Over 19 million views and counting, this excerpt on Why I hate religion but love Jesus has caused quite a stir. Numerous news media have done reports on its message. I have been thinking about the question of the relationship between faith and religion recently. I can't get past the fact that those who try to separate Christ from Christianity end up with a kind of spiritualism that is individualistic and does not take into account the history of the early church. You've heard the saying, "It's not a religion, it's a relationship." Lil Wayne even said, "I believe in God and his son, Jesus." Jay Z said that he believed in God but not in any man made religion. Where does this thinking come from?
The belief that one can separate God from religion was made famous by Friedrich Schleiermacher, the Father of Modern Liberal Theology. Modern Liberal Theology questions the Bible's inerrancy because it uses a form of interpretation that elevates reason over the supernatural. And so Jesus' miracles, divinity, and the scriptures redemptive historical unity are called into question on the basis of modern hermeneutical methods found in the German Higher Criticism movement, of which Schleiermacher was instrumental in helping. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. summarized Schleiermacher views on religion saying, "His conception of religion led to two things. First came the thesis that religion is not doctrine but life, secondly that all life, and all religion is individual in character." Schleiermacher did not believe in doctrines, or any objective criteria of faith. Therefore to hate religion but love Jesus seems to be Schleiermacherian.
What's wrong with being individualistic in my faith? What's wrong with Schleiermacher, you might ask? Well, for one, if one tries to separate their faith in Christ from the rest of the evangelical Church, then one ends up with a shaky theological foundation that has no root in church history. We would not have the bible today, found in the Old and New Testaments or Covenants, if it were not for the testimony of the apostles and early church fathers. Where would the church be without the Apostle's Creed?
Is man fallible? Yes. Do some churches have incorrect views of Scripture? Yes. Because of the various views on scripture and faith, we need a theology that provides a biblical foundation that is true to the scriptures and true to our Christian heritage. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Professor of Systematics Theology at Redeemer Seminary, said in one of his lectures on the Doctrine of God, "We do not practice theology in a vacuum." In other words, we cannot have faith without the testimony of faith from earlier believers. Remember , even Paul had to confirm His calling to preach to the Gentiles with the apostles who walked and talked with Jesus (Acts 15).
Is man fallible? Yes. Do some churches have incorrect views of Scripture? Yes. Because of the various views on scripture and faith, we need a theology that provides a biblical foundation that is true to the scriptures and true to our Christian heritage. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, Professor of Systematics Theology at Redeemer Seminary, said in one of his lectures on the Doctrine of God, "We do not practice theology in a vacuum." In other words, we cannot have faith without the testimony of faith from earlier believers. Remember , even Paul had to confirm His calling to preach to the Gentiles with the apostles who walked and talked with Jesus (Acts 15).
Religion is not the final authority on faith, God is. Biblical religion is the expression of biblical faith that comes from Christ through His Spirit by means of a faithful witness or messenger. Romans 10:14-15 (NASB) says, "How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'" If anything is to be hated, it is the indwelling sin of man used to corrupt the church; it is the vain philosophies of man used to contaminate our minds; it is spiritual wickedness and principalities infiltrating our lives. If this exposé on religion is the object of our hatred, then how do we as Christians come together with a common theology? Bad religion is not the problem, bad theology is the bigger issue. I believe religion is the expression of theology.
