Would you say you are “spiritual" or "religious"?
I come across more and more people who are happy to describe themselves as spiritual, but really reject the idea of being religious. Why is that?
I'm sure these terms mean many things to many people, so let me clarify what I am talking about. To be "religious" is to hold to a specific set of organized beliefs and practices shared by a larger community or group. It is much bigger than ourselves as individuals, something that didn't begin and won't end with us. We didn't invent it, and that larger body of beliefs and practices may include aspects we don't particularly like or agree with.
In contrast, to be "spiritual" generally refers to more of an individual practice and has to do with having a sense of peace and purpose. That’s how Rich, 27, described himself in a coffee shop conversation. He definitely believes in a god or some sort of higher power, but by rejecting religion he reserves the right to imagine or define that god for himself.
Rich said he has come through and out of some difficult circumstances in life, and has now turned to the power of positive thinking, specifically described in Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. This is working for him in this season of his life, so he chooses to build his beliefs about God and the afterlife around the positivity he finds in different religions.
But in claiming the right to define God as we want, we are denying God the right to identify Himself. We are attempting to limit God to our own individual preferences, rather than allowing God to be God. This is the sin of idolatry, of forming an image of God we are more comfortable with. It might not be a physical representation like the calf worshipped by the Israelites at Mount Sinai, but it is an imaginary representation that people bow down to nonetheless.
Habakkuk 2:18 tells us as much: “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.”
The idols man creates for himself may seem to speak for a time or season, but they have no lasting value. Psalm 115 tells us “They (idols) have mouths, but cannot speak; eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear; noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel; feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.”
People who claim to be spiritual often view religion as being dead and lifeless, but ironically turn to lifeless idols of their own imagining. The Psalm continues to say “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” They look for life, but in the end become as dead as the idols they create.
Toward the end of our conversation, I offered Rich a Bible in the hope that he might read of the living God who reveals Himself through it. I realize the Bible contains much that flies in the face of modern sensibilities, especially to an outsider or a newcomer to faith. One must read it from a position of humility, giving it the benefit of the doubt when we don't agree with it. We have to assume that the Bible is to change us; we are not to change or reject the Bible.
As I kind of expected, Rich saw my Bible gift as representing the religion he rejects, so he honestly said he wouldn’t read it. I hope he will change his mind and trust God to reveal Himself through it’s pages, rather than trusting his ability to create his own spirituallity by imagining God for himself.
Thanks Rich, for an interesting conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/lYqxVt5AY1U on my YouTube channel.
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