"Spiritual but not religious"

[NotmebutHim]

Hi gang,

I've heard many people refer to themselves as "spiritual but not religious". To me it sounds as if they want the New Age type of spirituality but don't want to follow Christ and His Gospel. Some call themselves that because they are truly looking for an actual relationship with Christ but without all the "rules". Now we could get into a debate as to what that really means but that's best left for another thread.

Different SBNR's may say that the term means different things, but the above is just my opinion.

What do you guys think of SBNR's?

And please, no back-and-forth flaming on this one.

 

[Willie-T]

I guess I am a SBNR. I want nothing to do with the restructuring of a reflection of the same Religious System that Jesus came to dismantle. (That would be..... what most "churches" have structured themselves into today.)

 

[Sirk]

Jesus was pretty religious. He was religious about prayer and relationship with God sure.... but he was also religious about participating in the Jewish faith.

 

[Willie-T]

Jesus was pretty religious. He was religious about prayer and relationship with God sure.... but he was also religious about participating in the Jewish faith.

I don't wanna be Jewish.

 

[Sirk]

I don't wanna be Jewish.

I think of it more that he was intentional in his relationships by doing things in the community he lived in. Living life with people...laughing having fun, telling stories. Being connected to people.

 

[Utah]

Religion is good in that it provides structure and order for some folks which in turn helps them with their faith. At this stage of life, I'm all about enjoying my relationship with God in Jesus Christ. Its all about relationship.

 

[Willie-T]

I have always found what Karl Barth said, interesting: "Religion is unbelief."

 

[Willie-T]

We react quite vehemently to certain words. "Emergent" is one of those words that sends many of us over the edge. (There goes the gnashing of teeth)
All the word really means, before we tack all sorts of sinister doctrinal meaning to it, is a coming out of the religious mire of mainstream "Churchdom."

I think we might even have one of those churches somewhere in my city.... downtown, I think.

 

[Dino246]

The SBNR's with whom I have interacted tend to be the new-age yoga and Oprah types. They ooh and aah over The Secret but reject the Truth. They're okay with you being a Christian, as that's just your reality. To them, "Jesus" = "stuffy rules and regulations" = "religion" and they want nothing to do with it. Sad though, but I see clearly the Scripture lived out: men (and women) hated the light because they loved their evil deeds.

 

[Dino246]

We react quite vehemently to certain words. "Emergent" is one of those words that sends many of us over the edge. (There goes the gnashing of teeth)
All the word really means, before we tack all sorts of sinister doctrinal meaning to it, is a coming out of the religious mire of mainstream "Churchdom."

I think we might even have one of those churches somewhere in my city.... downtown, I think.

Somewhere without pews... or even chairs....

 

[Willie-T]

The SBNR's with whom I have interacted tend to be the new-age yoga and Oprah types. They ooh and aah over The Secret but reject the Truth. They're okay with you being a Christian, as that's just your reality. To them, "Jesus" = "stuffy rules and regulations" = "religion" and they want nothing to do with it. Sad though, but I see clearly the Scripture lived out: men (and women) hated the light because they loved their evil deeds.

To me, "Religion" largely means.... very little of Jesus.

 

[mailmandan]

It is possible to be "religious" but not right with God. Just look at the Pharisees. Religion apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ is in vain. James 1:26 - If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. This man's religion is vain, empty, devoid of power, lacking in content, nonproductive, dead and of no eternal value. James 1:27 - Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. There is absolutely nothing wrong with "pure and undefiled religion" but there is certainly something wrong with impure and defiled religion.

 

[Joidevivre]

I'm religious - spiritual - bible thumping (with words of grace) - preachy - born-again - I might even have a Jewish heart deep down inside.

I'll take any name you want to label me with - as long as you know, hear and see that I belong to Christ.

 

[NotmebutHim]

I'm also reminded of that verse in 2 Timothy 3 that says "having a form of godliness, but denying its power".

 

[Utah]

The SBNR's with whom I have interacted tend to be the new-age yoga and Oprah types.

Reading this caused my stomach contents to churn.

 

[Utah]

I'm religious - spiritual - bible thumping (with words of grace) - preachy - born-again - I might even have a Jewish heart deep down inside.

I'll take any name you want to label me with - as long as you know, hear and see that I belong to Christ.

Christian.

 

[Blain]

I think that first we have to define what religious is, it seems to mean different things to different people. For me all I have seen from (religious) people are rules, putting down others because they are not holy enough, men and women who who know the scriptures but have no understanding of them, preachers and teachers who are like the blind leading the blind ect.

But that is just from what I have seen that doesn't exactly mean that is what religious means. Now spiritual sadly I have seen far to much of that to question what it is, the word spiritual can mean many things it can mean ppl who believe and actively seek the supernatural like Ghosts angels even the demonic because they crave it they get so excited even seeing a movie about it they will even attempt to find and contact these spiritual beings. My sister Mia says she is spiritual, she has a tattoo of a troll and says trolls are our spiritual guardians and a lot of weird stuff like that.

 

[JeniBean]

This reminds me of what my exhusband use to say to me. "I'm a good person, so I will be in heaven just because I am good." I am a spiritual christian. I am lucky, because I will go to heaven! Enough said!

 

[Siberian_Khatru]

The SBNR's with whom I have interacted tend to be the new-age yoga and Oprah types. They ooh and aah over The Secret but reject the Truth. They're okay with you being a Christian, as that's just your reality. To them, "Jesus" = "stuffy rules and regulations" = "religion" and they want nothing to do with it. Sad though, but I see clearly the Scripture lived out: men (and women) hated the light because they loved their evil deeds.

This does tend to be a lot of people's experience with SNBRs, or "progressives" as they might also be referred to as. And it is very sad that rules/regulations are so stifling to them. Freedom is not about doing whatever you want, whenever you want to do it, with whomever you want to do it with. That is anarchy.

Ravi Zacharias wrote a book entitled "Why Jesus?" some years back. If I'm remembering the interview correctly, he mentioned that the original title was "From Oprah to Chopra," before his publisher suggest he alter it. Which seems pretty true to form.

 

[Gav777]

I believe the Bible was designed to launch us into His presence. The Bible without His presence and power of the Holy Spirits anointing is religion. In His presence we find an intimate relationship, or rather our intamacy with Him draws us into even His tangible presence. Father, Son, Holy Spirit are persons not books or traditions or religion. Its all ajout relationship as we are made in the image of these relayional parts of who God really is.