What do Evangelicals who speak negatively of "religion" mean by that?
Upvote:6
Much of the popular usage of "religion" in the negative isn't relegated to any particular denomination of evangelical Protestants, and if you consult theologians in that denomination they wouldn't use it in the negative. Usually, simply quoting James 1:27 gets them saying, "Oh, well not religion like THAT."
When used in the negative, they tend to mean something like, "A system for becoming right with God by your deeds," or "A church or group of Christians preoccupied with rituals, traditions, or doctrinal precision to the expense of a personal relationship with Jesus and loving others."
Evangelicalism is broad. In fact, that is what makes it evangelicalism, as opposed to evangelical Methodism, evangelical Baptist, etc. Evangelicalism is a kind of umbrella category to describe a diverse set of Christians who share a few core features in common concerning Jesus, scripture, and salvation.
Using "religion" in the negative is more of a popular level opinion than a technical term. A common refrain is, "Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship." I, as an evangelical, disagree with the statement but I get the sentiment.
It's often a loosely used term, much like when a Christian says, "God told me X." If you asked them, "So, when you say that God spoke to you, do you mean that you were thinking and praying about it and you had a really strong impression that you felt comfortable with?" They respond, "Yes, exactly! God just wouldn't let it get off my mind." Rarely would you be told, "No I mean that I heard an audible voice that told me this." Usually, "God spoke to me" is used loosely, and to people with careful distinctions about divine revelation and providence, this manner of speaking is reckless. Yet, it's still a manner of speaking that occurs on a popular level.
I think the same thing is happening with the religion/relationship dichotomy.
Upvote:7
Evangelicalism is a pretty wide spectrum, and there are certainly many branches of it that have little issue with calling their belief system a "religion." After all, John Calvin wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion, and theologians like B. B. Warfield talk about true Christianity as "religion in its purity" (Selected Shorter Writings, I, p. 389).
Many evangelicals, however, particularly those less associated with established denominations, are more likely to accept a "religion vs. relationship" dichotomy, as explained by the evangelical, dispensational, and baptist site GotQuestions.org. In an article entitled, "Is Christianity a religion or a relationship?" they write that in some contexts, the word religion refers to "man-centered" belief systems:
Most religions are similar in that they are built upon the concept that man can reach a higher power or state of being through his own efforts. In most religions, man is the aggressor and the deity is the beneficiary of man’s efforts, sacrifices, or good deeds.
In that regard, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship that God has established with His children. In Christianity, God is the aggressor and man is the beneficiary (Romans 8:3). The Bible states clearly that there is nothing man can do to make himself right with God (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23).
Given their decentralized, non-denominational approach to the church, it's not surprising that they also associate religion with organized religion:
The grace-based relationship between God and man is the foundation of Christianity and the antithesis of religion. Established religion was one of the staunchest opponents of Jesus during His earthly ministry.
Just as the Jewish leaders made a religion out of a relationship with God, many people do the same with Christianity. Entire denominations have followed the way of the Pharisees in creating rules not found in Scripture.
The article concludes by emphasizing the relational aspects of Christianity, which it contends are not found in religion:
[God] does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our own strength, as religion does. He asks that our old self be crucified with Him so that His power can live through us (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6). God wants us to know Him, to draw near to Him, to pray to Him, and love Him above everything. That is not religion; that is a relationship.
More post
- 📝 What is the basis for Topical Preaching?
- 📝 What is God waiting for before He ends the world?
- 📝 What would be the professional consequences for a theologian if he denied publicly the existence of Jesus Christ?
- 📝 Is the absolution from priests still valid if the priest breaks the seal of confession?
- 📝 Where is this C.S. Lewis quote from?
- 📝 What is the Christian take on reincarnation?
- 📝 What was Isaac Watts' theological background?
- 📝 What was Augustine's soteriology?
- 📝 Does Roman Catholic Church recognize some Eastern Orthodox Saints?
- 📝 What are the origins of the theory, present in the "Didascalia Apostolorum", about the existence of a "First Law" and a "Second Law"?
