The End of Religion¹

A Book Review

Bruxy Cavey, The End of Religion (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group, 2007).

Author

Author of The End of Religion, “Bruxy Cavey is the teaching pastor of The Meeting House, ‘a church for people who aren’t into church,’ in the Greater Toronto [Canada] Area, where spiritual seekers are encouraged to ask questions and develop a thoughtful faith. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with his wife, Nina; three daughters, Chelsea, Chanelle, and Maya; Toby the wonder dog; and their hamster, Snowball.”²

Synopsis

“Throughout the history of our world, religion has been a contentious concept. Battles have been launched, people killed, and judgments proclaimed all in the name of fervent beliefs. Even today, strife rages around the world as groups insist they represent God’s true intentions. But what if God himself has no interest in religion?

“Author Bruxy Cavey asserts that Christ came to earth not to create a new religion but to destroy the very idea. To permanently shatter every barrier that exists between God and people. To unite and not divide.

“In The End of Religion, Cavey shares that relationship has no room for religion. Believers and seekers alike will discover anew the wondrous promise found in our savior. And Christ’s eternal call to walk in love and freedom will resonate with readers of all ages and denominations.”³

A Religionless World

“The Bible begins by painting a picture of the ideal world — a world without religion, a garden where God and people live in naked intimacy. This was God’s original intention for humankind. In the Bible, it is only after people turn away from his ideal of mutual trust and intimacy that God gives them rules and routines, traditions and teachings — but this is not the end of the story. The rules and rituals of the Bible are like a map that leads to a great treasure, though they are not the treasure itself. I think this is what the revered Jewish poet and philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel is driving at when he says, ‘Religion as an institution, the Temple as an ultimate end, or, in other words, religion for religion’s sake, is idolatry.”⁴

“The Jesus described in the Bible is scandalous. He is not portrayed as the founder of a world religion, but the challenger of all religions. He is a subversive, anti-institutional revolutionary. . . .

“. . . [T]he primary mission of Jesus was to tear down religion as the foundation for people’s connection with God and to replace it with himself — the Divine coming to us in our own context and our own form. This is what Jesus called ‘the kingdom of God.’ It is God and his people, living together the way he originally intended.”⁵

“‘Religion, therefore, is a loser, a strictly fallen activity. It has a failed past and a bankrupt future. There was no religion in Eden and there won’t be any in heaven; and in the meantime Jesus has died and risen to persuade us to knock it all off right now. — Robert Farrar Capon’”⁶

Conclusion

Therefore, “‘The revelation of God is the abolition of religion. — Karl Barth’”⁷ Let us then receive, accept and celebrate the divine revelation!

Endnotes