Why I don't hate religion

I’ve recently been asked to watch a YouTube video that pits religion against Jesus. The reason I was asked to watch it is because it so clearly describes what is expected of people who follow Jesus and stands in direct conflict with much of what is taught in churches. I liked the video. The production style is very well done. But what about the content? See below.

I think, by and large, the content is solid. However, the biggest problem I have with the video is that it contrasts two things, which aren’t necessarily at odds. Is religion and Jesus at odds?

I don’t think so. I think the major conflict we see throughout scripture (Old Testament and New Testament) is between true religion and false religion. When God sets forth various prohibitions to the worship of Baal, gods of the philistines, Ammonites, and Amalekites, and the setting up of “high places,” He does so because they are wrong, and false. Consistently, God is calling His people to turn from false idols because in them there is no life, which results in the worshiper having no life. For, you become like what you worship; if you worship lifeless idols, you become lifeless. The conflict is always between what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false.

Religion is simply beliefs that humans hold regarding the supernatural and the actions appropriate for such beliefs. If you have beliefs about the supernatural and that leads you to live a particular way, then you are religious, strictly speaking.

Actions are products of thoughts. When you think through something it most likely will lead to some form of action at some point. The action may not be instantaneous, but it will come at some point. Our thought life and our actions are very closely associated so that the two seem identical. That’s why your parent’s question you by asking, “what were you thinking?” when you ACTED a particularly stupid way.

So, going back to the video, when the poet says that he hates religion, does he mean he hates supernatural beliefs that lead to actions that correspond to those beliefs? I don’t think so. That would be idiotic given that he implies the deity of Jesus and in doing so asserts a supernatural belief which results is his conclusion that we ought to trust (have faith) that “it is finished.” It would seem that he is conflicted and sending mixed messages, which are contradictory, not paradoxical. So what might he mean then?

I think he means that he hates false religion. However, given our over-sensitivity to political correctness, I don’t think he could have said that and not received the ire from millions of people calling him a bigot and spreading hate propaganda. So, he instead puts Jesus at odds with religion, thus avoiding having to name one religion “true” and another “false.” Why do I think this? Because at the beginning of the video he says that religious people “build big churches but fail to feed the poor.” What’s interesting is that the book of James in the New Testament says that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Therefore, “pure religion” is what the poet is searching for. I can’t imagine him, with James’ definition of religion in mind, saying “I hate visiting the [poor] and keeping myself unstained from the world.”

One particular thing Jesus said has helped me to see that God wants true, right, pure religion and despises false, wrong, impure religion. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When Jesus asserts exclusive entrance to presence of the Father to those that go by way of Jesus, he is affirming that any other way is wrong. In the Old Testament, if anyone wanted to enter the presence of the God they had to go through the priest. Any other attempt to get to God without the priest was incorrect and unacceptable. That’s why Jesus is our High Priest. He goes to the Father on our behalf, acting as priest. When Jesus says that he is “the life,” he is bringing the minds of the audience back to the Old Testament and reminding them that idols are lifeless and when you look to them you get what they have to offer, namely, no life. However, when you look to Jesus, who is life itself, you get what he has to offer, namely, LIFE! What Jesus does with these two sentences is throw himself in contrast with false religion. He wants to correct our religion and make it fuller, and richer, and purer. God instituted the priesthood and the priesthood remains; Christ is the high priest and all believers make up the rest of the priesthood (1 Peter 2:5).

I hear that some people hate Theology, which I find ironic and sad. Theology is the study of God. To hate Theology is to hate the study of God. As a follower of God, that seems to be a bad attitude to have. For example, I have a wife that I love. If I really loved her it would be, in part, due to my knowing her. Having dated her, I studied her and began to understand her on a deeper and more meaningful level, which drew me to deeper affection for her. My love for her keeps me wanting to learn about her, to know her heart and to hear her thoughts. It’s no wonder that one of the most fervent lovers of God was Paul – a religious man by his own admission – was also a man that deeply desired to know God, in Christ. He writes, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (emphasis added). Love for a person is fostered by knowledge of that person, and knowledge of that person leads to deeper loving of that person.

