What is religion?

Page 1 / 3 A brief definition Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity. A given religion is defined by specific elements of a community of believers: dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, sacrament, moral prescription, interdicts, and organization. The majority of religions have developed starting from a revelation based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life. A religion may be defined with its three great characteristics:

Believes and religious practices The religious feeling i.e. faith Unity in a community of those who share the same faith: the Church. It is what differentiates religion from magic.

The study of disappeared or existing religions shows the universal character of this phenomenon and a very large variety in the ritual doctrines and practices. One generally distinguishes the religions called primitive or animists, the Oriental religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Taoism...) and the religions monotheists derived from the Bible (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Christianity has itself given birth to several religions or Christian Churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelic...) Etymology The word religion is derived from Latin "religio" (what attaches or retains, moral bond, anxiety of self-consciousness, scruple) used by the Romans, before Jesus Christ, to indicate the worship of the demons. The origin of "religio" is debated since antiquity. Cicero said it comes from "relegere" (to read again, to re-examine carefully, to gather) in the meaning "to carefully consider the things related to the worship of gods". Later, Lucretius, Lactancius and Tertullianus see its origin in "religare" (to connect) to refer "the bond of piety that binds to God". Initially used for Christianity, the use of the word religion gradually extended to all the forms of social demonstration in connection with sacred.
Sacred

The consciousness and the perception of sacred are constants of religions and constitute the heart of these. The principal components of sacred are:

The fear of the infinite power, of what nobody can approach without precaution, from where the necessity of a ritual of approach. This fear is at the origin of the religious respect and veneration. The mystery of unknowable, of unexplainable, of transcendental. The power of the religious objects or symbols and the interdicts that are associated to them.

Faith In the faith, we may see the consequence of the feeling of man's finitude and of dependence in relation to a force that is beyond him and to which he is subjected. See the page "Why does man believe so easily?" Faith is in relation to essential and mysterious principles that are inaccessible to reason and asserts to know the Truth about the "Who?" and the "Why?" of the things (nature, life, universe...). It involves the being of believers in its totality toward something that remains a mystery. This is why it is illusory to try to convince an adult believer to atheism or that he has better to change for another religion. Only a process of personal and interior maturation (being able to be fed with knowledge or exchanges with the external world) can lead a believer believing to evolve.

What is religion?
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Beginning of What is religion? Brief historical account of the rational interpretation of religion For Aristotle (384-322 BC), the science of theology has for subject the "separate" beings of matter and the "motionless engines" that make movement possible to any thing. This science of divine or metaphysics searches to know the first principles and causes of the things of this world. The thought of Aristotle will be until the end of Middle Ages the base of the Christian philosophy. The rationalism of the 17th century professed the autonomy of reason, compared with faith, for the search of truth. Descartes (1596-1650) wanted always to reconcile the interests of science with those of religion. By writing "God or nature" Spinoza (1632-1677) identified divinity with the "whole" of the real world, contrary to the traditional religious anthropomorphism that makes with God a creator, distinct from world, acting according to an aim. He defended the independence of the religious powers and the political one and the freedom to philosophize. The philosophical atheism of "The century of Light" (Helvetius, Holbach, Diderot, La Mettrie...) caused a strong hostility towards religions, their dogmas and their revelations. It proposed a materialist explanation of world. Religions were regarded as frauds to the profit of social and political interests. Kant (1724-1804) in "Critique of Pure Reason" made vain the search for ontological proof of God's existence. As for all questions of metaphysics, God is no more a subject of knowledge, but comes under belief. God is a transcendental idea of reason. In the 19th century, Feuerbach (1804-1872), Marx (1818-1883), Nietzsche (1844-1900) saw in religion a manifestation of ignorance and credulity, an illusion. God is only an outward manifestation of the major man's aspirations out human being. For Marx, the social frustration is the cause of religious alienation by projecting the human ideal in the imaginary world. Religion has a soothing and narcotic effect ("opium of the people") compared with the miserable reality. Therefore, religion is an illusory solution and not a real solution to the difficulties and the sufferings of life. Nietzsche imputd the harmful and morbid effects of the religious society to the obsession of sin. At the beginning of the 20th century, Freud (1856-1939) stated that religion is an obsessional neurosis of humanity in which God is the mental picture of the father under the protection of which man places himself. To part from God ("the murder of the father") is one of the inexorable phases of the human development. The sociological approach of religion considers that this one does not solely consist of the irrational expression of conscience or a primitive stage of the human development, but is an essential characteristic of society. For Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), religion is a manifestation of society former to each man and is an expression of its standards and values. For Max Weber (1864-1920), the religious practices are founded on the charisma, quality extraordinary of an important person that says to be send by God or that is become an example for many people. All these analyses are interesting and give different lights from religion. Nevertheless, they are inevitably reducing taking into account the complexity of the religious feeling, as all that concern sociology and psychology. Dangerousness of religions At the individual level, believers cannot perceive the negative aspects of religion. It is the syndrome of the lobster when it is cooked alive. One places it in cold water and raises gradually temperature until boil. The lobster is numb, then dies and is cooked without realizing it. This may be called conditioning. Only those who are "unconverted" are able to feel, a posteriori, the harmful character of religions for individual: stifling, alienation, submissiveness, resignation, intellectual lethargy... At the collective level, there is only to look at around oneself and in books of history: wars of religion, inquisition, fanaticism, intolerance, misogyny, check to progress, confiscation of the political power... Monotheism, by its conception of a single god, carries the germ of intolerance. "The good God (i.e. the true one), it is mine". All is said. As in the market economy, the worst is the monopoly of religion.

