Bondage in Religion

I was refreshing my recollection in the reading of the epistle today, especially, these words:

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.”

What are all these things, and especially, “according to the elemental spirits of the universe?”

And what is the captivity? That would imply some sort of bondage and anti-freedom, the kind that religions are often tempted to enforce and reinforce.

Two keys emerge from the context of the text. The first is simple and clearly stated:

“… not according to Christ.”

That is, it has no accord with Christ. It does not factor in Christ. It excludes the liberating gospel of God in Jesus Christ. It is specifically contrary to Christ.

The other hint for defining these elemental spirits is what they do in the life of believers:

They bring on condemnation and nullify our freedom in Christ.

“Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.”

Paul calls them shadows. They have the form, but not the substance of reality and even the form is distorted. They are not bad things, but they do not accomplish what the gospel accomplishes.

They may be great servants sometimes, but they are always poor masters.

The grace/faith life is not about regulations according to Paul, because they “are of no value in checking self-indulgence.”

If you want to be free of self-indulgence, addictions, sin, and destructive habits, do not add an addiction to compulsive religious practices; trust in God’s grace through Jesus Christ. It is enough.

Paul would not have mentioned this to the folks in Colossal if it were not a problem. It would not have become scripture if there were not the possibility of it being a recurring problem for us. It is inherent as a possibility in any belief system that it can become dysfunctional and laden with excess baggage and burdens.

Paul says to those folks and to us: Don’t let it happen.

The life of a disciple is not about taking on excess and meaningless burdens of trying to please God through compulsive religious behaviors and thoughts.

Colossians 2:8–23:
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.
In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world?
Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence. of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.