GEL - Religion Defined

Religion Defined

Roy Hershberger

The contemporary understanding of the word “religion” has come to mean something very different from what it has meant in the past.
      According to the first definition in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary religion is: “1. belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshipped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe.” A large majority of Americans say they believe in a God who created and rules the universe, but how many of those obey and worship him as such? Strangely, many who confess to some sort of belief in God on one hand view devotion to that God (religion) as nutty, and irrational on the other. Why? I see two main reasons for this.
      First of all, many fail to separate the foolish and prideful “Christian” religious systems that people have created from the reality of God and the true and pure teachings of Christ. They recognize the corruption of the institutionalized church and the fallacy and mockery of humanities many attempts to create its own kingdoms in the name of God. Rightfully rejecting such nonsense they fail to ever discover a true and pure faith because they have not been shown very many examples of the real thing.
      Secondly, in spite of the fact that many may say they believe in God they fail to realize that the popular, accepted, “normal” way of viewing life is not informed by a theistic perspective but is naturalistic or atheistic in nature. In other words though we may say we believe in God we live out our everyday lives as though He doesn't exist (we live like atheists). Attention to Gods will for our lives is given a very low priority if any priority is given to it at all. We don't consider or contemplate the degree of His wisdom nor do we seek it out when we make important decisions - we don't give Him the rightful place as our Creator.
      Because of these things the modern mind tends to have a distorted understanding of what it means to be religious. The contemporary understanding of the word “religion” has come to mean something very different from what it has meant in the past. It used to help explain a persons view of the world (wordview) — it was his or her method of defining reality. This is no longer the case. We now believe that religion is a private matter and should not be discussed in a public arena, nor should it be used to help shape our laws or the way we run our public institutions or our government. It has become something separate from the “real” world - it is not perceived as a rational part of everday life but only as an afterthought tacked on to the outskirts of society and culture.
      When we consider the modern institutionalized church, with it's human traditions and rules, and it's humanistic pragmatic methods of organization; then add to this the popular non-theistic mentality that dominates the modern mind (which is actually a form fo religion itself though the modern mind does not perceive it as such) — “religion” as defined within these contemporary terms becomes something very difficult to understand or accept. This is why I do not consider myself religious. I view what I believe about God and His character His creation, and His perfect love as the very basis of all reality. He is not distantly abstract or existing somewhere outside the realm of my daily life — He is as substantive and as real as anything else I see with my physical senses — He interacts with me, as He will with anyone who sincerely and whole heartily seeks Him, on the most tangible, down to earth level.
      We should not seek “relgion” as defined in modern terms, but seek to discover and comprehend reality and truth. Jesus Christ said that He was: “the way the truth and the life.” If this is true than it is not through any human philosophy, tradition, religion or methodology that we discover the purpose and meaning of life it is through a relationship with the Living Word of God. It is not through knowing the truth with our minds, but having a relationship with the Truth.

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