I have some problems with a video that has been popping up on my facebook for the past several days. In the video, a young man is reciting a poem he has written comparing Jesus to Religion. Feel free to look it up on youtube if you haven’t seen it. The title of the video is “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus”. First, I believe that the heart of the person who posted this video is in the right place, and that his intentions are good. However, I think his presentation could leave others with the wrong impression.
He starts out saying that Jesus came to abolish religion. That simply isn’t true. Jesus told us why he came in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” It is also important to note that in Matthew 5:17 he said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” So what does the person in this video mean when he says that Jesus came to abolish religion?
Here is where I think a point of confusion comes in. Words mean things. The word ‘religion’ means different things to different people. Religion to some means ‘hypocritical, judgmental, rules-based moralism’. But that isn’t what it means to everybody.
Religion, according to Dictionary.com, is defined as:
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: e.g., the Christian religion;
I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And I also have a religion. That religion is called Christianity. These statements are not contradictory, nor do they have to be.
The person in the video spends a great deal of time speaking out against religion. Certainly, empty hypocritical religion that tries to replace God’s grace with man’s works should be spoken out against. But to lump all of these acts into one big pile and call it ‘religion’ I think not only simplifies the problem, but completely misses the point.
I find this post-modern view of many in the church as being antagonistic to the concept of ‘religion’ very confusing. One of the bon mots that gets thrown out in our modern worship is, “I don’t have a religion — I have a relationship.” Yes, I understand what is being said here. We don’t have an empty, ritualistic formalism that must be carefully observed, but rather we have a close personal relationship with our redeemer. But to outsiders, I fear that it looks like we are living in denial or mincing words.
This concept of “Jesus or Religion” is a false dilemma. Nothing is wrong with the concept of ‘religion’. The earthly parents of Jesus were religious, in that they followed the law by presenting Jesus at the temple and observing the Passover by traveling to Jerusalem at the appointed time. Jesus did not come to speak out against religion, but rather the false traditions and abuse of true religion during His day. Jesus was also religious in that he was baptized, observed the Passover, etc.
The man in the video says, “Religion says ‘Do’, and Jesus says ‘Done’”. Again, I know he is talking about works versus the free gift of God’s grace. But Jesus said ‘Do’, too. He gave us the great commission. He gave us specific duties that we are to follow. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” We are to perform these good works not out of a sense of resentful obligation or guilt, but rather because we love Jesus Christ and want to share his love with the world.
In conclusion, the gentleman in the video says things like “Jesus and Religion are on opposite spectrums, One’s the work of God, and one’s a man-made invention, one is the cure, but the other’s the infection,” and, “Religion, I hate it, in fact I literally resent it.” If the religion he is referencing is Christianity, then I have major problems with that statement. In fact, the very thought of combining all of these negative attributes about empty worship and calling it ‘religion’ is a hasty generalization. Later in the video, he even says, “Relgion is man searching for God, and Christianity is God searching for man.” Notice he didn’t say, “Jesus is God searching for man.” In fact, if the video was comparing Christianity with Religion, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it, although I still think that the unsaved would be confused with why we are comparing Christianity (a religion), with the concept of Religion.
How about “Christianity > False Religion”? That is a message that I can support.
