‘Are you Religious?’ Why a Christian may not say ‘yes’
Isn’t Christianity a religion? In a sense. But there is an often-missed uniqueness at the heart of the Christian message that sets it apart from all other religious and irreligious belief systems, and from the word ‘religion’ itself.
What is a religion?
The word ‘religion’ most commonly refers to a set of beliefs and practices that relate to particular claims about ultimate reality, divinity, morality, spirituality and the sacred. In this context, Christianity seems to fit. However, according to the Christian message, all of these things are secondary. The rituals, beliefs and moral frameworks are not what makes a Christian a Christian.
In his recent appearance on Steven Bartlett’s world-leading podcast, Diary of a CEO, Christian Apologist Professor John Lennox (President of OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) explained why he is – though a committed Christian – not ‘religious’ in the conventional sense:
“I don’t regard myself as religious particularly. And the reason is this. And it’s an important reason. Most religions prescribe a moral way that you try to follow, and you have teachers, gurus, imams, all the rest, priests, to keep you on the way. And then you come to a judgement at the end…And if your good deeds tip over the bad deeds, then you get into whatever it is, heaven, nirvana, all the rest.
That’s religion. It’s not Christianity.
..Though many people think it is… …it seems to me one of the things to try to begin to grasp is God is not a proposition or a philosophy or even a religion. God is a person, And as a person he has entered our world, however incredible it may seem.”
John Lennox’s answer may surprise some of us, but it accurately reflects what the Bible says. Christianity is not about following rules or believing propositions. It is about being in right relationship with God and with others.
Why is relationship central to Christianity?
The Christian God is a God of relationship. So much so that he literally stepped into human history as a person – Jesus Christ. His life, death and resurrection demonstrates God’s existence, love, and purpose and makes possible His offer of personal relationship with people. Thoughts, feelings, actions and rituals all flow from this. They are not irrelevant. But they are secondary. At its core, Christianity is all about relationship. As Lennox went on to explain:
“What really completes the circle for me is that my relationship with God is a Relationship which is based on the solution to the really hard Problem. And that is the problem that I am by nature, I have not always done good. And by my own standards, I’ve failed……
As I look towards the future, I have in my heart a certainty.
Not because I’ve merited it. The exact opposite, because I couldn’t merit it, but because Christ has done something for me through the cross and resurrection…something that enables me to have a relationship that is secure, that floods over the whole of life and has made my life what it is for the last 70 years.”
Misconceptions about the Christian message
Lennox’s comments highlight another astonishing aspect of the Christian message. There are widespread assumptions that Christianity calls on people to be ‘good’ – to live moral lives. However, the truth is that Christianity is based on the undeniable truth that none of us are good. We are all immutably imperfect. A glance at the news headlines quickly confirms this. American theologian Reinhold Neihbhur declared that this brokenness – otherwise known as ‘sin’ – is “the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith.”
The Christian message is an offer of rescue, not an invitation to perform. It is not about being good. It is about acknowledging our imperfection. It is not about ritual or religion.
Every other religious and non-religious world view involves people making claims about what is true. Not Christianity. Instead of pointing at truth claims that require belief in order for religious inclusion, Jesus steps into the world, points to himself and declares “I am the Truth.” It sets the Christian message apart from all religions, and all truth claims. It expands the evidence base of Christianity beyond the historical, scientific, anthropological, biological and astrophysical (all of which exist), to the personal and relational. If the Truth is a person, then it is not something we merely believe, but someone we can know.
Professor Lennox’s words cut to the heart of the most important question we all have to grapple with: What are you going to do with Jesus’ offer of relationship?
Resources
- Full Diary of a CEO John Lennox podcast episode:
- The Best of John Lennox series
- Buy John’s biography
Learning More
OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics was established in 2004 to raise up the next generation of evangelist-apologists. By 2021, around 350 emerging evangelists from around the world had studied on the OCCA one-year programme. This course equipped each of them to share and defend the gospel message and to come alongside others to help them with their intellectual objections and heartfelt concerns about the Christian faith. Subscribe to our weekly newsletters to see our latest articles from our team of speakers.
Max Jeganathan