# Is Christianity a religion?



## saintandsinner77 (Feb 1, 2011)

Since I have been converted, I have heard fellow believers say things like, "Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship," "religion is man's attempt to reach God, Christianity is about God coming down to man," and like phrases. 

One day, my eyes scanned across James and I read the following- 
James 1: [27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

I thought to myself- well, the Bible qualifies a certain kind of religion as being pure. As a young Calvinist, I read reformed writers of the past who used the word "religion," quite regularly in their writings and that, in a positive tone. 

I wondered to myself why modern evangelicals abhor using this word. I'm guessing that they equate their former state (i.e. ritualistic, formalistic, dead Roman Catholicism) with religion and thus see religion as something bad or negative. 

According to the dictionary, religion can be defined as: "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs." 

Doesn't God state what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves morally, including observing the Lord's Supper and Baptism? So then, how is Christianity not a religion?

Is Christianity about a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Absolutely! Is Christianity about God coming down to save sinful man in the Person of Jesus Christ? Yes, indeed! But why shouldn't we also use religion, but qualify it- such as, "Christianity is the true religion," or "Christianity is the pure religion," instead of running from the usage of this word as though it were profane.


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## Steve Curtis (Feb 1, 2011)

Calvin didn't write the "Institutes of the Christian Relationship" 
Yes, Christianity is a religion and, as you say, it is the _true_ religion. You are probably right that many associate the word with whatever bad thing from their past, etc. However, many also probably prefer "relationship" because it can "defang" Aslan (if you're a Narnia fan!). "Relationship" is so much more conducive to emotionally-charged warm fuzzies. I don't know this for a fact, but I would think that the general attitude toward the word "religion" is a relatively new phenomenon.


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## Jack K (Feb 1, 2011)

Again, here's another question about terms so it depends on how you define the word "religion." In addition, some people are likely to get feisty about this because they like the word, have always used it in a good sense, and feel we're losing something if we allow the culture to redefine the word in a negative light.

There certainly is a sense in which Christianity is true religion. And just fifty years ago, to say this was not confusing. But given the way many people think of that word today, as an oppressive system of self-effort to win approval from some god or other, we have to be careful to properly define the word if we decide to keep using it. And it's particularly tricky to refer to Christianity as "a" religion. The idea that all religions are pretty much the same and you just need to pick the one that works for you is so prevalent today. Calling Christianity "a" religion may tend to reinforce that idea.

Meanings of words change over time. Cultural connotations associated with words also change. If we love a word that has changing connotations, we must accept the fact that if we choose to keep using it we will have to be much more careful as we do so, so that we don't miscommunicate. Clearly communicating the gospel to all is more important than retaining our own, in-crowd definition of certain words out of principle.

I think this is why some apologists today have started talking about the gospel as something other than religion. It communicates the gospel more clearly to today's culture. The brightest of these guys, though, resist using "relationship" as a replacement word. Relationship _is_ a part of Christianity, but it's a weak substitute to describe the whole of Christianity.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Feb 1, 2011)

I agree with Josh. Yup.


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## VictorBravo (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm with Josh and Randy, but I originally was going to say "it used to be--until Derrida and his less intelligent offspring came along" . . . .


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## Gesetveemet (Feb 2, 2011)

.




saintandsinner77 said:


> Is Christianity a religion?




I believe the word religion means to be "re-bound" to God.
So yes Christianity is the only true religion. Please correct me if I'm wrong.



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## LawrenceU (Feb 2, 2011)

Yes, that is its meaning in context. It is derived from Latin: religio - to bind, or tie. 

It might be a stretch to say that the word religion itself means to 'be rebound to God' as I have heard some say. In English and in many other Western European languages the word 'religion' used to imply more to do with piety and practice than denomination.


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## saintandsinner77 (Feb 2, 2011)

I believe if the Reformed were in the majority in the churches today, the word religion would still carry the connotations of piety and devotion to the living God.


