{"id":3862,"date":"2013-08-22T11:08:25","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T16:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=3862"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:51:17","slug":"by-the-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2013\/08\/22\/by-the-book\/","title":{"rendered":"By the book"},"content":{"rendered":"

I remember when and where I first learned the word.<\/p>\n

I was 18 and sitting on a folding chair\u00a0among a crowd in an enormous gymnasium-converted auditorium. It was dark in the giant room; only the stage was lit. Eager to be an excellent Christian, I was at a conference sponsored by The Navigators (an international, interdenominational Christian ministry) with a couple thousand college students. I attentively listened to the preacher, highlighted verses, and scribbled some “A-ha!” insights in the margins of my clumpy Catholic Bible.<\/p>\n

That’s when I first learned the word legalistic.<\/p>\n

Basically, as I understand it, to be legalistic is to subscribe to specific faith practices and beliefs just because one feels like they should. Motivated and guided by ideas of “ought to,” Christians are slowed from having an authentic love life with God, community and self. All matters of Christian living are directed by how one follows a rule book of their religion.<\/p>\n

A legalistic faith is immature. Being told what to do and following right along is the stuff of childhood.<\/p>\n

The introduction to the concept of a legalistic faith life was revolutionary for me.\u00a0Eventually, essential, personal convictions about faith evolved from what I learned. These are some of the things I still think about a lot:<\/p>\n