Richardson: religion and ideology

Sunday, August 12, 2018
Meditation:
    Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
    —John 18:36 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Ideological notions are strongest amongst people who have lost their traditional religious faith, and they provide a kind of pseudo-religion to take its place. Ideology may well be defined as religion-substitute. The fact that religious faith always expresses itself in the particular ideological forms current in any given period is no reason why we should confuse religion with ideology; and, even though it requires a penetrating and candid investigation to distinguish between the genuinely religious and the merely ideological elements in the outlook of a particular period or individual, this does not mean that religion itself is an aspect of ideology. The core of religious belief is not ideological, whatever may be said of the soft pulp in which it is often wrapped up.
    ... Alan Richardson (1905-1975), Christian Apologetics, London: SCM Press, 1947, p. 70 (see the book)
    See also John 18:36; Matt. 8:2-4; 16:20; 17:9; Mark 1:34,43-44; Luke 4:41; 5:14; John 7:17-18; 12:49
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, keep my attention on You, not ideas. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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