With that, may be added other characteristics, specific to each religion, that nothing do but increase its dangerousness: - the chosen race on a reserved country (Judaism); - universality (Christianity) that leads to evangelize those who does not require anything; - religious States (Islam). In France, after two centuries of fight step by step against the "Spirit of Light" and secularity, the catholic religion seems to be settled down. It recognizes its past errors, but grudgingly. Nevertheless, has it for at all lost its venomous character? Under the pretext of overtures, of return to the traditions and to the values that have made our history, the catholic religion tries to find again its lost influence in the society. The free man must remain extremely vigilant in order that "the Infamy", as Voltaire said, does not awake. You may see some aspects of the dangerousness of religions on the pages "In the name of God" et Quotes about religion.

What is religion?
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Beginning of What is religion? Religions without divinities It is not necessary that there is a god so that there is religion or sacred. In that way, even the most secularized societies, reveal residual forms of religious conscience. So, sacred has nothing more to do with divine, but it is the result of an idealization and turning into a fetish of initially profane "things" (ideology, nation, social group, group of individuals, individual, object, sporting aim, moral value...). See the page about False atheism or the new-sacred ideologies. The modern world shows such a variety of these new "religiosity" that the concept of religion tends to be diluted in an approach of sacred that is much more varied. Trends For the modern man, God is no more the single and inevitable explanation of any thing, of reality, of morals, of the human destiny. God has no more his place in the everyday life. He is not more the reference in any field of knowledge. The development of sciences and individualism, the secularization and the rationalization of society, urbanization... leave less place to the traditional religions that are often lived like constraints. However, the need for irrationality, illusion, sacred, "enchantment of world" is always very strong. Like that, for a few decades, have appeared some main tendencies, as regards religiosity, that sometimes go in opposite directions:

A stronger emotional dimension within new religious movements (Evangelist, Church of Pentecost...), Oriental religions or sects, in particular those which have the development of "human potential" for aim. Engagement in faith is deeper, like an avoidance of reality. A true passion for forms of irrationality becoming substitutes for religions: astrology, clairvoyance, parapsychology, esotericism... that makes the happiness of charlatans. An individualization of religion, characterized by a strong syncretism where everybody takes from the traditional religions, from the various spiritual movements, from esotericism or even from forgotten worships, various elements to "arrange" a custom-made religion. Then, a few times after, as in the consumer society, the new beliver will change of his religion when he will get tired of it. "Everywhere, the model of obeying believers becomes weaker with the rising figures of nomad, "handyman", researcher of meaning. Faith becomes more personal and more critical. The individualization of the ways of believing threats all orthodoxies." (Frederic Lenoir, French philosopher / The Metamorphoses of God) In reaction to these tendencies, a return to tradition under the form of fundamentalism allows to the religious community to exert a pressure on its members to reduce their departure. Indeed, these departures, that modernity makes easier and more attractive, are perceived like a true treason of the community, of its traditions, of its values, of its history and like a threat for its survivals. "The fundamentalist violence is, so is it, an attempt to increase the stakes, i.e. to discourage the potential desertions by showing that defection will cost them dear, that those who adopt other values will be

