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Debunking
the Arguments of Christian Fundamentalists and Evangelists
Argument # 12: Christianity is not a religion, but a
personal relationship with God.
To set Christianity apart
from other religions, some like to use this line when witnessing to
others. They will say that Christianity is not a religion in the
dictionary sense that involves a system of impersonal rites, rituals and
worship to an abstract impersonal deity. But rather, it involves a
personal one-one-one relationship with Jesus Christ. And that’s what
makes it special because you are having a personal relationship with a living
being.
However, if you look at the
American Heritage Dictionary definition for “religion”:
1a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or
powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal
or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a
spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious
devotion.
You will see that mainstream
Christianity as it is believed and practiced certainly falls into these
definitions without a problem. Nevertheless, while the attempt to make
Christianity stand out from the rest by emphasizing this personal relationship
concept is emotionally comforting, consider the following.
1) Almost every religion tries to set itself
apart from the rest and from the common definition of the word “religion” in
some way. For example, Buddhists explain that Buddhism is not a religion,
because
http://www.buddhistinformation.com/path_to_true_happiness.htm
“Buddhism
is not a religion because, first, the Buddha is not a "supernatural being
power." The Buddha is simply a person who has reached Complete Understanding
of the reality of life and the universe…….Second, Buddhism is not a religion
because "belief" in the Buddha’s teachings is not blind belief, blind
faith and far from superstition. Buddha Shakyamuni
taught us not to blindly believe what he told us, he wants us to try the
teachings and prove them for ourselves. The Buddha wants us to know not merely
believe…….Third, Buddhism is not a religion because all the "rites and
celebrations" are not centered on a supernatural being, but rather on the
people attending the assemblies…….Finally, Buddhism is not a religion because
the "devotion" used in Buddhism is not one based on emotion, but one
based on reason.”
Likewise, even cults such as Scientology have made the
claim that it is not a religion but “an applied religious philosophy” (http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/religion-not.htm).
Buddhists have cited
one interesting difference between their religion and Christianity that is
worth noting here. One Buddhist thinker remarked “The difference between
Buddha and the founders of other religions such as Jesus,
is that even if the Buddha never existed, what he said would still be
true.” Now, that’s huge. It’s saying that even without the
historicity of Buddha, the teachings of the religion, regardless of its
originator, that deal with the human mind, attachment, suffering, karma,
meditation, etc. would still be true. And remember that Buddhism in its
basic untainted form makes no claims about deities or theology. Instead,
it is about liberating your own mind from attachment, suffering or karma, and
putting meditation techniques into practice, without requiring belief in any
doctrine or theology. However, you definitely cannot say that about Jesus
and Christianity. Without the historicity of Jesus (whose existence is
still questionable as mentioned in earlier sections) the Gospel of Christianity
would fall flat on its face and be rendered completely inept and powerless.
That is the weakness of Christianity which the Christians must constantly
believe and develop extreme doctrines/teachings for in order to maintain their
confidence and security in it.
2) I could also use the New Age or metaphysical
paradigm of reality which is pantheistic/monistic (everything is part of God
theory) in nature to say that I have an even deeper connection with God than
the Christian does. You see, in the pantheist’s view, everything is God,
or all is one. Therefore, there is no separation or duality with
God. In other words, God and you are not two separate beings at the
quantum or spiritual level. Duality and separateness between the self and
all objects of creation is an illusion at the macro level. (See Michael
Talbot’s The
Holographic Universe) When one is able to transcend the dual state of
mind, one sees that the separation between themselves and others and God is all
an illusion. Therefore, I can argue that Christianity involves a sense of
duality “relationship” with God which puts you at a less evolved state of mind,
while the mystical consciousness transcends this and eliminates the illusion of
separation and duality with God. An article in the Times of India put
this idea well:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1390854,curpg-5.cms
“But if
God is truly all that is, what can possibly make one of his
names more powerful than any other? For that matter, what is the
purpose of naming him (or her or it) in the first place? Naming
anything creates a subject/object relationship between you and the
thing named, and that in itself means a separation.
Every name of God, no matter how holy, drives a wedge between the
creator and the created ? which
includes you and me. This separation is
the primal breeding ground for fear, for we then see ourselves as tiny
beings, abandoned and living on the fringe of an incomprehensibly huge
cosmos.”
Also, here is a mystic
on my list giving her take on it:
“I say to those people.... I agree that Jesus IS ... the ONE and
the Way BUT.... What IS being referenced here by
the words .... "The ONE"
???? ... Jesus' physical form?
NO.... not even close. He is referencing
"The Christ" or The Pure Consciousness within, which everything
is. We are ALL The ONE. But Jesus had
attained that Supreme Knowledge... via Grace.... whereas most have
not.”
3) If you look at what it involves, this
“relationship” with God / Jesus Christ is indeed an odd one. In this
relationship, a Christian is supposed to obey God and love him as a
Father. He/she does NOT have the freedom to disagree and hold opinions
contrary to Bible teaching. This means that he/she cannot say to God or
even to the Church “I love you God. But I don’t agree with what you said
in the Bible here so and so……” To do so would mean he/she was not a true
Christian, and the church would not accept such an opinion too. Instead,
the person wishing to disagree with God or parts of the Bible in ANY issue
would be encouraged or lectured to submit and acknowledge that God’s
opinions/ways are perfect, righteous, and therefore there is no disagreeing
with it, and to do so is morally wrong.
To have a true
relationship with God, a Christian must ideally agree and obey with him and
everything in the Bible 100 percent! This means that you are not allowed
the freedom to have your own opinions that aren’t in line with the Bible or to
think for yourself! What kind of a relationship is that? Would you
want a relationship or even friendship with someone that required you to obey
and agree with everything they said? In our society, we consider that to
be an unhealthy relationship. In fact, that is more like a master/servant
or dictator/pawn type of relationship. And it’s one where you cannot even
both respectfully disagree. Is that what you would call a great
relationship? Hmmmmmm
Finally, what kind of a relationship is it when the
other person doesn’t even talk back audibly and you can’t even see him?
It seems like a one way deal. Why can’t God or Jesus appear to those who
have a relationship with him, either simultaneously or just to one person or a
few? Why all this hiding? It doesn’t make sense.
The
thing about living the Christian life that always confused me was this.
As a Christian, you were told to surrender yourself and your life to Jesus
Christ and let him take over. And you were told to seek God's will in
everything you do and to do his will. But here's the big problem. How
are you supposed to surrender yourself to God and do his will when you have no
idea at all what his will is for the daily issues and decisions you go
through? Although the Christians often say that every problem you can
have has been addressed in the Bible with a solution, that
just isn’t so in regard to decisions in daily life. Let me explain.
Suppose I were facing a major decision about which of two houses to buy, or
whether to move to
Another
big problem I had which never had any resolution was this. How could you
live a holy Christian life and be separated from the secular and sinful world, and
at the same time physically live in this world, being exposed daily to its
influences and people? Such leads to inevitable clashes and conflicts
daily throughout your life. It would be like living with someone whom you
have constant personality clashes with. It just wouldn’t work.
That's how it was for me. I found that I had no peace at all trying to do
this, so I had to eventually just give up trying to be holy and separate, so
that I could be a normal human being again!
(Note: The following have
more to do with statements of belief by Christians than for arguing the
validity of Christianity.)
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