Loving Your Religion More than God

[Eliza10]

It occurs to me after discussion with adherants to another religion that its possible to love your religion more than God. God is truth - - and you might be reluctant to seek truth if it threatened your religion.

Maybe thats idolizing your religion. Only God knows if thats your mindset, since only God knows the heart.

We have other idols in our lives that keep us from God, and truth. When I converted I suffered loss of my Evangelical faith, which I was practically perfectly happy with (I had unanswered quesitons, but I was okay with that – till I started finding the answers in the Catholic faith).

By the grace of God, I knew that my gain - becoming a member of the true Church founded by Jesus - was more than my loss. But I was bent over the burden of loss for awhile, particularly since it was soon followed by other losses - my marriage, and with it my identity and my role in society as “wife”, my intact home for my child, my home (that I loved, and had poured myself into painting, stripping, decorating, organizing, desigining, creating gardens, etc., etc.), and my joyfully finally-possessed, long-awaited lifestyle of “homeschooling Mom”.

As I suffered my loss, which I was able to endure with my eyes on Jesus, and, by God’s grace, constant gratitude for having arrived “home” in His Church, I had the thought that perhaps I had idolized my life, my home, my married state - all those things over God. Perhaps I was in danger of never loving God enough because I was so content with those things.

Perhaps its a struggle for all of us; we all have to struggle with loving things more than God.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Izdaari]

I am not much interested in religion, but in loving God and following Christ. Any church that does that is ok by me.

 

[wisdomseeker]

It occurs to me after discussion with adherants to another religion that its possible to love your religion more than God. God is truth - - and you might be reluctant to seek truth if it threatened your religion.

Maybe thats idolizing your religion. Only God knows if thats your mindset, since only God knows the heart.

We have other idols in our lives that keep us from God, and truth. When I converted I suffered loss of my Evangelical faith, which I was practically perfectly happy with (I had unanswered quesitons, but I was okay with that – till I started finding the answers in the Catholic faith).

By the grace of God, I knew that my gain - becoming a member of the true Church founded by Jesus - was more than my loss. But I was bent over the burden of loss for awhile, particularly since it was soon followed by other losses - my marriage, and with it my identity and my role in society as “wife”, my intact home for my child, my home (that I loved, and had poured myself into painting, stripping, decorating, organizing, desigining, creating gardens, etc., etc.), and my joyfully finally-possessed, long-awaited lifestyle of “homeschooling Mom”.

As I suffered my loss, which I was able to endure with my eyes on Jesus, and, by God’s grace, constant gratitude for having arrived “home” in His Church, I had the thought that perhaps I had idolized my life, my home, my married state - all those things over God. Perhaps I was in danger of never loving God enough because I was so content with those things.

Perhaps its a struggle for all of us; we all have to struggle with loving things more than God.

Just some thoughts.

yes. you might be right here. we have a hard time when we loose something. that is the beautifull of the priesthood and nuns. they dont have any attachment.

 

[Bendecida]

You’re so right Eliza! As much as I love this site I even see it here. People here have said I don’t have a right to criticize Los Angeles’ Cardinal Mahoney for what he has failed to do. Remember it’s just like you said, God is truth and He will remember my suffering and that of others in the final judgement. OK I’m digressing from what your original intentions may have been but that really hurt me.

 

[wisdomseeker]

You’re so right Eliza! As much as I love this site I even see it here. People here have said I don’t have a right to criticize Los Angeles’ Cardinal Mahoney for what he has failed to do. Remember it’s just like you said, God is truth and He will remember my suffering and that of others in the final judgement. OK I’m digressing from what your original intentions may have been but that really hurt me.

know that many are with. i know i am. hold on to the Truth even if no one does.

 

[Gloria1]

Some people do love their religion more than God. Take terrorists for example. Terrorists love Islam more than Allah. Allah is a peaceful and loving God who forgives our sins yet terrorists kill for Allah. Yes there are many idols in our lives. If you cherish something so much to the point where it stops or hinders your relationship with God, that thing becomes an Idol.

 

[Bendecida]

Thank you very much wisdomseeker. I really appreciate it.

