Beyond Religion Section 2

Section 2: The Age-Old Problem - The “Garden Problem”

It may be called “Life’s Ultimatum.”  What happened in the Garden of Eden set the course of human history and particularly, the history of God’s people.  In Genesis 3:1-7 the Scriptures state:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.  And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Here we find the basic formula of Satan’s deception leading Eve to doubt: Either 1) To question the credibility of God’s Word or one’s ability to comprehend God’s Word (“Did God actually say?”) or 2) To infer the inadequacy of God’s Word as not being fully complete or sufficient for one to live in obedience to God; thus, in need of amending or of further clarification (suggesting to Eve that God had not given her the full story). Nevertheless, the pivotal issue at stake was Eve’s temptation to “be like God”.  Not the issue of being created in His image; that was settled.  Not the issue of reflecting God’s character or morality; that was plain. It was the issue of being “like God, knowing good and evil” that was the problem. It was desiring to be “like God” in His being, as Lord over all, with all wisdom, authority, and power in being able to “know” good and evil while remaining Sovereign over all.  It was seeking those attributes reserved for God alone: His omniscience, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.  It was this essential problem that banished Man from the Garden (Genesis 3:22-24).  It was the problem of Man claiming to be like God regarding His authority and setting our desires upon that which alone is exclusively His.  Hmm… where have we seen this before?  Recalling the classical theological understanding that Lucifer or Satan (the Devil) was once an angel who rebelled, desiring to be “like God” and as a result being cast into perdition with all his allies (demons); we can see a similar scenario with humanity - God’s greatest creation, the only aspect of creation that was created in His image.  If Satan, condemned to destruction, could not defeat God Himself, why not try to defeat as many of God’s image-bearers as possible to join him in his eternal destiny?

Therefore, Eve, being “innocent” of sin at the time, was essentially tricked and deceived into thinking that being like God to make herself all-wise, was a good thing.  Can we not still see this continual deception in play throughout history?  The life-long battle is to either choose “God to be God” or in some sorted way to choose “us to be God”, by creating a god or gods or essentially making ourselves to be God.  Anytime we set ourselves to be the final authority for what is true or right, we fall into this same abyss.  So, where did Satan focus his attack?  His focus was and continues to be so today; to attack the Truth by twisting and deceiving (“Did God actually say?”).  Bit by bit, moment by moment, Satan slithers his way into the Church, God’s people, either individually or corporately, somehow convincing them that God’s Truth is simply not enough; there must be something more Man can do or offer.  Furthermore, it is a warning to all, that anytime individuals or groups of individuals claim to speak with the infallible authority of God regarding any doctrine unsupported by God’s revelation as found in the Scriptures, or claim to be His infallible interpreters, such voices are literally “dancing with the Devil” in falling prey to Lucifer’s lust to have an authority reserved to God alone.

Throughout the ages, there has continually been a debate over the nature of Man and Creation.  The basic question is: Is Man/Creation naturally “Good” or “Evil”?   One might say that Man/Creation being created and proclaimed by God as “good” would naturally mean that Man/Creation in today’s world would naturally be good.  Others might say that Man/Creation is now “fallen”, thus is under the curse of God, and is now “evil”.  Often people have difficulty holding to the “dignity” of Man/Creation while concurrently holding to the “supremacy” of God.

In the final analysis, most orthodox theologians would attest that even though Creation is under the curse resulting in an unnatural “groaning” (Romans 8:22); there is still the “blueprint” of His original “good” design that can be comprehended and experienced (Romans 1:20).

While Man is created in the image of God and as such will always have intrinsic worth and value, he is now cursed and therefore his nature is under this curse of death, both physically and spiritually.  Man, in his unredeemed state, is described as “ungodly”, even an “enemy” against God (Romans 5:6-11).  Only through redemption found in Christ alone can Man find hope in his being declared righteous and in being sanctified and transformed (John 17:17; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:5; I Thessalonians 5:23).

