You may call this one heresy, but as my relationship with Christ grew this summer, I came to loathe religion more and more. Religion is responsible for many evil events in human history, such as the Crusades or the attacks on the World Trade Center. Christianity almost has a tinged name due to many parts of the church’s past, because corrupt leaders have misinterpreted the scriptures to fit their own needs.

The actual teachings of Christ refer more to a lifestyle rather than a doctrine of a particular church. In fact, my justification for this position is found in 1 Samuel 15:22, when the prophet Samuel is basically telling Saul that God values an obedient heart more than sacrifices and rites.

Look at the Gospels. The Pharisees, the religious teachers, were extremely angry with Jesus when he performed miracles on the Sabbath. He shouted back, pointing out their hypocrisy. He said that defilement comes from within, not from the lack of keeping religious laws. I personally do not need a church service to connect with my God. He lives in me every day. To be honest, I get more out of my relationship with God when I’m driving and blasting the worship songs than I do in church. I can learn from the Bible in my dorm room.

The church, as the Bible describes it, is the body of believers. I go to church for the community and the friendship because Christian fellowship is essential to one’s walk with Christ. But the religious rites and rules of many doctrines, such as pre-written mass prayers of confession, singing in Latin, incense, and all other dutiful things do not create a relationship with Christ. God does not care about Latin. He cares about your heart and its desires. If my heart is not right with God, religion is not going to make it better – prayer and repentance will. We all know empty apologies or meaningless words of love are pointless. An attempt at a relationship with God without your heart in it is pointless.

Going to church and performing religious ceremonies does not make one a Christian. Living in a garage does not make one an auto mechanic. Going to college does not make you an intellectual. You can certainly become either one, but only if that is your passion. The same is true with the Christian lifestyle. It requires a heart to be obedient unto God and to pick up that cross every day and walk with it. I’ll be the first to admit I am nowhere near perfect, and I am a sinner. I still struggle with many things in my life, but because of my belief in Christ’s sacrifice, I am being sanctified as my lifestyle slowly continues to change. Religion cannot sanctify a person’s soul.

Don’t let religion fool you. Jesus never called us to pray to saints or recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday morning. He called us to live a different way, and that requires a change of heart.