd love to hear more about your turning points. I know that, for me, the process has been gradual, but I can point to some very specific experiences that changed how I thought about religion and faith. I find myself in very much the same shoes. I came to a place where I wanted to live a real and authentic faith, rather than following a set of rules. If I was following the rules, my life wouldn't be half so rich and deep as it is now. Being able to draw from a love relationship with the Creator God allows me to love others in a way I never would have imagined.
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