Just because something sounds Christian doesn’t mean that it is. Nobody knows this better than BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey, who frequently exposes lies wrapped in Christian-sounding language

On this episode of “Relatable,” Allie unravels three common “Christian mythical mottos” and shines a light on the deception underneath.

Myth #1: “Christianity is a relationship. It’s not a religion.”

Allie acknowledges that this phrase is usually employed with good intentions — typically when Christians are evangelizing specifically to people who have “come out of legalism” or are brand-new to Christianity and are “confused about some of the rules and the standards.”

In these cases, the evangelizer is most often trying to push someone “into daily conversation with and pursuit of Jesus.”

“And there is part of that that is really true and really good,” says Allie.

“Christianity says that you can have a relationship with God right now, no matter what you’ve done or who you are, by grace through faith in Jesus. Okay? So yes, Christianity is a relationship,” she concedes.

But that doesn’t change the fact that it is “also a religion.”

“If you look at the roots of the word ‘religion,’ you can go all the way back to the ancient use of the Latin word, which is relegere,” meaning “to go through again — especially in thought or in word,” Allie explains.

“I love this connection because it implies a routine, a habit, a discipline of repetition that turns an isolated belief into a pattern of thought that dictates a person’s life.”

Another closely related Latin word — religāre — means to “bind again or to tie back.”

“You’ll notice the shared prefix in these words, which is re-. It’s the prefix that we see in repeat, rehearse, rebound, redo. Re- … means to do it again, to repeat,” says Allie.

“Christian religion is the practice of rebinding ourselves to the things of God … rebinding ourselves through grace-filled effort — Holy Spirit-inspired effort — to His wisdom, His ways, the good things of the Christian life.”

Citing the book of James, which explicitly refers to Christianity as a “religion,” Allie concludes, “Scripture does not preach that our Christian faith is not a religion; rather, it’s the one true religion. Religion and relationship in Christianity are not pitted against each other.”

Myth #2: “God answers all of our prayers; the answer might just be no.”

“It is true that God says no; it is not true that God answers every prayer,” Allie says frankly.

The Bible, she explains, explicitly outlines several “kinds of people” whose prayers God may ignore: “those who have personal and selfish motives” (James 4:3); “those who remain in sin and will not heed God’s law” (John 9:31; Proverbs 28:9); “those who offer unworthy service to God” (Malachi 1:8-9); “those who reject God’s call or have no faith” (James 1:6-7); “those who are violent” (Isaiah 1:15); “those who are self-righteous” (Luke 18:11-14); and “those who mistreat God’s people (Micah 3: 2, 4).

“There are several other passages that we could go through that indicate that God sometimes does not hear or does not respond at all to certain prayers due to a person’s heart condition, motives, or relationship with Him,” says Allie.

For Christians, however, who the Bible says are free to approach God’s throne with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), she says it’s difficult to determine whether or not God answers all their prayers.

“I simply don’t know for sure that the answer is always that God is responding to every single prayer that a Christian has … but we do know for sure that for the nonbeliever, it is not true that God hears and answers every prayer,” Allie says.

Myth #3: “Share the gospel; when necessary, use words.”

This maxim expresses the idea that “we preach the gospel by just how we treat people” and that “preaching at people and trying to push religion down their throats is not something that’s going to be convincing,” says Allie.

“It is true that your life serves as an inspiration. It is true that what we do absolutely matters and how we live our life is a testimony to what we believe — 100%.”

But this doesn’t excuse us from the biblical mandate to take the gospel to all nations.

“We are called to preach the gospel with our words. If anyone could have preached the gospel only using deeds, it would have been Jesus, because Jesus perfectly lived out the gospel in his actions. And yet he didn’t just do the deeds. … He constantly preached the gospel using his words,” says Allie.

Between Jesus’ example and the many verses that call believers to speak the gospel (Romans 10:14, 17; 2 Timothy 4:1-2), there is no escaping the reality that Christianity is “a word-based faith.”

“The Bible obviously strongly affirms that our actions, our love, our holy living must back up our message and that hypocrisy undermines it, and it also repeatedly emphasizes the gospel itself must be verbally proclaimed,” Allie concludes.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Relatable, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Allie beth stuckey, Blazetv, Blaze media, Blaze podcasts, Christianity, Christian myths 

The soccer president from the tiny island nation of Curaçao says divine intervention has brought his team to the World Cup and, in turn, to the United States and in front of President Trump.

The executive’s faith is also what has him confidently saying that everyone involved will lead with love, including the president.

‘President Trump will make sure that this will be a World Cup that will not be [forgotten].’

Gilbert Martina, president of the Curaçao Football Federation, humbly avoided bragging about his hard work that turned his nation’s soccer program around. Instead, he credited a long but fruitful “divine journey.”

In an interview with Blaze News, Martina spoke in detail about his many run-ins with divine intervention, including his trip to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in December.

There, at the World Cup draw, he sat just a few yards away from Trump and came to believe that Trump will act with love and grace to make it the biggest World Cup in history.

“We are all spiritual beings, and we have to take care of each other, and we have to globalize love,” Martina passionately decreed. “And football unites. That’s the slogan of FIFA. So I’m sure all stakeholders and even President Trump will make sure that this will be a World Cup that will not be [forgotten], ever, because it’s the biggest on this planet.”

RELATED: Unpaid bill has Foxboro refusing to grant license for World Cup games at Gillette Stadium

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Divine intervention

The former insurance director and CEO of a medical center attributed most of his accomplishments to his divine journey with spirituality and faith. This starts with daily gratefulness, prayer, and meditation before preparing for what is ahead, Martina said.

Persistently pointing to this divine journey, he said he always believed his country would qualify for the World Cup. He offered no other explanation as to how such a small nation could unite in under a year for “a greater purpose.”

“With the universe, with God, with the cosmos, whatever name we want to give it,” his team started “co-creating beauty,” he explained. “Then the magic happens.”

Martina also said there were too many instances and overlapping themes to ignore. On the very day he got the job as president of Curaçao Football Federation in April 2025, he predicted to his wife that his team would make the World Cup.

“There is no coincidence,” Martina declared.

RELATED: Seattle plans World Cup ‘Pride match’ — and two countries that prosecute gays will play in it

ANGEL BATTA/AFP/Getty Images

Putting in the work

What the executive also explained — without giving himself the proper credit — was how he brought his country out of the Stone Age in terms of organization and formalities.

Before his election as president of Curaçao’s soccer federation, the tiny country of about 150,000 had a program that was in shambles. Hotels and travel were not organized, players were not paid on time, and soccer teams within the country were at odds.

“Too much distraction,” Martina said, expressing the stress of the job. “There’s so much things that we had to professionalize, and so that was the focus.”

He continued, “Because if they’re not focused [on qualifying] … you will have too much distraction.”

After Martina became president, Curaçao went undefeated in eight matches (five wins, three ties) and qualified for the World Cup. There, the team will share Group E with Germany, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador, with its first game against Germany on June 14.

Message for others

Martina compared his approach to life, and to a successful nation, with a hummingbird.

“A hummingbird isn’t going to a garbage nest at KFC or Pizza Hut. A hummingbird always goes for the best nectar, the best flowers, because that’s the best of the best,” he said, mirroring advice he gives in his book, “Healthy Minds, Healthy Nation.”

Martina insisted that people should strive for the best, whether it is in performance, organization, or even nutrition.

“That’s a powerful message. … When we are able to convert that into our daily life, purpose, and intention, beautiful things happen.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Fearless, World cup, Soccer, President trump, Football, United states, Curacao, Faith, Religion, Christianity, Sports