Paul B Thomas

Religion v Jesus is seems to be an in-discussion at the moment.  Here’s my two penneth as the Welsh say.

Am I religious? yes! because I’m a Christian, let me explain. Religion is not what God gives, it is what man creates around the keeping of a set of rules that he knows he cannot keep. Religion is not bad it’s good when you don’t have order and rules to live by. Religion is good for folks who need parameters and guess what we all need parameters.  Man always creates a religion  for himself when he doesn’t want to submit to a God that he knows exists. When man wants to feel right, he creates a religion which he can be comfortable with and so becomes his own ideal god who he wouldnt otherwise bother with!

Jesus wasn’t against religion he was just against those who believed that their religion made them right with God. Those whose “god” was their religion. Jesus was against those who made religion bigger than what it really should be. He defined religion by saying,

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep yourself unspotted from the world (James 1:27)

Now that’s all religion should be, and apart from that I would say I’m not religious. Now, if pure religion is visiting the fatherless and widows, then being religious is good, if that’s all it is! if its anything more, it’s bad and not pure. To be unspotted before God one must be a born again or a Christian which suggest then that only Christians are religious. So are Christians who are bashing religion really bashing their own faith?  I think so.  The issue with religion is not that its bad, but by itself, it just can’t save me. So let me define it like this, pure religion is good  but when it become’s your “faith,” you’re sunk!

Paul.