I’m A Christian, But I Don’t ‘Do’ Religion
How's that?
Come again?
Wha-a-at?
Okay. From the top --
To ME, "religion" is a strict set of rules that one must follow to be a "Christian", things like saying a certain amount of Hail Marys or walking a certain way or dressing a certain way or eating/not eating certain things, and etc. I DO see the need for structure in a church setting, lest there be chaos as there is in ANY setting sans order. But that's as far as it goes.
To ME, my Christianity is strictly about relationship. About MY relationship with MY creator, MY God. Just like I wouldn't want a set of rules defining my relationship with my guy, I will not have a set of rules define my relationship with God... But that doesn't mean to say I don't believe in certain expectations; unless one is polyamorous, I believe one "requires" faithfulness in a romantic partner, so I can totally get down with Him wanting to be the only "God/god", even though I see our relationship as more analogous to parent and child, but whatever (sue me, why don't you?). Aside from that, I think everything else in my relationship with Him is based on what I should want to do, anyhow. Let me go back to my analogy with my guy. We do not have a contract that says I MUST serve him breakfast every morning, have sex with him 3x/week, give him back rubs every so often, watch TV with him nightly, etc. Yet, I do these kinds of things, not because I HAVE to, but because I WANT to. Similarly, since I WANT a relationship with MY God, I read the Bible because I WANT to better know Him. I sing praise songs because I WANT to thank Him for all that He's done for me, including letting me wake up this morning. I talk to Him because I WANT to...Think about it, what kind of relationship would a person have with someone else if one didn't talk to their partner ("partner" being whoever - lover, child, parent, friend, etc.) or care about just who their partner is or say "thank you" when gifted?
So, yeah; I also say "nay" to "religion", but I wholeheartedly embrace - say "aye to" -relationship.