There was an interesting video in the web recently that went viral (14 million hits on youtube, i mind you!!). It was a video of a dashing young rapper with great musical talent spitting out rhymes about the sins of religion. The video attracted the attention and likes of many, especially the young. The number of shares of this video on Facebook was phenomenal. This young man was preaching that Jesus came to abolish religion and it was mostly Christians who shared the video on their Facebook page. I found it to be rather perplexing that the video appealed most to Christians, who themselves belong to a religion, than it did to atheists or free-thinkers.
Well, apparently, the young man was very spot-on his points, and though many were unsure of what their stand was on religion, they agreed with what he was arguing about.
The young rapper started his video with questions. Lots of them. I am not quite sure if he provided much accurate answers but he was very effective in asking questions that rhymed and were interesting to listen to. However, I came to learn once again, that just because it sounds good, doesn’t mean it is true. It is absolutely important that as learned, educated Christians, we learn to question inspirations and discern the messages that is being sent to us, regardless of the language and the format it comes in.
Let me begin by saying I do not blame this young man for what he believes in. He was probably taught to interpret the Bible subjectively without the proper guidance from someone with about 2000 years worth of Scriptural knowledge. He may not have had the opportunity to master discernment in order to discern every inspiration that he receives. Not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to receive such education and formation.
Now, the first question this young man asked was, “What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?”
Of course, before one can even think of the answer to that question, he pounces once again with another question. “What if I told you voting Republican wasn’t his mission?”
Catchy, eh? The majority of us will probably agree to the second sentence, and naturally then concede that he was probably right about his first claim as well.
After some thought, the answer to his very first question appears direct and simple.
Jesus did not, never did come to abolish religion. There are plenty of scriptural evidences to support this. Jesus was born into the Jewish religion. Jesus, God in flesh, chose to be presented to the Jewish temple, according to Jewish customs, after His birth. Jesus, at the age of 12, followed his parents to their annual ‘religious’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In Matt 5:17, Jesus says boldly, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them” (NIV). When the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Jesus regarding the Jewish practice of keep the Sabbath holy, Jesus response was not to negate or nullify the practise of Sabbath but to restore the practice to its correct disposition. He called on the Pharisees to remember the true nature of the practice, that is to live Sabbath for praise and gratitude towards God, with Christ as the centrepiece.
Jesus came to fulfil the true calling of a religion, that is to know God, to love God and to serve God with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength. If abolishing religion was Jesus’ aim, then He would have stood against all the Jewish religious practices of the time. But that is not what Christ did. He wasn’t against the religious practices. He was against distorted religious practices that instead of being directed to God’s glorification, was directed towards self-glorification. The Pharisees were so obsessed with keeping the Laws, so that they may appear worthy before God and those around them. The religious practices ended up putting the focus on self. These religious practices, are suppose to edify us and redirect our focus and thoughts back to God, so that God becomes the central theme of our lives, and rituals such as the Passover and keeping the Sabbath holy are there so that making Christ the central theme of our lives becomes an innate habit. The problem was not with religion or religious practices but was with a self-directed religion and religious practice.
The young man, then goes on to say that,
“If religion is so big, why has it started so many wars?
Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?
Tell single moms God doesn’t love them, because they have ever had a divorce.”
Does religion call people to go on war against each other? I don’t think i’ve heard of many religions that call on their followers to wage war against another human being. Then, why were there wars in the name of religion? Is it not obvious that these wars were self-seeking in nature but hid behind the banners of religion? Didn’t as many people oppose war because they had a sound religious understanding as did those who wanted to wage war in the name of religion? Religion isn’t bad. It is the misuse of religion for self-seeking purposes that is bad.
Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?
Ever wondered why Christ was so ticked off when He saw business going on in temple grounds? Why did Christ drive out the businesses that were taking place in temple grounds. Why did he say to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
If a church is just a building that can be anything, anywhere, however; if the externalities of church are of no value, then why was Jesus so cheesed off by those selling at the temple? After all, prayers and teaching were still taking place in the temple. What caused Jesus to become irate and chase the people out?
