Why Do You Go To Church?

Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

ALL churches are for prayer. I've never seen a church with only one person praying at a time. Jesus said to only pray by yourself, so he was against churches period. If you can't see that then you are blind to it.

What other purpose does a church serve other than for to people to gather and pray together?

And generally most people everyday pray alone. Church is for corporate worship so that's what happens there.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Corporate worship is praying with others is it not? Just because you change the name doesn't make it something different.

I can call them rocky mountain oysters if I want to, but that doesn't change what they actually are, if you know what I mean.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


I will hopefully see one day a person coming back from church positive.

It's all about karma, it gets really twisted, because although the arguements get me excited since they are about nothing, I am at fault for arguing back. The only way to be righteous is to keep my mouth shut in those cases. Even if I feel it is completely unfair, I still cannot say anything.

Church is not the way to God, the way to God is through the psychological communication mentioned above - righteousness.

Because I cannot learn these secrets anywhere in church - that right and wrong makes no difference - the only difference is love and it is up to the conscious individual to make that decision. So there is a right and wrong but it makes no difference, the only difference in love, but in love is right and wrong.

Strange I see this often, it is like duality is twofold - the opposites are twofold, which is why it was easy for Jesus to speak in parables.

Fact is I would hope that most church goers are honest people and see going with all its faults better than not going. It is distorted but enough to avoid?

I'll probably get flamed for this by other Christians, but I DON'T go to church. There have been many many times in my life where I have. I went every sunday with my mother when I was a child. I started going again in my late 20's, but stopped going awhile after that.

I think the reason I chose to go to church was because I was hoping to somehow be closer to God in doing so. I was hoping to build on my relationship with Him and to experience a deeper side to my spiritual life. What I found when I went to church, was that the whole thing seemed empty and hollow to me. The people seemed phony (although many of them were very genuine and kind), the atmosphere felt spiritually dead to me (although the other people in my congregation always seemed to be animated and experiencing what they felt to be the presence of God), and I felt judged a lot.

I am not your average looking Christian. I don't really listen to Christian music a whole lot, I dress in black, have piercings, etc etc. I always felt judged, and I openly heard of reluctance on the part of one of the pastors at my church to baptize me about half an hour before I was to be baptized in a river in front of other members of my church. These experiences left me with a sour taste in my mouth, and although I still consider myself a Christian, I have no desire to go to church again.

There are many people out there who would suggest I will burn in hell for eternity for all this, and it is precisely those types of people that I don't want to be around. I think it is important to have relationships with other people who share your faith (for encouragement, discussion, the odd kick in the ass, etc), but I don't feel that going to church every sunday has any bearing whatsoever on a persons salvation or relationship with their creator. If that means I'm going to hell, then so be it.

Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone

reply to post by DeadSeraph
You just picked a church that wasn't the right one for you. My pastor has a son who's a tattoo artist and his daughter is a piercing specialist and they are both members- she teaches a Sunday school class. Jeans are acceptable fashion. It's not one of these new evangelical churches that are only about feeling good but everyone is accepted and no one is judged or treated differently.

My cousin goes to a church in a nearby city that is geared toward outlaws but all are welcome. I've visited a few times and everyone was really nice- and everyone was tattooed and/or pierced- including the pastor who owns a tattoo studio. One of my best girlfriends goes to a cowboy church where everyone wears jeans and services are held in an outdoor arena with many attending on horseback and in horse drawn wagons.

Point is if you haven't found the right church for you that doesn't mean there isn't one out there that you would like. Just keep looking if you want a church family. If you are more comfortable doing your own thing that is perfectly alright as well- God is everywhere, not just in churches, and he knows your heart wherever you are!

reply to post by DeadSeraph

I think the reason I chose to go to church was because I was hoping to somehow be closer to God in doing so.

