Reason for My Aversion to Religion. Part 1

My consistent decry regarding religion has been a source of contention regarding people relationships both inside and outside of my family, in that the people in the trap of religion feel that in my disparage against religion I am also disparaging against people involved. They say I have a chip on my shoulder and that I am a cancer in the body of Christ that needs to be cut out. My nastiness against religion, of which I admit to whole heartedly, in no way is directed to people involved in its delusion and fantasy. I am firmly persuaded that Scripture and Historical evidence supports my understand regarding religion's evilness in that is accepted by the religious as goodness. That does not negate that some moral, ethical and good things are done by religion nor does it dispute that God has true believers within their ranks. But, the apparent good that religion accomplishes is evil because of what religion is rooted in.

I do not write what I write to be contentious or initiate debates, though some shoot-from-the hip bible thumpers want to do so. My objective is to inform, and perchance that there are people out there who have drawn the same conclusions will know that they are not alone in a dominate denominated religious world.

I gather satisfaction when people write and thank me for, agree with, and enjoy my postings because it informs me that other people have a genuine relationship with God without the trappings of religious pretense.

For those who adamantly oppose what I write, to the point of condemning me as a heretic and assigning me to the torcher chamber of hell for eternity, your tactics does not scare me from writing what I write or from believing what I believe because of your fear-mongering tactics, so they can feel good about themselves for having returned me to the "right religious path".

I admit I am combative, I am so because I know WHAT the enemy is. I am not combative with those WHO are participating in the WHAT! My displeasure and attacks are focused on religion as an institution. I am well aware that the religion in people will cause them to take what I say personally, because of their relationship with the thing that gives them meaning as a "Christian". I understand their misdirection of my attacks and their assumption they are the object of my disparaging. I wish I could alleviate that false notion, but the deception of religion does not allow them to see the the deceptiveness of religion.

To be upfront with you, I believe that the religious traditional, denominational, institutional system of religion in its myriad of forms is a counterfeit expression of the "Church", and a great hindrance to God's community of the redeemed. Jesus did not come to establish a religion, not even the "Christian" religion. In fact, I believe He came to spell the death of religion and bring us into direct relationship with God. There is no precedent for denominational religion in the annals of Scripture.

If Institutional religion was the "way of to God" I find it strange that there is no record in the words of Jesus, any instruction for the formation of denominated, segregated places of religious worship as the dwelling place of God where worship is to take place or that it is representative of the community of the redeemed

Rather, you see Jesus' confronting the institutional religious system multiple times during His ministry.

In fact, what you will see is Jesus’ confrontation of institutional religion over and over again in the Gospel accounts. The Pharisees and Sadducees were nothing more than different denominations of man-made, institutional Judaism.

Part 2 To Follow.