Does the pope wear a funny hat?

Sorry, but we are religious

This is something thats been on my mind recently, and in a note that my brother posted on facebook, he explains it better then i ever could. so here it is.

I'm so sick of college age people, grown adults, still using the phrase "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship!". Such a redundant, arrogant, and all around silly thing to say. Not only is it a horrible attempt at an apologetic statement, but it is ignorant and unbiblical. Christianity is a religion by definition, in fact I looked up "religion" in the dictionary, it gave me 9 definitions, all of which described Christianity. The main definition is this:
"a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."
Would you agree that this sounds a lot like Christianity?
Now I know what you're thinking, "that phrase simply means I am not a religious person, I just have a relationship with Christ". Well, I understand what that means. When you say that you mean that you are not religious like a Pharisee maybe.
But lets stop lying to ourselves, Christianity is a religion, don't be so afraid of the dreaded "R" word! Imagine saying "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship" to a Muslim. What would they say in response? Not only would they be extremely offended, but they would wonder how your relationship with God is any different than theirs. Now of course, Christianity is true and Christ is the only way, so as Christians we do claim to having the truth. But let's be Biblical Christians and practice our religion the way the Bible tells us to.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Now taking this verse into consideration, how many of us really are religious? I know I don't visit orphans and widows, maybe I should start. I suppose that not many of us really are Biblically religious, but my proposal is that we should be. Yes, Christianity is a relationship with God, but it is a religion as well, and if you want to maintain that relationship with God, you ought to practice that religion and "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). It works both ways. We should embrace true Biblical religion instead of running away from the "R" word. We are not in youth group any more. Let's stop using phrases found on Christian t-shirts as apologetic statements and start being real with ourselves and others.