Indoctrination: How (Organized) Religion Keeps People Away From Christ

I am convinced there is absolutely no greater need in this world, then that which will bring salvation and wholeness to the human soul. This world offers countless creature comforts and technological conveniences for those fortunate, that is wealthy enough, to purchase it for themselves. But if we look carefully, if we listen to the heart, we see that all these modern wonders are not enough: there is still very much a profound hole deep in the soul, regardless of how often we try to fill it by our purchases, our relationships, our activities or consumption habits. Organized Religion has been quick to capitalize on this deficiency in the human condition. It offers the “solution,” and pretends to have the answers. The problem is that in order to partake in the remedy, you must actively join its community, buy into its tenets and partake of its customs, traditions and rules. “We know the way,” they tell you, “but first you must pay the price of admission, and abide by our authority. It’s your only hope.”

This is true of all religions, at all times throughout history.

Today I wish to contend there is a better way, a more genuine path, that requires no middlemen, gatekeepers or admission fees. It does not take pre-segmented blocks of your week, adhering to any man made set of rules, and is free of ideologies, doctrine and dogma. Very simply: the way is Christ alone, Christ Himself. Unadorned by religion, unencumbered by regulations and tradition. The Christian Church sells very hard, the “fact” that if you are not counted among their ranks, that then you cannot be close to the Source. The cliché and overused analogy is that “a coal apart from the fire goes cold and dies out. Therefore, it is imperative that all the coals are heaped and bundled together, to keep the flame alive.” Essentially they place a vast chasm between yourself and the Savior, and then sell themselves as the only viable bridge (not unlike the practice of unscrupulous toll bridge operators). But could they be right? Is it impossible to know and love the Lord apart from making part of a denominational Church?

As written in the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John,

Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No one can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw them: and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every one therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any one hath seen the Father, save they which are of God, they hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, all that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your ancestors did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that you may eat thereof, and not die.

You see my friends, if we take this scripture at face value, it is abundantly clear that no middlemen, no ecclesiastical structure is required for direct access to the Lord. The holy writ is explicit, “they shall be taught of God.” The clergy would have you believe that in order to be right with God you must check off a divine list of commands: be baptized, go to church, take holy communion, join a prayer group, go on mission trips, fast daily or weekly, give to the poor, tithe ten percent of your income (at least), refrain from foul language, from reading, watching or listening to “inappropriate content,” from lusting, from coveting, from unholy word, thought or deed. Forsake ambition: take up your cross and die to the world. The list is long, imposing and restrictive. Perfection can only be attained by the most orthodox, the most devout, the saintly. These people work very hard to earn heaven for themselves and in most cases are completely convinced that they can attain Salvation by their tireless efforts. For them it is a merit-based entry system.

This is the Indoctrination of the Church.

Now, lest I be misinterpreted, it should be perfectly clear that I believe doing your best to meet this idyllic criteria in your own life is both commendable and worthwhile. However - I maintain - it is not necessary for Salvation, redemption or eternal life. Contrarily, Jesus gave up His life on the cross precisely because we are unworthy sinners, who could never attain Salvation on our own. In fact there is nothing you could do to earn Salvation, apart from repenting in sincere contrition of heart, and appealing to nothing but the grace of His Majesty alone. There is biblical precedent for this as well. In the 23rd chapter of the Gospel of Luke we read about the penitent thief, who never did a thing, never checked off any of the Christian’s Checklist for Salvation, all except one: that is acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and asking for His divine redemption towards the wretched and undeserving:

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, This Is The King Of The Jews. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

From this exceptionally revealing passage, we see the man described as a “malefactor,” a rather unsavory character. However, in that precise moment of his life, he had one redeeming quality: he feared God, and recognized His Son. He was humble enough to ask forgiveness in contrition, knowing full-well it was undeserved. The Lord therefore reassured him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Where was this man’s Christianity? What of his baptism? What of his tithing, missionary work or holy communion? He never once had the chance to get down on his knees. He never once recited the Lord’s Prayer. He was a hopeless sinner that acknowledged his only hope and Salvation in the form of Jesus Christ the crucified King, the incarnate Ruler and Creator of the Universe.

I contend that the Church hinders and impedes, rather than conducts and facilitates, the average person’s acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. By enshrouding Him in mysticism, and effectively building the walls of orthodoxy, doctrine and cultic ritualism around the open heart of Jesus, the masses are effectively discouraged from partaking in the freedom of simply accepting Him as Lord. “It’s not that simple,” they say, “it’s not that simple! It requires life-altering commitment to myriad other encumbrances. You can’t simply take your free gift of Salvation and go. It doesn’t work that way! You must join us, you must become one of us.”

Tragically, what inadvertently happens is that the masses reject not Christ, but Christianity. They commit the fatal mistake of inextricably linking the one with the other, and so toss out the proverbial Baby with the bathwater. There seems to be no such thing as a ministry that plugs in Christ and Christ Alone, without the unsupportable baggage of the Church. The problem is that they are sold as one and the same thing, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. And so we come to the moral of this brief article. My hope and my prayer is that if you read these words, you will seek Christ outside the oppressive conditions that priests and pastors would impose on you. Now if you are a person that truly delights in the tradition, culture and ritualism that Organized Religion affords you, then excellent! There is no need to give that up. But whatever you do, if that religion dissuades or somehow compels you to disavow the One and Only Messiah, in that case one of them has to go. But be warned, there is only one door to Salvation, and His name is Jesus.