Revelation, Philosophy and Religion

Revelation may be defined as “an act of revealing or communicating divine truth or as something that is revealed by God to humans”. 2   Basically, revelation emanates from God, not Man.  Because special or divine revelation as given to God’s people ended with Christ and with “apostolic teaching” (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:20; Jude 3), the notion of “continued” revelation outside of the Scriptures that would be promoted as universal doctrine for God’s people would fall under human “tradition” or “religion”.  Because of this temptation, there are numerous warnings not to add to what God says (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; I Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 22:18).  General or natural revelation found in creation is also an important part of revelation.  However, because of the fallenness of the natural world, this “natural” revelation can only rightfully be discerned as it is consistent with divine revelation (which is not under the curse).  Therefore, while natural revelation can point toward the existence of God, God cannot be rightfully known outside of divine revelation.  Therefore, the Logos (Word), found in the divine revelation of Christ and in the Scriptures, is necessary for one to rightfully grasp God’s revelation in this world.  Doctrine can never be primarily based upon “natural revelation” or “natural law” in that divine revelation is necessary in a fallen world to confirm what is truly “natural” and what is not.

Philosophy may be defined as “a particular system of beliefs, values, and principles; the study of the nature of reality and existence, of what it is possible to know, and of right and wrong behaviour, or a particular set of beliefs”.3 Basically, philosophy is humanity’s “natural” understanding of the world.  The apostle Paul, well-acquainted with the various philosophies of his day in the Greco-Roman world, warned the church at Colossi not to be taken “captive” by philosophy (Colossians 2:8) describing such as empty deceit according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ.  And yet, there is something even more cunning than philosophy – religion.

Religion may be defined as “a cause, principle, or system, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”.4 Furthermore, religion may be described as a human being’s relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence”.5 In many ways, religion is not unlike philosophy, except that its focus may be on that which is spiritual or supernatural.  Like philosophy, religion, in principle, is derived from humanity, not from God.  A vital fact that cannot be overstated is that Christ did not come into the world to establish some new religion – there were plenty of religions already present.  The essence of the Christian faith is that of revelation, not religion.  In the New Testament, the word “religion/religious” (threeskia/threeskos, Gk.) is mentioned in only a handful of passages – mostly relating to religions or religious activity derived from surrounding religions.

The apostle Paul particularly describes Judaism as a “religion” in Acts 25:19 and Acts 6:5 and in a more general sense in Colossians 2:23. In the apostle James’ letter (James 1:26-27), “religion” or being “religious” refers to those who were bragging about their great devotion or spirituality, regardless of works.  James corrects this sense of religiosity (devotion) as being false and in that a true sense of religion (devotion) includes works.  James is not implying that the Christian faith is in any way a religion in that it is God-derived; rather than being a religion, which is human-derived.  Sadly, one of the greatest tragedies of Christian history (which has led to a false understanding of the Christian faith as well as that of the Church) occurred when the Christian faith came to be understood and proclaimed as a “religion” resulting in the Christian faith being relegated and compared to that of being merely a religion among other religions.  It cannot be emphasized enough how destructive such a notion has been in corrupting the testimony of Christ and His Church.

While it can certainly be attested that in almost all Christian traditions and denominations the term “religion” has commonly been fully embraced in describing many aspects of Christianity, in recent years there has been a growing concern about seeing religion as Satan’s counterfeit for the true Christian faith and in seeking how to rid the Church of the notion of Christianity as being a religion.  Much of this interest initially occurred as 20th-century Swiss theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968) provocatively stated in his theological magnum opus, the Church Dogmatics: "the revelation of God is the abolition (sublimation) of religion".6  While not particularly endorsing many of Barth’s theological understandings, this comment did generate some interest regarding the place of “religion” in Christian discussion.  

