[dougli]

This time 2 years ago I was in seminary school. Today is Sunday, and I have no desire to even attend a church. A lot has happened since then. Places of worship are vital to a healthy society. But they are not always where every follower of God belongs. Thankfully He fills the world, and we can interact with Him no matter what and no matter where, and even though He will never be found to be exactly what His many followers think Him to be.

 

[Old Pa]

Every Sunday morning that we can manage it, a group of like-minded friends and myself gather before 9:00 A.M. in a small chapel. There, we await the 9:00 A.M. hour restlessly, arranging our religious paraphenalia around our individual worship alters until the appointed hour arrives and then

[size=medium]BANG![/size] - DONG!

[size=medium]BANG![/size] - DONG!

[size=medium]BANG![/size] - DONG!

Religious service at the 400 yard gongs (40", 20", 10", 6", and 4" steel plates) "Chapel of the Bangs" are formally commenced (coincident BTW with our 2nd Amendment obligations!

) Just open nature and long range rifle targets; a religious experience!

 

[Outdoor Man]

Thank God I'm an atheïst.
No, I don't go to church because for me, the bible is a historybook with rulrs, so that the world would not turn into anargie, in those times.

Peter.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Thank God I'm an aetheist

ROFLOL Outdoor Man, you slay me!!

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by gloco Alright, lets keep this civil boys and girls. No flaming and no "my religion is better than yours" crap. I just want to have a lively, humorous discussion regarding why you go and why you don't.

It's with some reservations that I post this. I'm taking it out of context and it may not work -- also, I refer to the above quote ("humrous"). This is something I wrote a few years back for my college humor magazine -- this is the text, no illustrations.

Choosing a religion is one of the most important decisions you have to make in your entire life. Even if you don’t want to admit it, religion plays a pasteurized role in determining who you are. After putting it off as long as possible, it’s finally time to choose your religion. But how do you go about doing this? Many confused religious leaders will try to tell you that faith plays a big role in the decision process, but this idea is old and outdated. Today, you can logically and scientifically choose the religion that suits you best. Of course, for people who don’t like science and logic and who’d just like a quick answer to this timeless question, I’m happy to oblige. Spend years soul searching if you want to, but the truth is, there’s only one religion that’s perfectly suited for every individual. To truly understand why this is so, we must look at other religions.

For some reason, most of the major religions worship a benevolent and omnipotent God—why, I have no idea. Whether you’re talking about a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, they all spend time praying to some God, who they claim to be all knowing, all powerful, and most importantly, all forgiving. Maybe they’re right and God is really a nice guy, but if that’s so, what’s the point of worshipping him? Play it safe, worship the devil.
A good, all forgiving God won’t really care that you’re not worshipping him; he has billions of followers already, most of which are more successful and important than you. Even if he does mind, I’m sure he’ll forgive you. The devil on the other hand is not as forgiving. Worshipping his arch enemy may cause him to torture who in ways you cannot imagine. These range from annoying canker soars to the incontestable pains of Gout. So pray to the devil, keep him happy, keep him on your side

 

[eric343]

ROFL!

Me, I doubt we can ever know since our brains "like" powerful singular authority figures. (God/Allah, Kings, Presidents, etc.)

But to answer the question of the thread title, I do my best to get to any publicly availible Orpheus...

 

[Mr.PD]

When I was in the fourth grade my parents joined and off the wall church. We had to drive 180 miles to attend services every saturday. Church was held in a rented hall, never in an established "church" building. Saturdays became "The Sabbath" and I wasn't allowed to watch TV, work on model cars, or go play with my friends. We also stopped celebrating christmas and birthdays. We stopped eating my favorite foods, namely bacon and shrimp. I spent several years eating a second breakfast at the neighbors house. My grandmother always gave me a present the day before chistmas, and one on that day that happened to be my birthday, it wasn't a birthday present though. Life was okay. I got to where I liked going to church because I could sell cigarettes that a friend of mine would steal to the other children there. The biggest plus was getting out of school for 2 weeks in October to attend a major church gathering in some town far away. I got to go to Penticton BC several times, we stayed at Squaw Valley CA a few times and Park City UT a couple of times. I found it humorous that our church held a 10 day big event in Salt Lake City.
When I was 16 my parents gave me the choice of going to church or staying home. I told them to have a good time and I would be home when they got home. Other than those big ten day deals I haven't gone to church since. I went to the big events because what kid wouldn't take advantage of a chance to get out of school for two weeks.
I don't really go for organized religion. I don't knock it, I just don't do it.

 

[Old Pa]

Let me put it another way: the organized stuff I have problems with, but if you believe in something before, after, and/or bigger than yourself EVERYPLACE is a place of worship. The trick is to figure out where they all fit in . . .

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by Old Pa Let me put it another way: the organized stuff I have problems with, but if you believe in something before, after, and/or bigger than yourself EVERYPLACE is a place of worship. The trick is to figure out where they all fit in . . .

