When did authority, hierarchy, and religion become bad words? Recently, I heard a mom tell her son that they believed in the Bible but not religion. What? How can we believe in a book that was formed by religion and yet not the religion itself? This seems a peculiar reading of history at best. The Bible was formed over centuries by the people of God as they collected the stories that helped them keep the faith and described the love of God actively working in the world. The Bible helps us through faith to become wise about salvation and equips the people of God to do good works (2 Timothy 3:15-16). The Bible is not against religion. The Bible provides the correct understanding about what true religion is. Inspired by the Holy Spirit and tested through centuries, the Bible provides both instruction and correction in how religion should be ordered. But, before I’m too dismissive of the mother’s assertion. Could it be that ...