Dear friends in Christ at Peace and Grue,
Some people are not very religious. It is not that they are opposed to religion, but they don’t feel religious, nor do they see the need for religious answers to life’s questions. Pious? Not them. Seekers? Not really. In view of the common assumption that humans are religious beings who long for God, what are we to make of such people? Do we insist that they are really are religious-even if they don’t know it-and so claim to know them better than they know themselves? Do we try to raise their religious consciousness-even though the invitation leaves them cold? Or do we need to rethink the assumption that all humans are religious by nature?
Some people are not very religious. Concern for the inner life, or speculations over life’s mysteries do not interest them. Those who consider themselves spiritual typically confuse transcendent reality with their own; and religious enthusiasts fail to see that the familiar god of their piety is not the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Jesus. Religion as we often see it cannot comprehend the holiness and judgment of God. All of this adds up to the end of religion.
The end of religion does not mean the end of Christianity. One does not need to be religious to be Christian. Christianity has no prerequisites. “Faith comes from what is heard” (Romans 10:17), and all humans, having the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:22), can hear the good news. All religion will get us, all we can grasp on our own, is a god who remains hidden and unknown (Acts 17:22-31). As Luther explained, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him.” (Luther’s Small Catechism 3rd Article, Apostles’ Creed).
The end of religion can be the beginning of faith. When we stop assuming that all humans are seeking God, we can hear the claim that a merciful God is after us. This is the overarching biblical narrative, as is the understanding that God is holy (set apart from us and a mystery to us) and just (intensely concerned with morality). Christianity claims that our hope in a divine power to right wrongs and establish peace and justice will be fulfilled-though in ways that might surprise us, as the people of God have been surprised throughout the ages. It may be that we are not preparing the royal highway, but are a roadblock in its way.
It is not obvious that the kingdom of God has entered into and is growing in the world. Faith is not religious knowledge. Uncertainty and risk remain part of faith. Unlike knowledge, faith realizes it could be wrong. Since faith is not knowledge, unbelief is a constant struggle. Faith, not religious knowledge, prays, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).
Faith is not easy to grasp. Faith needs to hear such good news again and again, because its assurance comes not from within-since religious feelings weaken, and religious decisions fade-but from continually hearing it proclaimed in word and deed, until finally believing will become knowing. Faith tells us that finally we will be renewed. All our faults, shortcomings, disorders, and compulsions will be transformed. Until one day there will be a new creation, where God will be all in all, and we will be joined in a bond of love and peace that we have imagined but have never known.
Until then we continue to pray: “Thy kingdom come.”
Pastor Dan