Compel Religion?

"It is assuredly no part of religion to compel religion - to which free-will and not force should lead us." (Tertullian, AD220)

It always amazes me that God has given us free will.  It's a scary gift.  Why put the Tree in the Garden that will allow Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit?  Would you do that?  Would you put temptation in front of your children and tell them not to touch it?

And yet...

Love that is forced is not love.  Faith that is compelled is not faith.  Belief is only belief if it is reached through free thought.  God guides us and leads us, he spreads his prevenient grace over us, and makes himself known, so that we will believe, but he leaves the choice up to us.

Amazing.

In the time of Jesus, those in Rome were forced into worship of Ceasar.  Jesus stood and held a coin, and said, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's"  Caesar can have the coin.  What he cannot have is worship.  Worship belongs to God, and it is given of free will.  The state cannot dictate it.  Ortberg says, "The influence of Jesus helped create a state (ours) where people could choose not to follow Jesus."

Have you ever thought that one of the legacies of Jesus is the separation of church and state?

"It is assuredly no part of religion to compel religion - to which free-will and not force should lead us." (Tertullian, AD220)

Remembering Religion but Forgetting God

I read a devotional this morning, written by Beth Taulman Miller and published in Disciplines 2013. She was writing about Psalm 50, and she said, "God emphasizes the tragedy of remembering religion and forgetting God."

...the tragedy of remembering religion and forgetting God.

Think about that for a while.  What would happen -- what happens -- when we remember our religion but we forget God?

I think it robs the grace from our faith.  When we remember religion, we remember the rules, the history, the law, but we forget the heart.  We forget the reason for it all.  We leave out the grace.  It's so much easier to have a religion that has no God, because then we become the god.  We make the judgments; we enforce the rules.  We decide who is welcome and who isn't -- who is worthy and who isn't.

Our worship becomes empty and without meaning.  We fail to love.  We fail to serve.

May we always remember God in our religion.

Ligaments

Today I was reading a chapter from John Ortberg's book, Who is This Man:  The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus. He writes:

The very word religion is related to our word for "ligament" -- that which holds a body together.

I haven't looked up the word origins of the two words to give you the original data, but I like the idea.  Religion is the ligament that holds the body together.

Religion sometimes has a bad reputation.  We hear comments like, "I believe in God, but I don't believe in religion."

Truthfully, I don't think it is religion that is the "bad guy" in this story -- it's the believers, who use religion as a tool to harm or judge people.  It is the misuse of religion that is the problem, not the religion itself.

I believe in God, and I believe in the value of religion to connect us.  To organize us.  To increase our impact in manifold ways.  Religion, when we use it right, can further God's purposes.  Go into your garden and commune with God, strengthening your faith and your relationship.  Go to church and, when we are being the church, strengthen the faith of your community.  Open doors for people to find God.

We are not meant to be solitary.  We are part of a body of Christ.

Religion vs Gospel

Religion versus Gospel.

I saw a post on Facebook, coming "religion" to "gospel."  It was a list of items like:

Religion:  Do good works and God will love you
Gospel:  God loves you; therefore, love others through your good works.

Warning -- I made that one up.  I don't remember exactly what it said, but it's unimportant for this discussion, and my made-up example gives you the idea.

There seems to be a trend that I'm hearing about that -- young people don't like religion.  They love God, but not religion.  Religion is bad.  It is organized and irrelevant.

Is it?  Is all of it?  Do we believe that religion is bad just because there is some bad religion?  Is there not a value to organized faith?  Do we throw it out and say it is bad?

Or, do we realize that religion is neither good nor bad.  Religion is a tool.  Use it well or use it poorly.  If it is spreading the wrong gospel, is it the fault of religion?  Or is it the fault of the user?

Is it user error?  And if it is, what do we do about it?