BY ANGEL DESMOND,
APRIL 11, 2023.
'Religion na nonsense!!!'. The first time I heard this was in the early days of my service at Mr. D.J.'s (he is not a DJ) company, and honestly, I was quite taken aback by the statement. I believe at the time I had plenty of reasons for being appalled and alarmed that I can't really put into words, but the more understandable ones were: my walk with Christ had just started to gain serious fervency when I came in contact with him—or rather his audacious statement. In moments when he'd make statements like these, I'd feel like the man was sent by the devil to derail me from the holy path. Sadly, this wouldn't be the first time someone would approach me with ludicrous declarations, so I was being, as the Holy Bible would admonish the saints, wise as a serpent.
Another reason—which I consider the more important—was that his statement was quite frankly at odds with the knowledge of Christianity that I have had. I grew up in a typical Nigerian Christian home, which meant that we prayed every morning and night, and I was flogged once or twice for "possessing" distracting and rebellious spirits when I would doze off, not respond "amen" to some prayers, or clap loudly enough. And to my non-Nigerian peeps, this was the norm in every household, so it's fine.
I was christened in a Catholic church, which we later boycotted in favor of a pentecostal church. My family and I went to this church and practiced the tenets of their religious worship for years until their practices became what I then thought was Christianity.
Mr. D.J. would go on to say, "I am not saying you shouldn't worship your maker, because the scripture says only a fool says there is no God, but religion na scam!" It became a consistent message in company with his preachings about the downfall of the black man's ideology and how Nigeria is a failed country even before trying. He is a man who sees opportunities, and wasting them irritates him a lot, so my early days were filled with his rants about them. He'd also say, "God opened my eyes beyond the covers to see more to worshipping God than church service," and I'd reply, "That makes sense, yet it doesn't!" because God cannot be separated from his worshippers, right? We would argue for hours about who was more right, with evidence, of course. He is a factual man too.
Soon, with his words in my mind, I began to realize that there might be some truth in it. I mean, his evidence was strong! It also made me realize my brother's rejection of churches that mostly preached prosperity gospel and worshipped in a certain way was a search for something bigger than him. And in following suit, though I was older, I was searching too. Though these words were forming thoughts in my mind, I held strongly to what I'd always known because why should I be swayed by Mr. D.J., who doesn't go to church?
One would think that as the thoughts were forming, I would thus go searching for truths to confirm them, but I didn't—not until recently, by the way. I found what I was looking for, and I'd like to review some strong stances in relation to God and religion and, as a result, share my findings with you all today.
God and religion are one?:
When I was a child, some would say I had an imaginative mind but not a curious one. Inventors probably have a mixture of both; nevertheless, this wasn't true for me until I got older. So when I was given the idea in social studies those many years ago that all that is religion is Christianity, Islam, and traditional worship, I took it. When I was fed by my church the knowledge that anything that wasn't Christianity, i.e., Islam and traditional worship, was bad, I took it and held onto it for as long as I can remember without asking any questions. Apparently, religion, which is a phenomenon that connotes the relationship between people and whatever they see as holy, spiritual, or absolute, is a lot more than these three. However, I am strictly reviewing religion as it pertains to Christianity.
To have a good view of religion, we first have to go back to where it probably began: the days of the Sadducees, Scribes, and Pharisees as recorded in the Bible (Luke 5:17, 30; 6:1-2, 7; Matt. 22 and 23). The Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees were the "rabbi(s)" of the law and basically the ultimate decision-makers of good and evil in their day. They were the wealthy 1% who only believed in the Mosaic law and exhorted themselves above God, and we see in the scriptures Jesus talking extensively about them. Can one then say that because they taught the law, the law in itself is wrong? Absolutely not!
These very laws were given to Moses by God, and they guided the children of Israel in and out of the wilderness onto Canaan, so they cannot be wrong. In this regard, they were on the right track when it came to having knowledge of the laws. The problem was in their practicing, or, more accurately, in their living out the law. This invariably connects or disconnects God from religion.
As it was with the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees, so it is today. "You shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not commit adultery," and other laws of Moses in the book of Names (Exodus), as extensively taught by them in those days, were more regarded than the teachings of loving God and loving our neighbors (the first and greatest commandment), from which these laws stem.
Also, the earlier church segregating itself in 1 Cor. 1:1–31 also shows a love (worship) of the preacher and themselves more than God and loving others. Just as today! You will hear some say, "I am of this pentecostal church or this Anglican church, and our way of worship is more superior to what they teach elsewhere," and others utter, "We know God better than those who tie their hair!" "Look at our lives, na, don't you see a difference?" while the truth of God's gospel has been lost amongst them.
In view of this, two truths can coexist at once: God is connected to religion inasmuch as it is service, reverent worship, and love towards Him. And when it's self-reliant, self-praising, self-serving, worship of people and things, or anything that doesn't bind one's heart to God even though they are following the law, God is disconnected from it.
Loving God and Hating Religion:
Whenever he is agitated about whatever is happening in Nigeria, Mr. D.J. will indulge in some raggae music. On one of the many days he was agitated, he played Majek Fashek's religion na politics loudly and even brought me the lyrics to read.
The opening reads:
"Religion na politics
Lots of people know all the tricks
Religion is politics
Some of them the Pharisees
Them a hypocrite and fanatics..."
At this point, I had to agree with him for the reason that religion is now a dubious self-serving tool, and religious people—in that their worship is not to God—severely dent the image of Christianity and the teachings of the Holy Bible, as well as building barricades that hinder people's coming into the church to hear the truth. As the Holy Bible says, their words and actions do not tally. Preachers and high ranking members alike conveniently teach a distorted form of the law for their own gains, and unfortunately, their followers choose to be blind to facts or live in ignorance of it. It is no wonder this causes distaste among those who have come to learn the truth.
However, the peculiar thing about love and hāte is that there is only a thin line between them. Therefore, to love God is to love all that he has created (in this case, the law), and to hāte the things that He has created is to inevitably hāte God. These two cannot be separated. One might then plead the case that their dislike is directed towards the hypocrites who teach the law but do not practice it. In this vain, are they not like the hypocrites who claim to know the true law but yet fail the task of loving their God and their neighbors? Are they not like them who acts as though they're superior to them? Nonetheless, knowing the truth does not equal knowing God or having a relationship with Him! A lot of people have the truth of the gospel as head knowledge without any knowledge of it by heart, and in Christiandom, we require both to truly know God. So in this stance, do you truly know God or even love Him?
Today, as I write in my room, the newly open church downstairs is on a marathon praise and prayer this Easter Monday, and not once have I heard them mention the gospel of Christ (Christ, who is the reason they are gathered in the first place), and I think to myself, "You did not just gather to pray "die by fire," did you? "You will actually talk about Jesus, will you not? "You will not just sing hymns and do all your protocols and not create room for the knowledge of the One who is risen and His beautiful gospel, right?" Regrettably, that is not the case.
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Angel Desmond is a lifestyle and culture writer and the founder and Editor-in-chief of The Revel Magazine. You can find her via instagram.com/iamangeldesmond and twitter.com/iamangeldesmond. Via email, angeldesmondc@gmail.com.
When she is not writing, she can be caught reading, eating, binge watching shows or spending time with her Lover, Jesus.