Fingerprints

Religion. Religion Awards. Religion & Culture. Religion Online. Religion influencing political vote. Religious Television programming. The American Academy of Religion.
It’s interesting to me that when people mention religion, they’re more than likely mentioning Christianity. And i’d have to say that 60% of the time when one uses the term religion, they are referring to Christianity and there is some sort of negative undertone. The reason being, because when religion is used in a negative light, then it’s because those individuals are slighted at the absoluteness of that particular religion, in which Christianity has made more noise through our televisions and street corners as conclusive. The others are forms of religion too, but society has accepted them with a deeper embrace because of their positive undertones alluding to subjective standpoints. They’ve deemed them not to be religious, but spiritual. Just as careful and good-natured as Gospel has turned into Inspirational.

Why has the word Religion and Christianity run synonymously? Is it because Christianity is looked upon as a Religion? But then it is a form of religion, but not the essence of religion because there are in fact, other religions. Anything based on some sort of doctrinal stance or perception of God can been seen as a form of religion. So then in that case I’d concur that I can understand why one would associate me with being “religious”, although the term alone when used equivalently with Khristi makes me itch. Maybe it’s the standard that I’ve been taught through my relationship with God. The standard of absolute truth that attacks postmodern thought that religion so often alludes to in the broad categories that define it. Religion for the Christian has turned into church, which in turn has turned into a pastime, liken to basketball practice or a yoga class or a pep rally. The interesting thing is that God minus religion still equals God. Me minus church still equals child of God. Although I do attend church, but for the very same reason that CS Lewis concluded that the fellowship of the body and teaching are vital because they serve as reminders as to the substance of our faith. In the world in which we live, reason would make us unstable, therefore the church service, which should be identified as the worship service, becomes an important factor. Christ wasn’t just spouting yet another complex phrase when he called us, the body of believers and the children of God, the Church. The Holy Spirit lives in you. You are the temple and the sanctuary of God. Beautiful and poetic in tone, but essential in shaping our identities. God’s intentions are to get us back to how we were created. My identity therefore is not in religion, or in First Baptist Church, or in my doctrine or my school or even my parents for that matter. I am a human being with the same equivalence that I am a child of God, thanking God for the grace and opportunity to receive Jesus Christ through a mere step of confession that would embark me on a journey to self-discovery that can only come through Elohim.
Maybe it’s the extremist in me. But yes, I am offended when you call me religious: But silently. The naivety of the world’s reason has forced you to place me in a category. I don’t blame you for the association. But keep this in mind: I am who I say I am. These are my fingerprints.