Spiritual AND Religious
A Response to a George J. Ziogas Article
George J. Ziogas wrote an insightful article about what it means to be “spiritual but not religious.”
What is Spirituality?
In his post, George says:
“Those that claim to be ‘spiritual but not religious’ account for over 20% of the population in the United States. But what does the word spiritual really mean? The word spiritual is used to describe that which relates to the human spirit and that which goes beyond the material.”
“Spirituality is about appreciating all aspects of life fully.”
To me, spirituality is establishing a personal relationship with God which is done, as with any relationship, by spending time with Him, listening to Him and getting to know Him. I listen to him in my quiet times of meditation and reading first thing each morning. I hear him through the words of other believers. I read His words in the Bible. But above all, Spirituality is having a personal experience of God.
Aspects of Spirituality
George wrote about the following aspects of Spirituality:
- Practice openness
- Learn to listen
- See the beauty in people, things, and situations
- Spend some time in nature
- Look for the bigger picture
- Spirituality is ultimately about self-discovery
- Stay focused on the present
- Love yourself
- Allow yourself to be inspired
I can relate to all of these. They provide a good guide, but for me there is more.
I encourage you to read his article and see what he has to say about each of these aspects.
Spiritual AND Religious
In response to George’s article, I felt compelled to write that I am “Spiritual AND Religious.” I go to church most Sundays (lately, that has meant “attending” church weekly here on my PC.)
Some years ago my pastor challenged me (and other members of our congregation) to share with others why we go to church. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but here are some of my reasons today:
- To worship God
- To have my spirit tuned to God’s Spirit
- To feel inspired
- To meet and talk with friends over a cup of coffee
- To encourage and be encouraged
- To learn about needs in the community and how I can help
- To share joy (e.g. at weddings, ordinations, baptisms and graduations)
- To share sorrow when members die
- To fulfill my duty as a Christian
- To celebrate life
- To feel the love of a caring community of believers
- To learn more about what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Christ
Christianity
My religion teaches us to follow Jesus by observing two primary commands:
- Love God with all your heart (body), soul (spirit) and mind (mental capacity) and
- Love your neighbor (everyone who is not you) as you love yourself
My faith is about two relationships:
- My relationship with God/Jesus (vertical aspect of the cross)
- My relationship with others (horizontal aspect)
My religion teaches me that my life is not all about me. It is about you and what I can do to help make your life better through establishing a relationship based on love and respect.
George’s Conclusion
George writes at the end of his article:
“Learning about yourself and your place in the world might even be the true meaning of life.”
That can be a part of what life is all about, and learning about yourself is certainly important, but I think there is more, much more.
The meaning of life
The true meaning of life is discovered when we realize that our purpose here on earth is to learn about others and their needs and to help one another become the best we can be. In doing that, we serve a loving God.
Sure, I get a spiritual lift when I go for a walk or go hiking and camping. I love being out in Nature. I love to bike and kayak. Hearing the birds sing and seeing wildlife in their natural setting enthralls me.
But, I need the church, and I think we all do, to provide a spiritual boost and help us through the rough spots of life and to help us celebrate the joyful occasions.
An Introvert in Community
I’m an introvert, so I love being alone. Going inward and getting to know myself better appeals to my basic nature. But I need input from others to really get to know myself.
Every person has four parts to their psyche:
- That part which both you and others know — the public part (the you the world sees and knows)
- That part known only to you — the private part (your secrets)
- That part known to others but hidden from you — the part you are in denial about (e.g. an addict’s addiction)
- That part hidden from you and from others (e.g. repressed memories of a traumatic event).
[This is known as the Johari Window.]
I need to see who I am in relation to others. How do they see me? How do YOU see me? What are the things I need to change about myself to become a better person? Can you help me? How can I help you?
I know that God calls me to be a member of a community that is His body, which we call the church. By participating in that body, I can better serve other members and the community at large. Through such service, I serve God.
