What is Religion?
Mark Roberts
A recent article in the local paper details an
interview with several members of a pagan religion,
Wicca. After the celebration of the Spring
Solstice they were asked about the nature of their
beliefs and faith. “Tell me if this is true,” said the
interviewer. “You pick what you like from other
religions and throw the pieces together. You might
be absolutely wrong, and you know that. But this
religion seems true to you, so you believe it is. Is
that right?” To the amazement of the article’s
author, “the pagans were delighted. They cheered
and laughed and yelled, ‘That’s it.’” (Christine
Wicker, “Pagans’ Progress, The Dallas Morning
News, page 1G.). A pagan is even quoted as
saying “I don’t care if your god is 5,000 years old
or something you just made up last Tuesday. If it
gets you through the dark of the night, if it’s there
for you when you celebrate, if it’s there when you
need comfort from the death of your mother or your
best friend, then it’s a true religion, whatever it is.
My religion is there for me just as much as a
Baptist’s is there for him” (page 3G).
While being somewhat concerned by a handful
of people who wish to wear laurels and celebrate
spring, I must confess great distress that their
description of religion accurately reflects most
Americans’ assessment of it. Is religion whatever
we make of it? If it seems true to me does that
make it true, even if I just made it up last Tuesday?
What is religion?
The apostle Paul sheds light on this matter in
his sermon in Athens. Addressing a crowd that
was very religious, with more idols and temples
than he could count, Paul did not tell his audience
all was well. Acts 17 is completely without any
statement of Paul that “You are making it up as you
go along, and that is great” or “If it seems good and
true to you, then it must be.” Instead Paul challenges
his listeners to realize what religion is
actually all about: “And He has made from one
blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and has determined their preappointed
times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that
they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is
not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).
Religion is the seeking of the Lord that we might
find Him. That is what religion is concerned with,
and that is the driving force behind it. Religion is,
in simple terms, the search for God that we might
understand Him, His purpose for us, and how we
can serve Him.
Do we understand the vast implications of this
definition? It means, for example, that religion is
not primarily concerned with improving conditions
on this planet. Many have decided that this
is organized religion’s role in society. The church
should offer homeless shelters, soup kitchens, job
training and every other kind of social program to
improve humanity’s lot here. Yet this is a mancentered
focus in religion, instead of being God
centered. Is it a coincidence that the social-gospel
movement was born in Europe’s seminaries, where
faith in God and the Bible had long been destroyed?
Since religion’s primary object (God) had
been declared dead and nonexistent a new emphasis
had to be found: the problems of people.
Read Paul’s statement again. He does not say
that we are here to create our own utopia or
paradise. Our job is to seek God and find Him.
That is religion.
Further, religion was not designed to provide
a coping mechanism for life’s unpleasant
realities. In truth, this may be what most people
think religion is for. As the lady quoted above says,
“If it gets you through the dark of the night . . . if it’s
there when you need comfort from the death of
your mother or your best friend, then it’s a true
religion.” Many people who are not religious in any
form (right or wrong) suddenly want to have all
sorts of religious ceremonies, services and preachers
around them when they are near death, or a
loved one has died. This is also true whenever
there is a tragedy or terrible illness. People just
seem to sense that religion ought to have something
to do with life after death, or prayer and
petition when in real trouble. Yet again, this is not
the purpose of religion. Religion is about finding
God. Once we find Him then we may discover that
He offers comfort in time of trouble, or has promised
to respond to our prayer. But that would
simply be a “by product” of finding that God is good
and benevolent in His care for the universe and
creation. Like a small child who is only concerned
with the candy that his grandfather offers, with no
concern at all for the grandfather, all too often we
want to grab the “goodies” that God offers without
showing any concern for Him. Religion is the
showing of that concern, and should not be confused
with the benefits that religion might offer.
Religion is not about the business of making
you into a happier, more fulfilled person.
Again, so many today want to substitute their own
agenda for the real purpose of religion. There is so
much talk about “spirituality” in our media that
many have decided they need to address the
spiritual dimension of their lives. In a characteristically
human way, they selfishly look to see what
they want, rather than seeking God to see what He
desires. This is not religion. This is nothing more
than selfishness wearing the mantle of religion to
conceal its real intent. It will not work. Gratifying
self is different from seeking and serving God. It
does not matter if I gratify myself in a cathedral or
church building, and everyone calls it “Christianity.”
Doing for me, finding what I want, and serving
myself is not the goal of religion. Finding God is all
that matters.
Finally, religion is not something that we are at
liberty to “make up” or do as we please.
Religion is the search for God. As such, it is a
quantifiable, objective process and pursuit. Every
kind of evidence ought to be marshaled to first
determine if God even exists. Then we should
examine all evidence that He has communicated
with humankind. Is God there? Has He spoken to
us? What does He want? For what purpose did He
make and create us? These are the primary
questions that religion is concerned with. Understanding
this it becomes apparent that the idea of
“making up” a god is ridiculous. The god that I
conjure up will not be the true God that real religion
is involved in finding and serving. Instead, I will
have deluded myself with my own little concept of
God and actually deprive myself of finding the true
God! How sad (and crazy) it would be if someone
who was searching for Mount Everest decided to
make a little mountain out of modeling clay and
proclaim that this was, for him, Mount Everest. No,
it is not, because Mount Everest is an objective,
fixed item existing in this universe. Likewise, those
who fashion their own gods have failed to reckon
with God’s objective, fixed nature and that He
exists in this universe just as surely as Mount
Everest does. Any search that ends before it finds
Him is a search that has been called off too soon!
In truth, the person who bows down to their own
creation of god (made up last Tuesday) is simply
not as well off as the person who is serving the real
God who can answer prayer and save our souls. A
made-up god is a cheap and poor substitute for the
real God who governs our world.
What we are saying then, is that God is not an
amorphous, do-with-Him-as-you-will abstract notion
that no one can find or really understand. God
is a fact. He is a Being with a nature, the ability to
speak with His creation, and actual purposes and
design for each of us. Our feelings and what we
want to believe have exactly nothing to do with His
reality. Let us search for Him, and be content with
no other god or substitute religion. The Bible
claims to be from the God who created us all (2
Timothy 3:16-17; Genesis 1:1ff). I would strongly
suggest that all turn their attention to this Book of
Books and begin their search for God right there.
Then and only then can we find true religion.