[religious/spiritual]

apologies to those waiting on a new post. i recently moved and don't have internet hooked up, so i have to write when i make it into a coffee shop.

recently in america, we hear more and more of individuals who are not "religious" but are "spiritual". now i grew up in a closed off religious community, so this notion of a difference between these two ideas was hard to grasp. in fact, i didn't believe there was such a thing...choosing instead to believe that people with this notion that there was a difference were just stupid.

whoops.

basically, there is quite a difference, as i was told. getting the two mixed up would be like calling a korean person japanese(for the record, don't. we like being asked our ethnicity, rather than being told it).

religious refers to being extremely devoted to a belief system or idea.

spiritual refers to things relating to the spiritual aspect of life.

quite different. thanks dictionary.com

now, i have heard both "christians" and "non-christians" alike fall into this notion of being "spiritual" and not "religious". specifically, the argument falls along the lines of 'not wanting to be tied down to a church bureaucracy'. these "spiritual" individuals want to be free, and not tied down.

and you know what? it works.

.

.

.

for a time.

go with me on this. a "christian" defines oneself as spiritual, not religious. reasons for being so are being disillusioned with the orthodoxy and stifling traditions that are not culturally relevant. this individual wants to worship God and be connected on a spiritual level, ergo is "spiritual".

now picture this. a "christian" defines oneself as religious, not spiritual. reasons for being so are following the traditions and orthodoxies of the past, learning from the wisdom of those who have gone before. this individual wants to worship God and be connected on a level more than just that of "how the spirit leads", but wants to be deeply rooted in Word, ergo is "religious".

who's "right"?

i'll give you a hint. they both are....

sorta.

• is it the "spiritual" person who dislikes wordy traditions and orthodoxy and instead wants to go as the Spirit moves (like Jesus, not the pharisees)?
• is it the "religious" person who dislikes how people will just "go with the Spirit" even when there is clear historical and Biblical precedent that such behavior is wrong?

again i ask...

who's right?

clearly, its two halves of the same whole.

there is evidence where religious teachings and laws are broken, because God commanded it (Hosea, taking an adulterous wife?).

there is evidence where "moving with the Spirit" was clearly unbiblical (jim jones?)

to get caught up in being religious or spiritual is silly. if you love God, you are both.

-j