Lets talk a bit about religion...eventually:).

Religion is not merely a system of thought or worship. Religion is a spirit.


A "spirit" in this case is a demonic entity. Closer, perhaps, to what you may find on Hollywood's silver screens then what might be found in the understanding of much of the church.


Of course, Hollywood is full of... well... Hollywood. Having said that, a silver screen "demon" is an individual entity totally bent on evil. A person of sorts, though not human. It is self conscious. Fully equipped with mind, will and emotions. Able to grow jealous or take revenge. 


On the other hand religious church deals with the demonic in a number of ways. 


One way is flat out denial. Which is very secular and not at all what you would expect from an institution that fancies itself an expert on all things spiritual. 


Another way is to water down the demonic until it isn't much more than an attitude or atmosphere. So and so has a rebellious spirit... no... so and so has a rebellious attitude. Or like an amusement park might have a spirit of fun... wrong... it has an atmosphere of fun. Granted, the presence of a spirit can often create an atmosphere or provoke the development of an attitude. These things are, never the less, symptoms and not the cause in and of themselves. 


Yet another way the religious church deals with the demonic is to become so flakey and goofy that it borders on insanity. For example, say word gets out that there's a demon on the loose. One might grab a shofar ( a Jewish horn made from a ram's horn ) and blow a toot. The "science" ( and I use the term very loosely ) behind this that a shofar can produce a note with just the right frequency, or sound waves to drive a demon away........ whatever.


Of course this list isn't by any means complete but you can get an idea. 


You don`t need to read much of the Bible to begin to realize that none of these ways of defining the demonic or how they are dealt with is rooted in Scripture. What this creates is an atmosphere where demonic spirits can roam freely, causing havoc.  This is allowed to happen because of the "carnal" state of the church. The root of the word "carnal" is latin and it means "flesh". In other words, it is because of the "fleshly" or non-spiritual state of the church.


People interact with things with their natural senses. Concerning natural things this is completely normal. However, problems quickly arise when we approach spiritual things in this same way. When we try to use natural means to determine our spiritual surroundings. For example, a carnal ( fleshly or non-spiritual ) Christian may look with their natural sense of sight at how someone is dressed to determine whether that person is possessed by a demon ( for the sake of discussion ). What they have done is look for a sign in the natural with their natural sense of sight for something that they can place a spiritual value on.


A Biblical example of this can be found in the book of Matthew 16:1-4. In this account the Pharisees and Sadducees ( the religious leaders of the day ) approach Jesus and ask Him to produce a sign so that they could determine whether He was from God or not. Jesus gives them a strong rebuke saying that it is a wicked and adulterous generation that seeks a sign....


What Jesus is saying is this... You as spiritual leaders aught to know God. If you knew God you would recognize Me. I came from Him. Because you are asking Me to show you a sign in the natural realm that you can see with your natural eyes you are putting on display your carnality, your immaturity and the fact that, though you claim to be spiritual leaders, you aren't spiritual at all. 


What hope was there for all the people who were looking up to these "leaders" to show them the way to God?...... Sadly, the same question can be asked today. 


This is what religion is. Religion is a spiritual entity that is given the freedom to roam about because of the carnal, non-spiritual state of the church.


This is what the spirit of religion does. Its ultimate purpose is to distract people from finding God.  To get people tangled up in performance and all types of non-sense that give them a SENSE of spirituality without sacrificing to actually BECOME spiritual. 


There really is no difference whether people get so bound up in trying to appear spiritual that they lose sight of the point... having an intimate relationship with God. Or that through those who are bound by religion so much offense is caused that others refuse to try. Either way the purpose of the spirit of religion is fulfilled. 


Jesus was not religious! It was men bound by a spirit of religion that arrested Him in the garden. It was religion that accused Him of crimes they felt were deserving of death, though He was innocent. It was by the spirit of religion that He was sentenced to death by crusifixion. It was human beings puffed up with religious pride and bound by a religious spirit that paraded Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to a hill outside the city and it was there, by the spirit of religion, He was murdered.


BUT.... God's plan used this to rescue you and me... and redeem us!