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How can I get myself back into going to church?

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Fnord
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18 Mar 2013, 2:57 pm

Oh, immensely so!

:lol:



Misslizard
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18 Mar 2013, 3:25 pm

:lol: He also liked fish fries,he had a big one and fed lots of folks.


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Misslizard
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18 Mar 2013, 5:34 pm

Image

Image


See Jesus was fun,even beer pong :lol:


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ripped
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18 Mar 2013, 9:54 pm

GreenTechnoFox wrote:
ArrantPariah wrote:
GreenTechnoFox wrote:
I suppose you are right, but I am kind of fearful of my soul being damnified for all eternity.


And, you think that going to Church is going to make a damned bit of difference?


Well to reconnect my lost connection with God perhaps.


You can't lose your connection to God.
You are part of God, within God.
If you want a more real-time connection you could pray more, go to church, worship in your own time and way.



ripped
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18 Mar 2013, 10:02 pm

Fnord wrote:
ripped wrote:
Not fair Fnord.

Since when is telling the truth not fair?

You are attacking the church because of the politics that has been placed upon it.

There is politics in every set of social interaction, some folks don't buy into it though, you know, its bullsh*t.



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19 Mar 2013, 9:36 pm

Image

This may encourage you to go back to church.At least you know you won't snooze off during the service. :lol:


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envirozentinel
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20 Mar 2013, 2:24 pm

Fnord wrote:
Oh, immensely so!

:lol:


Your avatar reminds me of Jesus though, Fnord! :wink:



Fnord
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20 Mar 2013, 6:33 pm

ripped wrote:
Fnord wrote:
ripped wrote:
Not fair Fnord.
Since when is telling the truth not fair?
You are attacking the church because of the politics that has been placed upon it. There is politics in every set of social interaction, some folks don't buy into it though, you know, its bullsh*t.

How can it be an attack on "The Church" when it is a direct quote of the very hatred and ignorance that "The Church" utters as doctrine?

Here are some more:
  • You must believe anybody who says they are led by the Holy Spirit, for such a person could not possibly lie.
  • You must come to God as would a child; abandoning all doubt, knowledge, reason, and understanding.
  • You must give full credit to God when anything happens, even when there is an obvious natural cause.
  • You must give full credit to God when good things happen, even when you make them happen yourself.
  • You must guide every conversation around to the glorification of God.
  • You must live as if every moment were your last, and that the next moment will find you facing judgment for your sins.
  • You must live in fear and ignorance of 'worldly' affairs to demonstrate your closeness to God.
  • You must never blame God when bad things happen, even though He is supposed to be in complete and total control.
  • You must never question the actions or motives of your religious leaders.
  • You must never request your religious leaders to act or speak on your behalf.
  • You must raise your children to live in fear of a jealous, wrathful, and vengeance-seeking God.
  • You must refuse life-saving medical treatments if you suspect that they might conflict with a Biblical principle.
  • You must rely upon only the Holy Spirit to provide all your understanding of the Bible.
  • You must remind those who suffer that complaining is a sin and are affronts to God.
  • You must respond to God with joy and celebration no matter what disaster befalls you.
  • You must show contempt for those who complain about their pain, and tell them to praise God for the pain instead.
  • You must show contempt for those who do not believe in God as you do.
  • You must show contempt for those who do not keep their sins (or the evidence of their sins) hidden from public knowledge.
  • You must show hostility toward those who do not believe in God at all.
  • You must surrender any claim to the "rights" that are granted to you by secular authorities.
  • You must use every possible means of confrontation when trying to convert non-believers.
Each of these doctrinal gems was uttered or printed by people who at least once have claimed to be Christians.



Last edited by Fnord on 20 Mar 2013, 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Fnord
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20 Mar 2013, 6:35 pm

envirozentinel wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Oh, immensely so!
Your avatar reminds me of Jesus though, Fnord! :wink:

Oh? Was Jesus a pale, emaciated German?