persecuted or even killed." (Pascal Boyer / And Man Created God) Confronted with this strong competition, the traditional Christian religions try, in ecumenism or in overtures, to stop the fall of religious practices, with more or less success. Protestantism, whose organization is less centralized, less formed into a hierarchy, less rigid than the Catholic Church, seems to have more success in this attempt, but gives rise to new currents like evangelical or Pentecost Church. Conclusion God keeps silent, God is absent, God is dead! It remains his testament, i.e. religions. Can man live without religion, i.e. without ritual, without sacred, without union within a religious community? Yes, atheists are convinced of this, but atheism will have reached its adulthood only when it will bring a complete response to the very strong expectations that remain behind this question.

The origin and meaning of the word 'church' Please always get the latest version of this document, from the Bible Pages web site, at this address: www.biblepages.web.surftown.se/eg06c.htm Need larger text? Hold down the CTRL key and press the + key. For advice on text-size in print-out, click here. Bookmark this page hold down CTRL and press D.

What does the word "church" actually mean, and where does it come from? That should be a question of interest, for all true believers. This essay contains a study of the etymology of the word "church", its origin and meaning, and how it came to appear in bible-translations. The first passage where the 1769 edition of king James' bible has the word "church", is verse 18 in chapter 16 of the book of Matthew: Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV-1769) Many connect the word "church" intimately with Matthew 16:18, and think that Jesus spoke about the formation of a religious organization, a "church". But often, things are not what they seem to be, or what they are commonly thought to be. This essay proceeds to explain what the "word" church in actual fact points to. (Matthew 16:18 and the "true church" dogma are discussed later in this essay.) The word "church" comes from an old Greek phrase which meant "the Lord's house", but then, it is important to find out who used that Greek term, and especially, which"lord" it actually pointed to. Below, it will be explained in more detail that the word "church" is not a translation of the NT Greek noun ekklsia, and that it is not connected to the saints or to New Testament times but refers to something altogether different, something that arose later when the saints were no longer on the scene. (A note: This essay contains some translation-related notes. If you have been subjected to the "KJV only" dogma or something similar, make sure to read the essay fs03b.htm.) It is worth noting that a number of bible-translations do not use the word "church". For instance Tyndale in his 1525 translation used it only twice, in both cases as a reference to buildings used for idol worship: Acts 14:13 Then Iupiters Preste which dwelt before their cite brought oxe and garlondes vnto the churche porche and wolde have done sacrifise with the people. (TYN) Acts 19:37 For ye have brought hyther these me[n] whiche are nether robbers of churches nor yet despisers of youre goddes. (TYN) Again, the Tyndale translation (1525) used the word "church" only in these two passages, both of which refer to idol temples. He had good reasons for not using the word "church" in connection with the saints. When it comes to the Greek word ekklsia, Tyndale rendered it as "congregation" (using the spelling congregacion).