In the late 1960s, a quaint little book became very popular among Christians.  It was entitled, How to be a Christian without Being Religious (1967) by Fritz Ridenour.  Basically, in his book, the author, using the letter of the apostle Paul to the Romans as a template, examined the validity of religion within the Christian life. Since Ridenour was relatively unknown at that time and was neither considered a respected academic nor theologian, many theologians and church leaders dismissed the book as mere rubbish only to be appreciated by an uneducated “lay audience”.  However, the book went on to sell over 1.5 million copies as the commoner in the pews began to question whether the established institutional Church had increasingly evolved to become a bastion of man-made religion where people simply went through the motions or entertained themselves with religious games.  If this was indeed the case, then maybe the everyday Christian was being “played” by an elite clergy class desperately holding on to their job security by threatening the parishioner with some form of damnation for not going along with the status quo. While the book was not originally intended to be an attack upon the Church but rather written to challenge the individual Christian in living out a more genuine life in Christ, the established Church nevertheless became a target for scrutiny.  After all, this was the “revolutionary” 1960s where “the establishment” in any form was counted as an object of suspicion.

Today, as the understanding of the concept of “worldview” has entered common discourse, it is increasingly argued that both “religion” and “philosophy” are, in essence, a product of a “humanistic” worldview of life in that both stem from humanity as opposed to “revelation” which flows from God; a “theistic” worldview.  This understanding, in a nutshell, reflects the Garden Problem:  Man vs. God.  Plainly, the crucial issue that the Church faces is the challenge of trying to discern the Christian Faith as distinct from the Christian Religion. Furthermore, even though the last two thousand years have experienced rapid growth in the expansion of the Christian faith, serious questions remain as to the depth and orthodoxy in understanding as well as in the practice of what it means to be “Christian”.

The Harmful Nature of Religion

As previously stated, it is Religion that Satan most often uses to deceive us because it embraces the spiritual dimension of our thinking.  As Satan’s counterfeit, Religion is humanity’s idea of the spiritual world as opposed to God’s idea of the spiritual world found in His Revelation.  Religion often embraces a cultus (Lat.), comprising established or accepted religious rites or customs of worship. It is also from cultus that such words as “cult”, “cultivate” and “culture” are derived.  All these words consist of the same underlying notion of something that stems from or develops out of the influence of humanity.  As long as one recognizes the origin of cultus as that which comes from humanity rather than from God, then discretion can be used in how the Christian Faith interacts with notions of cult, cultivation, or culture.  For example, we all live within a particular “culture” which encompasses an existence within a certain place and time. Because of this, the Christian Faith (being supra-cultural and timeless) must always be lived out within a particular culture.  This is not a problem if culture is held in distinction to the content of which the Faith consists.  However, when culture is allowed to determine the content of the Faith, then the Faith falls prey to the danger of being corrupted by the ideas of humanity. For example, while culture may influence a particular pattern of worship by God’s people at a certain time and place in history, a particular cultural application of worship does not warrant what is to be held as the only true expression of acceptable worship for God’s people for all time.

Inevitably, one will argue that New Testament Christianity is simply an extension of Old Testament Judaism.  Therefore, since Judaism is certainly filled with a great deal of religion, this would justify religion continuing in Christianity.  While volumes can be written on the relationship between the faith of God’s people before the Advent of Christ and afterwards, one must always be reminded that Christ came to fulfil, to finalize, all that was foreshadowed in incomplete ways in the life and faith of God’s people as expressed before Christ.  While God laid out very rudimentary expressions of worship and life in concrete forms in the Old Covenant, even utilizing notions that would appear to be religious (e.g. sacrifices, priests, rituals/ceremonial laws, etc.), these were only to be held as primitive and temporary forms representing eternal truths to be actualized ultimately in Christ.  A similar comparison might be made if one thinks about the way children are educated in comparison to how adults are educated.  With children, often more “concrete” forms are utilized because children cannot think and process ideas in abstract forms.  Only as children mature toward adulthood can ideas be grasped and reasoned abstractly.  Even more so, in the Old Testament, early forms were intended not as some separate “religious” expression in the life of God’s people, but as expressions intrinsic to normative life.  Yet, not unlike the Church of today, God’s people under the Old Covenant, not being satisfied with God’s revelatory instructions, went on to add their own “religious ideas” resulting in what became Judaism, the “Jewish religion” in the time of Christ.  We are reminded that it was precisely these humanistic religious ideas that were the most offensive to Jesus.