I always thought of Him as a swarthy, robust Middle-Easterner.



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20 Mar 2013, 7:50 pm

GreenTechnoFox wrote:
I used to be a devout Christan a long time ago, but ever since the incidents with Hareld Camping, and me making friends online with people who are not Christan I have sort of been in doubt about whether or not Christians are really serving God right as we should be, now I am not saying I am atheists, but I do wonder if when I go to church was it all a big Neurotypical social event? I go there and people talk, play music, and yell. I would like to have an aspie friendly church as well, one that is about an deeper meaning of the Bible and does not do things without seeing the true meaning of the principles behind them. I admit I am a person who searches for reason in the Bible and that may dampen my faith, but I do this only because I want to know what the absolute good is in the Bible and I know the Church has become corrupt over the years.

It is strange. I do believe in doing the right thing, but I am also always questioning people's so called "ethics." Most people I know see the world as black and white, but my experiences with meeting people online has shown many shades of grey. For instance I do not believe people who where born into another religion should go to Hell if they where not as fortunate as me to be able to have the freedom on religion. Also I believe people who may not believe, but still are good people should go to Hell. It is my belief that they might go into the new Earth as specified i the Bible, they would not be able to enter Heaven, but they would just live on the new Earth and basically live in small communities.

I know that is not what our current churches say will happen, but I wonder if the god I belive in that is all good would show mercy on these people who believe in goodness? I know this is from a human's standpoint, but if it was up to me I would not send people to Hell unless they absolutely deserve it.

Do whatever you feel is right. If you want to start going to church again, go ahead. Just remember these things:
Religion doesn't correlate with ethics. I know there are a lot of corrupt and evil Christians in the world, but there are a lot of Christians who are actually decent people (including myself). The same is also true for all other religions, as well as atheism.
Christianity does not teach hate. It never has, and it never will. The central message of the Bible is love. With that said, that does not mean that atheists or people of other religions are all hateful. To repeat, religion doesn't correlate with ethics.
Choose a church that works for you. Based on what you said, I can see that those big "megachurches" wouldn't really be your thing, but I'm not one to make your decisions for you.



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20 Mar 2013, 7:53 pm

Fnord wrote:
Each of these doctrinal gems was uttered or printed by people who at least once have claimed to be Christians.

The operative word being "claimed". Seriously, I'm a Christian, and I disagree with every single one of these statements.



Fnord
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21 Mar 2013, 11:27 am

EliteEnigma57 wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Each of these doctrinal gems was uttered or printed by people who at least once have claimed to be Christians.
The operative word being "claimed". Seriously, I'm a Christian, and I disagree with every single one of these statements.

You don't believe that "You must come to God as would a child; abandoning all doubt, knowledge, reason, and understanding"?

Even when Jesus was speaking?

Matthew (18:3) wrote:
And He said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Children are trusting, ignorant, and lacking in reason and understanding - at least, that's how the alleged "Christian" explained it to me.



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21 Mar 2013, 11:29 am

Fnord wrote:
Dragoness wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Better questions:

a. Do you believe that AIDS is a punishment inflicted by God exclusively on homosexuals for their sins?

b. Do you believe that you are guilty of sins committed by your ancestors, your descendents, and all of your living relatives?

c. Do you believe that committing a sin in God's name brings you rewards in Heaven?

d. Do you believe that autistic spectrum disorders in children are evidence of their parents' sins?

e. Do you believe that female children are to be taught only to fulfill their roles as wives and mothers, to defer to their husbands' authority, and to be silent in church?

f. Do you believe that reason and science are parts of Satan’s plan to divert Christians from their faith in God?

g. Do you believe that secular schools should teach Christianity to all children regardless of their parent's wishes to the contrary?

If you answered "Yes" to a majority of these questions, then you belong in church.


Which denomination? The Catholic and Orthodox Churches do not teach that AIDS is a punishment inflicted by God on homosexuals. You speak of "The Church" as though it is orthodox Christian doctrine. These all sound like the private opinions of evangelical preachers.



