Come let us reason together

A news story in the San Francisco Business Times reveals that Americans are less religious than ever.

According to the story, researchers noted that in 1972, only 5 percent of Americans said they had no affiliation with an organized religion. The number jumped to 8 percent in 1990, and more than doubled to 20 percent in 2012. Of course, surveys can be manipulated -- with careful attention to the wording of the questions asked or in the list of acceptable answers to those questions. In any case, these numbers are troubling.

So, should we be worried? Should God?

Webster defines religion as: n., 1. belief in a superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe. 2. expression of this belief in conduct and in ritual. 3. any specific system of belief, worship, etc., often involving a code of ethics: as, the Christian religion. 4. a state of mind or way of life expressing love for and trust in God: as, he achieved religion. 5. any conscientious pursuit: as, cleanliness was a religion to him.

To my mind, organized religion is best defined by a combination of the first three definitions for the word religion, and for the sake of argument, let's agree that these definitions were uppermost in the minds of those taking part in the survey and in those who developed the survey.

Organized religion, particularly 21st Century Christianity, is definitely taking its lumps, with many mainstream churches seeing a downward trend in attendance and participation. People have lost faith in organized religion. That does not mean they have lost faith in God.

In fact, in the San Francisco Business Times article, the author points out that being "unchurched" is not synonymous with being an "atheist," an extremely important distinction. Although church attendance does not require belief, faith or devotion and everyone is welcome, the liturgy, traditions and ritual make more sense if you believe: a) that God is; and b) that God can.

Which brings us to the fourth definition. If you define me as religious using just the first three options, you would be in error, because I do not incorporate ritual in my faith, nor do I follow a strict list of rules and regulation, apart from the "Big Ten."

Nevertheless, I do seek to live in a manner that demonstrates my love for God even as I trust in him, for daily bread and so much more.

I trust him to be true. I trust him to be merciful. I trust him to reveal today what is needful, today.

Jesus encountered more than one problem with organized religion in his day. Even the briefest examination of his earthly life reveals that truth. His strongest words of condemnation were pointed at the religious elite, those who added to the Law the traditions of men, to the detriment of those who sought to live their lives in the love of God, trusting him with daily bread and so much more.

Fearsome words came from him. Strong warnings to his followers against adopting similar traditions were issued as were warnings about false prophets and false teachers.

Nevertheless, man persisted in establishing a hierarchy of power within the faith and through the centuries has added even more pageantry than that seen in Jesus' day along with a plethora of new rules and regulations, incorporating a fear of God and the fear of utter destruction by his hand, to control the people.

We are told in Scripture that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) - and so, the only ones who feared Jesus in his day were those who feared his teachings, because he turned the organized religion of the day upside down.

In the grip of that fear, they killed him.

Understand this. God is. God can. God loves. And most surprisingly of all, God trusts.

His trust is revealed in the most controversial truths of his creation, our free will. He created thinking man. He created man in his image, and in so doing, gave us -- among all other good things -- the ability to learn, to reason, to seek, and to love.

All men are meant to seek and to find truth. All men are meant to seek and to find God. Skin color is irrelevant; social status is immaterial. We are all given a certain number of days to live out what we have learned; the invitation issued long ago to "come let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:8) still stands; the hunger for truth and righteousness is only satisfied in him; and in him we are given the power to love, not only him, but all of his creation.

Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman provides God's definition of religion and the requirements of it and to the Jews who believed he promised, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

If we can embrace this truth, and live it out, there may be hope for us yet:

"Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. John 4:21-24 (NIV)

I don't have all the answers, but I know and love the One who does. Let's walk in his love and discover him together.

Dawn