Why Do Some People Say, “Church Sucks!”
Leatherman®
Posts: 30
Question from a blogger this morning. Thought this group would have some good information for him...
Your Thoughts Here
Your Thoughts Here
Love Wins. <><
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It's old-fashioned and doens't attract young people like me...
I don't agree with many things Church says about condoms, gays, priest's mariage, etc. etc.
2007: Copenhagen, Werchter
2009: Rotterdam, London
2010: MSG, Arras, Werchter
2012: Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin
2014: Amsterdam, Stockholm
I mean, if you like dogma's and people in funny robes telling you what to do...
this goes for all religions
- Antwerp '06, Nijmegen '07, Werchter '07
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Thought that might help put the question in context.
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-believe...
-see the benefit...
I would rather drink coffee and watch the tube/read the paper...if that makes me "ingorant", so be it...it's my choice and no one elses...
of course there are the "open-minded" who sit back and judge....:rolleyes:
Church is boring, but sometimes funny.
...
Well… it’s not the ‘Church’ so much as the hypocricy of some of the people inside (including Church leaders) that made me look for God elsewhere. I mean, I’m sure they’re nice people and stuff, but it’s the whole “Here’s what I say… (it ain’t what I do)” thing that turned me away.
I’m talking about Christianity, because that is the prominent religion in America and the one I know the most about. I know enough Catholics who have either warned me or have shown me the trappings of that religion… so, I’m not going to step on that landmine. I don’t know enough about Islam or Judaism to make a fair assessment… and those off-shoot religions like Hare Krishna or Scientology… who am I kidding? I’m not going to shave my head and play a tamborine at the airport or have enough money to reach the higher rankings in those religions.
The problem I have with Christianity isn’t Christ… it’s Christians. It’s like they get a ‘Get Out Of Hell’ Free Card that they play. Jesus forgives you… so, go ahead and be a dick to people. Example: If it’s ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’… then don’t lie and cheat on your taxes, regardless of how you justify it. Cheating is cheating and you know it and so does Jesus. Don’t ask for His forgiveness in January and file a false claim in April. The answer to me seems quite simple… don’t do crappy stuff and you won’t have to keep asking Him for His forgiveness.
Now, I know ALL Christians do not this… but, it just seems to me that if Christians as a whole were more ‘Christ-like’… less concerned about what other people are doing or believing and concentrated more on what Jesus said at the Sermon at the Mount… then, maybe I’d give up the Sunday morning NFL.
Til then… if religion fits your needs… then, good for you, may you find peace with that. As for me… I’ll find God in my own way. I’ve been shown too many dead ends by religion… I think, that for me… personally… I’m better off on my own path.
Hail, Hail!!!
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I totally understand what you're saying here and agree with most of it. I was wondering where you found God, though, since you said it made you look elsewhere.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I see Him in the the peace I find in Nature and the wonder of the Universe. I don't think He gets a fair assessment in the Bible... all that stuff He does to people in the Old Testament... those are things Man would do to people... not God. I believe that the authors of the Bible strapped human traits, such as anger and rage to God. God isn't something to 'FEAR'.
If you want to see the God I am talking about... go to the beach this evening, sit on the cool grey sand and watch the waves crashing in as the Sun sets... or get up early in the morning and watch the Sun rise over the desert... or sit beside a quite mountain lake and and listen to the wind blowing through the pines... that's my God. I find Him in His church... not in that building around the corner from my house.
Hail, Hail!!!
True and that goes both ways
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http://forums.pearljam.com/showpost.php?p=4012968&postcount=1
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
I totally agree with what you're saying here and see God in all those things as well.
People are imperfect. That applies to Christians and non-Christians alike. The thing is, people will point to an individual's imperfections and then apply that to the church as a whole.
The interesting thing to me is - why don't people judge Nature's imperfections as harshly as they do man's?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I totally agree.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Then, if you are not going to act (be) Christ-like... meaning, attempting to follow the guidence of Jesus' teachings... then, don't call yourself a 'Christian'. By calling yourself a Christian and continually breaking the laws of Christ and laying all of your crap on His back by whining about being an imperfect Human Being... you are just trying to cheat the system to justify your bad deeds.
I'm human.. i know I'm not perfect and I know that I'm at fault. The only difference is... i'm taking responsibility and accountability for my own actions and refuse to place all of my poor decisions and choices on Jesus.
...
As for Nature's imperfections... like what?
Hail, Hail!!!
Man can change and nature can't?
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The key here is "attempting to follow" (your words). Attempting and succeeding are two different things. If someone is confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness, isn't that taking responsibility and accountability for their own actions? I think it's all about intent. It seems that you judge Christians with a different measure than you do non-Christians.
Nature is filled with imperfections just like man is. After all, isn't man a part of nature. Animals, plants and organisms kill each other to survive. Volcanoes kill many things for no apparent reason. The sun can get so hot (or so cold) that very little can survive it in some places, etc., etc. We seem to be very accepting of those, but not accepting of man's.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Exactly. That was my point and why I find it curious that someone can see God in nature but not man. We'll all admire a pretty sunset and give credit to God, but what about the many days where it was too cloudy to see the sunset. If we would hold up the good things people do, and not dwell on the bad, perhaps it would be easier to accept each other and religion.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
You lost me here. How do you view bad things?
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Could you clarify this statement. I interpret that to say that if a priest does a lot for the homeless, let's say, we should forget the children he molests? And I'm not baiting, but that is how I interpreted that.
I try not to view them.
Cosmo said that people in church were too imperfect for him (I'm paraphrasing) and that he finds God in nature. I can understand that, but Nature definitely has its own imperfections and I find it curious that people (including myself) are so much more accepting of flaws in nature but not in other people.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I think that's generally what I'm saying, although you've taken it to the extreme, and I do not think we should overlook something as serious as child molestation.
I think it's more that so many people often say that someone is a Christian but they do not act very Christ-like in certain ways - maybe they gossip or whatever. So the original person will point to that and say that there's no point in being a religious person.
In other words, let's look at all the time a person spends volunteering at a charity for the disadvantaged, and not dwell on the fact that they might be petty or un Christ-like in some others.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
So the good things are god's work and the bad things aren't? Like a beautiful sunset is god's work but the the freezing cold that kills people every year is not? The tsunami's and hurricanes are not god's work either, but the grand canyon and the Niagara Falls are?
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Sorry to jump in, I'm not sure I agree with you here. Jesus' message was that you can do as much 'charity' as you want; it is good, but it is not the point ('The poor you will always have with you,' he said, or something like that). God looks at our hearts and our intentions for doing what we do, not the quality of our charity projects. If we're doing a million homeless projects, it doesn't mean jack if we're not trying to be Christ-like.
To take the extreme situation as an example, a priest who is molesting children can give a million homeless people soup, but it won't put him right with God.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
I could ignore the "un-Christ like" things religious people do if they could drop the righteousness. Just because you believe in a religion, it doesn't mean I'm wrong for not. No one is right.
Except for Ed.:D