God wants us to avoid religion? Then why would St. James exhort us to avoid self-deception and practice a "religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father" (i.27)?
Is Jame's 'religion'
REALLY
the kind of religion you see so spread abroad so widely, entrenched-ly, oppressively, rigidly, fossilized-ly
in the Roman AND protestant congregations????
What planet are you on?
I've found that kind of earnest, authentic, straightforward, simple, Biblical 'religion'
rather hard to find in any congregation--a bit like finding the one honest man.
RELATIONSHIP is
GOD'S FOCUS
NOT religion.
I think even The Scriptures are rather clear about that. Certainly many choose to ignore such verses in Scripture that make my point rather clearly. But they are there. Wise people heed them.