I think it is important to understand what people perceive when we mention them of our Christian identity. Is this identity a positive or negative one? Sometimes, presumption from their past life experiences can affect the way they understand Christian. So how can we introduce our faith to them as a Christian? Is it just another form of religion? Or do we have more to offer?
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"Hey, what is your religion?", asked John.
"Oh, I believe in _________.", replied John's friend.
When approaching the topic of religion, technical terms like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism, Atheism and so on so forth come to our mind. But what do we really understand by the term 'religion'? Is it suffice to give a one-word answer for something which we (assuming we have a religion) hold so dearly in our heart? Perhaps, for some, this topic is mediocre. But, i think, for Christians, such issues are important because their past, present and future could be held ransom by a mere religious label if nothing concrete is done to address the fundamentals of thir faith. More details are required to define the authenticity of their faith. More explanations are necessary to clear the misunderstandings people may have. More discussions are essential to engage the non-Christians with the Word of God. At this point, Christians (readers) should establish that a simple religious label is insufficient and often redundant to tell people of their faith. On the contrary, it will create even more ambiguities for those who are new or alien in the Christian faith.
From the wikipedia website, religion is defined as
"... a system of social coherence based on a common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen being, or system of thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought. It is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system", but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions."[1]
It seems that sociologists, anthropologists, theologists and other professional scholars have attempted to classify sacred, supernatural and superstitious social beliefs, practices, traditions and customs into some sort of taxonomy. One of the major limitations of this classification is 'over-simplificity'. Such diverse and non-scientific activities are extremely difficult to be grouped into a set of generic headers. One may be right to ask concerning the feasibility of this impossible task. It tends to fall apart easily when dissected for rigorous scrutiny.
Perhaps the next time when we hear people stating their religion, we can, for a change, make the conversation more interesting by probing further on the elaboration of their faith. The delight will be revealed when by sheer coincidence, two or more people actually embrace the same religion. After lengthy expounding, they may begin to realise that they do not share similiar understanding (or faith) in their religion after all. If, at that moment, one can read their thoughts, they may be presuming (or accusing) other parties from having some sort of knowledge deficiency or fallacy in their understanding of the religion.
Such illustration, i should say, is common in our society. Many people seem to be ignorant of what they believe (or profess) in. For the majority, a simple religious label is sufficient, leaving the hearers to interpret the rest. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is present across all religions. Exactly, why do people want to embrace a set of religious teachings and practises? Could it be for a sense of identity or are they following a social norm? Allow me to present the following three reasons to further our discussion. Detailed explanation are delibrately excluded to scope the content of this article.
Why do people embrace a religion?
Firstly, people embrace religion for a peace of mind. With so many unexplained events happening in this world, people are wary of the physical realm which they are living in. Some may believe that there is also a spiritual realm in existence which they cannot see. Therefore, they resort to having a religion in the hope that unknown or uncontrollable events can be contained (or explained) by the supernatural powers which their religion claims. If we study the diversity of the god(s) in each religion, it is not difficult to identify the main area of concerns of their followers.
Secondly, people embrace religion for a sense of identity. Quite often, family members share a common religion. Religious traditions and customs are passed down from generations to generations without much resistance. In the early Church history, some people embraced Christianity because they wanted to associate themselves with the prestigious Caesar and his royal officials who had made Christianity the national religion. Similiarly, most Chinese in China are atheist because of their closed policies which prevented the freedom of religious worship and development in their countries.
Thirdly, people embrace religion for a source of power. Mysterious as it can be, not many can comprehend the essence of the religion's core. Those who are capable of doing so are held in great regards, e.g. the High Priests, Catholic Pope, Venerables. With more knowledge come greater powers. Therefore, the knowledgeable ones are bestowed with the authority to instruct, influence and even manipulate their "religion" which, inevitably, affect others too.
No doubt the same over-simplificity problem exists here too. Notwithstanding that, most of the people tend to fall into one or more of the above justification when they embrace a religion. They want to acquire a piece of mind, a sense of identity and/or a source of power. In each of the three reasons, it is almost certain that there are overlaps as well as differing views within. The three reasons can even be mix-and-match to generate higher degree of complexity for the more sophisticated individuals. What all these imply is that religion is something which human beings had created, simply to satisfy their own self-centered desires.
So what did the bible say about religion?
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." ~ Rom 1:20-23
The bible says that those who attempt to create religion(s) are like fools. They have denied the existence of the one true God whose invisible qualities can be clearly seen and understood from the creation. Although they know somehow that there is a God, but they do not acknowledge Him. In their self-centredness, they create false idols to satisfy their personal desires. This brings us to the important question on the purpose of our existence on earth. Are we created to serve (worship) God or to be served (attended to) by our god(s)?
On the same track, the bible also teaches that even if people claim to know a lot of things, but they cannot possibly comprehend everything (Ecc 8:17). Even with rapid medical science advances, no one has yet to fully understand the forces of nature at work or how a life is formed right from the beginning; let alone the work of God (Ecc 11:5). It can, therefore, be seen that the naive ideology of Man has failed miserably when we try to articulate God in the form of religion. For if God is truly God, then it is impossible for us to understand Him apart from His divine revelation. Yet, even with divine revelation, God remains mysterious because His ways and thoughts are far beyond our comprehension (Isa 55:9).
Till now, we have noted that a simple religious label is pretty much meaningless. The exact interpretation depends largely on people's life context and experiences. This problem is made worsened by the enormous volume of religious text available for reference. As a result, the same religion can be taught and practised in many different ways, depending on the needs of the people during that period of time. We also read three reasons why people want to embrace a religion; all for self purposes. Religions, therefore, are attractive because they seek to provide immediate solutions for all our needs and wants. They can even complement the deficiency of modern science in our society by providing alternative answers to unexplainable events. Most religions also adopt a modular design structure which means that new teachings can be added later in order to cater for present and future requirements. Henceforth, it is not surprising for religions to lure and rally a constant stream of followers into their respective system.
From a Christian's viewpoint, we should not regard our beliefs as a form of religion. Though some forms of systematic mechanism can be achieved and are beneficial from an academic point of view, we should be careful not to allow such doctrinal issues to take precedence over God, hence limiting His work in our midst. When we tell people we are a Christian, we should be careful not to let them garner the idea that we belong to a generalised religion called "Christianity", a term which may contain false associations or presumption based on their past and current life experiences. Instead, we should allow our faith to be at work, in both our speeches and actions; changing their old mindsets and perhaps their life experiences with us. This faith, which is in Jesus Christ, is strengthened in our daily meditation on God's Word and constant experiences enabled by the Holy Spirit. It is both alive and real, always anticipating what is come from the will of God. In God's Word, we are moulded and transformed to be like Christ (Rom 12:2), the perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). In experiences, we stand in awe of the marvelous things that the Lord has done before our very sight. Those will form yet another part of our personal testimonies and thanksgiving in Christ. That is why the bible mentions that Christians are to be commissioned to testify for Christ, teaching people of the good news found in God's Word and telling people of the wonderful things that happened in Christ. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen!
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religi
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