Religion, being Satan’s counterfeit, is derived essentially from a lie, from that which is false, leading to deception.  Religion appears as “an angel of light” which may be seductive and beckons us away from the Truth.  One can easily become “captivated” by religion and brought into bondage.  Sadly, to the degree that a particular expression of Christianity embraces “religion”, those who adhere to that expression, expose themselves to the danger of deception.  The result is that such a person can become deceived and can find themselves in “bondage” to elements of that expression.  This is most clearly seen when Christians place their focus more on a particular expression of Christianity rather than on Christ Himself.  When being Protestant, Orthodox or Catholic takes centre stage rather than Christ, trouble follows.

Often, in religion, that which might originally be seen as merely “customary” can evolve into that which may become “obligatory”.  Practices or observances, once merely a voluntary expression of culture, may though time slowly become incorporated into a norm of religious life to be expected by a religious body.  Failing to follow such norms may be seen as not being faithful or “religious”.  Examples of such norms might be in the observance of certain “religious” days or the veneration of particular “holy” persons, or saints.  Believers can easily be seduced into believing that if such norms are not kept, somehow their standing before God might become jeopardized.  The potential for inflicting a false sense of guilt by not keeping such norms is quite high.

Finally, there is the danger of religion becoming “addictive”.  Some may even compare religious addiction as similar in effect to an addiction to pornography; a type of “spiritual pornography”.  Unlike philosophy, which tends to be more cerebral, religion may often include powerful elements such as passion and emotion. Being spiritual in nature, religion can reach down into the deepest levels of a person’s soul.  Similarly, while a person’s sexuality is a legitimate and wonderful part of the human constitution enjoyed with another in the intimate bonds of marriage, pornography corrupts this God-given gift with deception, a false notion of what true sexuality represents.  In like manner, religion corrupts the soul by presenting a deception of the Truth found in God’s Revelation.  Certainly, declaring that religion is akin to “spiritual porn” no doubt sounds rather harsh to our more timid, traditional ears. However, as one comes to recognize how damaging the counterfeit of pornography is on true sexuality, it becomes a bit nauseating as one is awakened to the realization of how religion has altered true spirituality.  Again, religion is a counterfeit, a cheap knockoff, of true spirituality. Sadly, as the deception of religion grows, it increasingly becomes addictive and may consume a person.  Often, such addiction is further enhanced through “spiritual” activities such as religious rituals, repetitive prayer and/or bodily movements, chanting, altered states of consciousness and other methods of imprinting religion into a person’s psyche. Breaking religious addiction can be extremely difficult.  Strangely enough, in this context, religion can certainly be the “opium of the people”.  However, God’s revelation and true faith in Christ is the solution and the antidote to religious addiction.

While the Early Church Fathers during the first half-millennium of Church history can be thanked for helping to summarize and define some essential truths of the Christian Faith and for striving to maintain unity in the Church; sadly, they can also be blamed for introducing a great deal of religious humanism into the theology and practice of the Church.  Regretfully, religious humanism increasingly became mainstream and cemented into the thinking of the medieval Church only to become challenged during the Reformation.  Somehow the Church slowly lost her original identity as essentially being a “called out community” of God’s people who live together as a family, a chosen people group or race, of the Christian Faith rather than as a highly organized and structured “religious institution”.  Again, while some degree of form is always necessary in all of life, it is important that form not rob life of its vitality.

