"True religion" according to Moses was keeping the law. It was very much about rituals and symbols and the social behaviour that was expressed primarily through "Do not...s." The rituals and symbols were the religion as they saw it.
I humbly suggest that you might want to review the book of Hebrews and Romans regarding whether or not the ancient Hebrew religion was summed up as keeping the Law. All the way back to Abraham, no one in the OT was saved by keeping the Law, but through faith in the promises of God. This faith in God's promises showed itself in obedience to all the various kinds of laws and rituals given to them by God and through the various prophets. Just as today, the keeping of the law was a product of their faith in God's promises, not the cause of God's good will.
The OT (true) prophets constantly reminded the people of the spirit of the law, while false prophets led people astray with what they considered was right. Jesus saw and practiced what the symbols and accepted social behaviour pointed to. The religious leaders had what to them was "true religion." It was Jesus who saw through it and called it "false."
This is exactly what I said in my last post. The religious leaders of Jesus' day believed that they had true religion through the keeping of the Law. Jesus demonstrated very clearly, much to their chagrin, that their religion was false. He then he proceeded to fulfill the Law, to teach what true religion is, to establish through his death and resurrection the very foundation, not only for the new covenant, but for the old covenant as well, and to institute the means of grace through which the benefits of his salvific works would be transferred to present and future generations of believers in the true religion.
We have the same difficulty today, with the majority of people practising what they consider "true religion." I doubt very many would knowingly and purposefully hold to what is in their own eyes "false religion" any more than the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day.
While it is true that we may only see ultimate spiritual reality through a dark glass, we do, in fact, have the light that shines in the darkness in the form of Holy Scripture. While interpretations vary and divisions have sadly been necessary, there exists one ultimately true, original meaning of each passage of scripture. The degree to which our theology deviates from the original meaning of the scriptures is the same degree to which our own religion is false.
I personally look around among my "christian" contacts and feel that few of them are willing to dig deeper honestly to see whether or not they practise a true or false relgion. They seem not to be humble enough to consider that even some of their (cherished) beliefs are even possibly wrong.
As long as we have first honestly examined our own doctrines in this way, it can be very revealing to compare the varied and disparate doctrines of Christian groups and individuals.
I went through a similar process when at age 40 I began to critically examine the Baptist and general Evangelical views in which I had been raised. This led to a minor crisis in faith which ultimately landed me within what I believe to be the theological confession that most clearly echos and agrees with the Holy Scriptures.
When I read the Gospels and Acts and see how totally wrong the disciples understood the OT and the concepts of the Messiah, even after they had listened daily to Jesus for three years,
To be fair, Jesus had yet to open their minds to understand the scriptures and they had not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit who would lead them into all truth.
I cannot avoid asking myself constantly what I have misunderstood, and still misunderstand. To the extent I think religion is of any value I continue to look for the true variety.
I believe you are on the right track here.
And in the meantime I will hold on to strengthening my relationship with my Lord and Saviour Jesus, who is Himself the light, the way, the truth, the life, the bread, the word, the logic, the door and much much more.
Very good, as long as you are not speaking of this relationship in some kind of mystical way or through the self-focused lens of pietism.
It is God himself who establishes his relationship with us, nurtures it, and brings it to fruition. We participate in this relationship by taking an active part in the life of the Church, through continuing to receive the gives God graciously pours out on us through the ministry of Word and Sacrament.