You dont need religion only Jesus..how to reply to

[MarcoPolo]

Article:
Christianity is a religion

 

[bsroufek]

Two things. First, in Luke 11:23, Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Also, He says [Matt 18:20], “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Thus, Jesus wants and intends for us to gather together, which He himself refers to as His “Church”. And, it is a fault, a sin not to gather with His people.

 

[Bookcat]

You don’t need religion only Jesus

–Jesus does not agree with that idea …

-he spent alot of time forming a Church and he gave that Church an explicit commission…

 

[Bookcat]

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060315_en.html

 

[Bobby_Jim]

I’ve heard this line from Evangelical Protestants for a long time, and it’s one of those catch phrases that basically shuts down discussion. “Religion” has a negative connotation of a bunch of rules and stained glass and dusty old hymns and preachy old people and so forth. So let me define my religion as something other than a religion, but define your religion according to stereotypes. If people want to play linguistic games it is hard to have a conversation that goes anywhere.

 

[rfournier103]

Then why did Jesus establish a Church if you don’t need it?

Perfectly said. That should be the only answer anyone would ever need for this argument.

 

[Deana83]

Jesus without religion is like coffee without a cup.

Peter tried to get out of the boat and walked for a few steps but then sank. Jesus without religion is very difficult to do.

-Tim-

I’ve read that passage several times and that never even occurred to me. I guess I always thought that he started to sink because he was afraid.

 

[clem456]

My sister is always saying to me that you dont need religion only Jesus. This confuses me and I dont know how to respond! I have told her I never have felt as close to Jesus as in my Catholic faith. What else can I tell her?

She is actually correct on that, if by “need”, she means she could attain salvation without religious practices. I would imagine she probably does not intend it that way, but rather is avoiding making a real commitment to faith in Jesus. Religious practices alone do not save us. Jesus saves us through his Church, which is the instrument of salvation. So at least she acknowledges she needs Jesus.

The question is, who is Jesus and what does he ask of her? If she is really searching for and finds Jesus, she will find the Church eventually, which is more than religious practice. Jesus is the head of the Church and asks her to follow him into it.

If she claims to need Jesus without needing a faith community, how does she respond to the crucifixion? Jesus sacrificed himself, ascended, and entrusted his mission to PEOPLE. Jesus spent his whole life forming a community of people. If mere people had not formed a Church and spread the word, how would she even know about Jesus? She is taking Jesus for granted, if she does not respect the Tradition his Spirit breathes life into, the Tradition that revealed him to her. So then, believing in Jesus necessitates being a member of a community, even for a hermit. God himself is a community, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Why would she want to live any other way?

Maybe the question for her is, which community does she believe she should belong to? What would a faith community expect of her? Does she somehow believe she is above the help that religious practices can give her?

For most of these folks (all of us really), obedience is the big stumbling block. Obedience means “to listen” to God and others. Most of us like to listen to ourselves and believe we can be like God without help from anyone else. The original lie.

 

[clem456]

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060315_en.html

Good stuff

In reality, this individualism of liberal theology is a typically modern accentuation: in the perspective of biblical tradition and on the horizon of Judaism, where the work of Jesus is situated in all its novelty, it is clear that the entire mission of the Son-made-flesh has a communitarian finality. He truly came to unite dispersed humanity; he truly came to unite the People of God.

 

[_Abyssinia]

Your comment reminded me of a video last year I think that was posted about hating religion but loving Jesus. Some video responses to that video which may help you

youtube.com/watch?v=AwetTNAGC44

youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE

youtube.com/watch?v=4iqcrQYQTQs

youtube.com/watch?v=8dqnfz4y8uA

youtube.com/watch?v=TLta2b9zQ64

Jesus quoted in Matthew 18:17

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector

 

[SPH1]

Needing “only Jesus” is a heresy, in that she is disregarding the other two persons of the Trinity: God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

But shall we assume that if one needs “only Jesus” that they have no time for religious doctrines such as the Trinity?

Part of the problem is that these types wish to invent their own “religion” and doctrines. Whatever seems to feel good for them.

This also gets in to the nonsense of trying to bash “religion” for something else such as “spiritual”.

 

[Goya]

Which Jesus is she referring to? The Mormon Jesus, who’s brother is Satan? How about the Jehovah’s Witness Jesus who is really Michael the Archangel? Or maybe the Muslim Jesus who was merely a prophet? Or how about the New Age Jesus who is one of the “Ascended Masters” along with Mohammed and the Buddha? Or how about the Protestant Jesus who was only kidding when He said “This IS my body, this IS my blood”? Perhaps the Jewish Jesus who is either a “good rabbi” or a blasphemer, depending upon who you talk to. Or how about the hippy-dippy Jesus who’s everyone’s long-haired, sandaled buddy? It matters very much that you belong to a religion, and not just any religion, but the religion that speaks the truth, and delivers the sacraments that Jesus gave us.

