Are you Religious OR Spiritual?
By Rick Kiesz
Last month, I described myself socially, politically, and concerning religion. My spirituality, or religious experience isn’t something I wear on my sleeve, which creates speculation. For that reason, I’ll elaborate. I imagine there are many others who will identify with various aspects of my experience. We’ve found that many who read our views-letter live on the periphery, outside the mainstream, like me. It can be a lonely place, so we want those readers to know they’re not alone outside “the box.”
I was raised a Seventh-Day Adventist, with 14 years of education, every day in a SDA church school. My parents provided a wonderful childhood, and my teachers were good, with few exceptions. That said, I never embraced the SDA religious denomination. And now, I find the SDA “national” leadership has done a 180-degree turn away from what I was taught. If my parents were alive today they would be appalled.
My dad’s side of the family was originally Church of God (Seventh Day). Then, in the 1920s, my grandmother was persuaded to accept Ellen G. White as a prophetess and founder of the SDA denomination. Grandpa Kiesz and his oldest son (my uncle), didn’t buy into Mrs. White and the SDA Church. Consequently, from childhood, I observed strong religious conflicts on my father’s side of the family.
My mother’s side were strong protestant evangelicals. I remember a visit to my mother’s hometown, where I had family. One day, my cousin and his friends were headed to the baseball field for a game. As we walked, I saw several boys playing in the street, and suggested we ask them to join us. I was told they were Catholics, and “we don’t play with Catholics.” So growing up, religion was a divisive topic in my life. Thankfully, my parents taught me to befriend all.
When I was 14, I challenged myself to read the Bible in one year. I chose the “King James” translation, as it was the most popular at that time. Here are a few of my questions and observations: Who was this King James? (Christians often say: “No king but Jesus.”) Who were the men he chose to translate from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into English? Also, it seemed to me that God in the Old Testament (laws) had a different personality than God in the New Testament (love). There are many accounts described in the Bible I can’t comprehend, prove, or explain, and neither can Bible scholars. That’s why “faith” is mentioned so often in the Bible. It takes FAITH to believe. Christians say the Bible is the “inerrant” Word of God, so why are there so many different doctrines and denominations? There are many verses in the Bible open to interpretation, especially prophecy. That is why there is so much disagreement amongst Christians.
All my life I’ve heard Johnny Cash and the Oak Ridge Boys sing the lyrics, “You’re so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good.” That rang true for me. I found “religion” to be exclusive, dogmatic, hypocritical, and judgmental. But, I have a spiritual side, as my parents instilled in me a FAITH in God the Creator, Jesus as my friend, and the Holy Spirit who guides me, when I allow. All my life, I’ve been a dissident, which often caused a big mess. A wise man told me to become very good friends with Jesus, because I would need Him often. He certainly was right. The two times I miraculously escaped death, my FAITH gave me a “peace that passeth all understanding.”
There are no rules for spirituality — it is found INSIDE your heart and soul. The Bible recommends praying in secret, which I do often. I have no problem with public prayers, but not the 15-20 minute pastoral prayers I had to kneel for as a kid in church. My parents were also “quiet” about their faith. They told me, if you are a Christian, your life will reveal it without preaching it ad nauseum, or even praying in public. I know souls who have turned away from religion, because a self-righteous Christian crammed doctrine down their throat. Personally, in life, I’ve been cheated many times, and all but once it was a self-proclaiming “Christian.”
The Church of God (Seventh Day) follows what is written in the Bible closer than any other denomination. They have some similarities to the Jewish faith, observing the Biblical Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. Also, they follow God’s clean and unclean food edict. Unlike Jews, they accept Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. The Church of God (Seventh Day) does not observe Christmas or Easter, because nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to observe or celebrate Christ’s birth or His resurrection.
When Carolyn and I first got married, we started a “home Bible study,” with couples we met at church. It was rewarding for all of us — no membership, no preaching, but meaningful bonds were formed around prayer and studies. After a church men’s retreat, I confronted our pastor about offering cigars and beer to men at the retreat who shared they were fighting the alcohol and tobacco addiction. I told him we wouldn’t be returning to church. He immediately contacted our home Bible study group and told them to stop meeting with us. Three couples submitted to his demand, but one couple continued with us. That’s another example of my reluctance to become involved in a church. Furthermore, we now see political correctness and woke ideology spreading through a host of churches.
RELIGIOUS dogma has not been a good experience for me, but the SPIRITUAL part of my life has been a saving grace. I believe God gave everyone a soul, which makes us a spiritual being. On the other hand, I look at religion as man’s creation to distinguish one group from another. Most people don’t seem to understand the difference between being “religious” and being “spiritual.” For me it’s simple, there is a great difference — religious being outward and the spiritual being inward. ~ Rick Kiesz