Pete's Blog

My warm thanks go out to Kibonge for his help with this entry.

As most readers of this blog probably know, I'm traditional. My default is to keep the way we've always done something unless there's a reason to do otherwise, as opposed to defaulting to do something new unless there's a reason to keep the old ways.

Having this default, now that most Christians seem to be disillusioned with the word "religion" it got me thinking about why that is, considering that, in itself, it's a perfectly good word.

To begin with, I recognize that people aren't throwing out the perfectly good word "religion" in its original meaning, but are actually throwing out the word that our society associates with other meanings. Here are the two ways that I hear "religion" used in a negative way:

1. Ritualism and legalism. (Kibonge was really helpful with this. I hadn't identified the association between religion and ritualism before, but as soon as he mentioned it, I was in complete agreement. Very insightful.) In doing evangelism I've heard loads of people say that they're spiritual but not religious. Interesting. I think they're saying that they're not going through the rituals of an organized religion in order to practice their spirituality. When John MacArthur criticises "religious people" in his sermons, he's talking about Mormons, Catholics and pew warmers who think that going to a weekly worship service will help them get into a good afterlife.
   
2. Pharisaism. (In my experience, people have often used the word "legalism" where I think they mean "pharisaism.") In the gospels, the Pharisees were adding rules to the Law. In fact, they were breaking the Law in doing so, "You shall not add to the word that I command you" (Dt. 4:2). When I hear someone like Mark Driscoll use the word "religion," or more often, "religious people," he's talking about people who add unbiblical rules to people's lives. An example of who Driscoll would be talking about would be American fundamentalists. They have rules like you're not allowed to dance, smoke, go to movies, play cards, listen to John Piper sermons, etc.
   

Finally, I'd like to talk about good religion. The origin of the word "religion" etymologically comes from the Latin word "religio." That word breaks into two components: "re" which means again and "lig" which means to bind or to tie. So "religion" means to reconnect (i.e., with God). That's exactly what Christianity is. Humanity is fallen, and through Jesus, we're reconnected with God.

Also, in defense of the word "religion" being good, consider that James uses it in such a way that implies that religion is good. "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (Jm. 1:26, 27).

This is not to say that either Mac or Driscoll are wrong in their usages. Language evolves. For example, consider the expression, "used to," as in, "It used to be summer." If you use the original meanings of each of these words' original meanings, the sentence is nonsensical. But it's come into our language. Likewise, the word "religion" has evolved in its meaning.

But, I think as Christians we should remember the original meaning. If for no other reason, because James does, and we don't have a better word for it yet in English.

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I'm not done posting on Narnia yet. I really shouldn't make promises on my blog.

Anyway, I think this little quote can't hurt this post, even though it's unrelated:

"That's the worst of girls," said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf. "They never carry a map in their heads."

"That's because our heads have something inside them," said Lucy.

-C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, p. 370. This is a single volume of all seven books, published by Harper Collins. It is from Prince Caspian, chapter 9.