I would have been surprised if you had answered differently. Have you ever heard the phrase, “to be well in mind, body and spirit”? If any of the three are sick, the balance is diminished. But there’s good news because there is a doctor for each one of them but you just happen to have never really listened to the one involved with the spirit. The first two doctors cost a lot of money for a coin toss as to what is the matter with you but the third one is free and actually knows what He is doing.
So you’re saying that there is no way that you might be better? (Except for your stiff body from sitting of course.) Note Lon, I’m not trying to argue with you nor am I trying to evangelize you because I have met a whole bunch of people with your same attitude. One fella told me that at one time, he didn’t go to church because he didn’t like it and told everyone so. Then, when someone of the opposite gender invited him to go with her he still refused because he didn’t wish to seem weak and heaven forbid, that just wouldn’t do his ego any good at all. Anyway, she apparently caught on and invited him to go to another church out of town and.....he went because he wouldn’t be seen by anyone he knew. Long story short, they went to church and about a year later got married in that same church and before he passed, he was an usher in that church. Funny what an ego can do. Makes us think we’re okay until something better shows us we’re not.
Lon, if you're not connecting properly with your Creator, your spirit's not "fine". Being content with one's unbelief in religious truths may be easy and comfortable, but being right is more important - especially in the long run considering the destiny of your eternal soul. I wouldn't expect to successfully entice you to go to church, though Bobby has attempted to do so with an analogy that is logical. How then might you ever assess or change your beliefs about religion? I give you credit for staying tuned in to this section of the website, and maybe you have some other contacts in the world offering some potential insight or influence. But you'd do well to seek out some sermons or presentations on YouTube - ones that might interest you and potentially steer you in the right direction towards God. Yes, it would require some time and effort, but doesn't the purpose of one's life and destiny of one's soul warrant attention? At your age, what could be more important? I've spent years watching hundreds of sermons and presentations, only to save 2% of them for sharing - favorites that I've found to be both interesting and particularly valuable. It does no good to offer this material to people who have closed their hearts to God, since any available evidence won't be fairly interpreted. But for those seeking God who want to find evidence for the truth, a self study at home can be far better than most churches have to offer. If you feel no desire to join God's church family, perhaps you might find it in your heart to seek God first on your own from the comfort of home. I can help you with that if you're interested.
Ya know, I was just thinking about the day I begrudgingly sat in a mission chapel because it was mandatory before dinner. I was a new civilian, fresh from a war and terribly hard, hateful and always ready for another battle whilst ready to die at the same time. No heart, no love, no foul. I didn’t really listen to the sermon but the 2 verses that the preacher read at the end, well, let’s just say that I sat there for nearly an hour and God opened my ears for 2 verses and I heard the verses and I’m alive because of them. “For I am persuaded that neither death , nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor heaight, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. Rom. 8:38-39 I heard that I am loved and I heard the extent of that love and I have never been the same since. All because of being somewhere I didn’t want to be.
In your present predicament, your preference doesn’t mean you can. I can, but I do not like large crowds hence my preference toward small churches.
Now That’s what I’ve been waiting to read. You believe yourself to be OK with the creator hence you believe in a Creator. Fantastic!
You are twisting things as usual Bobby. Joseph Carl said I had a Creator and I am OK with the Creator he conjured up for me.
Why go to church? It depends on what church. If it's just to go through the motions of a ceremony it is unappealing. The Catholic Church for me was like that most of the time unless I came upon a good pastor who gave good sermons. I've tried other religious denominations and it doesn't matter as long as I feel uplifted when attending. Regardless of your beliefs, it's an emotional re-charge.
I've had the same experiences. I prefer some of the TV evangelists (not the showmen, but the real preachers like Michael Youseff and Charles Stanley) because their sermons are more like instructional lectures than just trudging down the ritualistic path from one marker to the next.
Of all the TV preachers, I pretty much favored Robert Schuller. He had a Norman Vincent Peale approach of possibility thinking and as many times as I saw him, I never once heard him ask for money other than selling some trinket or his books. Heck, he would tell folks that they could buy his book cheaper if they went to the book store but if they wanted a signed copy, it was more. I bought some Christmas thingy from him one year costing about 9 beans or so and when tax time came up, I received a copy of the Chrystal Cathedral’s spread sheets. Extremely transparent. (no pun intended)