what does the term "legalism" mean in reference to religion?

Answer 1

Legalism is focusing only on the letter of the Law and not the Spirit of the Law. Paul teaches that the letter of the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life. Jesus said that true worshipers of God must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Answer 2

It refers to an overly literal interpretation of some of the commandments or directives in those parts of the Bible that tell us how to live.

An example would be for a Christian to do no work on Sunday because of the commandment to observe the Sabbath. Jesus had some very specific comments on this sort of thinking. He challenged people who only obeyed the letter of the Law while ignoring its spirit.

We should try to understand what Jesus meant for us to do and follow him as best we can.

Answer 3

A legalistic organisation appeals to people who have an obsessive attraction to justice and Rule of Law.

For example, if you are a person who believes that someone who steals should likewise lose his possessions to theft or otherwise, then you would be likely to be attracted to a legalistic religious organisation.

The most obvious example is the Islamic Syariah law. These punitive laws drawn up through loose interpretations of the Koran appeal to a lot of people who have a desire to have institutional enforcement of strict codes of conduct in their society.

This legalism allows them to desire to live with laws that would seem quite disportionate to a lot of people who live in the free world. Yet, as they themselves would probably claim, they choose to live with the laws quite freely.

Examples of the punitive nature of the law:

1) Close proximity: being with a person of the opposite sex in a private place and not being married with the person is a crime under the law, punishable by imprisonment and possible physical harm (whipping, torture etc.)

2) Theft of goods, punishable by amputation of the offending limb.

Those are extreme examples of legalistic religious practices. But in today's world, things are just getting more and more extreme anyway. Man constantly invents more creative ways to satisfy his innate need for "justice".

Answer 4

It generally means taking each word literally rather than understanding the context and concepts presented as a whole.

Fundamentalists tend to be legalistic in their interpretations of the bible.

Answer 5

I'm not a 100 percent. But if the saints are they that keep the commandments of God, you should ask Jesus to help you keep them (Rev 14:12)

Answer 6

A legalistic church is one that makes their members do certain things like dress a certain way, be to all church activities, monitors what you do on your free time. Basically you have to follow every little thing in the Bible.