Religion or Relationship?
If you know me at all, you know that I like digging into profound things. I love rich conversations. I thoroughly enjoy a theological dialogue. I love going behind the scenes to discover the meaning of phrases and words.
One such statement that has interested me for years has been, "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship." I have been so intrigued at how this Christianese motto started and now has exploded into such a pivotal catch-phrase for believers.
I've seen many utilize these words to perform poems, speak sermons, and publish paperbacks. I've also witnessed this idiom become the attractional point of evangelism in our contemporary world. In this manner, people have used this slogan to reach others and invite them into a space that would be more comfortable and approachable.
I appreciate the fact that we have sought ways to invite and include people who have been turned off to the Lord and Church. I value the heart and goal of simplifying the Gospel to a call toward a relationship. I will even say that I find great worth in the creativity of defining things in a relevant language.
I will also declare that in proclaiming these words, we have led others into an incomplete message, a fragmented history, and a false definition of Christianity. Here are my reasons:
1. We have defined religion outside of the Word, and in doing so, we have misinformed others about what religion is. Society has defined religion as a group of people with distinct and unique beliefs that they live from. Sociologically and culturally, this is true. It is a helpful way to describe religion for the world. However, it is an over-simplified word for a complex and vibrant term.
The Word defines religion as "True devotion (religion/worship), the kind that is pure and faultless before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their difficulties and to keep the world from contaminating us (Jms. 1:27)." It is a call to relationships with God and others rooted in love and care. Religion is not just a set of beliefs, but it is actively engaging in loving relationships.
This is what people are arguing in declaring that "Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship." But, if we leave behind religion, as defined through the authoritative, corrective, and directional Word, we leave behind active love and care for those in need. Long story short, when we abandon compassion for the widow and orphan, we create a new set of beliefs without matching practices. Another way of saying this is that we leave behind one religion for another religion without clarity of definition or habits.
2. When we throw out religion, we are also throwing out thousands of years of Church history, tradition, and the real blood, sweat, and tears of many who have gone before us to give us the foundation we now stand upon. When we merely move past religion, we dishonor the lives and deaths of martyrs who fought for us to have a personal Bible, a Church building, and a deeper relationship with the Lord. In simplifying the terms of religion, we have missed the full beauty of the Church's rich history and tradition.
I am well aware that many things have been done in the name of Christianity that are not befitting of the name of Christ or His teachings. There are periods of time and groups of people who have gathered in Jesus' name and uttered, acted, and thought in opposition to the central call of loving God, neighbor, self, and making disciples. I am also aware that there have been incredible examples of our Savior revealed through the Church in providing stability in Dark Ages and hope for those without resources or family.
In short, if we disregard our full history for the sake of an uncomplicated term we are not pointing people to the entire story of Christ's redemption. This redeeming work permeates the best and worst moments of our religious history and points to His making good out of our mistakes. I'd much rather lead people to a larger grace by pointing others to both religion and relationship.
3. When we belittle Christianity into a singular relationship, we miss the full weight of the relationships we are called to be in. Christianity transcends the harsh individualism of our culture and beckons us to a lifestyle of holiness that looks differently than the isolation of fences, headphones, and gated communities. Narrowing down Christianity into one relationship misses the beauty of community, the hope we can proclaim through gathering all races, genders, and peoples, and the glory of communing with the God who is Community.
As Christians, we believe God is Triune. We hold that God is the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In God’s very nature, God is relational. He is a Father, a Son, and a Spirit. He is communal in His character and in the way He interacts with His creation. He invites us into community and calls us to reveal Him and what Christianity is through loving one another.
In fact, the Great Commandments boil down to loving God, others, and ourselves. When we over-reduce the term of religion to one relationship, we point people away from the communal calling of multiple relationships that are rooted in One Love who is God. And when we focus more on a philosophical term like relationship, we miss the daily activities (religious) of actually engaging in love for others.
I write all of this to say that in reducing Christianity to a relationship rather than both a religion and relationship, we have missed the full message and led people astray from Christ Jesus' teachings. Many people do this same thing in speaking of the Old and New Testaments. I have heard many claim that the Old Testament is the Obsolete Testament compared to the New Testament. Again, I understand where they are coming from, but I disagree with the message.
Jesus came not to abolish the Law (Old Testament), but to fulfill it (Mt. 5:17-20). In fact, He came to show us a new way of living in relational connection that revealed the heart of the methods of the Old Testament. He waited 30 years to launch His public ministry by saying, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near (Mt. 4:17)," and "You have heard it said...but I say unto you... (Mt 5:21-48)." In other words, He doesn't want us to throw away the old, but to think and live differently through His fulfillment of it.
As we look more in the Word, we discover one of the central themes of the New Testament is to love our neighbor. Again, James 1:27 would define religion as caring for the orphan and widow, and looking different than the world in our lifestyle. In other words, God calls us to religion by calling us to love our neighbor. If we are not practicing religion, we are not doing the Great Commandments.
In this same way, we have heard it said, "Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship," but I think Jesus would say unto us, "Following Me is both relationship and religion." Let us not be the people who abolish religion, but live in connection with the One who fulfilled religion and calls us to relationships with Himself, our neighbors, and ourselves deeply rooted in love, compassion, and grace.
Religion is relationship. Relationship is religious. We need not separate the two or create a faulty argument. We just need to live out relationship with God, others and ourselves. Why? In doing so we are revealing the full message of what Christ Jesus calls us to: to be loved, and to love.
Sometimes this love looks more religious and other times it looks more relational. In both manners, we see the One who has fulfilled religion and relationship in Himself and is calling us to live in loving connection AND loving action.
Friends, Christianity is much more complex than one term. I believe that we can do a much better job of explaining, inviting, and revealing what following Jesus is truly about by speaking with our relational and religious (caring for the widow and orphan) actions than with confusing or over-simplified words. My prayer is that we may be a people who point to the whole message, the Messenger Himself, and the beauty of His redemptive relationships throughout the history and tradition of His Church.
I would propose that when we point to the Lord through both religious activity and relationships rooted in love, we may find a more creative way of including people into the beautiful adventure of following Jesus. Here's to that creativity that flows from the Creator and Redeemer in relationship and religion. Amen.
