Why as a Pastor, I Hate Religion?

Article: Why I Hate Religion?

by JOHNNIE TAYLOR

“Follow Me.”

???This is not an attack on any one religion; it is an attack on all religions. Although religion introduced me to Jesus, I still didn’t know him until I got away from the structure of it. Let me explain. Religion can be a million things but one thing it’s not is accurate. All religions are flawed and have inaccuracies that can lead people away from Jesus Christ and make them turn away from the bible. Most religions are a set of man-made rules and people don’t know how to separate these religious rules from Christ’s principles. So, if an attempt is made to stop or change any of these religious rules it’s as if blasphemy has taken place and the bible is under siege. Jesus never intended for us to be religious. Rather, he said to “Follow me;” not the Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, etc. I know Tupac also said, “Follow me,” but Jesus has power behind his words and Tupac just had a good flow.

Religion needs to be separated from Jesus and the bible. The biggest issue is most people group religion with Jesus and the bible together. They view them as one in the same. However, the problem are the lies religion teaches us that distorts the facts, muddies the truth, and diminishes the reliability of Christ and the bible. Thus, most people develop a hate or disdain for religion and take their mistrust out on Jesus and the bible. Again, Jesus never told us to be religious, he just asked us to follow him. Matthew 10:38

The Two Jesuses:

???Religion always produced questions I could not answer and made me question God. I did not understand why the Christ of the bible did not match the Jesus I learned about every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. In many cases they appeared to be two different people, which is why I said religion introduced me to Jesus but I didn’t know him until I put religion aside. You see, the religious Jesus and the Jesus of the bible confused me and made me hate going to church and deal with religious people. Yet, it also made me feel guilty because I thought I was turning against God and his people and not the very thing he also hated, which is religion.

In the bible, Jesus always attacked the religious leaders of the day. He felt that they were bible scholars and they should have known God’s word was not about the system they made it out to be. That’s just what religion does. It makes things an empty regimented system where people are just going through the motions with no spiritual growth.?This system is designed to control and divide people and in many cases it’s motivated by greed, racism, and a lust for power.?

???With no direction, I started viewing God, religion, and the bible as one in the same, which was my first mistake because I did what most Christians do. I just settled in and went with the flow. I became that person I hated the most, a self-righteous religious holy-roller living in the bubble that was created by the European version of what they believe Christianity should be. This made me hate myself and even hated God. Matthew 23

Is Church Even Necessary?

I think going to church is important, but going to the right church is vital to our Christian walk. I know sometimes it may sound like I’m not an advocate for church, but I actually am. However, I know how hard it is to find a good church and I believe that a good church home is too essential to our spiritual development to just settle for one with a great choir or famous preacher. In essence, most Christians lack their own identity and look for one in groups. They enjoy being identified with a ministry or religion and have a tendency to adopt the beliefs of a particular ministry so they don’t have to explain their own beliefs.?They basically have a group mentality and follow whatever the ministry deems as correct and don’t bother to study for themselves, which the bible implore us to “study to show thy selves approved.” 2 Timothy 2:15?This lack of studying the word for themselves is the reason so many Christians don’t know what they believe and why they believe it, which is one of the main reasons they are so easily led astray.

So is church necessary? Of course it is! However, it is very important to seek out a good church home that is more concerned about you building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and not focus on making everything about social issues, culture, politics, and religion. Basically, when Christians demonstrate biblical principles and earnestly seek after Jesus Christ, his guidance will teach us how to handle the issues of this world. We got to remember that this thing is supposed to be about Jesus Christ and nothing else matters. Hebrews 10:25

The Bottom Line:

I guess the point I’m trying to make is as wicked as religion is, don’t allow it to contaminate your relationship with Jesus Christ and the foundation of the bible. Don’t allow the behavior of men in this world and the men in the bible to make you think God condone or even endorse their behavior. The bible shows us that because of man’s sinful nature we need God. The bible also proves this to us as it highlights the flaws of man and how God uses those same flaws to show us that we need him. We view all of them as biblical heroes but forget that they all were imperfect men who had a sinful nature. Moreover, the bible also analyzes how these same men easily fell into sin and did evil until they surrendered to God. Moses led the children of Israel to the promise land but he was also a murderer. Abraham is the father of faith but he also was a faithless individual who did not trust God. Also, remember that David, Mary Magdalene, Paul, and Peter all had major flaws just like all of us. In essence, the bible is filled with examples of men and women of the faith who did not always do the right things in the eyes of God, but when they turned their hearts to God, they achieved great things. God didn’t endorse the murder of Moses he just used a murderer and he can use us too regardless of our sins.?So don’t let these issues lead you away from Jesus and the bible; let it run you to him and his word. Jesus loves us and his love is our hope – the only hope we need. Romans 12:2

In conclusion, religion bleeds into and contaminates so many aspects of our Christian walk. In actuality, we will never get a true understanding of God in his purest form in a religious setting simply because religion is agenda filled and only the bible can provide the most unbiased depiction of him. So, read your bible to know God, his way of doing things, and formulate your own relationship with God to understand his love for you so you won’t be misled.

In your quiet time, reflect on this question:

Good or Bad – How has religion impacted your life?

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