Wrong About Religion

“When the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘“This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

‘You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.’

“And he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother;” and, “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.” But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, ‘Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’” (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.’”

R

eligion refers to the outward expression of those truths that a person holds as important. An individual’s faith system, the principles that guide his or her life, is revealed through the religion to which that individual adheres. The veracity of what a person avers is demonstrated through how they conduct themselves, and the religion of a person provides a primary clue about what motivates him or her in life.

The thing is, everyone has a religion, even those who insist that they have no religion. You may not be aware that the most dangerous religion is that which you don’t even know that you have! When people say they have no religion, they usually mean that they don’t participate in some organised religion. And in North America, they are usually referring to their lack of participation in activities associated with a church. But their lack of participation in organised religion does not mean that they are irreligious.

The people who say they have no religion do possess a moral code. However, their moral code is not founded on a fixed standard, their standard is fluid, changing according to their whims. And unlike a moral code that revolves around pleasing a deity, they are focused on pleasing themselves. Thus, their moral code revolves around making themselves feel good. People with no religion have an incredibly complex religion.

What I find especially interesting about this situation is that even momentary reflection reveals that those who claim to have no religion do not differ in principle from those who claim to practise a religion while holding to a fluid moral code that revolves around pleasing themselves. If those claiming to have no religion are dangerous, then these that are religious and living as having a fluid morality are more dangerous still! Yes, I’m talking about spiritual predators in the pulpit. The latter have a façade giving the illusion of righteousness while harbouring a heart that is corrupt and wicked.

How ruthlessly did the Living God excoriate the shepherds of Israel through His servant, Ezekiel! Listen as the Prophet exposes the danger of these false shepherds in EZEKIEL 34:2-10. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.”