The Fear of Organized Religion (03-29-16)

Organized religion provokes a bad taste in the mouths of many people today. It is very common to hear people say these days, “I believe in God, I just don’t believe in organized religion.” Fifty years ago, that statement wouldn’t have made sense. People saw God and the church as indelibly interwoven. Today, however, people have seen too many abuses, fraudulent activity and hypocrisy in the church to trust the organization. A church touches the very softest parts of the human heart, and people refuse to trust their most sensitive feelings to an organization with the bad reputation it has developed. The fastest growing segment of religion in North America today is made up of people who believe in God but do not affiliate with any religion.

One of the main complaints society has with organized religion is the constant requests for money and the misuse of it. We are reminded of popular TV preachers who promise miracles for donations, claiming that God will see their hearts when they step out in faith with their checkbook, or more likely, their credit card. Faith healing events are held where the offering plates are passed many times during an emotional event. But the healing never seems to last and the handicapped and truly disabled are never allowed onto the platform to be “healed.” The preacher is a fraud whose main goal is to siphon money out of the pockets of believers. He lives a ridiculously affluent lifestyle with private jets, expensive clothing and jewelry, several mansions at his disposal, countless cars and high end hotel bills. Where does his money come from? From the pockets of the faithful, people who work two jobs, drive an old car and struggle to put clothing on their kids. Is it any surprise that the general public is skeptical of an organized faith?

How can we respond to this very valid fear? It is true that with any organization that money is needed to keep it afloat. There are people who dedicate their lives to the organization and depend on being paid to feed their families. There are faith-based charities, schools and similar ventures that must be funded. However, Ellen White writes of the church’s role in society, “It is the purpose of God to glorify Himself in His people before the world. He expects those who bear the name of Christ to represent Him in thought, word, and deed. Their thoughts are to be pure and their words noble and uplifting, drawing those around them nearer the Saviour. The religion of Christ is to be interwoven with all that they do and say. Their every business transaction is to be fragrant with the presence of God.” (White 1948, p. 21) Truly, many Christian organizations have failed.

Another fear that society has is that of the cult. In recent years many cults have developed and good, well-meaning people have been duped into association with them. We are reminded of David Koresh in Waco, Texas. (Frontline) He led the Branch Davidians who believed that he was of the house of David and would bring about the apocalypse. David Koresh took many women away from their husbands into his harem. Some in his harem were as young as twelve. He preached at the people constantly, but did not follow his own teachings. He controlled every moment of their days until many of them died in a shooting standoff with the authorities in 1993. There have been cults before and since, and people are afraid of little-known religious organizations, afraid of being controlled and manipulated into something evil and frightening.

While most religious organizations do not use the mind control techniques employed by cults, society is still afraid of being duped into becoming one of the victims. No one wants to be fooled and the characteristics of people who are susceptible to cults make people wary. For example: dependency, unassertiveness, gullibility, low tolerance for ambiguity, cultural disillusionment, naive idealism, desire for spiritual meaning, susceptibility to trance-like states and ignorance of the ways in which groups can manipulate individuals. Because the people are taken advantage of again and again, many people begin to see faith as naïve idealism or gullibility. A desire to find truth in the Bible is often associated with a low tolerance for ambiguity. Because organized religion is associated with the duped, the victimized, the gullible, etc., it is particularly unattractive to the more educated, intelligent people in society.

How can we respond to those who fear we are a cult? White warns, “Let God’s people act so that the world will see that Seventh-day Adventists are an intelligent, thinking people, whose faith is based on a surer foundation than the bedlam of confusion. The people are hungry for the bread of life. Do not offer them a stone.” (White, 1958, p. 24) Our faith is not based on emotion or tradition, but on careful Bible study and well-reasoned theology. Many religious organizations make the claim that only members of their group will be saved. From an outsider’s perspective, this is ridiculous. How can all of the organizations be right? How could a loving God exclude well-meaning, faithful Christians of a different stripe?

Our church has never claimed that. The truth of the matter is that people do not need to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be saved. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that. Salvation is based in a relationship with Christ not membership in a particular organization. When churches insinuate that their particular denomination is the only way to Heaven, a thinking, logical non-believer will be put off. In fact, many believers are put off by the same ideas!

There are many valid reasons why people avoid organized religion, and it is the mission of the church to show our society that we are different, that we don’t take advantage of people and we do not seek to control anyone. Our neighbors and friends have logical reasons for avoiding religion, and only if we can approach them with sensitivity, humility and a willingness to listen do we have any chance to overcome these attitudes.