Our congregation
Our congregation raises millions of dollars every year to provide services which help us Proclaim Christ, Live in Christ and Serve Christ. This money goes directly and indirectly to helping people in need both within and outside the community. We provide for their spiritual and sometimes their physical needs.
We have an excellent music program with a large pipe organ and a large choir which lift the spirits of those who attend and helps bring our spirits into harmony with God’s Spirit. It also attracts people from outside the community to worship with us and to come for special music events. We have hosted the Minnesota Orchestra and each fall for the past 20 years our campus has rocked with Sounds Like Love, a gathering of several hundred young high-school aged people from the Midwest.
We also sponsor multiple mission trips to Jamaica and Slovakia each year. In Jamaica we work with other congregations to assist with building and medical needs. In Slovakia, we’ve helped build and operate a Christian school in a former communist nation that once banned such things.
Each year we put on a Vacation Bible School that attracts some 400–500 kids from the local community for a week of fun and games and learning about Jesus through various Bible stories and songs. The kids love it, and so do the parents.
We have programs that teach members and others what it means to be a Christian and how to become better Christians.
Our congregation has an active Environmental Stewardship Team (EST) that promotes eco-friendly programs. One year EST hosted Will Steger, the Arctic and Antarctica explorer, to talk about global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.
EST promotes recycling and the use of environment-friendly disposable products throughout the church.
One more thing
We also have a Diversity Team that seeks ways to make our congregation more inclusive, welcoming and friendly to people of different races and ethnicity. My wife, who is Japanese, and I have always felt welcome there. We have an Asian American pastor and an African American intern pastor. We work to confront racism head-on.
All are welcome. Jesus did not exclude anyone; neither do we. You don’t even have to be a Christian to attend our worship services. Truly ALL are welcome.
Spiritual Formation
We have recently named a pastor of Spiritual Formation. He aims to help members grow deeper in their faith and become more spiritual. He encourages practices such as contemplative prayer (christian meditation) and contemplative photography (receiving photos that have spiritual significance). For the latter, we’ve established a Facebook page:
I’m a moderator for the group.
Wicca
Twenty years ago I became curious and investigated the Wicca religion. I loved the Rede: An’ ye harm none, do what ye will. The full version can be found here:
I still like it, but there is so much more. I found Wicca to be a mostly solitary (lonely) activity. I stayed with the church. Another thing I liked about Wicca was their belief in being close to the earth. Wicca dates back to before Christ. St. Paul even warns people not to practice witchcraft.
In conclusion
Yes, you can be “spiritual but not religious,” but what I have learned over the past 50+ years of church involvement is that it is far more fulfilling to be “spiritual AND religious.” Religion gives me a framework in which to be spiritual. It provides support and encouragement and direction. It links me to other like-minded people. Together we can do much more than I can alone.
A personal note:
I wasn’t always a Christian. For the first 22 years of my life I professed no religion whatsoever. I wasn’t spiritual, either. Neither of my parents were spiritual or religious. Neither belonged to a church.
However, they had strong ethics which they instilled in me:
- be a decent human being,
- be honest,
- work hard,
- do a good job,
- strive to succeed at whatever you do,
- be true to your higher self.
Webster defines “decent” as marked by moral integrity, kindness and goodwill. That certainly defines my folks.
My dad enjoyed nature. He loved to hunt, fish and camp. A logger, he worked in the woods all his life. He taught me to appreciate living and working outdoors.
Hope to see you in church. Seriously, try it. Experiment. Shop around. You might find a church you like. It might even open up a whole new world for you.
I’m including a link to our congregation’s website if you’re curious or want to learn more about what St. Andrew’s is all about. For those not familiar with the area, Mahtomedi is a northeastern suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.
In closing, I would like to thank George J. Ziogas for inspiring me to write this and encourage you to visit his profile and read his articles.
Happy Reading, Writing, Inspiring, Encouraging and Connecting!