In the same way, a number of later translations do not contain the word "church" but render ekklsia as "assembly" or "congregation". That is what this essay is about; it will be explained what the origin of the noun church is and what it really points to and is a name for. In order to better understand this matter, it is good to know that for instance the men who produced king James' new bible-edition were under specific orders that the word "church" was to be used in other words, they were forbidden to translate the old Green noun ekklsia in a proper way. The reasons king James had for demanding the use of certain words in the new bible-edition which he ordered, were of political nature. The essay fs03b.htm has more this. A side-note: Closely related to the concept "church", there are such words and concepts as "doctrine", "dogma", "creed" and "tenet". The essay es08d.htm sorts out the meaning of those words. The etymology of the word 'church' its origin and meaning, and how it came to appear in bible-translations. The English word "church" began to come into use in the Middle Ages, some time before the 12th century. The Wycliffe translation (1395) used the word "church" (chirche), but for instance Tyndale (1525) did not. Tyndale properly translated ekklsia as "congregacion". As was mentioned earlier, Tyndale used the word "church" (churche) only twice, in Acts 14:13 and 19:37 which both refer to buildings connected to idol-worship. The roots of the word "church" are as follows. It comes via the Middle English chirche, from the Old English cirice. And then, it is said that cirice in its turn came from the old Greek phrase kyriake oikia ( , kuriak oikia) which meant "the Lord's house". Thus, again, the etymology and evolution of the word "church" is as follows: Old Greek kuriak oikia ("house of the lord") Old English cirice Middle English chirche "church" That might sound fine at first glance, but let us analyse the phrase kuriak oikia in more depth, in order to see what and whom it in actual fact pointed to. Some writers have said that the phrase kuriak oikia "has been in consistent use since the 300s". That could be, but then one must ask this question: The religious organisation that the Roman emperor Constantine de facto founded in the 300s and of which the phrase kuriak oikia then was used which kurios ("lord") did it really serve? Here, it is important to know that all the way to his death, Constantine remained a servant of the lord Mithras (Mithra) the sungod, and that he forced people to worship Mithras. One of Constantine's last acts was to uphold the rights of the priests of Mithras. (And yes, in those days Mithra-worship was given a new "make-up", so that people were caused to think that it was connected with Jesus and the Bible.) The point here is that the phrase kuriak oikia, "lord's house", which "has been in consistent use since the 300s", simply refers to the house of the lord Mithras Sol Mithras Deus Invictus. In other words: Mithras the sun-god was the lord (kurios, whence the phrase kuriak oikia) whom emperor Constantine and his religious organisation caused people to serve, under the pretence that it all was "Christianity". And then, Mithras was just another name for the "sun-god" who had many other names as well, one of them being Baal. (A note: "Lord's house" even the old Hebrew word baal and its Babylonian form bel meant "lord".) Those who know a bit more about the true meaning of certain religious symbols, would find and recognise many Mithras-related symbols in an average "house of the lord" that has been built during the past few centuries. (There are some notes on the emperor Constantine, under the heading "Constantine" on the index-page kc3.htm.) More on Matthew 16:18. The Catholics have built a dogma around Matthew 16:18, claiming that that verse supposedly refers to the Catholic Church. Later, non-Catholics have copied that "true church" dogma, applying it to their own churches. But, that dogma is not true, neither in its Catholic versions nor in its non-Catholic forms. As was explained above, the word "church" is not a translation of the word ekklsia which we find in the Greek text of the New Testament. The word "church" has a totally different origin. But, let us nevertheless consider the use of the word ekklsia in the New Testament, and in Matthew 16:18 in particular. In the Greek text of the book of Acts, the Epistles and the book of Revelation, the noun ekklsia is often used of the saints' fellowships, but when it comes to Matthew 16:18, it is clear that ekklsia is to be understood in its literal meaning "assembly". It is also clear that the immortal assembly which Jesus said he would form (the one against which the gates of Hads would not prevail), does not consist of mortals, but of Jesus and saints who have been made into immortal beings (and perhaps even other immortals).

