Gregory Boyd makes the claim: “…religion doesn’t save people. Religion, in fact, may be one of the the greatest obstacles to being saved.” Heresy? I don’t think so.
Being a former atheist (as was Boyd) I can say to Christians that embrace religion, that it is your love of your religion that actually helped keep me away from Christ. Seriously, when it becomes more about words and judgment rather than love & grace, who in their right mind would be interested in joining that club? Once I did come to know God, religion did get the best of me--at first. However, as I’ve matured in my faith and grown in understanding who Christ Jesus is in me, I have been able to break free of religion and lend a voice to those that see it as idolatry and something that distracts one from knowing the true Jesus.
Don’t you know that when you take a stand and cast out someone that has committed adultery, or someone that struggles with alcoholism or a gay man or woman, then in essence you are trying to abandon them for the sake of religion. Jesus was known to be gossiped about by the Pharisees because he was seen dining with prostitutes and tax collectors (who were considered as enemies of Jerusalem at the time). Jesus shuns religion through every gospel account in the Bible. This put him at odds with those that felt the law was more important than the love of others.
Think about this. Is Christianity really meant to keep us in bondage to laws, or is it about sharing the love of Christ with others in selfless ways so that one day they may come to know our Jesus too? As Ghandi said in regards to Christianity:
- “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Look around you…look in the mirror…can you see the truth in the above-mentioned quote?
Boyd describes the struggle with religion as: “…religious idolatry is particularly resistant to the Kingdom of God. It’s no coincidence the main opposition Jesus faced in establishing the Kingdom came from the guardians of the religious status quo.” He goes on to say, “To establish and manifest the beautiful Kingdom in his day, Jesus had to revolt against religion. To advance and manifest the beautiful Kingdom today, we must do the same.”
Gregory Boyd contends throughout the chapter The REVOLT Against RELIGION that religious people get Life (yes, capital “L”) from their religion, and not from the one who is the actual giver of Life. For them, it has become more about religion than about Christ and his kingdom. Do you truly understand the message Jesus was telling those around him during his ministry here on earth?
- From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” --Matthew 4:17
- As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ --Matthew 10:7
- Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ --Luke 10:9
It’s about the kingdom of God, not about how closely we can follow legalistic rules and judge others as they try to do the same. Don’t you know that Jesus was crucified because even though he followed the Jewish law to the letter, he was seen as a threat to the kingdom of God because of his love radical love for others and the authority in which he spoke? It was the religious people of his day that tried to squash a revolution of love for fear that they would lose power and become ineffectual. That even though it was the religious that brought charges against Jesus and eventually celebrated their hand in his crucifixion, we still cling to religion in idolatrous ways. When we do this, are we really Christians that are following Christ, or are we following the Pharisees. Is it time for some of us to repent, for no matter how we try to cling to religion to give us worth, the kingdom of God is near?