 

[LilyM]

Religion is your relationship with God, as it is put into practice (and to the poster who said they don’t care much for religion - oh yes you do. You may mean you don’t care much for the*** organised*** religions, though, I’ll grant that).

Saying ‘I love my religion more than God’ is like saying ‘I love my marriage more than I love my husband’. The latter is an integral part of the former, so loving one means loving both.

Terrorists don’t love Islam more than Allah, Gloria - they just have a distorted understanding of both Islam and Allah.

 

[Dale_M]

It occurs to me after discussion with adherants to another religion that its possible to love your religion more than God. God is truth - - and you might be reluctant to seek truth if it threatened your religion.

Maybe thats idolizing your religion. Only God knows if thats your mindset, since only God knows the heart.

We have other idols in our lives that keep us from God, and truth.

I think everything you said is true, to some extent. But at the same time, I see a danger in it as well.

The danger is Pride. It lures us to think that we have insights with God that others lack. It encourages us to abandon the dictates of religion for a more nebulous spirituality which only we define.

The value of a religious tradition is that it contains a record of the experiences of people of faith who also earnestly sought a loving relationship with God. These are not irrelevant to us. Just as we learn in school the accumulated knowledge from the lives of others, we benefit from learning from the spiritual journeys of those who preceded us. But, as with in school, this requires humility and openness to ideas which differ from our own. Our views are not always right, even if we are convinced that God wants us to think them.

Pride is seductive. The best defense is being part of a community, and being willing to listen to the counsel of others if they tell you that you are straying into error.

 

[John_Paul_Jones]

Saying ‘I love my religion more than God’ is like saying ‘I love my marriage more than I love my husband’. The latter is an integral part of the former, so loving one means loving both.

Not neccessarily, if someone was to marry somebody filthy rich I could see someone who might love the marriage more then spouse.

Terrorists don’t love Islam more than Allah, Gloria - they just have a distorted understanding of both Islam and Allah.

But what if have a clear understanding of islam and act upon it - would one know the tree by it’s fruit?

Some people do love their religion more than God. Take terrorists for example. Terrorists love Islam more than Allah. Allah is a peaceful and loving God who forgives our sins yet terrorists kill for Allah.

How does an allah forgive sins? Don’t moslems make clear that allah is not at all like the Christian’s Blessed Trinity? They don’t believe Three Persons in one God, and without God the Father offereing up His Son to the world and the sacrifice of the Son, how do you have forgiveness of sins? Salvation only comes with the Blessed Trinity not allah.

 

[LilyM]

Not neccessarily, if someone was to marry somebody filthy rich I could see someone who might love the marriage more then spouse.

You mean if they married someone they hated (or were indifferent to) who was filthy rich? I disagree - in that case they love the money and don’t really love either the marriage (since they’d love the money just as much if they were divorced but still got $$$) or the spouse. If your main motivation for being with someone is material reward, then it’s not love.

But what if have a clear understanding of islam and act upon it - would one know the tree by it’s fruit?

Their fruit is a very different one indeed from the vast majority of their fellow religionists. I think at most we can say it’s a bad branch (perhaps poorly grafted on or something), not that the whole tree is rotten. Christ said the same of HIS vine - some branches were good, others unfruitful and to be pruned off. The fruitlessness of those branches doesn’t reflect on the whole vine.

In any case, it still doesn’t prove that they love Islam more than Allah - they still love Allah as they understand him.

 

[Joshua27]

Religion is your relationship with God, as it is put into practice (and to the poster who said they don’t care much for religion - oh yes you do. You may mean you don’t care much for the*** organised*** religions, though, I’ll grant that).

Saying ‘I love my religion more than God’ is like saying ‘I love my marriage more than I love my husband’. The latter is an integral part of the former, so loving one means loving both.

Terrorists don’t love Islam more than Allah, Gloria - they just have a distorted understanding of both Islam and Allah.

However, there IS such a thing as being in love with the “idea” of marriage moreso than being in love with a particular husband (as many young girls, who become women, can attest to). In these cases, the man is just there because such an object is neccesary for marriage. Take - for instance - wedding planning. In most cases, the woman is completely fixated on her vision of her wedding that it almost overshadows “who” she’s wedding. Essentially, her future husband takes a back seat.

