The Religious Foundations of Theology 3: The Origin of Religion

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Permalink Reply by RoyW on February 15, 2011 at 4:55am

Ruel,

This looks very interesting. What is your definition of religion? Is it the worship of God or a god, the methods of seeking to live in obedience to God, our relationship to God, man's philosophy of God - how do you define religion?

Thanks.

Roy

Permalink Reply by Ruel Z Chavez on February 15, 2011 at 5:51am

Roy,

 

This topic about "The Origin of Religion" is the third part in my discussion of "The Religious Foundations of Theology." In Part 1, which is about "The Essence of Religion," I attached a word document that explains in detail how an understanding of religion evolves. It is good that in your question, you distinguish between "God" and "god." The distinction is critical and not so many give too much emphasis on this. Such distinction is important especially in view of the popularity of comparative study of religion wherein the trend is in favor of emphasizing the resemblances among world religions at the expense of their differences. If this trend will be accepted, then the uniqueness of Christianity will be compromised.

 

Personally, my understanding of religion considers both the objective and the subjective sides. When I say objective, I mean in the sense of the Old Testament is the revelation of God, which assumes various forms such as commandments, decrees and the like. And in the sense of the New Testament, is Christ Himself since He is the final revelation of God. On the other hand, when I define religion in the subjective side, I understand it as the "fear of God" in the Old Testament sense and "faith" and "godliness" in the New Testament sense.

 

I think Herman Bavinck explains best in his own words this holistic understanding of religion, which considers both the objective and the subjective sides. He states:

 

"For in the earlier interpretation the law in which God laid down the manner in which he wanted to be served was to be understood not only literally but also spiritually. It controlled not only the words and the actions but also the attitudes, thoughts, and desires of human beings. It claimed the whole person, soul and body, the mind, the heart and all a person’s strengths. It therefore required that human beings serve God not only and not even in the first place with external actions and rituals but above all with a sincere faith, firm hope, and ardent love, with worship in spirit and in truth, with the sacrifices of a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Religion, accordingly, was not exhausted by external observance but consisted above all in internal devotion, a knowing and serving of God from the heart. But also this internal devotion could not, any more than the external observance, be self-willed. Essential in religion is first of all the manner in which God himself wills and determines that people shall know and serve him" (Reformed Dogmatics, p. 239).

Permalink Reply by Ruel Z Chavez on February 15, 2011 at 6:26pm

Thanks!

Permalink Reply by RoyW on February 15, 2011 at 2:03pm

Just some thoughts: what is it within man that causes him to completely alter his life and follow a different course? What causes a man to seek to serve rather than to be served? What is that drive deep within that wants to please a higher intelligence? Why is it that some do not have this same cause of action? Why do some seek to only fulfill those desires that rage within their flesh? Why do some seek only to become more and more wealthy and more and more powerful? My only conclusion has to be that some have faith while others do not. Why do some believe and others seemingly do not believe?

We see the lives of the disciples. They gave up all to follow Him. Today, though, we still see those who have never seen Him yet desire to give Him their utter devotion. Is it that God chooses those to Whom He will reveal Himself? These that forsake all to follow Him must have some sort of revelation of His existence. It has to be more than just a hearsay that there is a god that exists and you should follow him.

It must be that those who give up all to follow Him have to have some sort of conclusive evidence that He truly exists. Their faith must be built on more than just a hope that there is One that will reward them for their works. Somehow there must be a knowledge within them that convinces them that God is real and that His Word is true. That knowledge in Scripture is defined as faith. Ephesians 2 tells us that faith is a gift from God. What a joy it is to be among those who has this wonderful gift of faith!

Blessings to you Ruel, I'm looking forward to your comments.

Roy

 

Permalink Reply by Ruel Z Chavez on February 15, 2011 at 6:25pm

Roy,

 

My mind leads me to think about the age old question concerning the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. I affirm all that you have said about the responsibility of man. I affirm that man has no excuse for his unbelief. It is him who decides. It is a rational justification to blame God for not believing.  The problem comes in when the sovereignty of God is emphasized at the expense of human responsibility or the other way around. For me, we cannot separate the two. Both are to be affirmed and each one reinforces the other. It is great too that you mention that even faith is a gift from God. 

 

Blessings and Abundance!

 

Ruel

Permalink Reply by RoyW on February 16, 2011 at 5:52am

Yes, it is as you say. Romans 1 indicates to us that man is without excuse. God's invisible qualities may be clearly seen through creation. Man's efforts to explain away creation dig even a deeper hole in hell for them as far as I know. However, it is not those who suppress the knowledge of God that I am focused on. What causes some to leave the worldly traditions and follow Christ? Are they wiser or better in some way that those who continue in their worldly way? Why do these men forsake all to follow Christ? What is that within them that turns them from this world to a higher calling? What causes them to pursue this thing you are calling religion?

Or, is it that they have received a special revelation from God? An example of what I am talking about is in Ephesians 4 where grace is apportioned to all men. When He ascended into heaven He gave gifts to men. It appears to me that this apportionment might have something to do with the level of one's efforts to follow Christ. I am thinking that there are different levels of service and commitment based on this apportionment. This apportionment appears to me to be a completely sovereign act of God but maybe based on something the individual was doing.

For example: in the case of the disciples, it does appear that in some way they were searching for the Messiah. John's Gospel seems to put Andrew as one that followed Christ because he had found the One he was searching for. Luke's Gospel, on the other hand, seems to indicate that he and his brother were fishing when Jesus called them. Both are correct but I am wondering if the reason they were called was due to their searching for Him or something else. If it was because they were searching, why were they searching and others were not? There was obviously a remnant in Israel that was looking for the Messiah. What is in those folks that cause them to be searching for the Messiah?

It appears to me that the apportionment of grace might have something to do with that. Take myself for example: I desire to serve the Lord but I do see those that have given up more. I mortgaged my two homes to buy a piece of land to build a school. I gave all I had. But, some have given up family. I taught my family His Word but repeatedly begged Him to bless my family. Abraham put his son on the altar, raised the knife to kill him. What kind of devotion is that? He did not give me that kind of grace. However, there still resides within me this strong desire to serve Him. I would guess my desire is more than normal. Where does that come from? Is there something good within me? I know better than that. There is absolutely no thought anywhere within me that would claim any credit for this good desire to serve Him. I am thinking that it has much to do with this apportionment of grace. He had a job for me to do and He has given me enough grace to get it done. I believe that. As a result, I do not feel I can take an ounce of credit for anything.

I guess what I am saying is that the origin of religion is God. I am not even giving any credit to Andrew for finding the Messiah. I think the Messiah found him. Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice." How do they know His voice?

Well, I am hoping others join in the conversation. Devotion to Christ is am important part of our lives. Understanding our calling is probably another discussion but important as well.

Blessings to you, Ruel.