First of all, I realize that people don't have to go to church to be saved or to hold a relationship with God.
Where did this realization come from? I'm curious. I hear that a lot. One need only be "spiritual" or something like that. What is the support for this notion from scripture and Christian tradition? When in Christian history did this change? Or, was it ever even there? Did Christians EVER feel that their liturgical gatherings were unnecessary to the process of salvation prior to say, the reformation in the 1500's.?
I have a friend (19 years old) who has been very interested in going to church and has done a really good job of doing so. During the past few weeks he has found "reasons" not to go.
Yes, we all tend to rationalize our inappropriate behaviors with "reasons".
He posted the following on Facebook tonight, and got the usual responses as to be expected by people nowadays about "Christians being hypocrites" and "not needing to go to church", etc....
Yes, modern culture hates the Church, just as Jesus promised they would. They sing with joy when a Christian turns their back on any kind of Christian tradition.
What kind of real world advise can I give him, and what are some scriptures I could show him? I feel like I am greatly outnumbered because none of his other friends he is seeking advise from go to church/believe in God.
Unfortunately, I only have an answer for this if your friend is Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox Christian. If that is the case, let me know, and there is some good guidance in the Catechism of the Catholic Church for this. This is for Christians who believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Mass/Divine Liturgy, and the importance of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. If one didn't believe in those two things, I'm not sure that it IS a sin, or any kind of a problem to miss "church", because, well, what would you be missing? Here is the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox view on Mass/Divine Liturgy, and missing it. If you can find anything in here which may be of help for his faith tradition, then give it a try. Otherwise, it will at least explain why Catholics and EO's only miss Mass/Divine liturgy if it as absolutely unavoidable. Physically ill. Not able to get to a parish, or cathedral offering the Mass/Divine liturgy.
From the CCC:
II. THE LORD'S DAY
This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.103
The day of the Resurrection: the new creation
2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."104 Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath,105 it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.106
Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107
Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
The Sunday Eucharist
2177
The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110
"Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints."111
2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age.112 The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another."113
Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."114
2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop."115 It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love:
You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.116
The Sunday obligation
2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."118
2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.
2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families."120
His Facebook post is below:
"havent felt like myself lately, haven't gone to church in 3 weeks and for some reason i dont feel guilty like i normally did, idk if its cus i'm burned out from work or if its cus i just dont feel the need to go anymore but is it wrong if i dont go but still have faith and pray to god when im going through good times and bad? Already talked to my friend bout it but still, i'm not feeling church anymore...."
All I can offer is prayer for your friend, and others who are feeling a period of dryness, or allowing the world to drain their zeal for Christ. The Holy Spirit can turn this around. Be of good cheer, and just pray for your friend, and continue to provide an example of Christian joy in his life.
May God bless you both richly.