RELIGION, LIKE POLITICS, IS A CAGE

 by Adam Harbinson

Probably one of the things we all seek in life is freedom. For those of us in the so-called Free World it might be freedom from debt, or from ill-health, or freedom from an unhappy relationship at work or at home. But are any of us completely free? Here’s a definition of freedom I read a while ago; if you can leave your home to go for a walk and you don’t feel you have to return, then you are totally free.

Now, the distinction between freedom and irresponsibility was the focus of a documentary on TV last week about the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in a Danish newspaper a couple of years ago. A Muslim leader who was offended by the cartoons argued that none of us are free to behave as we like. He drew parallels with driving a car or flying a plane to make his point that there are certain rules society must observe. And to a point he was right for it would be madness to demand the freedom to drive on whichever side of the road or at whatever speed we want.

That said, most of us prefer chains to liberty in some areas of our lives. We fear truth because it might call us to question our convictions, so we lock ourselves into our inherited beliefs, but which deep down we suspect may not be true.

I’ve always had an interest in politics. Thirty years ago I was an officer in the Unionist Association in West Belfast, but I disagreed publicly with gerrymandering and the popular obsession at that time; ‘A Protestant State for a Protestant People’, so I didn’t hang around for too long. Later in life my interest in politics was rekindled when I met and became friends with David Ervine, a man whom I grew to love – didn’t we all. But he died and that put paid to that, for he was one of the very few politicians I have met who spoke truthfully about his past and his hopes for the future.

I think I was right not to get involved, for with the possible exception of David, to join a political party is to enter a cage; the straight-jacket of collectivity dictates; you can’t say what you really think, and you must tow the party line. It’s the same with religion, and that’s what I dislike most about it. Maybe it’s just me and my unhappy experiences with a number of churches over the years, but I always felt that to ‘join’ required me to leave my brain at the door; no awkward questions, no holding ‘God’s anointed’ to account, and no deviation from the approved interpretation of scripture.

These days I attend the BWCC, the Big Wide Canopy Church. We’re free to form our beliefs based on the teachings of Jesus without slavishly following the analyses of Calvin, Wesley, Spurgeon, the Pope or anyone else. In the BWCC we rely on the promise of Jesus that the Spirit of Truth will guide us, and our denominational stance will never conflict with his leading – because we don’t have a denominational stance.

Now, many people are content in their denominations, and for them that’s fine. It’s just not for me. But if you’re not content, and if you think you’d like to join us instead, you’ve missed the point. The Christian life doesn’t require us to join anything; it can be reduced to one thing; you and Jesus. Dead simple, and it’s great.

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