Not at Odds

Warning: What is about to be said will not set well with most and for that I have no remedy.

 Religion, as Jesus understands it, is not the enemy of faith. Religion, as Jesus explained it, is not the cancer of society. Religion, as Jesus taught it, is not the nail in the coffin of hope and peace.

 I am.

Religion cannot be solely defined by my impression of it. Likewise, I cannot simply disregard it by changing words to make my position more palatable. It is not logically responsible to speak of Christianity without the presence of religion. In Christianity, Religion is not to be avoided as the plague- though I will admit some of its interpretation should be.

 To suggest that Jesus hates religion is to resolve to put our own twist on interpreting the testimony of the Scriptures regarding him. It is to take away the very core of a first century Jewish male living in exile, pitching his tent here among other exiles. It is to render his death as ridiculous and of seemingly no importance. Suggesting that Jesus didn't endorse living under both direction and obligation to Religion while living in a "city that is not our home", is to speak unfairly of Him. It is to make the expectations of God to be transformed into the likeness of His Son utterly inconceivable.

In fairness, I accept that what has been left in the wake of many Christians look nothing like the Jesus we see portrayed in the Gospels. The unwillingness to accept that all people must make their own choices regarding the testimony of Jesus has most assuredly managed to rob people of dignity and worth. Being right has lent credibility to those whose actions have been so unChristlike. Yet, this does not make the case against Religion.  Instead, it seems that many have sought to reconcile the seemingly incoherent connection between Religion and its adherents by removing the "obligations" of religion, thus leaving the freedom to live as "God" intended.  But really all this does is prove that for many their god is in their stomach.

It is not about relationship more than it is about religion. It's about accepting that you can't have one without the other and that you don't. Relationship with anyone requires understanding of the other person. It requires that one person accepts both the liberties that exist and the boundaries that cannot be breached. An improper balance between relationship and religion limits the quality of both. Jesus didn't come to destroy religion, but repair and restore it.