Awesome!

 

[Holly3278]

You can’t have Jesus without religion. Any time a person worships God they are doing so in the context of religion. It is impossible to worship God without religion.

 

[M1Garand]

Implicit in this question is the supposition that religion is an institution invented by men. We have all heard this before. It is an accurate statement as it applies to the multiple man created reformation churches and later evangelical and even later made up faiths like JW or Mormons. However, The Church of Jesus Christ aka the Catholic Church was created by Christ it is not of men. So we all need his church and his religion but no other.

Sorry if this response if not very “ecumenical”.

 

[Kobe007]

Your sister’s statement makes sense when you consider that Religion is so full of False Teachers and we must be very discerning when it comes to who are we going to believe.
Why not believe Jesus is your Savior and the only way to God is through him.
John 14:6

Jesus refers to himself as the “Cornerstone or Rock” many times.
Ephesians 2:20
1 Peter 2:6
Matthew 7:24, 25
Matthew 21:42
Paul states in 1 Corinthians 3:11 - Jesus is the rock.

Yes, Matthew 16:13 - Jesus talks to Simon Peter ( or, in Greek, petros, meaning loose stone or pebble ) but actually refers to Jesus Himself when He mentions Rock.
Now I am not saying Peter and the other Apostles were not significant in growing the Christian Church, but come now, if Jesus referred to Himself as the Cornerstone of His Church many times, who are we to argue.
Each Christian is like a stone or pebble in the Church of God but there is only one cornerstone. My best determination based on the number of times Jesus states in Biblical text regarding Himself as the Cornerstone or Rock - that has to be Jesus Christ and no one else.

Consider, Pope Francis stated October 8th 2013 that he is in favor of gay marriage.
Pope Francis stated “You’d think if stopping gay marriage were so important Jesus would have mentioned it - I don’t know - maybe once in the Bible.”
Hmmm, well the Bible does state a man shall leave his parents and cleave to a wife (woman).
Genesis 2:24
An abomination for man to lie with man.
Leviticus 18, 22
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed based on this sin.
Genesis 19
Seems pretty clear to me, yet political correctness is infiltrating even the Catholic Church.
Many teachers are false and we must be discerning at all times.
I pray that Jesus would open the hearts and ears of many who are misled by false teachers.
Thank you - this has certainly helped me through preparation of this response.

 

[Kobe007]

Needing “only Jesus” is a heresy, in that she is disregarding the other two persons of the Trinity: God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

But shall we assume that if one needs “only Jesus” that they have no time for religious doctrines such as the Trinity?

Part of the problem is that these types wish to invent their own “religion” and doctrines. Whatever seems to feel good for them.

This also gets in to the nonsense of trying to bash “religion” for something else such as “spiritual”.

Jesus was the one that said - John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

[dbreiden]

Jesus said “Do this in memory of me.”

Do WHAT in memory of him? Maybe we don’t need religion, but we surely need the one true Church that Christ gave to us.

 

[Kobe007]

Jesus said “Do this in memory of me.”

Do WHAT in memory of him? Maybe we don’t need religion, but we surely need the one true Church that Christ gave to us.

I believe every Christian Church takes part in celebrating Lord’s Supper.
The Bible is the Word Of God.
I have no doubt.
How many times is Jesus referred to as the Cornerstone/Rock?

It’s a great history book and a great read!

We have been forewarned to be discerning to what we are being taught by men.

Matthew 7:15
Matthew 10:16
Luke 10:3
Acts 20:29

History of the church speaks for itself.

 

[johnnyc176]

My sister is always saying to me that you dont need religion only Jesus. This confuses me and I dont know how to respond! I have told her I never have felt as close to Jesus as in my Catholic faith. What else can I tell her?

Sometimes it is best to ask questions…read some of these…

scripturecatholic.com/the_church.html

then ask her why Jesus founded the One True Church, the Catholic Church…

scripturecatholic.com/apostolic_succession.html

then ask her why He instituted apostolic succession…

scripturecatholic.com/baptism.html

scripturecatholic.com/the_eucharist.html

then ask her why He gave us the Sacraments.

 

[OliverR]

I know as an Anglican I’m shooting myself in the foot here but my vicar told me years ago that religion helps prevent heresy that may occur from personal interpretation.

Yeah I know, I know…