Well that's your problem right there. You get closer to God in your personal devotion time. Church is just a place for fellowship and corporate worship. And if people were judging you for your appearance you weren't winning, they were. Find a non-denominational church that accepts all people. I have tatted arms and piercings and my church accepts all people.

reply to post by greyer


Church isn't the way to God. Many people have displayed wrong ideas or thoughts about what the purpose of church is. It's merely a place to fellowship with others and for corporate worship. You get your closer to God time in devotions and personal prayer throughout the week in your lives and personal time.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


What's the difference between "corporate worship" and praying with others? Jesus said to pray alone and those that prayed to be seen were hypocrites.

The first half of Matthew 6 pretty much condemns church-goers. You may not want to admit it, or you may change the terms used, but that is pretty much what Jesus was saying.

Matthew 6
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Who does this sound like? Does "preacher" ring any bells?

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


I already addressed this, maybe you missed it earlier. Jesus wasn't condemning Christian fellowship or corporate worship/prayer but was condemning the hypocrite Pharisees who only did those things in the sight of others to pretend to be ultra-righteous and Godly. The problem was their purpose for doing it, not the praying itself. It was their desire to be seen by others as Godly when they weren't.

reply to post by TheFinder


What I go to isn't really a conventional "church" but I do have my own chapel. I go there for religious rituals and for meditation. My job is related so my office is also in there. I would have to say that it serves as a focus-point for my beliefs. Much like when I look at the moon. Also, it stays charged so I'm most effective in there when plying my trade. I think that Christians and other faiths with brick-and-mortar locations do so for very similar reasons.

Churches, temples, etc all serve as interfaces for their respective gods and goddesses.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


And how are preachers today any different from the Pharisees back then? They preach to be seen, which is why they are up on the pulpit babbling about their interpretation of the bible. If they preach to be seen, which is obvious, then they are ungodly according to Jesus.

If you are at church taking this preachers advice and following his interpretation, what does that mean about you?

Matthew 15
14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

I think this verse is pertinent to the topic at hand.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1

And how are preachers today any different from the Pharisees back then?

There are some like them today. Legalistic pretenders, Fred Phelps for example. But they're the exception and most Christians realize they're wolves in sheep's clothing and condemn them.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


If a preacher gets up in front of a crowd of people to talk (every church), then they are the blind leading the blind. I'm not just talking about the mega-churches either, I'm also talking about the small churches as well. And either way, those mega-churches preach an almost identical message to the smaller churches, that is to believe Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins in order to receive eternal life.

Name one Christian church that doesn't preach that same message and you may have a point. If the mega-churches preach the same message as the smaller ones, what does that say exactly?

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


No they aren't. Paul, Peter, James, John, and pastors Paul wrote to others who pastored churches in his pastoral epistles. Jesus taught publicly, and in Ephesians 4 it lists pastors as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are wolves, but the Bible makes it pretty clear how to separate them from legitimate leaders. Pretty silly you don't attend a single church, yet you speak with authority about what goes on in every church.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


What is wrong with preaching the gospel? I'd hope that message would be preached in all churches. If a church didn't preach the gospel I'd have little reason to even call it a Christian Church.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


What is corporate worship?

I've never heard of it...

Originally posted by Akragon
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

What is corporate worship?

I've never heard of it...

Corporate means as a group of people.

Synonyms would be: "joint", "collective", or "common".

reply to post by NOTurTypical


I used to go to church, I went for 20 years, Methodist and Baptist, so I'm not ignorant to what goes on in church by a long shot.

From my experience, most of the focus was on how to believe in Jesus and the consequences of not believing instead of his real, true gospel of love and forgiveness. Sure, they touched on it, but JUST compared to Paul's epistles and the regulations on belief/grace/salvation and his death on the cross. His "sacrifice" was the main focus by a long shot. Jesus taught about life not death.

Paul's teachings and Jesus' teachings are absolutely nothing alike. Read the gospels then the epistles and compare them. Nothing alike.

reply to post by 3NL1GHT3N3D1


The gospel isn't "love and forgiveness", that's just our normal obligatory duties as humans. If you want to know what the gospel is consult 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and Romans 10:9-10.