According to a Google search on the definition of religion:

A religion is a set of beliefs and practices often organized around supernatural and moral claims, and often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law.

There are so many religions out there. The most obvious and widespread ones are Christian and pseudo-Christian, Judaism, and Islam. For thousands of years these “religions” haven’t co-existed very well. From the Crusades, to the war in Iraq.

But what is all the fuss about? Why are people so hooked on religion, religious icons, to the point where many of them become or seemingly become cults?

Maybe it’s because people can’t hold on to a real belief. They get swayed on emotions or what everyone else believes, and they never take the time to figure out what they really believe. They don’t read the religious texts of what they “believe.” And therefore, never really make that great of a “believer.”

Or maybe it’s because we need something iconic to hold on to. Maybe there’s this everlasting void in our bodies that desires something somewhat meaningful to fill it, whether we really believe it or not.

Because the majority of religious people don’t even really know what their beliefs are. They attend services, pay their dues, and never really know why other than it seems to fulfill some void in their lives.

Indeed, there is a void. Indeed, something about religion fills it.

But is it religion? Because if religion really filled it, there wouldn’t be anything occasional about attendance.

All their friends would do it.

Their lives would be sold-out to it.

They would think of it everyday.

Every hour.

Is Mac a religion???

Okay that last one’s a joke. But seriously, think about some of the things we idolize in life, things we treat the same way that others treat like their religion. Like hard-core Star Wars fans. Harry Potter fans. Sports fans.

In fact, many of these things take a larger presence in these people’s lives than their “religion.” So is it a religion. What is religion?

My focus for saying all the above is this: I don’t have a religion. I used to. I used to be a religious person, and I catch myself at times being swayed back into it.

The fact is, my beliefs would exist without a church. Without a preacher.

And they did in fact become my beliefs after I did much much reading, much research, trying this and trying that. Finding what really filled that void.

I don’t have a void anymore. It’s full with something that doesn’t want to go away when I get home after service. That I want to think about all during the week and during the day.

And when I’m reminded of how it’s affected my life and my plans and my attitude and my abilities and my family and everything, I cry. It’s powerful.

It’s not religion.

This video triggered this post. These people represent the miracles I feel in my life. And my friends and my family’s lives. It has truly touched me and done things with my life that I couldn’t do without. I wouldn’t believe the things and the way I do if it weren’t that I was 100% sure that this belief was what did it. What gave me the direction and put me where I am today.

I give it all the credit.

What I don’t like? All the religion that surrounds this topic. Religion causes wars, taxes, confusion, hypocrisy, and more. Our beliefs release us of these things, the same way Jesus released his followers of these things. He preached against these things, so why did we misconstrue it to make it a religion when it’s not???

What do you think?