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Confusing Religion with Spirituality
There is a vast difference between a religious experience and
a spiritual one. Being religious, as we often see in the
Western mode of thinking may no longer be very close to the
spirituality that all humans instinctively seek. Organized
religion is on the verge of killing itself off with ignorance
and a stubborn refusal to understand the Fourth Century was
not the high water mark of spiritual understanding. It is no
coincidence that the dark ages came on the heels of the
organization of the Christian church. Perhaps it is time to
explain the difference. These are not original thoughts. What
follows is what one can learn, if you allow it to be so, from
an experience with an abusive, literalist religious
experience and organization of any persuasion.
In our culture all spirituality is expected to come from the
Bible and expressed through an Organized Christian Church all
holding similar yet different perspectives. But an experience
such as we have had with the Worldwide Church of God and the
one others still are experiencing with splinter COG’s, compel
me to explain the difference between genuine spirituality and
a mere religious experience that can change direction with
the wind….and often does. A mere religious experience gone
wrong will leave one feeling defeated, angry, fearful and
bitter. Being told that “well it is YOUR fault you did not
have a deeply spiritual experience, not the Church’s” is not
the answer. It is however, an attempt to blame the person for
not being able to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Spirituality born from this adversity is such that no one can
ever again take it from you. True spirituality comes from the
inside out and does not depend one whit on
externals.
The more fundamentally literal and organized the group is,
the less one will experience a genuine inner and calmly
confident spirituality. There are only two genuine emotions
from which all others flow…Love and Fear. That’s why perfect,
unconditional love can cast out fear, it’s opposite. Of
course, fear can totally trash any prospect of being loved as
well. Notice Love does not cast out hate, as hate is the
result of some fear. The opposite of Love is Fear. Genuine
Love produces genuine spirituality while Fear produces mere
religion and its associated atrocities and control. Christian
soldiers are fear-based zealots and true believers in THEIR
religion, not your spirituality, and are the most destructive
of all.
These observations are those of individuals who have
experienced being religious, perhaps for most of their lives,
until the genuine shallowness of the experience simply
overwhelmed them and the truth of spirituality came home. It
is common to become stuck in the experience of religion gone
wrong and not to move on through the lessons and then grasp
the meaning of a genuine inner spirituality. Organized
religion cannot abide deeply internal and individual
spirituality as it cannot be controlled, has no allegiance to
the dictates of the group and is not anxious to be relieved
of it’s money to perpetuate the group think of the
organization. Perhaps this can help.
Spirituality
Spirituality is not the exclusive
domain of Fundamentalist Christianity.
Religion
Christianity is the ONLY true
spirituality and all others are of a Devil.
Spirituality
God resides within us, where most
would never think to look, and we do not need THEM to make
the connection for us. We are all ONE and of the ONE.
Spirituality is from the inside out.
Religion
Religion requires us to join them and
for them to make the spiritual connection for us through
intermediaries. We are separate and it is “us vs. them”,
“called vs. uncalled” and “Chosen vs. Unchosen.” Religion is
from the outside in.
Spirituality
Teaches us to make our own
decisions and accept responsibility for those
decisions.
Religion
Religion teaches us to accept the
decisions of others and to forfeit our own perspectives,
experience and understanding for the benefit of the
group.
Spirituality
The theme is unconditional love
and respect for all life, human and otherwise.
Religion
The theme is conditional love based on
obedience to the system, fear, guilt and shame. Respect for
life depends on it not getting in your way or thwarting your
agenda.
Spirituality
Spirituality doesn’t require
massive donations to the organization as proof of one’s
understanding, faith or loyalty.
Religion
Requires donations to keep the
business of religion alive.
Spirituality
Unites and brings people together
in mutual respect
Religion
Thrives on divisiveness, specialness
and We only vs. Not You mentality.
Spirituality
Has no need for jealous, angry, or
judgmental gods that condemns those not loved unconditionally
to hell. Has no need of a god that destroys those who don’t
understand, never knew or were never told this or that
“truth” The God we think we know is not the God that
is.
Religion
Requires an angry, jealous, just and
judgmental god to reward the true believers and destroy those
that cannot understand the “one true perspective.” Requires
conditional love in spite of statements to the contrary. The
God WE reveal to you is the only God there is.
Spirituality
Allows for following one’s own
perceived path and understanding without passing judgment on
the paths of others and their current understanding and
perspectives.
Religion
Demands adherence to the
straight and narrow as defined by an organization and others
appointed to teach their perspectives as the one true
perspective. Any insights you gain from personal study or
experience must yield to groupthink.
Spirituality
Encourages going to God to lighten
life’s burdens
Religion
Adds a few burdens of it’s own to make
the trip more miserable.
