Elijah23
“I believe religion serves a worthy purpose.â€
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the term religion has a variety of meanings.
1 the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods
2 details of belief as taught or discussed
3 a particular system of faith and worship
4 a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance
I can’t respond to your statement until I know in what sense you’re using the word.
“I believe Christianity serves a worthy purpose.â€
Christianity is “the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.†(Oxford Dictionary)
Reasonably accurate for a secular definition.
I agree that Christianity serves a worthy purpose. More than one actually. It gives a sense of community to Christians. It’s an excellent example of what the Biblical description of ekklesia is NOT. It proclaims the name of Christ in spite of its nature and character. And some Christians actually preach Christ. And I rejoice in this sense:
Php 1:18 ....The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice....
(NIV)
“To reject Christianity because we Christians don't yet completely understand creation, doesn't mean Christianity is a bad thing.â€
Perhaps by creation you meant all objective truth or knowledge. If so, I didn’t reject Christianity for that reason.
“Our beliefs sometimes are wrong and must be changed. Our relationship with the Lord must be constant forever.â€
This kind of dichotomy shouldn’t last forever. There should come a time when our beliefs and our relationship are in unity in all ways that are essential. The beliefs coming from and through the relationship. Otherwise there’s really no point to the relationship, and relationship becomes irrelevant so long as one thinks himself a Christian, having his relationship with Christianity, that is, with a denomination of Christianity.
Unfortunately, this dichotomy is the norm in Christianity due to its nature and character. At least among those who have the relationship.
The nature of Christianity is human. Thus a man-made religion. Its character is denominational. Thus it is divided in belief. Each denomination is authoritative in its distinctions. Each denomination is doctrinally binding on the individual follower. Perpetuating the dichotomy between the relationship with Christ and belief.
There is one advantage to the denominational character of Christianity as it exists today. One can Church hop. If one’s beliefs change, one can hop to another Church that is more in accordance with one’s current beliefs. That option came to an end for me when my beliefs no longer coincided with that of any known denomination. It wasn’t until I was at that point that I began to see the true nature and character of Christianity.
There were several options as to where to go from there. Revert to Atheism. Choose a denomination and believe as they do, compromising my personal beliefs or letting them go altogether if necessary in order to conform to the denomination. Continue to be a Theist, but outside of Christianity. There are many man-made religions to choose from other than Christianity. Each reasonable within its own perspective.
The point is that I really didn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater in the way I understand your meaning. I chose what I received through what I believe is my veritable relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. And one thing I received was the realization, or the knowledge if you prefer, that Christianity is a man-made religion with the nature of man and a character that expresses that nature. A nature and Character that can no more be separated than faith and works.
And through the relationship, I realized that Christianity is not the expression of the Body of Christ. It only expresses itself. It proclaims the name of Christ by its self-denotation of Christianity. But if one is converted to Jesus Christ on that account and never gets beyond Christianity, the situation is dire. He has started by the Spirit and has ended in the flesh. The problem is that there are more who are converted to Christianity, rather some denomination of Christianity, than are converted to Jesus Christ.
Jesus said,
Matt 7:
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(NIV)
I believe the gate refers to Jesus Christ. It’s too bad that Christianity tends to perpetuate the broad road in its character. But Jesus also gave a sign of hope.
Matt 7:
15 ¶ "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 ¶ "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
(NIV)
Peter elaborates,
2 Peter 1:
19 ¶ And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 2:
1 ¶ But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 ¶ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
(NIV)
There is only one teacher for the ones who are in Christ. That teacher is Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. There is a Spiritual gift of teacher in the ekklesia. Whether such is active apart from the expression of the ekklesia is doubtful. One is then left with the teachers in Christianity. If such a teacher teaches according to the teaching of Christ, all is well. But if such a teacher teaches according to the interpretations of a denomination, or of their own minds, they are false teachers. And most of the teachers in Christianity are, sad to say, false teachers.
I decided that I would hear the teaching of Christ alone. And that is one sense in which I have rejected Christianity.
FC