Theology, if it is true, will lead to true worship of God. Worship is ascribing worth to God and expressing gratitude and appreciation for Him, to Him. Theology that doesn’t lead to worship says more about the heart of the person than it does about the role of Theology. One who seeks to only use another person for what they can get out of them will not likely turn around and express heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the person himself, but for what they can get from the other person. Likewise, if someone seeks only to get from God, they will have a hard time expressing worth, gratitude, and appreciation for God, HIMSELF. One might dislike Theology in the educational sense (Historical Theology is the study of Theology through history, Systematic Theology is the study of what the whole Bible says about any one theological topic, Biblical Theology is the study of what any particular writing in the Bible says about a theological topic), but disliking the subject of theology – GOD – is strange. We shouldn’t mix the method with the subject. However, some have confused the method of Theology with the subject of Theology and have assumed that when you venture into the one you automatically receive the other. Not so. Those who do this might find that their study of Theology is not producing an increased capacity to worship because in their theological endeavors they are merely seeking God for what he can give and are ignoring that He is. What are they seeking to get? They might be trying to get grace, love, and approval by means of merit through their theological study. One must be vigilant to guard the heart from this form of idolatry – our hearts are an idol factory, after all.

In the video, the poet also says that religion “tells single moms that God doesn’t love them if they had a divorce, but in the Old Testament God calls religious people whores.” This statement profoundly troubles me because it is said from ignorance of the entirety of the book of Hosea. In Hosea, God tells Hosea to marry a whore to symbolize what the relationship that the people were having with God. God says that the people are whoring themselves after false gods and idols and are forsaking Him. He is ridiculing FALSE RELIGION and is reminding them of the PURE RELIGION that He wants from the people. God reminds them that He takes no delight in sacrifices alone, especially if they’re done without mercy. God demands mercy with sacrifice; they’re together not at odds.

Lastly, the video gives the impression that religion says that all you need is to do stuff, whereas Jesus says “Done!” This is a very encouraging and worshipful statement, but it implies that we, as Christians, are off the hook for anything that is required of us. This way of thinking has crept in to many Christian minds is potentially harmful.

Some self-proclaiming Christians will justify their sin with the statement that they have a relationship with Jesus and that’s all that matters. Logically, that means, because they have a relationship with Jesus they can sin. That is clearly not biblical and clearly not even close to Jesus’ teaching. He heals people and then says, “Go, and sin no more.” Having a relationship with Jesus cannot mean that you are now free to cohabitate with the person you’re dating and engage in sexual immorality because he knows you’re heart and you don’t want to be religious. Relationship with Jesus means acting and doing certain things and not others. Like what?

First of all, after Jesus uttered, “It is finished” he was buried in a tomb for three days, and rose from the dead. In his resurrected state he spoke to the disciples and over 400 others, many of whom were still alive and could verify that the resurrection occurred. Jesus’ last words to his followers were: “¹⁸ …All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Notice the bold words, those are words of “do” because Jesus says, “done.”

It’s far too simplistic to assert that having a relationship with Jesus means there is nothing you should do. There are a lot of things that you should and shouldn’t do if you are in a relationship with Jesus – like, don’t deny him, but acknowledge him. Some people have taken this stance and come up with the idea that because they are in a relationship with Jesus they no longer need to be concerned with what they should or shouldn’t do. However, it is precisely because you are in a relationship with Jesus that you should take tremendous care in understanding what he wants you to do, or not do.

Religion is simply beliefs that one holds that affect the way they live. False religion is to be hated and abhorred. False religion is the belief of the wrong things that lead to wrong behavior. True religion is the belief of right things that leads to right behavior. The Pharisee’s had false beliefs about grace and so they attempted to merit God’s favor. They had false beliefs about the Messiah and so they missed his coming and crucified the king of Glory. They thought actions alone were sufficient for becoming like God, and they allowed bad behavior and external appearances to rule the day. Jesus hates false religion.

True religion is realizing that because Jesus is "given all authority in heaven and on earth" (supernatural belief) we ought to "go...make...baptize...teach...obey" (corresponding action). True religion is holding the belief that grace cannot be merited and the corresponding action is dependency upon God and trusting His word and promises. True religion is believing Jesus is who he says he is, namely the incarnate Son of God that is holy, perfect, spotless, blameless, the propitiation of sin, the lamb of God, the King of Glory. The corresponding action is obedience to his word and allowing the light of his word to penetrate the dark areas of our hearts and souls so that we may live in the light as he is in the light. This is true religion and Jesus loves it.

Jesus hates false religion, and so should we. He, however, loves true religion, and so should we.