As most of you all know, I am a huge supporter of my local church. I volunteer when I can, donate as much as possible, and invite people as frequently as possible.So it may come as a surprise to you that I am not a huge fan of the idea of religion. The whole institution of religion has gotten a pretty bad rap, whether its Christianity or any other religion. Doing things because your religion tells you to, is not something I am a fan of. I think living your life for a higher being is all based on you waking up each day and choosing to partake.
I believe that going to services and in my case, following Jesus is the best thing ever. Going to church, praying, and reading the bible are what I like to consider my living traditions, rather then my religion. I practice these things because I believe that our God is way bigger then the term religion. Living by His words and will for my life are a conscious choices I make every day, and not because “it’s my religion” or ” that’s just what you do”.
So what do you think? Do you think the term religion has negative connotations associated with it, or do you think its a highly desirable institution?
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Since true Christianity is always Judeo, it is also a “religion” per the Letter of James 1: 27, but of course “Pure religion”!
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I like this :), and yes i do agree that the term religion has negative connotations
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I agree with you. I prefer to be called a Jesus freak!
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https://enthusiasticagnostic.com
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I agree with what you’ve said completely. I can understand some people wanting to go back to the roots of the word “religion” to argue with your statement, but does that matter? When we boil it down, one things remains true. Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again, therefore being the last and final sacrifice for a broken system, forging a path for mankind to be welcomed into God’s presence. The terms “Religion” and “Christianity” leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, whether you are a Christian or not. I was raised in a loving, Christian home, and yet I’m still wading through the years of training that led me to be a grown man who finds difficulty in thinking for himself. I have a relationship with God. And I believe strongly in him. I’ve dug into these issues on my page (https://thetherapysessionsblog.wordpress.com/) and welcome your ideas and thoughts. I believe strongly that we put too much focus on not doing wrong, and don’t spend enough time thinking about what is truly right. I look forward to reading more of your articles!
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Religion was created by man a very long time ago, when the world was very scary and men didn’t understand nature. One of man’s weaknesses is that he HAS to know why, regardless of if he can. Old civilizations made up a lot of beliefs and deities and demons to put their minds at ease when natural occurrences happened. What is that light up in the sky? Does it mean the death of a king? (No, it’s just a comet.) Why are their storms at sea? Is there a super being causing them? (Poseidon was not causing them. It was weather patterns.) That woman speaks in tongues. Is she possessed by a demon? (No, she’s mentally ill). Over 3800 deities have been counted throughout recorded human history. Why so many? See a pattern here? We make this stuff up for many reasons (control, security, money), but we do make it up. We understand the universe enough these days that it is permissible to answer many questions with these wise words: I don’t know. We don’t need magic and mysticism to explain that which we don’t know. Religion is a crutch used by old civilizations to explain the unexplainable. Unfortunately, it is all, all of it, made up. We don’t need it anymore. But far be it from me to tell anyone what they can believe.
Ask me what happens to us after we die? It’s simple: I don’t know. And neither does anyone else.
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