Christianity vs Religion: The Accidental Attack

Greetings Friends.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my good friends gave me a call to ask about the relationship between Christianity and Religion and it really got me thinking. In the midst of the conversation, he asked me a question that really threw me off. He asked, "What is religion" and I paused for a rather awkward minute and said "Religion is the way by which man encounters God".

There are two words that I would first like to define and explain: Doctrine and Religion.

Doctrine is simply defined as a set of beliefs or compilation of ideologies that are taught. We find doctrine not only in the confounds of religion, but in politics, military regimes and any group to be found teaching an idea. Religion, a little more complicated, is defined as any person's reliance on a pivotal value or a group of related values in which that person finds essential wholeness as an individual. Therefore, religion can not be void of doctrine and/or teaching, though doctrine can exist void of religion. It is by the law of man that one defines the religions of today, but it is by the salvation of God that one will be saved. The early 17th century English poet and author John Donne, said in his poem “Seek True Religion”:

Ah! Fool and wretch, wilt thou let thy soul be tied

To man’s laws, by which she shall not be tried

at the last day? Will it then boot thee

To say a Philip or a Gregory

A Harry or a Martin taught thee this?
(John Donne 1572 - 1631)

The echoes of religion are found in ancient artifacts, paintings, historical sacrifices & the various writings of ancient times. The existence of nations and tribes who give glory to some deity, is present everywhere. From the city of Rome, who worshiped an unknown god, to the Native Americans who acknowledged the "forces" in nature as individual gods. Martin Luther answered the question of "What does it mean to have a god"? by responding that "Trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and idol...Whatever your heart clings to and relies on, that is what really is your god". 

Religion is not foreign to humanity, but it is humanity, through wars and the segregation of beliefs, that has inclined the repulsion of religion in so many circles today. In simple terms, religion is the way of man to God. It is the limited understanding of man about God. The argument that I would like to posit is that religion is not inherently wrong. The Bible never dismisses religion in and of itself. If so, Christ would have never been called the High Priest, as He was in Heb. 4:14. This same religious hierarchy is used in Mark 14:53, as Jesus was accused of blasphemy, condemning Him unto death. Does this make this religious term and institution bad and deserving of hatred? By no means. It is man that destroys the institution of religion. Many desire to divorce religion, yet maintain custody of their doctrine. These two are inseparable.

Let me convey these premises:

1. Religion cannot be void of doctrine or sets of beliefs

2. Christianity is based from a doctrine

4. Therefore, Christianity is a religion

Don’t be afraid. It will be ok. Yes, Christianity is a religion and we should not be afraid of admittance. The disciples, not the twelve, were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). This name did not originate from within the body of believers, but from the spectators. Christianity was called out from the teachings of Christ. Christianity and what it is known as, is a religion. This religion is true and this religion is held together by the saving grace of God. Christianity should have never drew swords against religion, this was an accidental attack.

Enhancing His Kingdom,
E.D. Jackson Jr. 

For anyone struggling with the coexistence of Christianity and Religion, please meditate on the following verses.

Titus 1:9

1 Timothy 6:2

Galatians 1:11

James 1:26, 27