Worldview

In recent years, the concept of worldview (German: Weltanschauung) has become a rather popular topic for conversation.  Essentially, a worldview is “how we see the world.”  The concept of worldview was first introduced by Immanuel Kant in 1790 and was later more fully expounded on by German thinkers such as Hegel, Humboldt, Heidegger, and Jaspers during the 1800-1900s.  By the late 1800s and early 1900’s reformed Christian theologians, James Orr (Scotland) and Abraham Kuyper (The Netherlands) began to see the significance of this perspective.  Later the concept became popularized in the mid and later 1900s by evangelical thinkers such as Francis Schaeffer and James W. Sire. This important “breakthrough” in philosophical and theological understanding led to a far more comprehensive grasp of the history and development of human thought, especially in answering the question “From where ideas originate?”  While earlier Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Calvin certainly left much for the Church to ponder, these earlier thinkers could only speak out of the cultural understanding and language of the times in which they lived.  The concept of “worldview” had not yet entered the philosophical landscape.

In contemporary discussion, this concept has often been broken down into numerous worldviews.  However, this manifesto concludes that these many “worldview expressions” are better described as merely “paradigms” and can essentially be boiled down to the Garden Problem.  By saying this, only two valid worldviews exist when discussing Truth: these are Humanism and Theism.  While one may claim to be a nihilist (i.e. holding that life is meaningless in that no Truth exists), it is quite difficult to find anyone who can consistently live as such.  To live consistently as a nihilist, one must eventually take their own life (and at times, others with them).  In the end, one will either live as a theist (holding God as God) or as a humanist (holding Man as God).  Simply: We can choose to see the world from God’s perspective (Theism) or we can choose to see the world from a human perspective (Humanism). There is nowhere else to go; hence, the Garden Problem.  Time after time, it quite assuring that over the course of history many of the ideas that humanity may come up with as being “new” or “novel” may find root in God’s infallible Word.  Too often the Word of God is readily short-changed or dismissed as being relevant. 

In returning to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 we can see the essential dilemma facing humanity regarding how we see the world or universe; we can either choose to see the world or universe 1) Through God’s eyes (Theism) or 2) Through Man’s eyes (Humanism).  Theism focuses on God’s Revelation while Humanism focuses on Man’s abilities.  In a Fallen world, Man is imperfect, fallible, and unable to see clearly.  Man can only see through a lens dimly (I Corinthians 13:10).  Therefore, Man’s vision is distorted, and he sees things incompletely or falsely leading to a counterfeit interpretation of life.  Even his understanding of what is natural or unnatural is impaired and further compromised by the fact that the natural universe as originally created by God has also been distorted by the Fall.  As a result, if Man turns from God’s Revelation (God’s Word) to find the answers he must then rely upon his own abilities to develop explanations for what he experiences.  These explanations are rooted in Philosophy and Religion.  God never originally intended for Man to live out of either one of these standpoints.  Both stem from doubting God’s Word, either in 1) questioning the credibility of God’s Word or one’s ability to comprehend it or 2) insinuating that God’s Word is not sufficient for one to live life as it was meant to be lived as pleasing to God.  Again, this is not saying that there are other things that one may discover in life that may help us live life as we apply this knowledge.  The implication is that God has not given humanity sufficient information in His Word as to how to live a life pleasing to Him.

One may then immediately exclaim that “theism” and “God” may mean many different things to many people.  What about the concept of “God” according to Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, pantheism, deism, etc.?  Certainly, this observation is quite important to any discussion of theism and most rightfully should be held.  However, it is readily acknowledged that because of the particular focus at hand which limits time and space, it will happily be conceded that what is meant by theism is precisely “Christian theism”.  Furthermore, when “humanism” is discussed, it is not “modern” humanism rooted in the more recent scholarly traditions of the Renaissance or Enlightenment periods of history, whether secular or religious, that is being considered.  “Humanism” as referenced here, is the more comprehensive worldview espousing that all things comprising of Truth as being subject to Man.  This worldview stands in direct contrast to “Theism” which espouses that all things comprising Truth are subject to God.  The essential conflict of these opposing world views pits Religion/Philosophy as Satan’s counterfeit against that of God’s Revelation.  For example, a common misperception of Humanists portrays Theism as that of depicting God as being against Humanity.  However, this is not the case as Theism seeks to rightfully portray Humanity as created in God’s image and as such is of immeasurable worth.  Regretfully, as a result of the Fall, under Humanism, Natural or Carnal Man now seeks to distort and exalt Humanity.  Theism seeks to restore Man to a right relationship with God and a right relationship within himself.  God is not at war with Humanity; God is at war with Humanism.

