God Hates Religion…?

“A religion is a set of beliefs and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. The term “religion” refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.” (Wikipedia)

If I had a nickel for every time I heard some young “cutting edge” Christian say things like “God hates religion” or talk about somebody being in “bondage of a religious spirit”, well I’d have a lot of nickels by now. At some point in the American church’s history, religion became some sort of a cuss word. I used to swim this way too in my Charismatic days. Churches that didn’t “move in the spirit” (like that old dry Presbyterian church I attend now…) is under the bondage of religion. I believe the cliché was, “Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship”. Yawn.

I have to wonder how much thought really goes into statements like these. In my studies, I found many scholarly men, none the least the Apostle Paul, refer to Christianity as a religion. John Calvin, John Owen, and Zwingli come to mind as men who openly referred to the Christian faith as religion. All of these men (and again, the Apostle Paul), simply judging from their writings and the way God used them throughout history, would seem to embrace the idea of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, I would be as bold to say that I could only ever dream to have a relationship so close to my Savior that these men seemed to have.

So what is it then about the term “religion” that people seem to despise or misunderstand? A few things from the definition above give some clues.

“A religion is a set of beliefs and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law.”
In this first statement, the lines about ritual or religious law may be a huge turn off for many in the “anti religious Christian” club. What comes to their minds are things like extra-Biblical man made rules of faith that are really forms of legalism, not religion. However, we must admit that Christianity is one rich in ritual and religious law. What are the sacraments of baptism and communion if not ritual? They are God commanded rituals, but they are rituals none the less. Take them away, and we have a very weak Church. Take away the Law of God and we have anti-nomianism. Grace has not abolished the Law of God, rather it has fulfilled it in Christ. It does not mean that the Law has no use to the Christian. Christianity is indeed steeped in Law and Ritual. God given law, God given ritual, but take them away and we have a weak Church who neglects the commands of Christ and has no moral standards..

Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience

Putting the issue of mythology aside, this section about ancestral or cultural traditions and history probably create a huge stumbling block for many Fundamentalist Protestants. The idea of “tradition” seems a bit too Roman for many people’s comfort. It’s important however to remember that we are not talking about tradition as being an authority the way a Roman Catholic would claim “Apostolic tradition” as authoritative. We are simply talking about the time honored treasures of our Christian faith. The creeds and confessions, the rich tapestry of music, the celebration of advent and the resurrection on given days of the calendar,* all of these are traditions that the Church has passed on to us, not to be cast aside but to be embraced joyously as a reminder of our history and heritage. Concerning our writings and history as the Church, I would go as far as to make this bold claim. Most Christians who are shouting “God hates religion” probably belong to churches who are neglecting the study of Church history and the Church’s writings. I could count on one hand the people I’ve met who make the proclamation of God’s hatred towards religion who have actually read the early Fathers, or Augustine, or Luther, Calvin, the Puritans, ect. I don’t mean to sound condescending. It’s a simple observation. These groups are usually more concerned with cultural engagement (not a bad thing at all, but men like Abraham Kuyper certainly taught us that the faith is large enough to embrace both!) or appearing to be “edgy” and “open” than they are studying the ways of God’s Church, testing their doctrines not only in Scripture (which should be our final authority) but also in what the Holy Spirit has done in history.

Again I apologize if I found condescending or nasty in this thread. It’s not my point (though I wonder what the point of those who proclaim “God hates religion!” so boldly is?) I do wish to show though that Christianity is indeed a religion and we have nothing to be ashamed of in such claims. The fact that Christianity is about a relationship (both personal and corporate) between God and Man does not exclude the fact that Christianity is also about law, ritual, history, and tradition. I may make this claim. God delights in religion! It is the “religious” Church that embraces the history of His people. It is the religious Church that keeps His sacraments. It is the religious Church that understands that Christianity isn’t just about saying a “sinner’s prayer” but is also about the sanctification of the Holy Spirit in us so that the Law does become helpful in instructing and guiding us under grace!

Many horrible acts have been done in the name of religion. The problem however is not with “religion” itself. It is with the men and women who practice it.

*I am aware that some, even within conservative Presbyterianism, do not view religious holidays or the singing of hymns as a tradition of the Church that is to be embraced, but even these groups would have their own traditions and practices that have been passed on throughout the generations. I was simply pointing out examples that most Christians can relate to.

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