THE RELIGION OF RELIGION part 1

Its estimated that some 83% of the 7.3 billion global population aspire to some form of institutionalized system of Religion.

By population, Christianity is recorded as the most popular Religion having 31% adherence with 2.3 billion people participating.

In the U.S., Religion annually contributes more than $1.2 trillion dollars of socio-economic value to the economy.

What is Religion? When did it begin? What is the purpose for it?

These are all common questions that get asked every day, by people all over the world.

I too must admit that I am curious as to how this all began.

How did things get so far removed from the beginning concepts?

How did the God of Creation, and his very personal individual relationships with people, become a cult like, social-cultural behemoth, organized system, with designated behaviors and practices?

Let’s take a look back at how things first began as it relates to “Christianity”.

The Bible begins with the accounts of one man, Adam, and his relationship with his creator God.

Adam had a wife and a family, with whom he shared the details about his personal experiences with God.

In the Bible, beginning at the book of Genesis and going all the way through the Old Testament and continuing into the New Testament leading right up to Jesus, everything is about this one family’s experiences with the same God that Adam had a relationship with.

Even the word “Testament”, as in Old and New Testament, refers to one’s personal statements of belief and their personal testimonies.

In other words, the Bible is about one man, and the personal relationship that he and his descendants had, with the God of All Creation.

You can see their linage for yourself, in Luke 3: 23-38, subtitled family records.

It lists every family from Jesus’, tracing back to Adam, whom each had their own personal relationship with God.

God is a God of the individual.

That’s why we were each uniquely created, intentionally different, from one another on purpose, for purpose.

God wants a one-on-one personal relationship with each of us.

That’s why he is referred to as; The God of Moses, The God of Abraham, The God of Isaac, The God of Jacob, The God of Jesus, and The God of You, and The God of Benton.

So then, what is Religion?

By contrast, Religion is a social and cultural system, that is steeped in rituals and ceremonial acts.

Religion was constructed by humans to promote cooperation in social groups.

It was presented as a better overall experience for the community, by attempting to keep everyone on the same page.

It was the same mindset as used for hunting, which held that hunting in groups was more effective than hunting alone.

But Faith is personal. Your Faith is Your Faith! No one else.

The Bible mentions several times that things happen according to “Your Faith”

Just as Your relationship with God, is not My relationship with God.

In every family, you will find each child has a different relationship with the parent than the other one does. Because each child is different.

The family of God is no exception.

We were all created differently, to facilitate a different relationship and response.

Religion tries to make everyone conform to the same set of beliefs and for all to have the same behavior and responses.

In so doing people are dehumanized.  They get deprived of their unique qualities.

It tries to make everyone act like they have the same relationship and same expressions of feelings.

We all respond differently to different situations.

Many feels ostracized by Religion because they do not conform to the norms set by other people.

Religion is a tradition formed by man. The gospel of Mark warns us that the traditions of men can make the word of God ineffective in our lives.

Because God is not a Religion or Religious! That’s what people do.

God desires a personal relationship with each of us.

My prayer is that we all get to know God personally for ourselves.

Gathering isn’t the issue, it’s the man-made requirements of conduct that are a problem.

Yes, we can share our experiences with one another, but we should not try to make others comply to our perspectives and behaviors.

That should be reserved as personal decision, for each individual.

                                                          This is a Thompson Truth