Some may counter with the fact that often philosophers or religionists may, at times, have described phenomena that would be noted as that which is also found in Revelation.  This, without question, is most certain.  However, because unregenerate Man cannot rightfully comprehend the thoughts of God, he is left to his own imagination in interpreting Revelation because he does not have the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 2:11-16).  Regretfully, Man’s carnal nature does not understand the world correctly and his heart is darkened to the Truth (Romans 1:16-25).  While revelation found in the natural world might point to the fact that there is a God, it is only through divine revelation and by the Holy Spirit can a person be brought into a relationship with God.  In sum, humanism focuses on Man and his abilities while theism focuses on God and His grace and glory.

In the end, we must come to understand that there are essentially only two worldviews that humanity can hold: Humanism or Theism.  As has been stated, this stems from the Garden Problem.  Humanism can take one of two forms; philosophical humanism (often referred to as “secularism”) or religious humanism (“religion”).  Both can claim to have the voice of infallible “authority” that can only be ascribed to God alone. Philosophical humanism denies the spiritual side of life whereas religion embraces spirituality.  However, both seek to exalt humanity and human ability either directly or indirectly.  Of the two, religion can become the more deceptive by those who embrace spirituality in that while proclaiming to focus on the spiritual nature of life, religion relies on Man to define spiritual Truth in contrast to theism which relies solely on Revelation to define spiritual Truth.  This is often done by those who would seek to add to or to take away from God’s Word as being the sole authority on which Christian doctrine is to be established; holding that the Scriptures alone are not sufficient as the basis for living the Christian life.  As previously stated, to combat this temptation, God has consistently warned His people against the tendency to go beyond the Scriptures (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18).

The primary problem throughout the history of God’s people is where Satan has tempted and deceived the people of God into failing to see where Humanism has “entered the camp” and captivated hearts and minds; whereby, worldly religion and philosophy are syncretized with revelation, producing heterodoxy (a mixture of heresy and orthodoxy).  It would seem as if that Ancient Serpent unceasingly deceives humanity with his forked tongue hissing philosophy and religion into their vulnerable ears.  Today, the Church is being challenged to return to the firm foundation of Christ built upon by the precious stones of revelation rather than upon that of religion which in the end will burn (I Corinthians 3:10-15).  In essence, we must recognise that the Church is in the midst of a “spiritual battle” that continually rages from within.  As to a worldview, this is “Theism vs. Humanism”.  Philosophically, this is “Christian Theism vs. Religious Humanism”.  As to the Church, this is “The Christian Faith vs. The Christian Religion”.  The future Church must courageously engage in this internal spiritual warfare and rise to challenge Satan’s attempts to lead God’s people astray.  Jesus reminds us of this battle, even in the “latter days”, where even the elect are tempted to be led astray (Matthew 24:22-24; Mark 13:20).  We must pray that God’s people will come to realize that they may have mistakenly placed their well-intended faith in the wrong things, such as church affiliation, sacraments, good works or spiritual disciplines (even though all may have their rightful place) rather than in their reliance on Christ alone for their salvation.  While there is certainly the battle with the outside pagan world to be encountered, it is the battle within the Church that is even more pressing.  A house divided against itself will not stand (Mark 3:22-27).  Once Christianity began to portray itself as a “religion” it unwittingly wedded itself to Lucifer’s playbook.  It is time for the people of God to stand up and resist Satan’s counterfeit religion within the Church.  It is time to revisit Christ’s initial warnings in the Book of Revelation to remind us that behind the curtain, an intense spiritual battle is ever-present.

