Is Religion the Problem?

Is religion the problem? Well, maybe.

If you see religion as a group of people congregating together for a common purpose (that is, evangelism and discipleship), then religion as a whole may be the problem. This is prevalent in all organization, religious or otherwise.  Let's follow the trail.

Think about the Catholic Churches and the shameless child abuses. Think about the evangelical churches and the funds embezzlement and sex scandals. From a secular point of view, think about Enron, Madoff fund, Worldcom, and the financial institutions that caused the recent crash.

So, on a superficial sweep, it's easy to smoke out the culprit: it's religion or the church (pls note that I am using the church and religion interchangeably).

Many faults can be found in a church. As it expands, the daily business of God shifts from people's life to roof maintenance, from spiritual growth to conflicting dogmas, from worship to the music arrangement, from intimacy to rules and procedures, from salvation to money matters, from evangelism to membership exclusivity, and from discipleship to personality cult.

It therefore comes as no surprise to many when in July 2010, Ann Rice posted this on her Facebook: "Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always, but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity".

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer even speculated that Christianity might be "over" as a religion and he wondered, "What is a religionless Christianity?"

But careful thought will reveal that the common thread  is not the common purpose or the set of Christian beliefs, it is the leadership. Isn't that what corrupts the ideal that initially joins its members together?

I mean, shouldn't we fault the conduct of the believer rather than the belief and the rules that hold the believers together?  They say the fish rots at its head. So, in a church, the head is the pastoral staff. And in a business, it is the board of directors and the chairman.

No one is immune from personal corruption. We are all corruptible. It is said that people often do the right thing for the wrong reasons. The church is no exception.

The church finds it's humble beginning with Jesus gathering one disciple after another to form the formidable twelve. What happened along the way and over the centuries is the downside of runaway growth.

As the church grows bigger, with more members, attracting all kinds of worldly attention, and getting more money than it can manage, the church conveniently takes the "broad road" instead of the narrow road. Left unguarded and given to excesses, the church, like any organization, can go astray quite naturally. And there's a saying that "growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancerous cell."

But, considering the vulnerability of any organization, and how easy one can fall prey to fame, money and pride, can religion/church flourish in the absence of an organized, hierarchical platform as the membership grows? Can religion/church be disorganized, with members dispersed and isolated, where their only means of communication is in cyberspace, and yet still prosper and grow?

When Bonhoeffer wondered about "religionless Christianity", I too wondered: What's the viable alternative to a church? Asceticism? Ashram-like exclusive club? Home cells? Morning meditation by the beach?  Bloggers' network? Downloaded sunday sermons in the comfort of one's bedroom? Nomadic tent meetings? Or, should we just limit the gathering to twelve and no more; to keep it in a family setting?

I used to think that religion is the problem and sometimes still thinks it is. But, here's looking at it from a different angle. If religion is about a group of people pursuing a common purpose, then didn't Jesus start one himself...er with 12 disciples; which mushroomed into a worldwide phenomena?

Didn't the Bible talk about religion in terms of a simple gathering of "two or three" in his name?  Doesn't that eventually grow into an organized religion one way or another? Do you honestly think that the great commission is about converting one soul after another in isolation? And then placing each new convert in an island?  Surely, Jesus must have foreseen that organized religion is an unavoidable development.

With the gathering of "saints", isn't the forming of a church inevitable. And with the advent of the concept of a church, don't you think you will need rules to manage the people?  With people, comes attention, and with attention, comes money. With money, comes temptation and pride. And with pride, comes a sense of invincibility. And the rest is history recycled ad nausea! While some churches fall, others nevertheless thrive.

So, Is religion the problem? Maybe, maybe not.

Nowadays, I am trying my objective best to accept this ugly truth: Organized religion (or church) is a tool used by men to further their own purpose. And since men's heart is as crooked as corkscrew, it is equally inevitable that the means (church) often gets contaminated with the ends (men's self-serving agenda).

By analogy, I see religion as the vehicle and men as it's driver. When a car knocks a pedestrian, you prosecute the driver and not the car. This may seem obvious enough but the distinction is subtle and conveniently overlooked by those who have a religious axe to grind.

You see, it is easy to blame the whole church for one man's transgression, which has contaminated the leadership. And without a clear distinction, we throw the baby together with the bath waters out! We therefore cast stones at the church instead of its leadership.

True, some organizations are pure evil like the third Reich, the Davidian sect, and the church of satan. And we should drop a boulder on them. But the church, no matter how imperfect, is still a "hospital for the sick" and not a "museum for flawless art".

After all is said, the church or organized religion has some redeeming qualities. There are converts who are sincere about their faith. There are pastors who work tirelessly to comfort the dying. There are new comers who are eagerly looking for the truth.  They should be our focus and they are what make up the church. They are in fact the raison d'etat for the existence of the church.

They may not be perfect but at least they know they are not. Their self awareness is comforting and empowering. Humility is what distinguishes them from the modern day pharisees. In any event, we stand tallest when we are on our knees; not when we are placed on the pedestal.

So, Is religion the problem?

From the perspective of the people with genuine needs and seeking the truth in earnest, it is clearly not. In fact, it all boils down to our focus. If we see it through the lens of Jesus, religion is not the problem: We are.  And Jesus did not die for religion: He died for us.

At this juncture, I am reminded of this quote: "The world is...a kind of spiritual kindergarten, where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks."

In matters of religion, we think we are adults. But most of the time, we act like children, complaining, sulking, playing, finger-pointing, smarting, criticizing, pranking, snubbing, quarreling, fighting, backstabbing, snorting, pontificating, and ganging up to oppress others. In jest, Charles Colson once said, "As has been said, the church of Jesus Christ would be like Noah's Ark; the stench inside would be unbearable if it weren't for the storm outside."

It is said that many will fight for religion, write about it and even die for it; anything but live for it. This is why our attempts to spell God with blocks often ends up with a convenient misspell of "I" instead of "God".

So, each worshiper should search his own heart and question his motivation in attending church. Sometimes the bulk of the problem may lie with him.

As for the church, the leadership have an important part to play and it is best captured in this quote, "churches cannot be clubs for the righteous, institutions that maintain religious conformity in the face of change, or businesses that manage orthodoxy and personal piety...they must grasp - in a profound and authentic way - that they are sacred communities of performance where the faithful learn the script of God's story, rehearse the reign of God, experience delight, surprise, and wonder, and participate fully in the play." (Diana Butler Bass).

Like a marriage, the membership and the leadership would have to work together to expand His kingdom.

And like a marriage, success can only come when one party puts the interest of the other first.