"Religion is Comparable to a Childhood Neurosis"...?

there was a young man named aaron.

arron wanted to go to college and study and he wanted to go into ministry. so he applied for a ministry jobs on church staffs and christian organizations. he was there in chicago and nobody would hire him; he became befuddled and said, "why in the world do i wanna go serve God with my life and i wanna get a job but i can't get one?"

so he finally got desperate after several weeks and he took a job with the bus company. he learned his route and then he went throughout the city on the south side of chicago doing his bus route. he was a rookie driver; a very young kid- and once he started driving throughout his route, he realized what a dangerous community he really was in. a small gang of tough kids spotted the young driver and they began to take advantage of him. they'd hop on the bus, and they'd look at him and then walk past him without paying for their bus ride. of course he's intimidated by the gang so he kind of lets them go. but finally he says, "i've had enough of this," and so when they got on and they did their little antics, he thought, "i'm going to fix them," and he pulled his bus over to the next corner where there was a policeman on the corner.

he got out and grabbed to policeman and brought him on the bus. the policeman walked up to every single member of the gang and said, "pay up or get off." they all paid up. the policeman got off. and he turned the corner around the block, and the gang got up out of their seats and beat him bloody. he lost two of his teeth, his eyes were swollen shut and he was put in the hospital. when he woke up, there he was in the hospital; beaten and his money was gone. the job put him on a weekend release and he spent the weekend in his apartment in confusion and anger, and the disillusionment added fuel to the fire of his pain.

he spent the night wrestling with God, "how could this be? where is God? i wanna serve Him. i prayed for a ministry, i would serve Him anywhere doing anything and this is the thanks i get?"

so he wakes up on monday morning and goes to the police station and presses charges against the gang members. with the help of the officers and the other people on the bus, they identified them and put all of them in court. and so aaron walks in with his attorney and the gang walks in with their attorney and they sit there and they go to prosecute.

"...and suddenly," aaron said, "while i was sitting there, i had a whole new series of thoughts. the holy spirit of God actually made me not have bitter thoughts, but actually compassionate thoughts. i no longer hated them, i actually pitied them. they needed help not more hate."

and as the trial went on, his heart gradually changed. the verdict from the judge was given as guilty to the entire gang.

aaron stands to his feet... and says this, "your honor, i would like you total up all the days of punishment against these men- all the time sentence against them, and i request that you allow me to go to jail in their place".

the judge didn't know whether to spit or wind his watch. both attorneys were stunned. as he looked at the gang members, their eyes were saucers. and he looked over and he said, "it's because i forgive you".

and the judge said, "young man, you're out of order. this sort of thing has never been done before." and aaron looked up at him and said this, "oh yes it has, yes it has your honor, it happened over 19 centuries ago. when a man from galilee paid the penalty that all man kind deserved".

freud says that "religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis".

i got that story from jay janz, a pastor at providence bible church in denver colorado. here's the jist of what he says Jesus says about religion...

napolean once said, "religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich". if this is true, then how is it that when people hear the word "religion", they cringe?


when you try to gain acceptance with God based on your own needs, desires and passions, you end up creating something... and man has done this by creating all different types of religions.


many believe that religion is a waste of time, that's it's a list of rules and regulations you must follow. we must memorize all these teachings and oral traditions, rituals and prayers and lists of do's and don'ts. there are new "rules" that people must keep in order to enter into God's grace including, don't take drugs, don't be obscenely wealthy, genetic modification= sin, causing poverty etc.! this is why freud said that "religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis".


a complete rules centered environment has no power. it is man-centered religion. it is dead religion.


religion A: faith in name only. it's attending church and going through all the motions and rituals but it's really empty and dead.
religion B: life changing experience that establishes a commitment to the crucified and risen savior. it establishes an on-going relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God.


many people have been blinded by religion A and therefore cannot see religion B. it's killed people's view of religion B. it's churchianity. i'm afraid to say that people have come to accept the church as some type of religious social club where people come to congregate and nothing more. all the rituals and prayers are done and said, fancy meals and potlucks are had, but the spirit is absent.


james 1:26-27 says, "if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."


for some time now, i've struggled with the word "religion". i think most of my friends do. christians or not. when most people think about religion, they tend to think about an experience they've had with dead religion (religion A). but as followers of the gospel (which is God-breathed and true) and Jesus Christ, we can say that we are part of a religion, because we follow a firm set of beliefs that we hold to with faith. it can be called gospel christianity. it offers something completely different than dead religion.


Jesus gives several pictures of this. here is one:


Luke 18:10-14 says this, "two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. the Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, i thank you that i am not like other men- robbers, evildoers, adulterers- or even like this tax collector. i fast twice a week and give a tenth of all i get.' but the tax collector stood at a distance. he would not even look up to heaven, but he beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'"


Jesus said this: "i tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


THE DIFFERENCE:

• dead religion is about me. gospel christianity is about Jesus. we see it played out in the parable and also the story about aaron.
  


• dead religion says that if i obey, i'm accepted by God. gospel christianity says that i'm accepted by God, therefore, i can obey.
  


• dead religion has good people and bad people. gospel christianity has only repentant and un-repentant people.
  


• dead religion claims that "good works" save me. gospel christianity claims that salvation enables me to do good works.
  


• dead religion has the goal of getting something from God. gospel christianity has the goal to get God Himself.
  


• dead religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. gospel christianity has certainty based upon Jesus' work.
  


• dead religion depends on what i do. gospel christianity depends on what Jesus has already done.
  


• dead religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. gospel christianity sees hardships as God's masterful working on my life.
  


• dead religion believes that appearing as a good person is important. gospel christianity believes that being transparent and honest is important.
  


• dead religion seeks to control and dominate. gospel christianity seeks to serve.
  


• dead religion measures itself up against other people. gospel christianity measures itself up against God.
  


• dead religion is motivated by fear and insecurity. gospel christianity is motivated by love, joy, and trust.
  


• dead religion gets angry when criticised. gospel christianity humbles itself realizing that all criticism is God's tool.
  


• dead religion uses prayer to control my environment. gospel christianity says prayer is about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ.
  


• dead religion boasts in the work i do for God. gospel christianity boasts only in the cross.
  


• dead religion says appearance is everything. gospel christianity says the condition of the heart is everything.
  


• dead religion despises those who don't obey. gospel christianity weeps for those who don't obey.
  


• dead religion ends in pride or despair. gospel christianity ends in humbled joy.
  


• dead religion sees Jesus as the means. gospel christianity sees Jesus as the end.
  

Jesus didn't just promise redemption, He delivered it. no religious practice has the power to to give every human being their ultimate need; redemption. but Jesus can and will redeem you if you place your trust Him. don't waste your time trying to get redemption from religion. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Acts says this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which as become the cornerstone. neither is there salvation in anyone else, there is no name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.