Categotry Archives: religion

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On Coming Back to Life

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Categories: religion, Things that Will Probably Get Me In Trouble

He is risen!

He is risen indeed.

The past few years, I must admit that Easter has been something of a bittersweet thing for me. The church buildings are packed with people (many of whom don’t attend but once a year), and for over 30 years, I was an integral part of putting the church’s best foot forward to receive them, in the hopes that some would actually return the following week. Easter (or Resurrection Sunday, as some prefer to call it over its more pagan moniker) is supposed to be a high holy day for the church, bigger even than Christmas. After all, the reason the Church exists–the reason we can have relationship with God–is that Jesus rose from the dead.

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Swapping One Form of Religion For Another

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Categories: food for thought, religion

If you’ve read this here blog for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that I strongly dislike religion. By that, I don’t just mean the many different types of so-called “false religions” in the world (in my view, all religion is false, including the one we’ve made out of Christianity). By “religion,” I’m basically referring to any set of beliefs and/or practices that takes precedence in our minds and hearts over simple relationship with God.

This is a preview of Swapping One Form of Religion For Another. Read the full post (1107 words, estimated 4:26 mins reading time)

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The Confrontational Gospel?

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, religion, Tags: ,

Maybe I’ve blogged about this in one of the many earlier posts, but since I’m thinking about it this morning, I’ll just launch out and talk about it anyway.

When I was pastoring a house church in Tulsa, there was one pastor in town whom I knew briefly and tried to be friends with–but the truth was, we totally butted heads, from the first day we met. We were at someone’s house for a dinner party, and while chatting within the group, I related a story of how I’d recently seen one guy “witnessing” to another outside a Tulsa restaurant. The person doing the “witnessing” was quite literally thumping a Bible, talking very vehemently to the other guy with pointing fingers and everything.  I said nothing at the time, but at the dinner party I mentioned how I wished I could have gone to the victim (’cause that’s what he looked like) to apologize on behalf of my brother for improperly representing Christ to him.

This is a preview of The Confrontational Gospel?. Read the full post (1361 words, estimated 5:27 mins reading time)

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It’s Different Here

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Categories: church, food for thought, religion

We’re still finding our bearings around our new digs–not just within walking distance, but also in the area.

Comparing Denver to the Bible Belt…it’s different here.

I might submit that last sentence to a “best understatement” contest, if I can find one. 🙂

This is a preview of It’s Different Here. Read the full post (859 words, 1 image, estimated 3:26 mins reading time)

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Shortcuts, Buffer Zones and No-Brainers

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Categories: Meanderings (look it up), religion

Douglas Weaver made a comment on my last post on labels that got me thinking. Here’s a snippet of what he said:

“I think it goes back to that tendency toward religion that resides within us all. The carnal nature is hopelessly religious – always seeking a new method or form that will get us closer to God.”

I think he’s right, and I wonder what it is about humans that makes us so religious. Even people who are atheists, or people who claim no faith at all, quite often hold to their non-religion “religiously.” Why is that? Why is religion such a strong default posture for us?

This is a preview of Shortcuts, Buffer Zones and No-Brainers. Read the full post (809 words, 1 image, estimated 3:14 mins reading time)

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What Religion Did for Me

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Categories: food for thought, religion

Religion made faith easy and safe. It gave me a set of understandable measure markers, expectations, and boundaries so I could easily tell if I was doing good, or doing badly.

Religion put things in my control. It laid out the parameters for a desired result, and told me I could obtain that desired result if I met the requirements (i.e., prayed enough, read my Bible enough, said the right things, did enough good deeds, or what-have-you). It took the guesswork out of trusting God.

This is a preview of What Religion Did for Me. Read the full post (601 words, 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

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The Tower and the Ladder

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, religion

At a worship conference I participated in last year in Joplin, Missouri, a friend of mine there named Jim gave a Biblical comparison I’ve been chewing on ever since. And some things in Sarah’s post today indirectly stirred these thoughts again. So I thought I’d share them with you.

In the Book of Genesis, we find two powerful pictures of heaven-earth connections. One of them is the Tower of Babel, found in Genesis 11; the other is Jacob’s ladder dream found in Genesis 28. One negative, one positive.

This is a preview of The Tower and the Ladder. Read the full post (700 words, 2 images, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)

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Confusing Method for Principle

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Categories: changing mindsets, church, food for thought, religion

I’ve alluded to this topic probably several times, the most recent being in my post “Questions of Heresy?”. It’s probably time to cover this one head on, because in my opinion it is at the root of many of our relgious practices. A lot of the disputes that divide the church, and a lot of the resistance to new things, boil down to a confusion between method and principle.

It is apparent through the Scriptures that God does not change. This makes sense, since Someone who is eternally perfect has no need to evolve. His character, His nature, His love, the things that He likes and dislikes…all of this remains constant, and always has. However, it is also apparent that while God does not change, His methods do. (A key example of this is in Isa. 43:19, when He says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing.”) Because man does change over time, God will alter His methods in His relentless quest to reach man.

This is a preview of Confusing Method for Principle. Read the full post (928 words, 2 images, estimated 3:43 mins reading time)

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The Strange Appeal of Religion

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Categories: changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up), religion

If you were to know anything about my background, the fact that someone like me is writing a blog called “Losing My Religion” might be enough to convince you that there is a God.

I am the most unlikely candidate for this sort of thing because I have spent most of my life being religious, and liking it.

I like rules; I like to keep rules; I like to help other people keep rules.

I like to know what is expected of me, and I like to meet and exceed those expectations.

This is a preview of The Strange Appeal of Religion. Read the full post (867 words, 2 images, estimated 3:28 mins reading time)

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What We Were Never Meant to Be

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Categories: changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up), religion

So I’m working out in the gym this morning, and the song “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. comes up on my ipod. As I listened and pondered the lyrics, I thought about maybe covering that song someday with a band.

And then I remembered a day years ago when that thought would have totally offended me. I used to turn the radio off when that song played, because I assumed it was anti-Christian. Now I have it on my ipod, and the title inspired my blog name.

This is a preview of What We Were Never Meant to Be. Read the full post (521 words, 2 images, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)
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