"Where's the Beef?": Looking Between the Buns of the Religious System

By David Ryser

The Church is buried under 1700 years of institutional sediment. (Owen Allen)

It’s the tag line from one of my all-time favorite TV commercials.  A woman is standing in line at an unnamed mega-burger joint.  When she receives her burger, she discovers that nestled between the buns is a dinky little meat patty.  She looks up at the server and asks a simple, but profound, question.

“Where’s the beef?”

That’s a good question.  As I look between the buns of the American religious system, I often ask the same thing.  Only it sounds more like, “Where’s Jesus?”

Someone recently suggested that my criticisms of the religious system tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  I’m open to constructive input, and I just adore babies (People are so cute when they’re little.), so I decided to examine the religious “bathwater” to see if I could find a “baby” inside.

It’s a dirty job.

Mucking through the brackish, toxic waters of the spiritual cesspool of man-made religion is disgusting work.  It is not a task for someone with a sensitive gag-reflex.  Fortunately, I did not find a baby in the bathwater (though I did discover enough spiritual poison to kill every infant on the planet).

What I found in the bathwater was three kinds of spiritual sludge that are worth remarking upon.

The first is the dead traditional church.  This is the church that proclaims and practices a form of godliness, but denies the power (and by extension, the practical existence) of God.  God’s presence and power are experienced neither in the church services, nor in the daily lives of the church members.

You might get a little salvation message once in awhile.  Usually you are offered a very expensive self-improvement pep talk.  I say expensive because they do preach tithing.

I think that 10% of your income is a steep price to pay for the drivel you are subjected to on a weekly basis.  Don’t you?

The second form of religious slime I discovered is the typical “Spirit-filled” church (also known as the “all blow and no go” church).  This church believes it is superior to the traditional church because it preaches about the presence, power, and blessings of God (although it experiences none of these).  In some places there is a heavy emphasis on God’s blessings.

As it turns out, the favor of God can be bought.  God’s blessings are purchased by offerings (in addition to your tithe) that you pour down the black hole of the religious machine.  You pay.  God blesses.

It’s a tidy business arrangement.  It’s not much of a relationship.

Now, I’m all in favor of proclaiming the presence, power, and blessings of God.  But proclamation without demonstration is worthless.  Simply believing in God’s presence and power is not enough.  We must experience them.

The one who believes in the presence and power of God, but does not experience Him…or operate in it…is no better off than someone who does not believe in either.

The third kind of glop I found floating in the religious bathwater might be the most insidious of all.  For lack of a better term, I call it the “revival” church.  The toxins in this church can be hard to detect because the church seems so alive.  The “worship service” is animated and exuberant.  The preaching is passionate.  In many cases, the after-service ministry is powerful.

And, typically, God did actually show up…at least in the beginning of the revival.

The problem is that the wrong thing usually gets revived in the end.  In a genuine move of God, the people of God are revived.  They come back to fullness of life and are transformed into the image of Jesus.  They are equipped to pour out the life of Christ that is within them onto a world full of people who desperately need Him.

And they meet God…really meet Him.  And fall in love with Him.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t often turn out that way.  In the end, it is usually the poisonous religious system that is revived.  The people of God are not transformed.  Excited, yes; transformed, not so much.  And the leaders of the “revival” remain motivated by what the Bible calls selfish ambition, pursuing the fame and fortune of success in the religion business.  (More “floaters” in the religious bathwater.)

By the way, you can usually spot these religious hucksters because they will promote the “revival” and what it will do for you.  It’s not about Jesus. It’s not about a transformed life.  It is not about the death of self leading to a resurrected life.  It’s about you!  Or, more often, it’s about them.   (The whole thing makes me want to gag.)  There’s just too much leaven in this “loaf” to be palatable to lovers of Jesus.

And especially beware of so-called “moves of God” that take Visa and MasterCard!  (Don’t laugh.  I’ve seen it more than once.)

Let’s have the courage to face the truth.  All we’ve done is found a new way to do an old thing.  If God is in this stupidity, then I’m the reigning monarch of England.

To add insult to injury, the average non-Christian won’t go anywhere near the religious bathwater…no matter which flavor it is.  They see the death-producing religious system for what it is.  And they won’t have anything to do with it.  While we believers splash happily in the toxic ooze of the bathwater, the unbelievers display a remarkable level of spiritual discernment and run as fast as they can in the other direction.

They don’t even get into, much less drink, the putrid bathwater of religion.

I have had the privilege of talking about the things of God with unbelieving friends and acquaintances.  (It’s easy to do if you’re not a sanctimonious jerk.)  I find that they usually do not hate God…or even dislike Him.  They do, however, have a visceral disdain for religion.

So do I.

They abhor sanctimony.  They detest hypocrisy.  And they can spot a phony a mile away.  They know filthy bathwater when they see it…and they don’t want any part of it.  Don’t even try to introduce your non-Christian friend to religion.  They're too smart for that.

Instead, try introducing them to Jesus.  (This assumes, of course that you know both parties.)

As for the religious bathwater, go ahead and throw it out.  Without fear.  There’s nothing alive in that goo.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com