Organized Religion (and most anything organized) Is Toxic

A greatphotographer and outstanding poet that I had the privilege to cross paths with many years ago and, through the magic of Facebook, have been able to keep up with uses the phrase “Organized Religion is Toxic.”  This may sound really odd coming from a pastor, but I completely agree.  Indeed, most things we humans organize have the tendency of becoming toxic, destructive, and deadly.

Take an honest look at this thing we Christians call faith in Jesus.  Jesus stood opposed to most of the elements of the organized religion of his day.  He referred to religious leaders as a “brood of vipers.”  He took long standing and accepted religious activities of his day, such as exchanging money for offerings and sacrifices in the Temple, and tried to end these practices using brute force.  He was open and welcoming to groups alienated from his faith such as lepers, Gentiles, and others.  However, we have to remember that Jesus regularly gathered in the Temple and in local Synagogues for worship and Biblical study.  He taught the inherit value of God’s Word and the importance of living for God not only as individuals but also as a collective.

Much of what we witness today that makes organized religion and many other institutions and practices arranged by humans so toxic is us.  The toxic nature of organized religion, politics, or whatever, is found in the extremes.  The extremes of the churches and denominations that are quick to condemn those who do not agree with them.  The extremes of organized faiths that are willing to shed blood over differences of opinions and interpretations even among people who actually share the same faith.  Whether it is religion, politics, or most any topic these days, we are so convinced that we are right and everyone else is wrong, that we condemn, spew the venom of gossip and falsehoods, and deeply mangle the love we claim to proclaim beyond any recognizable form. 

Our problem, we begin to replace our faith with our personal opinion and practice.  And when that happens, “The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God” (Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith).  We are dealing only with our own preferences and prejudices and we forget we just might be wrong.  As one who tries to follow Jesus, I long to be a little less organized, a little less convinced I have all the answers, a little more willing to serve and not be served, and to “work out [my] own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Maybe with such an effort, the small area of religion I occupy will start to become a little less toxic.