If we take this seriously, it also has an effect upon what we think being religious means. Within the Christian tradition over the last three hundred years, especially for Protestants, but also for Catholics, because of the effect of the Enlightenment on Western Christianity, there’s been an enormous emphasis on believing. Being a Christian means believing in the Bible, in Jesus, in God, or in Christianity. If you see religion as a sacrament, the point is not to believe in the sacrament; the point is to live within the tradition and let the sacrament do its work within you, let the sacrament
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