The story begins in Matthew 16:13. The subject is neither a "church" nor Peter the apostle but Jesus himself, the question being, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" and also, "But who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 They said, "Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 I also tell you that you are Peter, x and on this rock y I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades z will not prevail against it. x 16:18 Peter's name, y 16:18 Greek, z 16:18 or, Hell (WEB, original footnotes) Jesus himself was the Petra, the Rock the bedrock or foundation of the immortal assembly which he said he would form. The apostle Simon the son of Jona, also calledKphas and Petros (Aramaic and Greek for "stone"), was not the foundation; Jesus the Petra or Rock was. Simon Petros and the other apostles were in that analogy only stones which were then laid on the foundation which consisted of Jesus the Petra, Rock. Here, the point is that the immortal ekklsia or assembly of Matthew 16:18 (quoted above) is an assembly consisting of immortals, and that Matthew 16:18 has nothing to do with "churches". The essay ea01e.htm has more on this and related matters. The essay fb08.htm has more on the "binding and loosing" which is mentioned in Matthew 16:19. And then, the essay fg04.htm shows what really happened to the saints, in the first century, and gives also a short synopsis of what later has come to be called "the Early Church" (the first stages of the Catholic Church, or later written stories of it). Summary. The word "church" which comes via the old forms chirche and cirice from the Greek phrase kuriak oikia, "lord's house", points to the house of the lord Mithras the "sun-god", and the religious organisation which the Roman emperor Constantine de facto founded and which then caused people to bow down to Mithras, masquerading Mithrasworship as "Christianity". In the phrase kuriak oikia, the word oikia meant "house"; the part kuriak meant "of the lord", and then, the lord (kurios) who is connected to the Catholic phrase kuriak oikia which is the origin of the word "church", is not the Lord Jesus but the lord Mithras. Likewise, the house (oikia) connected to that phrase is not a house of the true God but the house of the lord Mithras the sun-god, Sol Mithras Deus Invictus. It should not be hard to comprehend what these facts mean on the practical level. Regarding the concepts "going to church", "attending church", "church services" and "worship", see the essay ea04e.htm. The essay ea02e.htm takes a closer look at the "church mother" dogma and shows that it is not biblical at all. The essay fa03.htm provides facts regarding the "church eras" dogma which some writers and preaches have promulgated. Please send or mention the address to this site to others, and link to these pages. The address to the table of contents page is biblepages.web.surftown.se/flist.htm Petros in petra, Greek, a is the word rock for a specific rock mass or or stone. bedrock.

Table of contents What's new here? Key-word index Search function Goal and purpose Contact, comment, question

Recommended reading at the Bible Pages, on related as well as other issues: A clarifying explanation of the short names for the bible-versions quoted or mentioned at this site, such as that NKJV stands for New King James Version, YLT for Young's Literal Translation, HCSB for Holman Christian Standard Bible, NRSV for the New Revised Standard Version, and so on. es09d.htm

For some more information on emperor Constantine, look under the heading "Constantine" on the indexpage kc3.htm. Check your bible knowledge. A basic self-test with 15 questions (with answers and commentary). fs04.htm Worshipping God. What does the Bible say about worship, in connection with the New Covenant? ea04e.htm How to understand the Bible. Easy keys to deeper understanding of the Scriptures. fg02.htm Matthew 16:18, the translation "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". What was Jesus talking about? What is the immortal ekklsia or assembly which he said he would form? Is it an earthly religious organisation a church or is it an assembly which has as its members the saints who have become immortals? ea01e.htm Jesus warned his disciples about false prophets, teachers of falsehood, deceivers and deception. He said that many would be deceived. eo09e.htm On king James' bible, the "Authorised Version". The story behind the King James translation or KJV, including the men who were involved in producing it. fs03b.htm What does the Bible say about authority? Who has biblical, spiritual or religious authority on the human level? Who can speak for God? es06e.htm "Church eras" do they exist? Are there seven "eras of the Church", as some say "Sardis era", "Philadelphian era", "Laodicean era" and so on? fa03.htm What does the word "saint" mean in the Bible? Do the Scriptures define or clarify who is a saint, and what sainthood consists of? And, are there saints here on Earth, in our day? gg03.htm Matthew 16:19, the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and "bind" and "loose". What did the word "keys" depict or symbolise, and what kind of binding and loosing was Jesus talking about? fb08.htm What happened to the saints, in the first century? Also, some notes on the "early church". fg04.htm The meaning of the words Christ, Christian, Messiah and Messias. Also: Did the saints call themselves "Christians" christianos or christianoi? fg07.htm What does Galatians 4:26 mean? It talks about the heavenly Jerusalem and is a part of an allegory regarding the two covenants, old and new. Why do some preachers then say that it refers to some church? ea02e.htm Bible software, computer bibles facts and recommendations. es02d.htm What does the word "righteous" really mean? What does the Bible say about righteousness? eg08d.htm What does the English language word and concept "doctrine" literally mean? Likewise, the terms "dogma", "creed" and "tenet", what do they signify? es08d.htm "Amateur bible students" versus "professional theologians". The definition and actual meaning of such words as "clergy", "laity" and "scholar". es07d.htm What does the Bible say about the antichrist or antichrists? The meaning of the Greek word antichristos. Also: The apostle John spoke about multiple antichristoi, plural, not a singular one only. eo02e.htm Hebrews 4:9, the Sabbatismos or Rest which the saints were to enter a clarification of its actual nature. fx11.htm Free bible-based word-search puzzles in printable PDF-format. fp01.htm

