Religion vs Relationship: Opposites or Intertwined?

Ok, so I wrote this up a little while ago in response to something I had a friend tell me. I know that I'll end up reworking it so that it'll say what I want to say more clearly, but here is something that I think people will perhaps find interesting, maybe even worthy of debate. If you want to let me know your response to this, please leave a comment.


“I’m a Christian, so I’m anti-religious. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion”

Do I agree with this? Not at all! By all definitions, Christianity is a religion. Plain and simple. Dictionary.com says that religion is:
1.
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.

2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3.
the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

Does Christianity fall under definition #1? Yes! We believe that God Almighty created the universe. We have devotional and ritual observances (Prayer, Lord’s Supper, Baptism, Daily Devotions). We have a moral code found in Scripture. According to definition #1, we are a religion.

Does Christianity fall under definition #2? Yes!

Does Christianity fall under definition #3? Yes! It’s called the Church and it started roughly the same time that Jesus was alive and on earth.

Also, please note that James 1 talks about religion and mentions a religion that God accepts as pure and faultless. Hmm… talking about Christianity and mentioning religion.

I think the biggest problem people have with religion is that it often allows for people to simply ‘go through the motions’ and not actually have it mean anything. Religion has bad connotations starting all the way back to the Pharisees and likely before. It has often been used as a tool to control people. That’s why the Church was able to convince people to go to war in the Crusades. Does this mean that all religion is bad? No.

Christianity is a religion. As the one true religion however, it is not limited to traditional earthly religions. It expands on those and does indeed add a relationship. This opportunity for relationship with God Almighty is unique.

How do religion and relationship work together? Simple. People who hold fast to the relationship and reject the religion of Christianity tend to be those who falter in hard times. They fall away because the god they trust is not the God of Christianity. They see one or two aspects of God (loving, fair, kind are the most common) and set these as the only attributes of God. Scripture presents a much larger view of God. Christians who only see the religion of Christianity are those who get cold and hard. They do not see the human aspect to the faith. Religion is the key to the relationship. Religion gives us the proper view of our God and allows us to enter into a proper relationship with Him. It gives us the tools we need to do this properly.