I admit that my definition of religion is about as basic as you can get: Religion is a system of beliefs about God. And I grant you that with all the zillions of different commentators trying to explain their religious beliefs and perspectives over hundreds of generations the message can get a little muddled (unless you subscribe to the theory that no person who was inspired by God has ever been wrong). And I acknowledge that in the distant past there were no teachers and each man had to strive on his own (sometimes successfully) to acquire knowledge of God. Is that enough qualifiers?This is why I practice building a relationship with god without religion.
My question is: How are you building a relationship with God? You see, I understand the fundamentalists. Even though I have never found a specific, defined doctrine that I thought was the "end all and be all" about God, I want one. I would Love to have someone tell me "You don't have to search anymore, you can rest, here is Truth". It is so exhausting picking through "thousands of years of words, which point to concepts, which describe experiences with a spiritual reality", and then searching quietly inside myself for some similar experience.
My point here is that I believe deeply in the Initiation Experience. I believe that there are some truths that I could never have arrived at on my own. It has been my experience that, for me, some revelations have required a guide. In my experience some spiritual work has required a group. Lest you think I am trying to pump up religion, some of my deepest and most trans-formative spiritual experiences have occurred in groups and settings that go by names like; weekend seminar, encounter groups, business coaching, play therapy, and the occasional wild man weekend.