Info on the goal and purpose of this site, and a contact address. gp03.htm Table of contents for this site, including a synopsis or a short, summary description of each essay or article. flist.htm An alphabetical bible topic keyword index of the essays and articles at this site: Index overview 1-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V

WXYZ Search for specific words, phrases or bible-passages at this site. fp04.htm

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This site is non-denominational and non-sectarian and is not connected to any church, sect or religious organisation or movement. This site looks at things from a biblical perspective, and not from a dogmatic one. It does not claim to have a perfect or complete explanation or interpretation of all things it consists of an ongoing bible study that has been made public, and as the study goes on, the contents of these pages are revised and also expanded, with new topics and themes being addressed. Readers are invited and welcome to write to the author with comments and questions, or to point out mistakes. For more on this, see the page gp03.htm. The address to this page is www.biblepages.web.surftown.se/eg06c.htm Please send or mention the address to this site to others, and link to these pages. This document was created or modified 2012-02-24. Explanation: Allow me to say something about the word religion, Iglesia/Church based on my understanding in biblical view and with the guidance of our Almighty Father and Lord Jesus Christ with regards to this matter. I oftentimes heard people asking regarding my belief to God and even some people used the word religion, Iglesia/Church What is your religion?, What religion do you affiliated?, Do you go to church? If yes, where is your church? Others might say Im Catholic, Im a Born Again Christian, and Im INC and so on and so forth. These people have a little knowledge or even have no knowledge at all about the Holy Scriptures. They forget to ask How can I save my soul from the judgment day?, What does God really wants us to do for him?, Am I worshipping the true God?, How should people worship the true God?, Why it is that other people worship images and pictures of their god?, What do you mean by temple in spiritual?, & Is it biblical? Some people understand the bible verses in the Holy Scriptures literally but Im sure that these scriptures should understand well in a critical thinking & logical not all are literal in meaning. The bible needs higher thinking it does not only end by reading but it needs also reflecting of what you are reading. Ive been searching answer for these questions in the internet & other reference information regarding these queries. Fortunately, I found the etymology of this word religion, Iglesia/Church. Religion comes from the word religare which means to bind again together /(to connect) to refer "the bond of piety that binds to God. According to the Tagalog Bible in 1Tim. 3:16 Napakahiwaga ng mga katotohanan ng ating relihiyon: SIYAY nahayag na maging tao, at pinatotohanan ng Espiritu, Nakita ng mga anghel. Ipinangaral sa sanlibutan. But in the if we are going to translate the verse into English the word RELIHIYON becomes a GODLINESS in the English bible. This particular verse religion is implied in the bible but in tagalong bible it is manifested. If we are going to go back the real meaning of the word religion specifically the etymology of it to connect or the bond of piety that binds to GOD so that is referring to godliness. Now, weve answered this matter let us proceed to the next topic which is the word iglesia/church. There are a lot of translations we know of the word iglesia/church, most of the people will say that this mean to be the place of worship which partially the answer is YES. But let us not only rely to what other people say about what they know. In our part also let us analyze if those information are truly genuine so that we will not be mislead as what others do. In my view as what I learned from different articles, internet, bible and some other reliable information that I got through research. Iglesia/Church means simple as assembly or gathering of people