Ok, if you care enough about my little blog to venture here, then you have most likely already watched the now viral "Jesus>Religion" video. If you are one of the 17 people left on facebook that haven't watched it... well... here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY]
I have a lot to say about this video. A lot. I won't say it all. You don't really want to read it, and I probably won't have time to write it, and I'm definitely not going to write it all here and now. So let me just get to my point.
The statement, and title, "Jesus > Religion" might be the most obvious thing written. Ever. Of course Jesus > Religion because Jesus > Everything. Hello! Son of God. God incarnate. God with us. King of kings. Alpha. Omega. So at least in that respect, the title and some of what is being said is right on target.
Also, this video, and it's REALLY fast spread across the net, illuminates a glaring problem in Christianity today--people have no idea what the word religion actually means. You probably don't even agree with what you just read, you may think you know what religion means...and you might. But today when people think of the word religion they are usually actually thinking of the meaning for the word dogma.
Religion is not an invention dreamed up by men, and actually, neither is dogma--but men have often misused both to ill-affect. The word religion only appears in the KJV in the New Testament and under a variety of meanings, but you'll see that the meanings for these words are actually really common themes throughout the Old Testament as well.
The Greek word for religion in Acts 25:6 and James 1:26-27 refers to ceremonial worship. In Galatians 1:13-14 Paul was writing about the Jewish faith.
Religion is not a set of rules. Religion is not dogma. Jesus came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10). What was lost? Relationship with God was lost, but so was religion--along with a lot of other things.
Not all, but some of the Pharisees and Sadducees abused their positions. The ones that did grossly warped their responsibilities and violated their trust. That's part of what Jesus came to save. God became man to fix everything, even religion. Jesus didn't and doesn't hate religion. He came to fix religion.
I find it incredibly sad when I read/hear things like Jesus hates religion. That's like saying "Jesus hates people worshiping God." For my part, I love religion, though I'm not overly fond of dogma. Jesus died so we could connect to God, so we could worship God, and so we could experience God. That is religion. If you call yourself a Christian then what do you think worship and following Him is? It is religion. You can't follow Jesus without relationship, but you can't have a relationship with Him without religion.
Please, stop confusing religion with dogma. Please, stop confusing religion with legalism. Please, stop confusing religion.