Throughout the centuries the deception of a “Christianized” religious humanism has too often captivated the hearts and minds of God’s people poisoning Christ’s Bride. The present call is to seek to clean up our own house and become brutally aware of what it is that much of the organized Church has been selling her people.  Although this call might appear as coming from some simple-minded alarmist, it may also be suggested that Christ may very well be warning His Church.  We must humbly realize that God never intended “religion” or “philosophy” to be that which would reference or describe Himself or His relation to humanity.  God’s revelation of Himself and His purposes is that of reality and encompasses the truth of how life is intended to be lived.  Religion and philosophy flow from the mind of Man, not from the mind of God.  Tragically, it is the “professional religionists”, the clergy and the theologians, who like those before them, such as the scribes and the Pharisees, who cling most tightly to and perpetuate Religion.  Moreover, it is extremely upsetting to realize that so many of us have unwittingly indoctrinated others to become addicted and “hooked” on Religion resulting in their dependence upon and coming under bondage to our religious institutions. Sadly, one can become “captivated” by Religion to such a degree as to become deceived regarding Whom or What they are serving.   Those who interpret the Scriptures must cease approaching God’s Word with a preconceived grid of Religion rather than that of Revelation.  The Bible is not some religious writing but is a record of God’s divine revelation to humanity.  As long as God’s relationship to Humanity is continually being understood and proclaimed as being that of Religion rather than that of Reality; that which would be called “Christianity” will be misconstrued as well as misrepresented and therefore, will be doomed to quite a troubled future.

In summation, it is upon the following premise that this manifesto is being set forth.  This premise claims that in the beginning there was God.  It was God who created the universe and humanity.  Before the Fall, humanity operated entirely within a theistic worldview fully trusting in God.  As a result of the Fall, a competing, deceptive worldview now understood as Humanism entered the arena of life, causing humanity to doubt God.  Out of this humanistic worldview flowed Philosophy and Religion.  Philosophy seeks to describe life from a non-spiritual standpoint whereas Religion seeks to describe life from a spiritual standpoint. Philosophy primarily seeks to question the credibility of God and/or His revealed Word (“Did God really say?”) whereas Religion, although possibly recognizing the legitimacy of God and His revealed Word, questions God’s full disclosure (“You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”).  Religion insinuates that His revealed Word is not complete enough for humanity to live life as God intended; thus, requiring humanity to provide the additional necessary information, creating a platform for Religion.  Sadly, it is Religion, which in the past has often redefined “the Church” in such a way as to propose that what this “redefined Church” says is, in fact, what God should be saying (thus endorsing Christian Humanism) rather than that which would state that what God says is what the Church should be saying (Christian Theism).

The goal is for God’s people, Christ’s Church, to wean ourselves away from the bondage of Religion, regardless of how it has been expressed as a tradition, a denomination, or a movement; and to forge ahead, taking His timeless Truth grounded in Revelation and applying it to the ever-changing world around us.  This is the steadfast Faith that the Church must have to confront an increasingly godless and hostile environment in the years to come. Because of our carnal nature which continually draws us to Humanism, all of our Christian expressions have been contaminated by religious trappings to varying degrees.  Sadly, we tend to create theological systems and establish doctrines and practices to suit our well-meant but often misguided notions.  Let us not be of those who tenaciously harness themselves to some ill-fated “Christianized” institutionalized expression clouded in religious deception.  Let us not be among those “respectable” Christians who will pose no real threat to the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) being held captive and given over to our carnal religious desires.  Our Lord is now calling His people to become unshackled from Religion, to unite and become reconciled, in the purity of the Faith and to seek peace among ourselves in joining together in His reclamation of His Bride.  There is a marvelous Marriage Supper of the Lamb awaiting ahead (Revelation 19:9).  “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).