Monday 24 May 2010

Religion is not a dirty word

Religion is not a dirty word
Religion is not a dirty word

Religion is not a dirty word

Don't you believe what you've seen or heard


I was a huge, but closet, fan of the skyhooks as a child, I'm still a huge fan. I was a closet fan as a child for two reasons,
1. Good Baptist kids, like me, were not supposed to listen to evil bands like the Skyhooks, and all those nasty/evil/satanic heavy metal bands I liked (still like),
2. My older brother hated Skyhooks, and all those nasty/evil/satanic heavy metal bands. The only thing my brother and the church I went to as a kid agreed on.
Fear of my older brother was probably the greater reason.

Anyway, I'm just acknowledging the Skyhooks Song, "Ego is not a dirty word" as the source for my post title.

Back to Religion, as the new pastor of Leichhardt Congregational Church I've been looking around at what other churches are in my area. The newest church, less than a year old, is called Citywest. It has a slogan, "REAL LIFE NOT RELIGION", and it got me wondering, "What's wrong with religion?"
The same question, for me, came up during the "Jesus, all about life" campaign in Sydney recently. One of the phrases used in it was something like, "I'm not into religion, but Jesus had some cool things to say." (that may not be an exact quote). Again I ask, “What’s wrong with religion?”

If you look at the dictionary definition below, that there is nothing wrong with religion, it’s fundamental to a belief in God. But it’s had some ad press, and the meaning has been change for many. For many, religion has come to mean pointless ritual and mindless rules that restrict freedom and liberty, unless it’s about sport (as seen in the second definition).

When it comes to your favourite team, being a religious fanatic is not only acceptable, but also often expected. It’s ok to have belief in and worship your favourite team, but not God!

Christians, I believe need to be “extremely enthusiastic” about God, and that = religion. I do not believe that we should by into the world’s anti-religion mantra, but stand up for true religion.

But on the other hand, Citywest Church is doing quite well!

Definition
religion noun
[C or U] the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship
(the Christian religion)
[C] informal an activity which someone is extremely enthusiastic about and does regularly
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)


PS. This ended nothing like I expected it to at the start, but it’s ok.

Religion is not a dirty word
Religion is not a dirty word

Religion is not a dirty word

Don't you believe what you've seen or heard

2 comments:

  1. I think that the 'dirty' part of religion is the 'system of belief and worship' not the object of our worship.

    The system has become corrupted and some people want no part if it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fair enough, let's fix it.:)

    ReplyDelete