I haven’t written in a while. Perhaps it is a personal rebellion against writing too much. Maybe it is a fear of saying too little.
I made some notes for 12 different blog posts while I was in Africa over the summer but the ideas of Christianity as a practical faith and Bonhoeffer’s concept of a religionless Christianity have, time and again, risen up in my thoughts.
So, I decided to combine the phrases and get this out of my system. This isn’t intended as a study on Bonhoeffer—his writings on “religionless Christianity” are incomplete. Instead, I wanted to borrow the phrase and offer a humble interpretation of my own.
“The mind became the great enemy of compassion.”
Richard Rohr
Christianity, in its essence, is a practical faith. That is to say, it is something that must be put into practice in order to actually exist.
Of course, Christianity as an institution exists, but as a faith it must be something that is very personal. Christianity is not a Sunday drive to a building, joining a roster, listening to a certain kind of music or even a sermon.
I love going to church services. Note, I didn’t say I love going to church. I am the church and so are you. You cannot go somewhere you already are.
Initially, I abandoned this post and went even longer without writing. I’m not sure who, or what, I am rebelling against when I stop writing. I suspect it is more of a rebellion against myself than anything because writing brings me joy but I write for work and doing it for pleasure gives me a feeling of self-importance that I dislike.
Maybe I just need better ideas.
The idea of “religionless Christianity” kept appearing in my mind during my trips to Africa over the last five years. To me, the idea is not a rejection of church but a step further into practical faith. People should still go to church but we, especially in the western world, need to evaluate how we use church in our lives.
Christianity is a religion but humans have turned religion into a legal system that limits faith and action. This is not a new concept. Scripture (1 Samuel) illustrates how God’s people rejected his offer to be their king in favor of an earthly government. They were offered grace but grasped for law—and there were consequences.
Sometimes, our desire for the corporate structure of the institutional church is really a cry for protection. People hide within the church as a shield from the secular world. Instead of understanding the broken culture around us, we create our own artificial culture filled with (usually) bad worship songs, slogan covered shirts, acrostics, programs and (of course) an opportunity to give.
God said the pure religion is the one that cares for widows and orphans in their misery. Church is not a building you go to on Sunday. Church is a living faith you carry with you when you walk out of that building.
When people say “you should get involved in church” remind them that involves a lifestyle, not a performance venue. Church is what you do outside of the walls.
They may not invite you back.
rebootreligion 
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