Spiritual but not Religious

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” That’s a common thing to hear these days. More than a few people who will tell you they are ‘spiritual’ are hard pressed to tell you exactly what it means though. These are folks who have tried to find their own path in life and with it, their own set of beliefs. ‘New Age’ spirituality has grown up since the sixties. It’s now almost main-stream in its appeal. I believe the main reason for that is the failure of traditional churches to deliver the true teachings of the scriptures. The most important part of true teachings is the example of righteous men and women of faith. It is what we do that speaks louder than anything we say…

Catholic and Protestant ‘Men of the cloth’ have almost turned hypocrisy into a sport. It’s commonplace these days to hear of their sexual, emotional and even physical abuse of their followers. Financial abuses are even more commonplace. Even those who aren’t guilty of such abuses often appear to be nothing more than superstitious, narrow-minded bigots. Instead of living the life and ‘walking the walk’ of what they claim to believe, many seem to spend most of their efforts in arguing subjects they have little or no expertise in. There are men of the cloth that preach racism, hatred and intolerance as a part of 'the' faith. Family members, friends and neighbors have turned on each other out of sheer hatred...over matters of faith. Parents have abused their children and Husbands have abused their wives all in the name of God.. So many sins have been committed in the name of God it is a wonder any non-believers listen to Bible thumpers at all! The watered-down and distorted teachings that most churches preach and the hypocrisy filled examples of 'Christian' faith do little to draw anyone to true conversion.

What society is left with is a spiritual void that many non Judeo-Christian traditions have rushed in to fill. It is a misnomer that ‘New Age’ beliefs are new. Most are comprised of a hodge-podge of very old native traditions. The worship of nature, or aspects of nature, are a common theme. The desire to be made privy to some body of secret knowledge is another common theme. Central to many of them is the belief that through ones own efforts one can evolve or ascend to a higher state of being. What they all have in common, from a Biblical perspective, is that they are all false teachings. They have a kind of spirituality but it is a counterfeit spirituality. The problem with a counterfeit is that when you have one you stop looking for the real thing. Just imagine that someone owes you money and pays you in counterfeit bills. You think you’ve been paid…until you take it to the bank.

A religion is typically an organized body of believers with a specific body of beliefs that defines relationships. It defines our relationship with God. It defines our relationship with other human beings. It gives us a direction for ourselves in our own life. And it gives us a world-view into which everything else finds a context. To be ‘spiritual’ is to be aware of, to interact with, and to be guided by the non-physical aspects of reality...i.e. the spirit realm. (These are, admittedly, imperfect, working, definitions but they serve to make one think about the terms.)

A counterfeit religion leads us away from the truth by giving us a false, or inaccurate, world-view. It is, by definition, a lie. A counterfeit religion causes us to expend our energies in a wasteful or useless way. Any kind of religion or spirituality that tells us we are OK just the way we are is false. Just look around at the way we are! Any religion or spirituality that causes us to focus solely on ourselves is a counterfeit. The 'enlightened' old man on the mountaintop doesn't make the world a better place.

A true religion points us to the true God and His will for us. A true religion makes us look at ourselves. A true religion urges us to become better people. A true religion urges us to look beyond ourselves and help our fellow man. We are all in this together... A true religion makes us, and our world, better. A counterfeit causes us to focus only on ourselves.

It has been my experience that people who claim to be "spiritual but not religious" are usually focused only on themselves. That focus doesn’t make them better people and it doesn't make the world a better place. It squanders their energies instead of directing them into real spiritual growth. A counterfeit religion doesn’t direct people to God, it directs them away from God. A counterfeit spirituality may very well be in touch with the spiritual realm of existence...but not with the right spirits. If you look anywhere but to God for guidance, for spiritual help, for comfort, or for truth…you are practicing a false religion. You are practicing a lie...spiritual or not.