- 📝 According to Reformed Theology, what is the exegetical basis for the claim that 1 Timothy 2:4 means "all kinds of people"?
- 📝 Who consecrated Bishop Heahmund?
- 📝 Where did the religious symbol of the 'halo' come from?
- 📝 How do we know the Sacrament of Communion as practiced in the Catholic Church was instituted at the Last Supper?
- 📝 How are 3 days/nights in grave prophecy reconclied if Jesus died on Good Fri & arose Sun?
- 📝 Does Pope Francis' rewording on the subject of capital punishment in the Catechism trump those of Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium vitae?
- 📝 What Bible translations are accepted by the Southern Baptist Convention?
- 📝 How was the gift of the word of knowledge defined by the pioneers of the pentecostal healing revival?
- 📝 What general theological framework(s) are represented in the Life Application Study Bible commentary?
- 📝 My question is for Unitarians/Biblical Unitarians. In what respect do you know Jesus Christ?
- 📝 What is the First Death?
- 📝 St. Gregory the Great quote on how intellectual work is physically exhausting?
- 📝 Is there more than one Joseph in the Bible?
- 📝 What scripture is James 4:5 referring to?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, is are there any teachings or traditions about who was the host of the house where Jesus celebrated his Last Supper?
- 📝 Do we know who the descendants of Mary mother of Jesus were?
- 📝 If Noah's Flood was a historical global flood then how is the evidence that Egypt was founded before the Flood explained?
- 📝 Is apostleship continuing on into the current age?
- 📝 Can my third class relic make other items into third class relics?
- 📝 What guidance has Scripture or church fathers offered on how to deal with sacred objects of other religions?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What do Evangelicals who speak negatively of "religion" mean by that?
- 📝 What does it mean that God is the saviour of all people, especially those who believe?
- 📝 What does it mean that Satan is "god of this world"?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law but did not abolish it?
- 📝 What exactly does it mean that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus was the "second Adam"?
- 📝 What does it mean that someone managed to live beyond 120 years?
- 📝 What does it mean that all scripture is God-Breathed?
- 📝 What does it mean that "the two natures of Christ cannot be separated"?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are of the same nature but different personas?
- 📝 What does it mean that John's Gospel does not have an account of the institution of the Eucharist?
- 📝 What is the Meaning of Hebrews 2:11 - he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one
- 📝 What is the basis for the belief among some LDS/Mormons that children in their pre-mortal existence choose who their parents will be?
- 📝 What do protestants who believe our old bodies will be resurrected think that will look like?
- 📝 What does it mean for the Spirit to only speak of what he hears? (trinitarian perspective)
- 📝 What does it mean that baptism "erases original sin"?
- 📝 From a Lutheran perspective, does Hebrews 6 mean that some who fall away can never be restored?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis that people who are attracted to the same sex were not created by God that way?
- 📝 In the tradition of Jehovah's Witnesses, does Romans 6:23 mean that all people who are resurrected have their sins blotted out?
- 📝 On what basis was Jesus’ death sufficient for redemption according Non-Trinitarians who maintain that Jesus was not eternal God as God the Father is?
- 📝 What does Jesus mean when He says that we should be like children?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, what happens to a person who is in the process of learning about Catholicism, if that person dies?
- 📝 Who if any Evangelicals still believe that Adam was created with "a perfect knowledge of God" and everything else?
- 📝 What does it mean that "many parts which are plain have been taken away"?
- 📝 According to Jehovah’s Witnesses what does the name Immanuel mean in light of their belief that Jesus is a created being and not God?
- 📝 What does Jesus mean that those that can be trusted on small matters can be trusted in large matter?
- 📝 What does the Nicene Creed mean when it says that the Father and the Son are of the same substance?
- 📝 To "once saved always saved" advocates, what does it mean that church leaders "keep watch over our souls"?
- 📝 Within Anglicanism, what is the Biblical Basis for certainty that baptised infants who die will be saved?
- 📝 What does it mean that Eve was beguiled?
