Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All the churches I've been a part of, or visited, have taught or insinuated that attending church is necessary and required to have any hope of understanding or honoring or worshipping God. I haven't found that to be true. I've instead picked up that attendance (and membership) meets their needs: filling the room, filling the plate / coffers, having listening ears and an audience.
Hmmm. I can understand how at one point it may have been necessary to attend church and hear God's word. After all, bibles weren't exactly widely available or affordable to the general public for a number of years. Plus, a good portion of the general public were illiterate back in the day. So, from that standpoint, it would have made sense to have to go to church to hear the Gospel.
But these days, well...not so much. I even asked my mom a few years ago, why we have to go to church. She said something about "hearing" the Gospel read (great! What if you're deaf?). Tell you what...I'm going to have to spend a little time doing some research on this!
Quote:
It's kind of weird to have to go out of the way to go to a specific building and play by their rules, when I can much better have quality time wherever I'd normally be, whether at home, in a park, at a lake, at the beach, or some other place in nature. I guess I no longer have time for rooms full of stifling exhaled CO2, robotic "praise" songs, and canned speeches.
I kind of feel the same way. I get more out of reading the bible myself than I do hearing it read at church.
Funny how you mentioned "canned speeches." I used to say "canned prayers" for hours a day, mostly at home. Then one day, I stopped in the middle of praying. Thought, "You know what, Lord? I can't do this anymore. It feels too fake! These prayers aren't coming from my own heart." There are still a few "canned" prayers I'll say, but sometimes, I'll change the words a bit, so its's coming more from me. Does that makes sense?
But I did find a 'prayer' that I really like. It's called, "A Meditation Before the Blessed Sacrament." I've never used it in front of the Blessed Sacrament. But when I've used it at home, it allows me to speak from the heart.
Can’t we do both? Corporate and individual worship?
Sure. Not saying that it's an either/or proposition. But I do think that a number of Christians (especially) think it is. And that worshipping God doesn't even cross their minds until Sunday.
I'm not posing this as a criticism, but more like an observation.
Hmmm. I can understand how at one point it may have been necessary to attend church and hear God's word. After all, bibles weren't exactly widely available or affordable to the general public for a number of years. Plus, a good portion of the general public were illiterate back in the day. So, from that standpoint, it would have made sense to have to go to church to hear the Gospel.
But these days, well...not so much. I even asked my mom a few years ago, why we have to go to church. She said something about "hearing" the Gospel read (great! What if you're deaf?). Tell you what...I'm going to have to spend a little time doing some research on this!
The general arguments for formal worship with other believers center around mutual accountability and encouragement, but in practice I think it's a tacit acknowledgment of the fragility of religious faith if not constantly bucked up with exhortation and buoyed with the implied threat of panopticon-like surveillance.
The general arguments for formal worship with other believers center around mutual accountability and encouragement, but in practice I think it's a tacit acknowledgment of the fragility of religious faith if not constantly bucked up with exhortation and buoyed with the implied threat of panopticon-like surveillance.
The general arguments for formal worship with other believers center around mutual accountability and encouragement, but in practice I think it's a tacit acknowledgment of the fragility of religious faith if not constantly bucked up with exhortation and buoyed with the implied threat of panopticon-like surveillance.
It seems there can be little doubt that some form of panopticism is involved with the institutionalizing of religious belief, mordant. It is endemic to the belief in the existence of an all-seeing God.
It seems there can be little doubt that some form of panopticism is involved with the institutionalizing of religious belief, mordant. It is endemic to the belief in the existence of an all-seeing God.
More authoritarian believers face potential loss of friends and even family, depending on how total the shunning is, if they actually leave the faith, and maybe even if they just question it. I am not suggesting there's some formal surveillance program except maybe in super-fringe groups (like the late, unlamented shepherding movement) but it is just inherent that you're taught you're nothing without Jesus and helpless without his people, so part of the motivation to not question things is the very real potential for taking such a huge social hit. Also, it is made to look way more consequential and scary than it actually is, because personal agency is discouraged and learned helplessness encouraged.
All the churches I've been a part of, or visited, have taught or insinuated that attending church is necessary and required to have any hope of understanding or honoring or worshipping God. I haven't found that to be true. I've instead picked up that attendance (and membership) meets their needs: filling the room, filling the plate / coffers, having listening ears and an audience.
It's kind of weird to have to go out of the way to go to a specific building and play by their rules, when I can much better have quality time wherever I'd normally be, whether at home, in a park, at a lake, at the beach, or some other place in nature. I guess I no longer have time for rooms full of stifling exhaled CO2, robotic "praise" songs, and canned speeches.
Some seem to think that the "worship" of God means, to spend 24/7/365 on our knees, hands in the air, telling God how "great" He is.
Meanwhile, NO WHERE in the bible does it say to do this.
So, what does it mean to "worship" God?
I think it means not to worship the Devil. God is hard to figure out. The Devil is our life of sin.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can understand how at one point it may have been necessary to attend church and hear God's word. After all, bibles weren't exactly widely available or affordable to the general public for a number of years. Plus, a good portion of the general public were illiterate back in the day. So, from that standpoint, it would have made sense to have to go to church to hear the Gospel. 
