Taking off cultural clothes….a friend’s great question! What’s your naked religion!
“If you take culture off Christianity, what do you have left? I would like to meet Jesus, but can’t get past the cultures (especially American and Western Europe’s versions) which developed in His Name. The culture of christianity is blocking me from meeting Jesus.” a friend asked last night. Wow, ok….
She went on, “What is your naked religion? What is it without all the cultural manipulation of expression, it’s cultural branding and marketing? What’s its essence?” Always a great question! If anyone’s gotten to that point, they actually want to know!
My favorite question anyone has asked me in the past five years. And led to the best depth dialogue, I’ve had in a while! What is the essence of that faith? Was her basic inquiry. What are it’s core symbols and metaphors which would help me live better?
Especially in the post religious (or global supermarket religious) times we live in. What is the essence of your faith, outside of its cultural expression. Good inquiry.
And what a great moment in history for authenticity! A transparent faith is the most useful now. People living out their spirituality out loud. Telling their real stories. I met an angel, i met Jesus, i had my life protected….
We started by separating spirituality from religion. I love starting there. What are you actually guiding your life by? What is your higher or upper story, how to define or value your life? Daily, what keeps you motivated to wake up! We went there, but as with most best conversations, things often start with a good earnest question!
How to encounter the actual essence of a way, still matters. And listening to one another’s deeper stories of life. So thankful there are folks still asking the basics.
What’s your naked religion? If it were just you and God in the entire universe, who would you be. Would you feel loved, seen known valued, purposeful? If you took the cultural clothes off your faith, what would remain?! Great quest-ion from a friend. I love great questions! Keeps us questing forwards in faith!