After an all night train ride, when the sun is just coming up into a mostly cloudy sky, and I'm in the desert away from the noise and other people.
That's when it all fits for me.

Okay, same thing when the sun is going down after an all day train ride.

 

[shorton]

acs236,


Quote:

A good, all forgiving God won’t really care that you’re not worshipping him; he has billions of followers already, most of which are more successful and important than you. Even if he does mind, I’m sure he’ll forgive you.

Not bad. I'm sure alot of people actually believe this way, whether you really do too, or not. Problem is - it's wrong.

This is not the God of the Bible, nor is it the God Allah of Islam as I understand it. The God of the Bible created you and desires a 1-on-1 relationship with you. He does care who you worship. He told us that he is a jealous God - that we should have no other gods before him. (1st commandment)

There are enough people that have already admitted ignorance of the Christian faith, so I felt it was important for those that did not know either way.

 

[insanefred]

What an interesting thread! I live in Northern Ireland, and people here are quite happy to beat each other about the head with organised religon on a regular basis (not that I'm saying that everyone is like this, it's the vocal minority)

It's so easy for people in my country to become cynical when thugs parade about in the name of one or other denomination, smashing and burning.
I go to a small country church which my family has attended for generations. I've been examining my motives for being a Christian and believing what I believe etc recently. Maybe I go to this church because it's a tradition, but maybe I go because the minister is an amazing teacher, and a caring and understanding friend. I have many friends among the congregation, and everyone sticks together and helps out if someone's in trouble.
People have talked about religon outside of a church. and that's fair enough, you can communicate with God on a personal level, but when it comes to getting out and actually doing stuff, you can't really do that alone. The term 'church' refers more to the people in a congregation, rather than the building which they meet in, which implies a very restrictive experience. Christians are told to go into the world, but sometimes we are too comfortable in our Sunday services and church-based activities.
Churches in Northern Ireland can be quite insular, close-knit and not always welcoming. But wouldn't it be great if they could be so much more welcoming, and reaching into the community?
I notice many bad experiences that people have had, or messages that they've picked up, conflict with the actual message that Christians try to put across about the love of God for everyone as an individual, and not dependent on them doing certain acts or deeds, or going to church every Sunday. Why is this, why do people get the wrong message? To often religon seems like an elite pursuit for the 'good' people, rather than the solution for all of us in pain, or in trouble.
AudioRedneck, it sounds like you have a great church! If I ever get to RedneckVille, I'll have to drop in!

Andrew

 

[Audio Redneck]

Fred, you'll be welcome reguardless of how insane you are

. I like my church because of the people. None of us are perfect and the pasters are quick to let you know when they themselves goof up. Like I said, Sunday Night and Wednesday Night's are my favorite because everyone seems a bit more relaxed. Sunday night is singin' & Bible study (Psalms 119 for the next few months) and Wednesday night is half singin' and half prayer time for the sick and for any requests (yes, we beleive and pray for healing.)

That's one thing I would suggest to anybody that thinks they want to look at Christian church - go on a Sunday night or Mid-week service:
- Sunday morning shows you how "popular" a church is
- Sunday night shows you how popular the pastor is and how friendly the regulars are
- mid-week shows you who holds the church together

 

[Mr.PD]

Audio Redneck, the church you describe sounds like the one a guy from work is a pastor in. Whenever I work with him we talk about the radio station they set up. The station started in Pocatello ID or somewhere close to there. Now it airs all over the world. He has some amazing stories to tell. He also is an ex-druggie etc guy.
No, I have never attended that church. I just find it interesting in an underdog sort of way.

 

[Audio Redneck]

Yeah, churches like ours tend to be the underdogs in a lot of ways. But then Jesus didn't promise us anything but a cross in this life, anyway.

I think one of the more important questions than Where or If you go to a place of worship is WHY you go. Yes, I believe you can be close to God all alone in His creation - Jesus tended to go to the mountains or desert - but He always spent time with people and had time for anybody. And, I believe, He wants His people ("His people" defined as the people that want to be with Him) to be available to other people. And so WHY I go to the church I go to: because the they are good for me and hopefully, I'm good for some of them.

Ok, so this ends my transparent attempt to "convert" you.

 

[Mr.PD]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio Redneck I think one of the more important questions than Where or If you go to a place of worship is WHY you go. Yes, I believe you can be close to God all alone in His creation - Jesus tended to go to the mountains or desert - but He always spent time with people and had time for anybody. And, I believe, He wants His people ("His people" defined as the people that want to be with Him) to be available to other people. And so WHY I go to the church I go to: because the they are good for me and hopefully, I'm good for some of them. Ok, so this ends my transparent attempt to "convert" you.

I agree with the WHY part. Although my thoughts as to why for some people may be the opposite of yours.
Thank you for the transparent attempt. Won't work, but I appreciate that you thought me important enough to try.