Why Go to Church?

Discussion in 'Faith & Religion' started by Joe Riley, Mar 26, 2015.

  1. Terry Coywin

    Terry Coywin Veteran Member
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    Whether I attend church or not these days is my business alone. Which brings to mind, yes church is big business and tax free. I disagree with this, but I guess I am outvoted on that issue. I have also heard homilies that were a disgrace to Catholicism.
     
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  2. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
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    I grew up in the Catholic church and services were the same show every week we liked to say. Masses were identical every week and the subject matter of the sermons was dictated so nothing changed much and got boring. Later I attended a few Protestant services and found the sermon most of the time to be refreshing and original, and I would feel uplifted in some cases but not all. A lot depended on the minister.
     
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  3. Terry Coywin

    Terry Coywin Veteran Member
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    Masses in the Catholic Church are exactly the same every day of the week all year long. The Gospel is also the same. Now, the homily is supposed to be a reflection of what the Gospel says. Unfortunately, some priests ignore that.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    If there were a church in Millinocket that I felt comfortable attending, I'd be in church every Sunday and Wednesday night. Although I believe that doing Bible study, devotionals, and worship at home, as a couple or as a family, would be acceptable to God, being part of a congregation makes you accountable, and I think we all need that from time to time.

    I don't demand demand perfection from a congregation and I don't have any trouble being a member of a church whose theology I disagree with, in part, as long as the disagreements aren't what I would consider to be salvational.

    I was a member of the Millinocket Baptist Church. I was a deacon. Then when we were involved in an unrelated political campaign here in Millinocket about fifteen years ago, the church president's husband, who wasn't even a member of the church, was on the other side of it. I opened the church one Sunday morning to find a table full of propaganda from the group that we were fighting and, as this was a political issue and not a religious issue, I threw it all in the trash. I would not have placed any of our propaganda on a table in the church lobby, since this stuff had no business in the church. I spoke to the pastor about it and found that he had given them permission, and he felt their agenda was good for the community, and so on. My wife and I quit attending and not one person so much as called to inquire.

    There is one other Baptist church in town that I have attended from time to time, but not recently. It seems a little too dressy to me, and I don't know if I could feel as comfortable there as I have in other churches. There is a small church up north, near our camp, that we attend sometimes but it's a very small church. The pastor is sick now, and in Michigan with his son, and I don't know if anyone will be reopening that church.

    The problem with home devotions, for us, is that there are too many things that get in the way. We do Bible studies here, and we have tried using recorded sermons from an Anabaptist church whose theology agree with me more than Baptist theology, but sometimes we forget and, at other times, there are phone calls that Michelle feels compelled to answer, or people coming over, and so on.
     
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    In my area there are Sunday morning services from a few local churches that are broadcast on local TV stations. There are a couple I really like more than the services I currently attend in person...they are more educational than strictly procedural (as Methodism tends to be), if that makes any sense. In fact, one of those churches (Baptist) is about an hour up the road in Richmond VA. I really need to go attend at least one Sunday, once COVID subsides.

    A friend gave me a Quest Bible some years ago, with the admonishment that getting into scripture was our individual responsibility, and church being "dessert," as she put it. I've read the Bible all the way through probably half a dozen times in my life, sometimes straight through, sometimes using study guides that take you from Old Testament prophecy to the New Testament fulfillment, or guides that follow other study paths. But that's mostly head knowledge, and not necessarily spirituality. As I said, I'd like to find a good Bible study group. Traditional services are not focused.

    I'm currently going to a church that's part of a 3 church "charge." They are individually too small to afford their own pastor, so pool resources and share one. Years ago the pastor rotated Sundays around the churches, with services being lay-led the other Sundays. These days the guy is a circuit rider, doing 3 services every Sunday. We are as one congregation that meets in different churches, but always help in each other's events.

    The Methodist Church leadership tried to shut down two of them to consolidate resources (part of a nationwide thing at the time), but that went over like a lead balloon. But the church I initially attended only had 5 of us on any given Sunday: a husband & wife, their teenage daughter, me, and and an elderly member. Others might drop in every once in a while, but we 5 were the core congregation. I initially liked the intimacy, but there were not enough of us to really do anything of substance. I've since moved on to another one of the better-attended churches, the elderly member has health issues, and the daughter is away at college. So a typical Sunday these days has the husband and wife attending...that's it. They are attached enough to it that they will fund it all by themselves. Each of the other 2 churches has individuals there who would do the exact same thing, if it came to that.

