. When a person is infected with the “leaven” of Pharisaic religion, they will gradually become alienated from real life – especially in work, production and relationships with real people.
Systemic religion often relies on images, rituals and architecture to create fascination. It can become a tool to attract money, power and control over people – in a subtle way.
Even the Temple initiated by Moses – which was a material symbol – became a place for the Israelites and later the Jews and Muslims to stray into formal worship, instead of focusing on the living God.
Solomon, who was given permission by God to build the temple, did so according to God’s will, but he was ultimately controlled by the very building. The physical temple is meant to serve the flesh of man – and so it can easily become an idol, if the heart is not truly directed toward God.
Today, the synagogue, the temple, the cathedral… may be a religious symbol, but if it lacks true spiritual life, it is just a facade to maintain the system – which can be turned into a place of tax collection, trading, and legalizing profiteering.
That is why Jesus was angry in the temple, and declared clearly:
“My Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.”
(Matthew 21:13)
In short
Formal religion does not liberate people – it binds them with fear, rules, and idols. Only Jesus, through the “law of liberty” (James 1:25), brings true spiritual life, rooted in reality and inner freedom.
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