What is the right religion may be asked for two reasons, the first is in doing research for theological correctness, the second is in possibly looking for a suitable religious home for you or your family. For this second reason of searching for a home for ourselves, we will discuss some of the things we have found. This will enlighten you as to what you may find as you enter the social world of the religious crowd. Asking what is the right religion is one thing, asking what is the right religion for me and my family is entirely another. On the first issue of what religion is true and what is the right religion, that assumes that only one religion is correct, and all other religions are wrong. Moreover, we must find and believe the right religion and follow it because if we do not, we will fail and be wrong. All religions and denominations want you to think like that.
Our New Age Christian view is that your path to your spirituality does not have to be through any religion as the religions each claim it must be. Your path to spirituality is the path that brings character and virtue of personhood into your life. And that is done through other persons of high character, mainly the common man and motherhood, and always has. Religion is only any society’s version of spirituality. That is why there are so many religions because there are many varied cultures and societies. As societies and cultures change, so do religions as they mirror their societies. We feel the right religion is much like the right size of shoe to wear, which is the size that fits you. Religiously there is not only one size that is right, and all other sizes are wrong. That assumption benefits religions to have you think that way. That assumption is very poisoning because it robs you of the first of your seven spiritual birthrights, which is to ‘see things through your own eyes.’ All religions want you to surrender your ‘see things through your own eyes’ birthright so they can tell you how to see things.
Now we are aware of our first spiritual birthright to ‘see things through our own eyes’ and not someone else’s or religions’ eyes, let us look further for our answers. The social landscape of church congregations is varied. The view of those in all congregations is they are the only ones saved and called by God, and all others outside of their congregation are lost and not called of God. Outsiders are lost and sinners, who are blind and have no virtue or good within to share with anyone. They see themselves as God’s elect and called and their duty is to make others who venture into their church to be and think like them. To them, outsiders have no good to contribute, they are only to be an audience of the church managements’ dismal and demeaning view of them, usually as vomitous sin.
All religions operate on the assumption that church worship centers on God and His preeminence, and the individual is to be ignored except as sinful, nothing good is within the individual, only sin and weakness. This is contrary to New Age Christianity which holds that God made us as gifted individuals, each of us is unique and His love for us is within us as unique individuals to love and nurture each other. Studying the Bible is not the objective, character and growth in virtue is the objective, and no religious organization is needed for individual spiritual growth to happen. Spiritual growth happens in nurturing relationships in all societies everywhere, no religion needed. It is because of spirituality in individuals already there that cause religious organizations to form to express that. Churches do not create it as they so exclusively claim, they are a result of it already being there in local culture in the first place.
What kind of personalities will you meet as you enter the religious community? Participants in any religious setting are varied; there are bad people in any religion for bad reasons to promote their own agendas and there are good people in any religion genuinely seeking truth. The natural assumption is that in religion, bad people would shy away from it and good people would be more numerous. Just the opposite is true, religion attracts wasp people strongly. Any religious setting is an open marketplace and deception is everywhere. There are some general stereotypes which you will recognize immediately we will describe here. They are:
The power trip pastor is recognized by an immediate feeling you get from him that he knows everything and nothing you say or feel really matters. He will be dismissive of everything you see, feel, think or choose unless it aligns with his agenda. He will have all the answers, and your questions must fit his answers or otherwise you are the one in the wrong. In a very short time, you will feel his power and control posture in everything he sees and speaks. There will be an unspoken strongly implied rule that everyone must see as he sees, feel about everything as he feels and use the same terms, views and attitudes as he uses. The last outstanding characteristic is that all life’s values must come out of the Bible and his interpretation of it. No good experience or wisdom can originate from the outside world in any way, only from what he specifically teaches read from the Bible.
These wasps can come as fellow attenders and as assistants to church management such as elders, deacons and other officers in the organization. Even the smallest congregations of less than thirty people can manifest this large corporation characteristic. Their main purpose is to support and strengthen the church organization by searching for sources of individuality, and those seeking it, and destroy their presence by banishment. They are exact copies of the power trip pastor, and their purpose is to grow the church organization in power and status by creating exact copies of themselves in every way. Nurturing new comers and regular attenders is of no concern to them, only brainwashing and teaching religious ideology that glorifies the church and demeans the individual in it. Most church organizations are of the power trip pastor and the wasp fellow attender variety. But there are a few good exceptions that will benefit you or your family worth finding.
Rare but are out there, exist church settings where character is the value taught and lived, not just biblical brainwashing. These pastors genuinely care about the individual and their biblical teachings reflect that clearly. Conformity is not as important, and self-expression and recognition of individuality is openly allowed. New attenders feel welcome and there is no sense of barriers or structure that must be followed to fit in. Paul, Lori’s father ran his church that way and was never too tired to go and visit those in need or in hospitals when he himself may have been weak or exhausted. The overall feeling in a good nurturing pastor church is that everyone matters, and everyone cares.
This is opposite of the wasp fellow attender. These usually are the first people you will meet in an initial visit to any good church. They may be a greeter or someone who comes up to you, recognizing you are new and will make you feel comfortable. Unlike the wasp fellow attender who will begin telling you about how great their theology and their church are, the innocent hearted follower will be more concerned about you and your world, which is as it should be.
The matter of what is the right religion could be better asked as what is the right church for me and my family. Church is better seen as a correct shoe size that fits your family. The theology largely does not matter, in my opinion. If character and virtue of personhood are the values recognized and taught, then that is the right church setting for you and your family. You and yours will grow and blossom in that kind of fertile spiritual soil.
Just for the record, this is an emotional and spiritual encouragement ministry. We are selling nothing here and are not at the present time even set up to take donations, and probably never will. Your healed life is our reward enough, and we are very pleased with that. If you want to, please share your strength with others in your future so our nurturing can live on.