Spirituality
Sexuality is a gift to be
appreciated and cultivated
Religion
Sex is acceptable as long as
accompanied by the appropriate amount of shame, guilt and
misinformation. Sexuality adheres to the rules set down by a
cultic god who appeared to an obscure people, in an obscure
part of the world, on an obscure mountain, speaking in an
obscure language over 4000 years ago. When the group did not
wait long enough for the spokesman to return and, the
spokesman, bearing the rule not to kill, had 3000 of them
slaughtered for their impatience in the desert
sun.
Spirituality
Teaches absolute respect for the
planet and her resources
Religion
Wears out and subdues the earth since
God gave it to THEM to dominate and exploit for the benefit
of the few.
Spirituality
Teaches we are born a clean slate,
innocent, pure and without pre-loaded sins and universal
guilt.
Religion
Teaches we are tainted with Original
Sin committed by mythological characters from the distant
past, for which we are also under an eternal death sentence
until washed in blood sacrifice and accept atonement by
execution.
Spirituality
Teaches that we are each on a long
spiritual journey that will unite us with the source of all
love and knowledge in due time.
Religion
Teaches us that we have one shot, in a
very narrow slice of time to learn all that there is to know
and make the RIGHT, ONE TIME choice. Mistakes in this one
time of choosing are eternally fatal. Because God is
just.
Spirituality
Allows for the free exchange of
ideas and perspectives
Religion
Gave us the Inquisition, the Holocaust
and thousands of “One True Churches” all competing for each
other’s members and money.
Spiritually
Teaches peace and harmony between
all people
Religion
Is responsible for more human misery
and death--past, present and future than any other
cause.
Spirituality
Teaches to have faith in oneself
and that answers are found by going within.
Religion
Teaches faith in the organization and
the group where answers will be given whether requested,
understood or agreed with. Teaches that answers must come
from external sources even when not perceivable.
These are but a few of the actual differences between a
genuine human spirituality and a mere religious belief or
form. Some will say that this describes a very self centered
perspective but I would remind you that self is who you are
and you are in the center of that. Paul said “let everyone
esteem others better than themselves.” and with this I have
always disagreed. Paul is the author of religious division
and rancorous Christianity. Paul hated and beat himself to
keep himself in line with his religion. So do fundamentalist
Islamics. Paul cursed those who disagreed with him. So do
Evangelical Christians. Paul prided himself on his being
called from birth to reveal the one true Jesus, who he had
never personally met or thought to quote in his example,
teachings or experiences. Paul never could quite make up his
mind about law and grace, or law or grace, or grace or
law…depending. Paul was as religious a Christian as Athenians
were with their “unknown god.”
Paul saw the conflict in himself that mere religion can bring
to the soul and complained about doing what he shouldn’t and
not doing what he should concluding he was a “wretched man.”
His self-flagellation was to insure he did not fall away
himself. Religious people beat themselves into submission so
their angry God won’t have to. Paul was a religious person
before he found his truth, and a religious person after he
found it. His love was not unconditional and enemies, spies,
false brethren and those who did not agree with HIM were
everywhere and thwarting his religion. Never married,
condemning of sex and advising others to be as single as he
was when Jesus clearly contradicted that, Paul was a
conflicted mess. I Corinthians 13 is as close to a genuine
spirituality that one can come to, and if Paul wrote it, his
religion often kept him from practicing it. It’s a great idea
whose time has yet to come for most in daily religious
practice. Loving yourself first and others unconditionally is
a deeply spiritual practice that few in religion ever come
close to practicing. Paul was deeply religious and he was
often harsh, condemning and judgmental of others who did not
see Jesus through his eyes. And so it still is.
Our experience in the WCG may have had it’s spiritual moments
but organizationally, it was and still is, as are most COG
splinter groups, a merely religious experience based on the
above criteria. Hand waving, praising the messenger in lieu
of the message and putting on a show of emotion is a
religious experience. I am reminded of a more spiritual
perspective that says, “He who knows, does not say; He who
says, does not know.”
What I believe and the conclusions I have drawn on my
religious experiences are mine. Yours are yours. Spirituality
seems to indicate we just might be spirits having a human
experience, rather than humans having a religious experience.
We can hope. All too often, that human experience of the
spiritual is lost in the pronouncements, actions and demands
of religion. Experience is indeed a harsh teacher, and while
expensive, perhaps the only way to learn what an abiding and
deeply satisfying inner spirituality has to offer if we make
the leap of faith from mere religion to the implications and
harmony that a genuine inner spirituality has to offer. God
is One and in time perhaps we all will understand that so are
we.