Can you “have too much religion”? Depends on what you mean by religion, of course, but from one perspective, the answer is surely, “Yes!”
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines addiction as “a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects.” Could this apply to the way we approach religion too?
Say what you like about the Pharisees, but at least they were totally committed to their religion. All too often we paint a caricature of these God-fearing believers, labeling them as just bunch of legalists, hypocritical, and self-righteous.
But let’s look a little deeper. Their name comes from the Aramaic word for “separated,” since they wanted to live different lives from others, more committed to the truths of Scripture. They were a lay-led movement who wanted to help others take their faith more seriously. This led them into the role as the main religious teachers in the country.
After the disaster of the Exile to Babylon, those who returned to Judea determined to follow God better, and not to make the same mistakes that had led them into captivity in the first place. The Pharisees were an extension of this perspective, wanting to do all that God had said in the most detailed manners.
In many ways then we can identify with the Pharisees. They were doing what they thought was right. And there’s the problem, right there. The concentrating on doing. Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees was that they only did what they understood God wanted and thought that it didn’t matter who they were. In the words of Francis Chan, “If God cared only about religious activities, then the Pharisees would have been heroes of the faith.” They concentrated so much on religious actions that they didn’t even consider inner principles and motivations.
They took this to such extremes that they could readily be classified as being addicted to religion. What they thought they needed to do for their faith influenced every aspect of their lives. From the moment they woke up to the time they fell asleep, their primary concern was making sure they kept all the religious rules. Their self-worth depended on such religious affirmation just as much as a drug addict depends on their latest “fix.” To help with this, they looked for the approval of others by being called “Rabbi” in the marketplace, praying on street corners, or looking miserable when they were fasting.
Let’s ask a few questions. Was it compulsive? Yes. Was it chronic behavior? Yes. Was it habit-forming? Yes. Did it have “harmful physical, psychological, or social effects”? Yes. So, by definition they were addicts, addicted to religion.
Now comes some questions: How do you deal with such people and such behavior? What do we learn from the way that Jesus treated them, remembering that “sometimes we emulate the Pharisees more than we imitate Christ.” (R. C. Sproul). How does Jesus speak to us if we exhibit such thinking?
Interestingly, he identifies with them, at least in their role of teaching God’s truth! He tells both the crowds and his disciples, “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses’ Law. So, you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do …” (Matthew 23:2, 3 GNT).
But then he gets to the heart of the matter when he continues, “Do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don’t practice what they preach.” (Matthew 23:3 GNT). Here’s the problem with such a religious addiction. You are so caught up with all the doing that you don’t really do things with meaning and proper perspective. You just go through the motions. Nor do you stop to consider the fundamental question of why you’re doing what you do. You have the requirements, so you just follow them. In this, they were just like the people God addressed through Isaiah (1:11, 13 NLT): “‘What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?’ says the LORD. ‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats … . Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.’”
This from the God who spent so much time describing in detail the sacrificial system! Yet if you’re a religious addict, you think that’s what is required so you concentrate on just doing that. So how did Jesus deal with these people who are too often so much like you and me?
The first point to make surely is that even though he had some tough words for them at times, Jesus wanted them to respond to his offer of love and salvation. He told them “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Of course, the Pharisees saw themselves as righteous and healthy when they were not. His call, repeating Hosea 6:6, was a reminder that God wanted care for others, justice for the marginalized, and heartfelt love for those in need so much more than he wanted religious observance in the form of sacrifices. But if you are sure that you are on God’s side doing what he wants, why do you need to worry about that?
So that’s one example. Jesus is trying to get them to think. In the over eighty instances in the gospels of Jesus’ interacting with the Pharisees, that is primarily what he is attempting—to break through the outward shell of religious duty to get to the inner person and develop a relationship with them. Generally, he failed because they were so sure they were right. They were so addicted and had invested so much in their “system” that to admit they were wrong was to them an impossibility. Yet there were a few who responded, such as Nicodemus, who is identified as a Pharisee.
In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounced seven woes on the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, and even snakes! He catalogues their errors and speaks truth to power. This shows that, at times, direct interventions are necessary in dealing with addicts, especially religious addicts. But even here it is done in love, for Jesus weeps over them and all the people of Jerusalem who would not come to him (Matthew 23:37, 38).
These hyper-religious people cannot even see anything wrong in plotting murder after Jesus heals a man with crippled hand in synagogue on Sabbath (see Matthew 12:14). They are so furious about him “breaking” the Sabbath by healing, they don’t see that they are breaking the commandment by trying to kill him.
So, let’s bring it home and ask ourselves some pointed questions. In what ways may we Adventists be guilty of believing some alternative to the true good news of God? Getting obsessed over the furniture in the Sanctuary? Identifying the toes in the image of Daniel 2? Preaching salvation through vegetarianism? Being preoccupied with the King of the North? Being addicted to apocalypticism? Arguing over the 28 Fundamentals? Taking up the cudgels to beat one another over the role of women? Making tithe-paying the passport to the kingdom?
We all have our hobby-horses when it comes to the kind of Adventists we are. The problem for the Pharisees was not just their rule-keeping but they were so totally confident in their system. In the end they crucified the Lord of the Sabbath and then went home to keep the Sabbath. Jesus says to all of us, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20 NIV).
It’s a whole different kind of righteousness Jesus is talking about—it’s not about being so sure you’re right. It is righteousness that breaks the chains of pharisaical addiction to religion as a system and legalistic obedience to become more of a loving person who is focused on others more than focused on self and the rules that could easily cause the death of a Savior on Friday so that they could observe the celebration of Sabbath.
The questions remain: how can the pharisaical addiction to religion blind us to pursue God’s desire for us to be God’s hands and feet and heart in the broken world today? Do we contribute to brokenness by being stiff religious addicts or do we work on healing the world in the spiritual and physical realm by loving our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39)?
Zdravko (Zack) Plantak, PhD, is a professor of religion and ethics at the School of Religion at Loma Linda University. Email him at: [email protected]