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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Spiritual But Not Religious


C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “When you are feeling fit and the sun is shining and you do not want to believe that the whole universe is a mere mechanical dance of atoms, it is nice to be able to think of this great mysterious Force rolling on through the centuries and carrying you on its crest.  If, on the other hand, you want to do something rather shabby, the Life Force, being only a blind force, with no morals and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children.  The Life Force is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want, but it will not bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost.” 

Lewis called it “wishful thinking.”  Today we cleverly call this being “spiritual but not religious.”  I’ve noticed it’s all the rage in the online dating circles, and to me it says nothing about what you believe…and speaks volumes about who you are.  It reminds me of Revelation 3:15 “So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  I’ve heard it called “generic spirituality.”  It is the kind of faith that you are in favor of because it doesn't cost you anything.  This generic spirituality has its shortcomings.  It is most often not “other” centered, but focuses on “self” and it seldom provides things of importance to mankind in general.  It certainly doesn’t focus clearly on eternal values.  And it lacks structured organizational power (how many orphanages in Kenya or Guatemala are caring for hungry children with a banner over the door that says we are “Spiritual But Not Religious.”)

Not that I’m trying to say that those who consider themselves “religious” are perfect.  We often go to church with what I’ve heard called a “transactional mindset.”  We think, if I go to church, I get brownie points and God will bless me.  Or we give money to the church not so things of value can be done for mankind, but because we will “earn” our way to a reward and please God (read about Cain in Genesis and see how well that turned out for him.)  Sometimes it is subtle and done unconsciously.  I am so glad my pastor usually makes a point to have people understand that giving is not to be done that way with a “I have to” or a “reward” attitude, but it has gone on that way for centuries in churches all over the world.

In America, the people who count themselves as not being a member of any religion has grown five percent in the last five years.  That’s a big jump.  It’s the fastest growing “religion” in America.  Almost one-third of all Americans under 30 have no religious affiliation at all in spite of all our upbeat efforts to make churches more entertaining with contemporary music, light shows, charismatic speakers, high tech media, and coffee cup holders in the pews.

As far as Western Civilization goes, we still do better than most at finding folks in church on Sunday.  Europe, on the other hand, shows a dreadful decline.  Here at least some continually care enough to fight battles over whether we can put up a cross or a manger in some community somewhere every Christmas.  We at least are willing to argue that it is OK to say Merry Christmas to a customer at Wal Mart when someone files a lawsuit about it.  But what about tomorrow?  I still don't like the trend.

Though most Americans claim a belief in God, that belief lacks the statements of faith of organized religion and often becomes whatever the individual wants.  Voltaire once said:  “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”  It seems as though in America, we are on a course to do just that.

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