Some of us hate religion because the people who are invested in it hold its mythology over the heads of people who are converting to it. Having grown up heavily instituted in the religion of Christianity, I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands of people either: a) been turned off by Christianity because of the unreasonable mythologies; or b) been the antagonizer holding this mythology in more importance than the life, death and resurrection of our Jesus. I’m sure, if you’re reading this now, you’ve sat in one side of that boat, or both, and made that same realization. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:15-16) These two verses sum up the entirety of this chapter, yet at the same time, only giving you a glance about what Paul is writing about. He’s not talking about skeptics or people who are perverted (because EVERYBODY is skeptical and perverted). He is talking about people who have a lot of knowledge of the faith– that is, they know what to say and when to say it, but they don’t necessarily do what they say, when they say it; and he is talking about people who just don’t know what to say or do. As Christians, we fall into both categories simultaneously and concurrently. If we don’t know about our faith, then it would be best that we get to know more about our faith by seeking to know God by way of doing the work to knowing God through Jesus Christ. Yes, by reading the Bible and through prayer and by going to church and listening to podcasts and reading commentary. Then, we put those things that we read, heard and saw, into live practice in our lives by seeking God through our prayers and quiet times. This is being pure– to seek God in our faith through our actions. If we do know about our faith, then let’s stop living as if it is nothing. I know we like to pick and choose what parts of the Bible and the gospel applies to us, but really, that’s the same as believing in a myth. You have to believe it all, or you don’t really believe at all. More than that, we can’t allow ourselves, because of our knowledge and experience within the faith, to get wrapped up in religio-speak and talk the gospel without ever walking in the gospel. This is what it means to be defiled. Let’s break the mold of living within the framework of a mythological religion. Let’s be real with religion, like Jesus lived, died and resurrected for. That is the gospel of religion. This is the hope we have in our good work to seek God as defiled creatures being sanctified by Him because of our faith.