In the following, what I present is an interpretation from a finite, limited perspective (obviously). Like all of us, I\u2019m presenting a narrative\u2014not a mathematical equation.\u00a0 What any reader wants to make of it is up to them. This post is for people who believe there is more to existence, ontologically speaking, than just the physical\/material. If you believe the physical\/material is all that exists, great, but look elsewhere to opine or argue. This post is for Christians or those who believe in some sort of transcendence\/spirituality. I am speaking from a Christian perspective.<\/em><\/p>\n A natural response to my last post may have been, \u201cSo how do we then live?\u201d Does my post mean we don\u2019t need to go to church, pray, read our Bibles, etc.? Does it mean letting go the name, \u201cChristian,\u201d and simply calling one\u2019s self a child of God? What?<\/p>\n Well, no. I don\u2019t think it means any of those things. The paradox of Christ being the end of religion is that we live out that truth\u2026religiously. I\u2019m using the word \u201creligion\u201d in its more original meaning however, not in the historical, cultural, or social sense that is as varied and wide as the commentators discussing it.<\/p>\n The word\u2019s origins carry the meaning to \u201cbind fast,\u201d or \u201cgo through again.\u201d Since then, of course, it has continued to mean much more and many different things to different people. When I say we paradoxically live out the truth of Christ being the end of religion, \u201creligiously,\u201d I mean it in the sense carried by the word\u2019s original use and derivation.<\/p>\n To live in the Real<\/em>, to try and live in alignment or harmony with the way things truly are, at their core, ontologically, takes discipline because we still live East of Eden. It is hard to see the Real or experience it because our brokenness and the brokenness of the world create barriers to it. Our false selves and the masks we wear blind us to its presence.<\/p>\n So, we \u201cbind fast.\u201d And we \u201cgo through again,\u201d so that we, together, can begin to live in the Real. We cannot do this by ourselves. We are too weak. We must bind ourselves together and go through this together again, and again. None of us can shed our masks and false selves, by ourselves. The whole problem is we can\u2019t truly see ourselves. It is in our interaction with others where we begin, or are able, to hear the false notes.<\/p>\n Think of a musical band. If I\u2019m only playing by myself, it can often sound fine. However, put me in a group of other musicians and I can begin to hear my wrong notes or the fact I am out of tune or harmony. Together, we tune to a common tuning.\u00a0 We begin to follow the lead of those we realize have more skill and knowledge\u2014who know how the tune is to be played. We get together. We bind fast. We practice, over and over, we go through it again. From the top folks, let\u2019s try it again. That\u2019s what we do each week.<\/p>\n When we gather to worship, pray, fast, follow the church calendar, inhabit the liturgy, practice the disciplines, and perform acts of mercy and charity, we are putting ourselves in a place to shed our masks and false selves. We are learning to play in the band. We are practicing the songs of love, peace, joy, redemption, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The name of our band is hospitality. All are welcome. Every person plays an instrument or sings a song; they just don\u2019t always know in what manner or form they do it yet. They may be an accountant or homeless person; it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n Look, everyone is religious. Everyone. The atheist is religious. In the sense I am speaking, to be human is to be religious. Whether we call it brokenness or sin, every person has a sense of something they want to avoid being or doing. More importantly, to put it positively, they have a picture of what they want to become, be, and do.<\/p>\n And they gather (in coffee shops, bars, parks, wilderness, lakes, concerts, sports arenas, social media, etc.) with like-minded people to help them do that. They have books, songs, and other artistic works (icons) they share to encourage and educate each other. They have their own practices and liturgy, even if no god or divinity is mentioned.<\/p>\n There is no escape from this, even if one\u2019s liturgy is a bottle of Jack or syringe of heroin.\u00a0 Even if one\u2019s liturgy is the political platform, an ideology, sports, shopping, movies, gaming, fishing, or hunting. They too gather with the like-minded on a regular basis and perform their rituals and sacred performances. This is what we do. All of us. What do you mean, there is no God? There are thousands it would appear, a myriad.<\/p>\n Many have pointed out how for us Americans, consuming is our identity, money is our god, and our shopping malls or Amazons are our sacred temples of worship. Thus, don\u2019t differentiate one\u2019s self from the Christian, Buddhist<\/a>, Hindu, or Muslim as \u201creligious.\u201d Look in the mirror. The secular humanist, the atheist, the agnostic is as religious as the rest of us. We all have a liturgy, we all bind together and go through together, we all have a philosophy, sacred spaces, writings, cultural loves, icons, and practices. We all have our heroes or\u2026saints. We all live by faith.<\/p>\n As noted in my prior post, Christ is the end of religion\u2014meaning, religion as a false self and mask. However, we take leave of those selves and masks by \u201creligiously,\u201d binding together and going through together. We practice. We play our instruments together until we get the song right. What I\u2019m speaking of isn\u2019t religion, at least not as far as its common understanding.<\/p>\n No, it\u2019s life East of Eden and it\u2019s where we all live now as we journey in this life. It\u2019s the boulevard of broken dreams; the abode of nighthawks<\/a>. We are all just trying to move on, to leave the falseness, the constant hiding. Life, the Real, patiently awaits us.<\/p>\n