![\"FPCSRLogo\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/173\/2011\/05\/FPCSRLogo.jpg\")
What if there were no religions?<\/font><\/p>\nI like John Lennon as much as the next guy, but this line had to be his low point. Nevertheless, it\u2019s still alive. I saw it on a bumper sticker: What if there were no religions?<\/font><\/p>\n I can understand wanting a world without the Santa Claus god \u2013 the one who\u2019s making his list and checking it twice. That view of God, a view so many haven\u2019t yet replaced, has done enough damage. I\u2019m heart broken every time I talk to someone in crisis and they wonder if God is punishing them. So let me see if I can say this clearly: THERE IS NO SUCH GOD.<\/font><\/p>\n Anyway, I can understand imagining a world without that. But no religion? Sadly we don\u2019t have to imagine that. We\u2019re living it with all its attendant consequences. Religion \u2013 I know it\u2019s a dirty word, but when religions do their job, they offer a context of meaning, a reason for being, a framework within which to live our lives. If I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m here, then it simply doesn\u2019t matter what I do.<\/font><\/p>\n This week\u2019s cover article in the Pacific Sun describes the youth culture of \u201csexting\u201d in Marin. This is texting with a highly charged sexual edge. We\u2019re talking about 14 year old girls sending, (how shall I put it?), inappropriate pictures of themselves from their cell phones.<\/font><\/p>\n So here\u2019s my question: Why shouldn\u2019t they? What\u2019s the big deal? Any convincing answer will inevitably come from within a religious context. Mine would go something like this: \u201cBecause you are a beautiful and valuable young woman. God created you to be a lover, one who experiences the profound erotic pleasure that comes from living into relationships that reflect the creative power of a God who draws all things together in perfect harmony. Degrading your body this way works counter to that purpose.\u201d (Granted, I\u2019d have to find hipper language.) If you have grown up outside of a religious context, that answer will sound hollow. Within one, you may make mistakes, but you will be able to discern when your life is missing that mark.<\/font><\/p>\n Imagine no religion? Are we crazy? Without religion we have only animal instincts and pop culture to guide us; hence the youth culture of sexting \u2013 just to pick an example.<\/font><\/p>\n I know that religion can\u2019t make verifiable claims to truth \u2013 that\u2019s why they call it faith \u2013 but faith has power. For tens of thousands of years, people have discerned the presence of God, the power driving creation forward, and they have described God within their \u201cworldview.\u201d Did they get it right? Can we? I don\u2019t know; right and wrong aren\u2019t words I use in this context. But we\u2019re fools not to try because they were pointing towards something real, and that something provided a context of meaning that sustained them when crisis overtook their lives. That\u2019s what religion does. Do we really want to imagine a world without that?<\/font><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What if there were no religions? I like John Lennon as much as the next guy, but this line had to be his low point. Nevertheless, it\u2019s still alive. I saw it on a bumper sticker: What if there were no religions? I can understand wanting a world without the Santa Claus god \u2013 the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theological-musings","tag-first-presbyterian-church-san-rafael-california-marin-rev-sam-alexander-progressive-integral-christianity-evolutionary-5thande-org-bible-sermon-gracecomesfirst-patheos-expert-what-if-there-were-no-re"],"yoast_head":"\n