Likewise, there IS such a thing as being in love with the “idea” of religion moreso than being in love with God particularly (as many people, who’ve grown within a particular religion since childhood, can attest to). In these cases, God is just there because such an object of worship is necessary for their religion. But remember the stories of “Abraham” and “Job”: These were very obedient “religious” men, but God wanted to see if Abraham and Job were “in loved” with Him more than being “in love” with their situations [situations born out of their religious obedience].

–To All–

This is why I sometimes ask people, “If God so commanded us, would you give up your religion to follow Him?” Most people avoid answering the question with, “Why would God ever ask us to do that? God would never ask something like that from us because He wouldn’t abandon his church”, not realizing that they’ve indeed answered the question.

We (His people; not religion) make up his church, so if he commanded us - his church - to follow him, we follow…even if it’s away from the religion you’ve loved all your life, because who we serve is FAR more important than how we serve.

Ask someone you know this question…their answer will show whether they love their religion more than God.

 

[Publisher]

The whole point of the choices I’ve made in finding a faith tradition to assist me in ordering my life in such a way that I can at least in a very small way begin to understand the depth and breadth of the Love of God found in Christ is exactly that…to seek God.

If God were to lead me in a different direction…I would go. The Society of Friends is a “tool”…it is not Truth…Truth is found only in the One who gave Himself for us…not in any religious institution.

All religious institutions are corrupt in some way. All religious leaders, including those in the Society of Friends are finte human beings. These religious leaders have no more authority to tell me “what God wants” for me than I have to determine that myself. No “priest”, “minister”, “rabbi”, “iman”, “saint” or “prophet” has a more direct “line to God” than I have. No religious leader will stand in my stead on that Final Day to give an account of my life…It will be me and me alone who stands before the One High and Lifted Up.

I would rather give an account of my decisions before God…THAT WERE MINE…than say “My church told me thus…my priest or minister told me to do such and such”…it is my responsibility to “work out my own salvation”…and where I lack…there is Grace…astounding marvelous Grace and Mercy bestowed upon me by the One who knows me best…and loves me most…I am in Good Hands…and that is the best place to be.

 

[Mikeoffaith]

But what if have a clear understanding of islam and act upon it - would one know the tree by it’s fruit?

Interesting question. Could the same be asked about Christians?

 

[Eliza10]

However, there IS such a thing as being in love with the “idea” of marriage moreso than being in love with a particular husband (as many young girls, who become women, can attest to). In these cases, the man is just there because such an object is neccesary for marriage. Take - for instance - wedding planning. In most cases, the woman is completely fixated on her vision of her wedding that it almost overshadows “who” she’s wedding. Essentially, her future husband takes a back seat.]…

.

This is such a good analogy. Excellent post!

 

[LilyM]

However, there IS such a thing as being in love with the “idea” of marriage moreso than being in love with a particular husband (as many young girls, who become women, can attest to). In these cases, the man is just there because such an object is neccesary for marriage. Take - for instance - wedding planning. In most cases, the woman is completely fixated on her vision of her wedding that it almost overshadows “who” she’s wedding. Essentially, her future husband takes a back seat.

Such a woman is not in love with her marriage at all. She’s in love with a delusion of her own mind that doesn’t correspond to reality.

Religion is not an idealised concept, religion is the actuality of your practical relationship with God - not an idealised version thereof, or a fantasy construct or anything else.

Likewise, there IS such a thing as being in love with the “idea” of religion moreso than being in love with God particularly (as many people, who’ve grown within a particular religion since childhood, can attest to). In these cases, God is just there because such an object of worship is necessary for their religion. But remember the stories of “Abraham” and “Job”: These were very obedient “religious” men, but God wanted to see if Abraham and Job were “in loved” with Him more than being “in love” with their situations [situations born out of their religious obedience].

Isaac was Abraham’s dearly loved child of his old age, to whom he was doubtless devoted, knowing that he wouldn’t have another - God wanted to see if Abraham loved his son more than Him. What about that has to do with ‘religion’?

Job had wealth and success - God wanted to see if Job loved the wealth, the status, and so on, more than Him.

Abraham’s and Job’s potential attachments had nothing to do with ‘religion’ - what an absurd notion. Abraham’s potential attachment to Isaac had to do with simply and purely being his father, it was natural human attachment. Job’s attachment to his material goods simply had to with the fact that, like anyone with material wealth, he could be sinfully attahed to it and lose sight of everything else.