It is because Jesus himself preached the holiness of the physical temple. Because Jesus himself taught that the externalities are a reflection of the internalities. And such, there is substantial investment that goes into the building of a church, because it is a reflection of God’s presence in the world. The Church, is a place where God truly comes to be present in times of worship. During Mass, for the Catholics, the bread is truly transformed into the flesh of Christ, meaning the church is a place where Christ’s Real Presence comes to be. The physical church is a reflection of God’s presence on earth. How then, can a church be left to look like a shack or an empty building with no reflection of God’s glory and beauty?
After all, all riches come from God (when earned righteously). Do you not think that the same God would provide for the building of the church just as He would provide for the feeding of the poor? It is when we become self-directed/self-centred that we begin to think that feeding the poor supersedes the glorification of God. And although externally this may seem right, it is not. Why? Because then, we still put the focus on ourselves, on our Doing, on our might. What can I DO for the poor? Instead of focusing on BEing with God, and allowing Him to work through us, we put the focus on ourselves. Good actions without spiritual directions are empty activism and that is not what God is calling Christians to be.
Of course, God is not saying, ignore the poor. There is no way one can put all the focus on God, and consciously end up neglecting the poor, the marginalised neighbours around. If that happens, one probably has an impaired and distorted relationship with God. God calls us to relationship with Him, so that we can learn to have a relationship with those around us, and treat those around us in accordance to the value bestowed on them. It is not so much about having a good relationship with others, so that we can have a good relationship with God. On the other hand, the contrary is more true.
The Catholic Church very well known for her beautiful, huge churches is also the largest charitable organisation in the WORLD (all contributions collectively) (Reference: http://pseudo01.hddn.com/vod/cchvideo.catholicscomehom2/pdf/Epic_proof.pdf).
The Church has built numerous hospitals, orphanages, schools and colleges always known for quality. How then can one claim that the Church has built huge churches but failed to feed the poor?
This young rapper said,
“See, the problem with religion is it never gets to the core
It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores”
Did Christ come and say that there will be no longer rules governing people? Did He say that there will be no expectations from those who profess their belief in Him? What exactly are chores? Chores are everyday tasks that may sometimes be unpleasant and yet is necessary.
Religion is not a long list of chores, but it definitely includes expectations. Christ did many times preach on what is expected of Christians, his followers.
That we are to forgive infinitely,
that we are to love our neighbour as we love ourselves,
that we are to go, sell everything we have, give it to the poor, and follow Him,
that we are to cut our hands or legs off if it stands in our way to the kingdom of heaven,
that we are to repent of our sins and return to God’s love,
that what God has bound we are not to divide,
that we are to die for our family and friends,
that we are to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Christ did give us a long list of ‘chores’, for the lack of a better word, to follow. How do we respond to that?
If we are looking for a ‘religion’ with no restriction, where everything goes, where everyone can do whatever they want to do, where everyone can be whatever they want to be and not face consequences for those choices, I am sorry to tell you that Christianity is not what you are looking for.
If you think Christ came to promote a lifestyle of inconsequential freedom, then you have been mislead. True freedom comes with ‘abiding’ or ‘attuning’ yourself to God’s will. The consequence of inconsequential freedom is unfulfillment and degradation of the human understanding of self-value.
I can go on and respond to everything that the young rapper said. However, that would mean that this post will be too long (much longer than it already is) and fail to get the message across.
The point at the end of the day, is to listen to messages and carefully and critically examine them using our sound reasoning (which were formed by many years of RELIGIOUS education) complemented with the teachings of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit, before accepting them to be true and propagating them. It is about being aware that a message that relays a convenient faith does not necessarily hold truth, and a message that relays an inconvenient faith is not necessarily false.
In life, we are to seek what is Right, what is Truth and not seek to be Right, or to be True.
Only then, will we be able to follow the directions of Truth, which at the end of the day, is not a thing to know but a Person.