Fnord
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21 Mar 2013, 11:40 am

Gorp wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Better questions:

a. Do you believe that AIDS is a punishment inflicted by God exclusively on homosexuals for their sins?

b. Do you believe that you are guilty of sins committed by your ancestors, your descendents, and all of your living relatives?

c. Do you believe that committing a sin in God's name brings you rewards in Heaven?

d. Do you believe that autistic spectrum disorders in children are evidence of their parents' sins?

e. Do you believe that female children are to be taught only to fulfill their roles as wives and mothers, to defer to their husbands' authority, and to be silent in church?

f. Do you believe that reason and science are parts of Satan’s plan to divert Christians from their faith in God?

g. Do you believe that secular schools should teach Christianity to all children regardless of their parent's wishes to the contrary?

If you answered "Yes" to a majority of these questions, then you belong in church.
Which denomination? The Catholic and Orthodox Churches do not teach that AIDS is a punishment inflicted by God on homosexuals. You speak of "The Church" as though it is orthodox Christian doctrine. These all sound like the private opinions of evangelical preachers.

In every denomination that I've looked into so far, there is the "official" doctrine and the "other" doctrine that is taught in Sunday Schools and Home Bible Study Sessions.

The former is what you are likely most familiar with, while the latter is what I've experienced outside of the main church sanctuary (most of the time).

But even mainstream Christian teachings can be oppressive. Baptist doctrine, for example, is that since the Bible says the following things...

(1 Timothy 2:12) "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."

... and ...

(1 Corinthians 14:34) "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says."

... and ...

(Titus 2:5) "[Women are] to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

... the Baptist Church does not permit women to preach, to read aloud from the Gospel during services, or to serve communion.

In the Baptist Church (and other denominations, as well) Men are taught to lead, and women are taught to submit and follow.

Welcome to the 1st Century A.D.



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21 Mar 2013, 1:07 pm

For some doctrinal reason I can't comprehend properly, the Baptists (my mom being one) in S Africa allow woman deacons but not woman elders. They can make announcements or read from the Bible. The Baptist Union definitely don't want woman preachers though...
The greater majority of them (with a few exceptions) are very anti-gay as well.
Despite their professed freedom to worship in the New Testament way, they appear to be quite rigidly legalistic in deciding what is and isn't acceptable.

Many of them would agree with questions a,f and g above, and to a certain extent, e.

They are generally very nice people - not at all like the Westboro lunatic fringe, which they apparently reject as being without love. However, the issues in my first paragraph are non-negotiables within the church leadership as a whole.



Gorp
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21 Mar 2013, 1:18 pm

Fnord wrote:
In every denomination that I've looked into so far, there is the "official" doctrine and the "other" doctrine that is taught in Sunday Schools and Home Bible Study Sessions.

The former is what you are likely most familiar with, while the latter is what I've experienced outside of the main church sanctuary (most of the time).

But even mainstream Christian teachings can be oppressive. Baptist doctrine, for example, is that since the Bible says the following things...

(1 Timothy 2:12) "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."

... and ...

(1 Corinthians 14:34) "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says."

... and ...

(Titus 2:5) "[Women are] to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

... the Baptist Church does not permit women to preach, to read aloud from the Gospel during services, or to serve communion.

In the Baptist Church (and other denominations, as well) Men are taught to lead, and women are taught to submit and follow.

Welcome to the 1st Century A.D.


I think the first quote means that women cannot be ordained as clergy. You may disagree with that, but it's not oppressive.

The second quote....looks like he's saying women should be silent in churches. I don't agree with him, but it's not necessary for Christians to obey Paul's words.

I see nothing wrong with the third quote. Are women supposed to exercise self-control, be impure, work outside of the home (have careers instead of families), to be unkind, to have dominion over their husbands (which they more or less do thanks to our legal system)?

Why should Christians support feminism? All that's done for society is produce two generations of fatherless children, childless couples, and fraudulent workplace harassment suits.