Rev. Richard Smith
Without question, one can say that there is good religion and there is bad religion; there is healthy religion and there is unhealthy religion.
While the determination of what is or is not good religion is subjective, I think there are certain pivot points which help us discern when religion (whatever religion it is) is God-centered and God-grounded.
Here are my thoughts on this subject.
True God-Centered Religion Avoids Absolutism
As I see it, there are four traits evident in spiritual and moral absolutism:
- I am right and you are wrong
- The way I understand the Bible, or whatever holy book it may be, is the true way; all other interpretations are false.
- There is no need for dialogue unless you are willing to hear the errors of your ways.
- If you do not change your beliefs and your actions, then you betray God’s will and invite God’s judgment.
Let me be clear…True God-centered and God-grounded religion has no place for absolutism!!
In Good Religion, God Is Always First And Foremost
At the heart of every healthy religious perspective and practice is the desire to please God. While, without question, some misuse this belief to propagate fear of God and unhealthy expectations, it is essential that you and I understand our primary life call to be glorifying and obeying God.
As Rick Warren puts it, The goal of my life is not pleasure, possessions, prestige, politics, power, or popularity. The goal of my life is the glory of God.
This doesn’t mean religious faith ignores our real needs and thoughts (see ensuing point), but we must be careful to avoid our religious faith bolstering us without putting God’s will front and center.
Healthy Religion Magnifies The Truth That God Cares And Is With Us
Whatever the seasons and times of our lives, the highs and the lows, God is with us and God is involved. There is no moment, no situation, no circumstance, no happening which is outside of God’s love and care. Whatever the season; whatever the time; whatever the moment, He is there!
Good Religion Expects Discipline And Growth
I personally have always felt that one of the strengths of our Christian tradition is that we each are called to grow, to mature, to become more of the persons Christ would have us be, to accept growth in Christlikeness as a rightful expectation.
I would go so far as to say that religion without discipline and expectation is shallow religion.
Amidst God’s Expectations of Us, Healthy Religion Shares God’s Grace
Even as we rightly acknowledge that good religion expects us to become more of who God wants us to be, we celebrate the good news that our God is a God of grace. This means we are blessed to have a Father who knows our humanity and, as we seek it, is willing to forgive us.
We need to change what needs to be changed, but we find peace in knowing God views us as our loving and caring Father.
In Healthy Religion, Reason And Intellect Are Valued
In healthy religion, reason and intellect are valued as venues of Divine wisdom and as venues of spiritual truth. After all, God made us thinking persons with minds to reflect and perceive.
Reason and intellect serve a critical purpose in facilitating valid religious perceptions.
Reason helps prevent blind faith, helps avoid following spiritual fads or tangents, helps prevent moving toward religious beliefs and actions which are grounded purely in emotion, and calls us to make sure what we proclaim has merit.
Good Religion Emphasizes God’s Call To Compassion
For me, Luke 6:46 is one of the most important verses in all of Holy Scripture: Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. These words of Jesus make clear that a compassionate heart is a marker of one’s mature spirituality.
Now let me tell you five important things to remember about compassion:
- The needs are great. Each of us in our respective communities can easily find areas of great human need where God would have us involved.
- God intends each of us to do our part.
- We can’t do everything but we can always do something.
- We can be the answer to someone’s prayer for help.
- We must address injustice and find ways to bring about justice where needed.
Healthy Religion Shows Respect For Varied Religious Traditions
Pope Francis put it this way:
It is my wish that we have more interreligious dialogue as a way of building bridges and establishing true links of friendship between all people. The dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or a sister to be welcomed and embraced.
I share this from Pope Francis to illustrate a central truth of healthy and good religion. Religion that truly is God-grounded and God-honoring will seek to build bridges across lines of religious tradition and belief; will seek to treat one another as brothers and sisters within God’s Kingdom; and will show respect and appreciation for how each group reflects God’s work in the world.
