PrintI Hate Religion (3)
There is still another reason why I hate religion. It can provide people with what appears to be a very justifiable and legitimate reason to dismiss the real thing. Wherever religion masquerades as authentic and genuine faith, it deceives people so that, in rightly rejecting that which is false, they most likely reject that which is true.
I do not apologize for my resentment towards religion. I find I am in the best of company because it seems to me that Jesus Christ Himself was anything but enamored with the religious systems of His own time. He reserved his harshest words of censure for the 'religionists' who misled and manipulated the common people.
When I am confronted by people who tell me they have no time for religion, I need to say to them something like, "You know what? Neither do I!! And here's the real crunch; neither does Jesus Christ!!"
Maybe this is the key to help that person understand the difference between religion (as a human invention) and relationship (as a divine revelation). If so, I can now encourage them to continue in their rejection of the false but challenge them to face the genuine, authentic article.
If I can do that, maybe I validate their resistance because I am one with them in their rejection. In their eyes (hopefully) I am no longer identified with the 'religious system' and, therefore, they cannot reject me on that basis.
However, the challenge at this point onward is to present the true faith in such a way as to call them to be a Christ-follower as opposed to a religious convert.