    It's really sad to see the small church dwindle, but this area is littered with such skeletons. That congregation was started in the 1700s. The founder's direct descendants still used to attend Homecoming. Francis Asbury (one of the first 2 UMC bishops in the states) delivered a sermon to the early congregation. The founder's license to perform marriages was signed by Patrick Henry. While not the original building, the current one is a fascinating building-in-a-building brick structure and is full of history. The old side entrance for slaves that led up to the balcony is still there, but blocked off by a "new" internal staircase. There's a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier buried side-by-side in the tiny cemetery. I've done my share of work on that old church, mindful of the long list of people who have likely done the same thing before me.
     
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  6. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Currently, we don't go to church, but do watch Joyce Meyers on Sunday AM for an hour on tv. My wife was watching Cornerstone Church on her laptop, with Pastor John Hagee and his son, but both seem to love yelling at the congregation during their sermons.

    Once this virus stuff slows down a lot more, or ends, we will go back to a local Cowboy Church here or attend one close that we've never been to before. A Baptist Church we attended for Christmas Eve Service last year, has closed it's doors to worshippers. They do have a online Service, but, due to a lot of Seniors that attended, for the time being, are having no "in church" Service.
     
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  7. Hugh Manely

    Hugh Manely Very Well-Known Member
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    That's true with my church too, a Southern Baptist church, and I've missed my friends tremendously in person, especially Sunday School, where I was the secretary and assistant teacher.

    My wife's church, a Lutheran church, is on line every Sunday, and I've been watching the service with her. We do communion together every Sunday, and that is a wonderful way to end the service, also very meaningful to break bread together and drink a little wine (don't tell any of my baptist friends)

    But I love her pastor a lot and have been to many events at her church, as well as to change the banners for services and special events, as the member who did it became ill and could not continue. The minister is also talented, plays a guitar, sings, and preaches great. He is also a soloist in the choir that backs up our local symphony

    The parked cars in front as he conducts the service, will not yell "amen", but blow the horns when he says something very profound. At first I thought this was funny, but now I look forward to the "toot -toot-toot" when the "congregation" expresses their approval.
     
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  8. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    Why go to Church? For the Raffle Prizes!

    This way I get a chance to win back some of those quarters that I put in the Collection Plate!
     
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  9. Joseph Carl

    Joseph Carl Very Well-Known Member
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    Hugh, your earlier post really is well said and profoundly true. My own mother used Christian hypocrisy as her primary defense for being an unbeliever and I've heard many others offer the same rationale. These same people though would not use such rationale in judging scientific or historical truth based upon society's behavior.

    Some honestly don't understand Christianity and expect an impossible standard of moral perfection from its followers. Others though use it as an excuse for their unwillingness to submit to a higher authority. In either case, its an irrational defense since the existence of God, authority of the Bible, and truth of the Gospel message is not dependent on the actions of flawed human beings. Truth is based upon reality, whether we believe it or not and regardless of how we react to it.

    With so many religions in the world and variety of churches good and bad, I understand why many people are misguided by wrong teaching or turned off by confusion, contradictions, and controversy. But for those that care enough to seek the truth about life and religion, the evidence is abundant to steer one correctly to God and Christianity. For those that don't care, I'd encourage them to reassess their beliefs. If we're all just chemical accidents with no intrinsic value, purpose, or future, what joy is there in that? Fortunately, the truth reveals a better picture. It's available to everyone and worth finding, and you don't even have to go to church to seek it, so let that not be an unwarranted barrier.
     
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  10. Hugh Manely

    Hugh Manely Very Well-Known Member
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    Thank you Joseph, you have said it well, and much better than I could.
     
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  11. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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  12. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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  13. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I don't go because I don't enjoy it.
     
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  14. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Dunno Lon. I personally detest going to the doctor added to the fact that my insurance pays out about $200+ for me to sit and wait at the doctor’s office for a hour before I see him for 3-5 minutes and to add comment......I really believe just about everyone feels the same way.

    But we all go ..........
     
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  15. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I get a benefit going to the doctor and no benefit if I went to church. Your comparison between church and doctor is strange.
     
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