Obed February 24th, 2012

This was a good interview, and I dig the idea of engaging the culture and not getting stuck in our church ghettos.

That said, I've got a major problem with creating a false dichotomy between Jesus and religion or equating religion with legalism or moralism. As was said in the interview, Jesus did indeed preach in the synagogue several times. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus going up to Jerusalem for the religious celebrations. Heck, in Matthew 5, Jesus even says that the people should obey the Pharisees without practicing their hypocrisy. Similarly, we see the Apostles preaching at the Temple and in the synagogues after the Resurrection.

Don't get me wrong, I think moralism and legalism are cancers in the Church today, and many of Jesus' criticisms of the Pharisees could easily be levered against us. But moralism and legalism are not the same thing as religion. And religion ought not be opposed to doing good things for society and the community. Heck, in my city all but one of our many hospitals are affiliated with religious groups, as are several universities and just about every charity that feeds the homeless. After all, wasn't it Jesus' own brother who said that TRUE religion is to take care of the orphans and widows and helpless?

I hope this isn't coming across as a rant or anything, but the false dichotomy between Jesus and religion is a real pet peeve of mine. Granted, I'm a religious person who loves religion including the ceremony, the traditions, the music, and all that other stuff. And I know that my inner Pharisee and inner Sadducee tend to sit in the driver's seat way too often in my life. But despite the devil perverting religion in my life, the reason I love religion and I am religious is because I really, really love Jesus and the Church. Religion pointing to him is what makes religion so attractive to me despite its many warts.

Just sayin'…