Job could’ve been completely irreligious and still equally attached to his wealth and equally in need of (and given) a lesson by God about the fleetingness of riches. Many rich people, religious or not, receive such a lesson from God by losing all that they have thanks to their greed.

Finally - God demanded a sacrifice of Abraham. He demanded, in other words, that Abraham fulfil a religious observance. It was unusual in that the victim was to be Isaac, but otherwise was completely a religious observance exactly as Abraham had always practiced them.

Upon seeing that Abraham had no undue attachment to Issac, and was willing to sacrifice him, did God then say ‘Great! Now you have a REAL relationship with Me, you don’t have to follow the dictates of ‘religion’ any more. No more sacrifices, no more circumcision, no more ritual’. Rubbish. God HIMSELF proceeded to provide a ram for Abraham to sacrifice. The ritual - the ‘religion’ - was just as important as ever before, and God demanded that the ritual be observed and the sacrifice made, just with a different offering.

This is why I sometimes ask people, “If God so commanded us, would you give up your religion to follow Him?” Most people avoid answering the question with, “Why would God ever ask us to do that? God would never ask something like that from us because He wouldn’t abandon his church”, not realizing that they’ve indeed answered the question.

Yes - with the correct answer. The Church IS Christ’s body on earth. Fully endowed with His own authority to bind and loose heaven. His church, His body, is institutional, visible and authoritative. If it isn’t, this authority He gives it makes no sense at all.

Christ didn’t say to Paul ‘why are you persecuting My church’. He said ‘why are you persecuting ME’. Christ completely and utterly identifies Himself with the Church. So no, He wouldn’t ask us to go against His own body for any reason whatsoever. The idea is nonsense - would I ask you to prove your devotion to me by asking you to cut off my hand? Not if I was sane.

If how we serve is so utterly unimportant, then why do the scriptures (Old and New) spend so much time telling us WHAT we are to do - HOW we are to honour him? Prescribing baptism, the Eucharist, auricular confession and the like sacraments? Emphasising and re-emphasising the Ten Commandments, the works of mercy and other behavioural codes? HOW we serve is incredibly important.

 

[SpectatorX]

Religion is your relationship with God, as it is put into practice (and to the poster who said they don’t care much for religion - oh yes you do. You may mean you don’t care much for the*** organised*** religions, though, I’ll grant that).

Saying ‘I love my religion more than God’ is like saying ‘I love my marriage more than I love my husband’. The latter is an integral part of the former, so loving one means loving both.

Terrorists don’t love Islam more than Allah, Gloria - they just have a distorted understanding of both Islam and Allah.

I’m normally with you when it comes to the usual religion/God false dilemma, but in this case, I think there may be something more to it. I think we’ve all come across individuals who choose to ignore certain facts in deciding between one religion and another. Such people are more interested in some social perk granted by said institution rather than seeking objective Truth. The shallow are a dime a dozen these days, after all.

 

[TikiTokiguy]

There are “Churchians” who just follow along their church and then there are real “Christians.” Beware of the Churchians. I think I found myself being a “Churchian” when I joined the LDS church.

 

[LilyM]

I’m normally with you when it comes to the usual religion/God false dilemma, but in this case, I think there may be something more to it. I think we’ve all come across individuals who choose to ignore certain facts in deciding between one religion and another. Such people are more interested in some social perk granted by said institution rather than seeking objective Truth. The shallow are a dime a dozen these days, after all.

Loving a social perk granted by said institution is not the same thing as loving the institution itself. Like I said earlier - loving the fact that your husband is wealthy is a very different thing from loving either him or your marriage.

 

[SpectatorX]

Loving a social perk granted by said institution is not the same thing as loving the institution itself. Like I said earlier - loving the fact that your husband is wealthy is a very different thing from loving either him or your marriage.

Hmmm. I suppose I could grant you that. Though, the original idea is correct in some circumstances if not the semantics. Perhaps if “religion” were originally rendered “being associated with a particular religion” the matter would be cleared up. The former refers to the teachings themselves while the latter refers to extraneous perks.