Religion, Culture, & The One True Christian Faith

If one looks into the etymological origin of the word “religion” one finds great disputation, which is kind of odd given all the heat that the word creates today.

Some will insist that the etymological origins of the word “religion” comes from the noun “religio.” The ancient philosopher Cicero linked religio to the Latin verb “relegere” which means “to go through or over again in reading, speech, or thought.” This introduces the idea of repetition into religion which, for those from Liturgical Churches, makes a certain sense since Liturgical Churches do demonstrate in their worship going through or over again in reading, speech, or thought. Consider the Book of Common Prayer.

Others, following later ancients such as Servius, Lactantius, Augustine will insist that the word “religion” comes from the Latin word, “religare”  which means, “to bind fast.” This would find the purpose of religion being one of societal epoxy – the means by which people are bound together. If this is an accurate etymology then it becomes clear that religion is an inescapable concept since a culture comprised, as it is, of institutional infrastructure can’t exist without the societal epoxy that is religion. If this is accurate then there is the closest possible relationship between religion and culture. If culture is defined as the outward expression of a particular people groups religious/theological beliefs then culture and religion, by necessity imply one another. Where you see culture, there you see religion and when you see religion you see the manifestation of that religion in the culture.

If we go back to religion being defined from the Latin verb “relegere” which means “to go through or over again in reading, speech, or thought,” we may not be that far away from religion defined as “religare,” (to bind), due to the fact that “to go through or over again in reading, speech, or thought,” results in whatever is being gone over again being bound upon the person who is repeating the reading, speech, or thought.

If religion is indeed defined as “to bind,” and if it is proper to see religion as being the societal glue that binds a culture together then what must be observed next is the question of the legitimacy of non-Christian religions. Certainly, we would agree that the religions of different infidel peoples would serve to bind their infidel cultures. However, the binding that false religion brings to pagan cultures, will always be a religion that is to that society what foot-binding was to Oriental women.  As the footbinding of Oriental women indeed worked but at the cost of the health of the women, so false religions work to bind cultures together but at the cost of the flourishing of the  peoples where they obtain.

Scripture refers to these infidel cultures bound together by pagan religions;

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers… (I Peter 1:18)

The “empty way of life” is easily enough understood as the pagan culture created by infidel religion and participated in by individuals. All infidel religions create pagan cultures but those pagan cultures are characterized as a “empty way of life.” When the power of the one true religion brought by Christ envelopes a people group the result is the culture changes because that which binds the culture (religion) has changed.

One consequence of the changing out of false religion for the one true religion is that the binding is no longer coercive. False religions, being false, can only bind by way of coercion. Individuals are forced, by the binding power of false religion, to move in terms of the false religion. Women are forced to wear the Hijab. Westerners are forced to use insane pretend pronouns. Oriental women were forced to have their feet bound. NWO types are forced to embrace pedophilia, etc. etc. etc.

Christianity sets individuals free to gladly and willingly obey. The power of the Gospel is the power to set us free from slavery to sin to be slaves of Christ. When Christianity sweeps through a people group coercion is only visited upon those who would throw off the Christian religion in favor of some other previous empty way of life. Biblical Christianity though, has historically always brought greater liberty for individuals since Christianity as a religion alone introduces “self-control” as the primary control mechanism in a Christian culture. Other cultures driven by infidel religions must find controls in a more top down fashion since false religions are never characterized by “self-control.” False religions always leave the problem of the self in place and so must implement top town control mechanisms to reinforce their religion.

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him. View all posts by jetbrane