Step in the Ring

In response to Religion vs. Faith

By Adrienne Amos

I believe in God. I believe in the Holy Trinity of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost). I believe in the rightness of the Bible as the Word of God. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I believe that Satan is a fallen angel who was cast out of heaven for his actions. I also believe in angels and spirits we can’t always see or hear, but are all around us for guidance and protection. I consider myself a Christian, but I profess no religion because I know of no religion that is without man-made restrictions due to human interpretation of God’s word. The same can be said of non-Christian religions such as Islam, Buddhism, and others.

Religion, just like the secular humanists of our time, seeks to impose its guidelines on all and would have us believe it’s the only way to heaven. Yet the Bible says the only way to heaven is through Jesus, so they are already at odds with the very faith they profess.

I’ve known far too many people who are devout members of their chosen religions and are in most instances eager to tell you so. Yet their lifestyles aren’t godly, even by the furthest stretch of the imagination. Too many hold lifelong grudges against others who’ve injured them in some way—big or small. Others profess God with one hand and bow to the gods of mammon with the other—money, power, and worldly goods.

You can definitely have faith without religion. My faith tells me that no matter how dark things seem, there is always a light ahead. Over the years that point has been proven to me many times. A classic example happened some years ago. My late husband and I made a promise to install a drop ceiling in the small Houston area church we were attending at the time. No sooner had the promise been made than my husband was laid off from his job (I had been laid off a few months before that), we discovered the home we were buying was not legally the seller’s to sell, and other work in the area completely dried up. Not wanting to go back on our promise, we appraised the situation and discovered we had enough funds left to purchase the ceiling materials at the discounted rate the supplier gave us when they found out it was for a church. Trusting God, we made the purchase. Within one week sufficient funds to cover our own needs came to us from unexpected sources, including the funds to move our small family back to Oregon where housing and jobs awaited us. It was not the first nor the last time faith in God’s promises has sustained me.

Photograph by Lili Vieira de Carvalho. Some rights reserved.

At this special time of year every Christmas movie tells us the same thing: Religion is not necessary to believe in the spirit of the season, only faith. Faith believes without seeing. Little children have the purest faith because they have not yet been corrupted by a society that insists on proof (seeing) before they can believe. Some call it magic, others call it miracles—it really doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you believe. If you believe, then regardless of what religion you profess or don’t profess, you will be the person God intended you to be.

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