RELIGION And SPIRITUALITY

“A true Christian ought to be more interested in making the life of the world gentle for others than he should be in asserting the dominance of his own faith.”  Jon Meacham

Let’s start with a basic question about the “Blessing Business”.  Is it being religious or being spiritual?  Is it joining a church or just living as a blessing?  To be sure, the answer is that it is both.   Religion without spirituality is hypocrisy at it’s best.  Spirituality without religion is being a “Robinson Crusoe” Christian.  (I am using religion as a gathering word; not just the Church as we know it today, but a gathering together of those who are seeking to walk in faith, hope, and love.  We need community!)

Using quotes from Diana Butler Bass’s book” Christianity After Religion: The End Of Church And The Birth Of A New Spiritual Awakening” lets look at this issue for 3 postings.  This will give you time to ‘contemplate’ and respond with your questions and insights.

We begin with a shocker!  Is it possible to be committed to Christ, but not be a part of Christianity as we know it today?

“On July 28, 2010, novelist Anne Rice posted her resignation on Facebook: “Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always, but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity.” She further explained: “I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

Gutsy and challenging!  

When our Christian faith is more about what we are “against” and less about what we are “for”, we can easily become a demonic force in our world.  Three quotes which speak to this:

“People never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”     Blaise Pascal

"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."      Anne Lamott

“One religious reply is that a true Christian ought to be more interested in making the life of the world gentle for others than he should be in asserting the dominance of his own faith.”               Jon Meacham

Hypocrisy is a common partner with religion.  It is something we all have to guard against, and work to eliminate from our lives.  And it takes a lot of effort, a lot of trying, a lot of wanting to, to get it out of our thinking and our actions.  In that sense we have to be “born again…and again…and again…and again” before we finally get it right. The issues Anne Rice lists as her reason to leave Christianity are real issues for our day.  The question is, “are we so religious we cannot face them?” or is our spirituality so strong it will face and change the image of ‘religious’ by daring to eliminate the hypocrisy which so easily distorts the truth and hides from being compassionate, as our God is compassionate?  (Luke 6:36)  We dare not hide from this challenge, for it is at the heart of what religion and spirituality are all about!

This is the prayer Diana Bass includes in her book.  It will be our prayer for these three postings.

“O God, make me discontented with things the way they are in the world and in my own life. Make me notice the stains when people get spilled on. Make me care about the slum child downtown, the misfit at work, the people crammed into the mental hospital, the men, women and youth behind bars. Jar my complacence, expose my excuses, get me involved in the life of my city and world. Give me integrity once more, O God, as we seek to be changed and transformed, with a new understanding and awareness of our common humanity.”   Amen