Religious Affliction

Jesus came to free the captives, not exalt the Oppressor 

Jesus was not meant to be a religious leader.

He wasn't, at any point in the Gospels a religious leader, figurehead, or subscriber.

I once posted this as my Facebook status and the response was interesting, though my point seemed missed. So I'll go a step further.

Christianity is not a religion.

Relationship and Life are good soil.
Buildings? Not so much. (See Matthew 13:3-8)

Sure, there is a religion that has named itself Christianity. And there are people who ascribe to this religion who've name themselves Christians.

But Christianity, to be a "Little Christ," is not a religion. It is life and relationship.

And by golly it's messy. No rows of pews or bullet-pointed lesson plans.

Until recently, I read portions of the Gospels involving the Pharisees as conflict directly against the Pharisees. In Matthew 16, for example, the Pharisees and Sadducees demand miraculous signs from Jesus. I read Jesus' response as a direct scolding of the religious leaders. "Watch out! Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees," he warns onlookers.

Jesus engaged in conflict throughout the Gospels very rarely. Specifically, I've noticed he conflicted with Satan, and demons. And frankly, "conflict" is a bit too kind. Conflict implies that Satan had an opportunity for victory; implies a contest with an uncertain overcomer. There was never a contest, Jesus is the victor.

My initial understanding of Jesus's interaction with the Pharisees was that the religious leaders were the target of the conflict. But I realized that I was directly contradicting my statement above, that Jesus' target was/is Satan, not the men and woman he created. Jesus said to be ware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, not be ware of the men themselves.

The Pharisees were rather confused at this warning. We haven't even brought any bread, they argued. Jesus reminded them about the thousands he fed with the equivalent of a boy's sack lunch, and explained that he was in no way speaking of bread. They understood he wasn't speaking of bread yeast, but of religious teaching.

Which leads me to the idea I'm currently exploring: "Religion" is an oppressive, afflicting spirit.


To go beyond that, I believe that ours is the generation who will co-labor with Jesus and see that oppressor overcome.

I'm seeing religion being stripped from my life and those around me. We've shed the most obvious manifestations - Sunday church attendance, for example - and are moving on to manifestations we had no idea were Religious afflictions. To manifestations we've grown to love and embrace as part of ourselves, that we're holding onto for dear life.

It's a tumultuous time, this sanctification. But a necessary and supremely good one. And one that has significantly illuminated the need for community in the lives of Little Christs. It is easy to feel social, to feel like you've fulfilled your community fix, when you attend a weekly pre-prepared community activity like church.

But when that is stripped, the responsibility is yours. You must ask for and seek community. It takes significantly more commitment and effort. So far, I'm convinced it's worth it.

I've hesitated to post this for a couple weeks. Those unfamiliar with me or my writing could easily perceive from this post that I am anti church. I am anti religion, true. And therefore against religious places and gatherings operating under guise of church.

The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is the flesh and blood of the living God on earth. This, I don't debate.

The issue isn't that Church is biblical, it's that we've allowed Religion to name itself church. We've allowed church to become a place we plant rather than the people we engage with daily.

Let's broaden the lens through which we view Church. I think we'll find our lens gets shattered in the process and completely replaced.