Catechism (1)
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27 NASB
Religion – thrēskeía is the Greek term James uses in this verse. But our translation obscures some of the odd history of this word. First, it’s not common in the LXX or in the New Testament. That means it doesn’t have an obvious Hebrew connection. Secondly, in the ancient Greek world, it’s principally about rituals and the externals of worship. TDNT notes: “This indicates that expressions denoting a religious attitude to God find little place in NT Christianity, for here one’s attitude to God is the response to God’s claim, and in distinction from cultus the Bible speaks of faith as the obedience of the whole person to God (cf. the phrase leitourgía tḗs písteōs in Phil. 2:17).”[1] Did that register? The apostolic writings consider obedience as the mark of faith, not rituals of worship. This explains why James says that religion which is katharos (pure) and amiantos (undefiled) is defined by the task of taking care of those in need. Not by the worship band, the sermon, the anthem, the bulletin, the programs or the building. If you’re not involved in “visiting” and “keeping,” then you aren’t religious.
Well, just a minute. Maybe you are religious, but you’re just not thrēskeía. There’s a difference. You see, the word “religion” actually didn’t exist when James wrote his letter. Thrēskeía existed (obviously), but it didn’t mean what we mean by “religion.” The word “religion” actually didn’t appear until Latin entered the scene. “Religion” comes “directly from Latin religionem (nominative religio) ‘respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods; conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation; fear of the gods; divine service, religious observance; a religion, a faith, a mode of worship, cult; sanctity, holiness,’ in Late Latin ‘monastic life’ (5c.). According to Cicero [religion is] derived from relegere ‘go through again’ (in reading or in thought), from re- ‘again’ + legere ‘read’. However, popular etymology among the later ancients (Servius, Lactantius, Augustine) and the interpretation of many modern writers connects it with religare ‘to bind fast’, via notion of ‘place an obligation on,’ or ‘bond between humans and gods.’”[2] In other words, our term “religion” arises from a pagan notion of obligation to the gods. That might be why early Christianity was creedal. It was based on confession rituals that obligated the person to a certain set of beliefs. You will notice, however, that James asks nothing like this. James is interested in how a person behaves toward others. In the West, it’s entirely possible to be religious without being thrēskeía, that is, without fulfilling the requirements of the second great commandment. The translation of thrēskeía as religion might just be an inappropriate anachronism. So let me ask: “Are you a follower of religion or of thrēskeía?”
Topical Index: thrēskeía, religion, James 1:27
[1] K. L. Schmidt, thrēskeía in Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (337). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. Vol. III, pp. 155-159.
The truth sets us free from bondage to men’s religion methinks…The freedom to do His righteousness; is freedom in – deed .
So many of us were taught to wait respectfully, to be called before we were allowed to get up and dance their dance, according to their tune. Submitting the little bits of honesty in us as offerings for acceptance. Forgetting God deliberately because we were told we didn’t know Him… right….
We allowed the truth in us to be sucked out by the those who needed to steal it. We become hollowed out and ineffectual. Ghostlike & unreal in our effect & efforts for Kingdom building. No foundation and no flow. We chose to be them..
The exchange is warped and grotesque as we grasp hold of that stick to hit a pinata for rewards. Pointless escapism without purpose nor home to go to. Have your heard ‘hit with the ugly stick’ for someone who is visually difficult to look at, with no external beauty? Everyone of us that grasps hold of that stick becomes ugly by our own hand.
The dance of life has a much greater tune ….all are invited & integrity makes for pleasure amongst many. Not many takers though. Seems most certainly Threskia is a change back to reality & ‘religion’ as you define its meaning, must be a most inappropriate anachronism but hey haven’t a few bombs been hidden in the translation as smoke and mirrors to keep us from seeing what was there to aid us growing in to the fullness of truth.
Your revealings of meanings of words have ways of circumnavigating the strange lands of belief systems to hopefully find a place to land. When they come ashore they change many things in our lives. Great stuff. I keep coming across countries (people) that have been touched and transformed by your travels in words landing on their shores.
Also it hits home that I am so capable of religion………..it is pavlov’s dog, less confronting and easier short term. IT fits all my waste places well.
Praise God He put us in a corner, however He does that. Our intellect without submission to Him is such a waste & we all have lived and live like that at times, forgetting the capabilities we have been given to LIVE.
Shalom FJ
“We allowed the truth in us to be sucked out by the those who needed to steal it. We become hollowed out and ineffectual. Ghostlike & unreal in our effect & efforts for Kingdom building. No foundation and no flow. We chose to be them..”
F J I really appreciated what you said today. “Religion” (Latin definition) almost sucked me dry. I was that orphan and that widow, too. Religious spirits in ourselves and others can be the most peculiarly cruel weapons ever devised on the planet. Who has not suffered at the hands of (false) religion? There certainly is not a whole lot of real nurturing there!
I was meditating this morning about the Greek insistence that knowledge must be the basis for faith. The two are mutually exclusive! To wait until we know for certainty, or to insist on creedal certainty, too, is anathema to true faith. Knowledge, as the world understands it, anyway, leaves no basis for the free choice love insists upon.
I read Gone With The Wind again, and was struck (again!) by the realization that we all know what love is (and isn’t). Rhett loved Scarlett because he understood her, and she him, too, but because she was so dense and desperate and knew her own heart so poorly (when it comes to love, we are all Scarlett!) she needed it spelled out to her. Unfortunately, Rhett realized that love that needed to be spelled out left no room for the faith love needed to be based on. The day Scarlett saw Rhett “face to face” – the day the truth left her nowhere else to hide – was also the day that her love for him, as well as his for her, became valueless.
For love to be free to choose, the substrate of faith must remain. Creedal certainty is a faith killer – not a faith establisher. Every act of love is an act of self denial, which to us self-centered beings SEEMS like stepping – carrying the precious Ark – into the raging Jordan, for in every situation in which love is called for, there will always be some aspect that challenges what we thought we ‘knew’ ( with creedal certainty, no less!) about love, for every person needs to love and be loved in a unique way that no creed can anticipate. Our very lives, lived in obedience to the great Law of love, are living definitions of what faith is, for only the practice of faith can ever reveal the heart of love. Knowledge of love will ever and always be found only AFTER the actions of love, for only action, taken on faith, can write it on our hearts. Religion (based on creedal certainty, of course): eat your heart(lessness) out.
Dang FJ….. #nailedit. Thanks for this addition!!! XOXO
“in their distress”
Not sure I have ever recognized the potential in this strategically positioned phrase. My husband and his three siblings are now orphans, since his mother passed two days ago. His father passed three months ago, and there is more “distress” to be dealt with than we had expected.
FJ and Laurita, your words are also helpful to me today. Thank you.