Religious Addiction

There is such a thing as religious addiction. Some people can get so wrapped up in religion and trying to be so absolutely perfect that they loose sight of the true meaning of Christianity. If we are so focused in being the sight of perfection that we can never attain due to our humanity, then we can loose sight of the community that we have been called to be a part of. Tippens often refers to the dangers of Gnosticism; he tells us that we cannot do everything on our own. Tippens goes on to explain that a communal way of life will be “a long, sometimes bumpy, circuitous, and risky adventure.” He explains by the use of the African proverb that we will get further if we live in a more communal way of life. Christianity requires the unity of people in order to be effective.

Many Christians are disconnected from the world around them. I have a perfect example of this. One of my neighbors a few years ago came over to my home. He told me that because I did not attend his church, I have "built a stronghold around" my family; and on Judgment Day, we would "all be left behind." I told him that I did not attend his church, because I had been there and I did not take kindly to the hypocrisy in his church. Needless to say we were not welcomed kindly in the church, and I never felt so uncomfortable in my life. This man had a twelve-foot cinderblock fence around his entire yard. Not only was his church disconnected from Christ’s message of community, but he had also literally disconnected his family from the world around him.