Is Practicing Religion Healthy? (“Fear Less” pt. 1)

Fear Less | Religion |  Week One | Dr. Troy Doucet | October 8, 2023

Dr. Troy Doucet starts a brand new series called “Fear Less” – where we discover how to handle fear (of God, religion, the Bible, failure, etc.) and discover truth by having the courage to look where we might not want to look.

Do you have a positive or negative view of Christianity? What do you think most of the world feels about Christians and Christianity? Is it good or bad? Unfortunately, what was once a positive view has changed to a more negative view in recent years. Why do you think that is? Could it be the exclusionary, judgmental, narrow-minded and “stuffy” behavior that seems to be attributed to modern day Christians?

God has given us the ability to think – and when you think about what you believe – does it bring up a sense of fear? If you question what you believe, are you afraid you will lose your faith? This series is meant to give you the courage to examine your beliefs, and to fear less.

To be a follower of Jesus means one must have a mature faith that makes sense, that can withstand the honest and necessary process of dissection and reintegration, that causes one to take action and show the love of God. Your beliefs must be livable, something that is not just contained to your thoughts.

Sometimes, the rules and traditions of religion can muddy the waters, cause separation from and judgment for those we are meant to cherish, and often will produce fear and a sense of stagnation. So how do we resolve these religious negatives?

1. Everyone has a “religion” that they follow, others that they fear, and some that they’ve forgotten!

Christianity is not about accepting some teaching, it is about awakening to the truth of who you are. When was the last time you really pondered this question: who am I?

2 Timothy 1:7

To bring together, again: this is the simplest and most literal definition of “religion”. The goal of religion should be to reconcile our connection to God, to bring us closer to truth.

2. “Toxic” religion seeks conformity, not community.

When does something good become toxic? When something that shouldn’t be there is added (poison to the water, smoke to the air, unchanging laws to religion).

3. We are called to follow and imitate Jesus, not to fear or be intimidated by toxic religion.

Thinking and questioning is part of life – in the Bible, Paul reminds us to not over complicate the beauty of what God offers us. We must be ok with some mystery and unanswered questions, we must be ok with not having absolute certainty. God’s truth is simple: He loves you. Your religion should remind you of that every day, and hopefully, make you more and more fearless by bringing you closer and closer to truth.