Jesus and the End of Religion

Yesterday was the election of Joseph Ratzinger as the next Pope, Benedict XVI, of the Roman Catholic Church. While we cannot only single out the Roman Catholic Church as an example of Christian religiosity (Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, etc. are equally as guilty), the focus of the last few weeks on Rome has been illuminating. First, despite growing internal division, and challenges in the Western world, one cannot help but notice the influence that the Catholic Church has on hundreds of millions of people. Second, even many nominal Catholics have come out of the woodwork, identifying with their heritage during this time. Third, the rigid tradition, hierarchical structure and dogmatism of Catholicism does provide security and meaning for many of its adherents. Responding to Jesus' call to end religion seems strange and unheard in the midst of this context. The reality is that almost all Christians (and non-Christians) see Christianity as religion, because that is the form that it predominantly takes around the world. Jesus' revolutionary words and deeds are lost in the aberration of the religion that was wrongly formed in his name. In fact, Jesus is only seen through the lenses of this religion, and in the process his true image is blurred.