Bulletin Articles
What Kind of Religion?
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:26-27).
Many do not like the term “religion.” Some will say that they don’t like religion, but they love Jesus. However, James distinguishes between religion that is worthless and religion that is pure and undefiled. Bad religion is nothing to relish since it is not something that would please God. Those who serve God as He instructs will practice a religion that is true and full of worth.
Unbelievers point to the evils that have been perpetrated by religion as a proof that religion is bad. This sentiment has both error and truth to it. The problem is that it overgeneralizes, assuming that if some religions are bad, then all religions are bad. However, though one, some, or even most religions may be worthless (as James puts it), this does not mean that all are. In fact, the nature of religion is such that if one really is true, others will be false. There is no way that all can be equally true, for each will oppose major tenets of others and each will engage in differing practices. Christians ought to realize, too, that if Christ is truth (as we affirm), then this means there are no other paths to God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).
That said, the evils committed by some religious adherents are real and should not be minimized. Christians, of all people, ought to understand this because the way of Christ is based on truth-claims, opposing error and all it does. The reason that some religions are responsible for evil is because there is deviation from truth. Does this seem too simple? Perhaps, but if we believe in the difference between truth and error, then we can see how error sustains evil. This includes those who claim to be Christians, for much evil has indeed been practiced under the guise of “Christianity.” Tortures, murders, and political wars under the umbrella of serving Christ (e.g., the Crusades) point to worthless religion, not that which is pure and undefiled.
Timothy was warned, “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim 2:13). Scripture is full of warnings about evil men, wolves in sheep’s clothing, imposters, false apostles, and those who would take others down a path of great wickedness—and this includes wickedness done in the name of religion (see 2 Cor 11:14-15).
Instead of denying that religions can be evil, and often are, we need to stress the difference between truth and error, between the pure and the worthless. The problem we face, of course, is that the concepts of truth and error are themselves seen as relics of bad religion. The consequence is that people no longer even believe in truth. We live in a post-truth world in which nothing is absolute. This is as anti-Christ as it can get.
It’s ironic, then, that those who think we are past seeing truth and error will turn around and complain about how evil religions are. They can’t logically have it both ways. If religion is evil, it’s evil because it is a false religion built on error. Yet this necessitates that there is truth that is being violated. Christians believe this to be the case because we accept that truth is most fundamental to everything we do. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” said Jesus (John 14:6). He also said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Without truth, we have nothing, and without truth, there is no such thing as bad religion.
This is one the many reasons why Christians must be dedicated to truth. If we cannot know truth from error, we cannot truly know anything. We cannot judge the difference between right and wrong. The position that blurs truth with error into some hybrid “post-truth” confusion ends up destroying the foundation for knowledge and moral reality. Without a foundation for knowledge, there is no basis for judging anything as right or wrong. The world would have it be so, but it’s that same world that is so harshly judging Christians, God, and Scripture. They cannot really know right from wrong, but they surely “know” religion is bad.
Indeed, the world is as Jesus described: like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36). This makes it all the more imperative for Christians to be what they are called by God to be: “lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Phil 2:15-16). Let the religion to which we hold be true and undefiled as we care for the weak and oppressed and keep ourselves unstained by the world.