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## Gesetveemet (Feb 2, 2011)

From webster's 1828



> religion
> religion, n. Relij'on. [l. Religio, from religo, to bind anew; re and ligo, to bind. This word seems originally to have signified an oath or vow to the gods, or the obligation of such an oath or vow, which was held very sacred by the romans.]
> 
> 1. Religion, in its most comprehensive sense, includes a belief in the being and perfections of god, in the revelation of his will to man, in man's obligation to obey his commands, in a state of reward and punishment, and in man's accountableness to god; and also true godliness or piety of life, with the practice of all moral duties. It therefore comprehends theology, as a system of doctrines or principles, as well as practical piety; for the practice of moral duties without a belief in a divine lawgiver, and without reference to his will or commands, is not religion.
> ...





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## ericfromcowtown (Feb 2, 2011)

Yes it is. "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion" is another catch phrase like "living the gospel"  and "seeker-sensitive" that grate on me.


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## saintandsinner77 (Feb 2, 2011)

Interesting how Noah Webster gets high jacked by modern American Evangelicalism in determining the use of a word. I recently heard a pentecostal minister say that unbelievers should make Jesus the Leader of their life, thus abandoning the use of "Lord," because after all, we don't live in a monarchy and most Americans won't understand "Lord."


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## awretchsavedbygrace (Feb 2, 2011)

Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world- James 1:27

I think people don't like the word "religion" because they define it as " a set of rules one has to keep". While I see the concern, Christianity is not a religion where you can do as you please. There is a Lord you must obey, there are Pastors you must obey, there is a local church you must support and attend; so there are laws.


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## SRoper (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks, Julio--you beat me to it with the James quote. Scripture demonstrates that the word religion can be used in a positive sense.


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## Leslie Koster (Feb 3, 2011)

Because of past experiences with confrontational non believers and some "so called believers" anytime the word religion is used, I personally like to say I am a follower of the Christian faith having confidence in Jesus Christ.
Faith is a confidence or trust in the achievement of God's will, even though unseen and unexpected by non-believers.
Eph. 2:8 is just a small sample of text I think about when reading this post.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
I also like Hebrews 11 and Gal. 3.
Most of the passages of scripture using the word religion use it in a negative fashion. This is based on a quick review of the Scriptures. I have not gone into an in-depth study of the word.

I do wonder about the use of the word "religion" in James. Is it used to define something someone believes in, or is it being used more as a definition of an action one who is of faith in Christ should be doing to be obedient to God? Just a thought.


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## JennyG (Feb 3, 2011)

saintandsinner77 said:


> Interesting how Noah Webster gets high jacked by modern American Evangelicalism in determining the use of a word. I recently heard a pentecostal minister say that unbelievers should make Jesus the Leader of their life, thus abandoning the use of "Lord," because after all, we don't live in a monarchy and most Americans won't understand "Lord."



yes, those of us who do have the good luck to live in a monarchy have a natural headstart over you republicans!


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## CharlieJ (Feb 3, 2011)

There is a history to this usage. Up through the period of Protestant orthodoxy, "religion" meant the worship of God. There is true religion and false religion. True religion is instituted by God, false by man.

After Kant's closing off of the noumenal realm from the phenomenal realm, modernist Lutherans like Schleiermacher and Feuerbach spoke of religion*s*, various ways that humans reach out to God. Notice that their use of religion follows only the category that would have been called "false religion" by the orthodox. That's because they didn't believe in revelation, at least not in the orthodox sense.

When Karl Barth comes on the scene, he "recovers" the idea of revelation, that God is the initiator and revealer. So, he opposes Christianity to "religion," because he's adopted the modernist terminology of religion as man reaching out to God. You can see a similar "Christianity isn't a religion" theme in Bonhoeffer's sermons.

So, when Christians say that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion, they're actually repeating the Barthian line, though they probably don't mean all the same things by it.


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## saintandsinner77 (Feb 3, 2011)

Good one JennyG! Well, I have no problem referring to Jesus as the Lord of my life, even as a Republican 

If the Bible uses a word, we should use also use it and not allow modern American evangelicalism to dictate our language.


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