I think I've given up on Christains

Mikeb85 · Feb 17, 2008

Masked_Chris said:
no offense guys... but all of the Christain people I've met [outside of this fourm] were willfully ignorant and pompus beyond beleif. Why isn't there anyone Christlike anymore? I can't STAND going to church because of the thick atmisphere that the additudes of Christain people create. It's all so fake.... no one is allowed to be real and honest so the church is the place you would most expect to find people wearing masks because their afriad of being rejected. I know this grieves our Father in Heaven..... because it disturbs my spirit so greatly. I just don't know anymore. I want Christain support but the only Christain support thats offered is the community/busness/politcs of modern Christainity, which i don't want any part of. When i get married and have kids, I don't want them growing up in the church because I fear they may develop the churches additude! Thats pretty bad! I'm just sick of tired of it all in general.

rant out.

When I went to my old church(es), which were protestant BTW, I definitely found the same thing. People were fake, unfriendly, judgemental, etc... I left church (and the faith) for years. I figured, how can this so-called religion be the truth if everything it preaches flies right over the heads of it's 'believers'?

Of course, being so disillusioned, I adopted a 'I don't give a @#$%' kind of attitude... I grew up around some pretty rough characters, and ended up in 'that' lifestyle (violence, crime, drugs, gangs, etc...).

After awhile I decided that living for yourself, without thought of any higher power, is no better than living as an animal, so I decided to 'search' for God. I figured that since God works in people, and has since the beginning of mankind, I'd look through every religious text I could get my hands on dating back to ancient Sumerian and Egyptian texts, and try to figure out the 'truth' for myself. I studied Egyptian and Sumerian mystery religions, Avestan and Vedic religions, etc... Eventually I was led back to Christianity, albeit a much different (and older) form...

My parents (whom I haven't lived with for many years) still go to the same church as I went to for most of my teenage years, and apparently it has suffered. Many people had the same thoughts as I apparently, and left the church, split up the church, etc... And I'm very happy with the choice of church I finally settled on (Orthodox Church of America).

LOVEthroughINTELLECT · Feb 17, 2008

Masked_Chris said:
no offense guys... but all of the Christain people I've met [outside of this fourm] were willfully ignorant and pompus beyond beleif. Why isn't there anyone Christlike anymore? I can't STAND going to church because of the thick atmisphere that the additudes of Christain people create. It's all so fake.... no one is allowed to be real and honest so the church is the place you would most expect to find people wearing masks because their afriad of being rejected. I know this grieves our Father in Heaven..... because it disturbs my spirit so greatly. I just don't know anymore. I want Christain support but the only Christain support thats offered is the community/busness/politcs of modern Christainity, which i don't want any part of. When i get married and have kids, I don't want them growing up in the church because I fear they may develop the churches additude! Thats pretty bad! I'm just sick of tired of it all in general.

rant out.

"The Bible gives exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) attention to the organization of religion: the building and rebuilding of the Temple; its furnishings; the orders, duties, and paraphernalia of the priesthood; the orders of rituals and ceremonies. But that does not disguise the fact that the most significant religious events recounted in that book do not occur in "temples made with hands." The most important religion in the Bible is unorganized, and is sometimes profoundly disruptive of organization. From Abraham to Jesus, the most important people are not priests, but shepherds, soldiers, men of property, craftsmen, housewives, queens and kings, manservants and maidservants, fishermen, prisoners, harlots, even bureaucrats. The great visionary encounters did not take place in temples, but in sheep pastures, in the desert, in the wilderness, on mountains, by rivers and on beaches, in the middle of the sea; when there was no choice, they happened in prisons. However strenuously the divine voice prescribed rites and observances, it just as strenuously repudiated them when they were taken to be religion...

It is clearly impossible to assign holiness exclusively to the built church without denying holiness to the rest of Creation, which is then said to be "secular." The world, that God looked at and found entirely good, we find none too good to pollute entirely and destroy piecemeal. The church, then, becomes a kind of preserve of "holiness," from which certified lovers of God dash out to assault and plunder the "secular" earth." -- Wendell Berry, Christianity and The Survival of Creation.

You need to read or reread Christianity and The Survival of Creation.

LOVEthroughINTELLECT · Feb 17, 2008

Masked_Chris said:
no offense guys... but all of the Christain people I've met [outside of this fourm] were willfully ignorant and pompus beyond beleif. Why isn't there anyone Christlike anymore? I can't STAND going to church because of the thick atmisphere that the additudes of Christain people create. It's all so fake.... no one is allowed to be real and honest so the church is the place you would most expect to find people wearing masks because their afriad of being rejected. I know this grieves our Father in Heaven..... because it disturbs my spirit so greatly. I just don't know anymore. I want Christain support but the only Christain support thats offered is the community/busness/politcs of modern Christainity, which i don't want any part of. When i get married and have kids, I don't want them growing up in the church because I fear they may develop the churches additude! Thats pretty bad! I'm just sick of tired of it all in general.

rant out.

Start your own church.

I am being serious.

WileyCoyote · Feb 17, 2008

The phrase 'Christian' has so many different definitions and claimants nowadays, it's impossible to label yourself a 'Christian' without further elaboration. You have to go on. What KIND of Christian are you? What denomination? There are plenty of psychos out in the world today claiming to be Christians. One disciple of Aleister Crowley, a demonic man who believed himself to be the beast of the Bible's Revelations, claimed to be a true Christian, and Bible believers were 'hideous blasphemers of Christianity'. Most Neo Nazi Skinheads claim to be Christians. Many people think the term 'American' is synonymous with 'Christian'. I asked this one girl if she was a Christian and she replied "Well, I'm American." (Uh, that's not what I asked?) And many 'true' Christians don't follow the Bible at all. Confused the heck out of me. Even to the point where I almost tossed Christianity out the window. I wanted to label myself strictly a 'Bible Believer'. But people in the Bible called themselves Christian, so I still hold that title. I just have to act as a shrewd discerner and check out a person's love walk. If they aren't loving others, they are not true Christians. Plain and simple. It works for me. Maybe it will work for you.

SonicBOOM · Feb 17, 2008

LOVEthroughINTELLECT said:
Start your own church.

I am being serious.

well hahah! I COULD start a group meeting and gather people together and stuff. Thats relaly not a bad idea. I could start a small "fellowship" of maybe 10 people at most and meet up and stuff every week.

SonicBOOM · Feb 17, 2008

LOVEthroughINTELLECT said:
You need to read or reread Christianity and The Survival of Creation.

that is REALLY intresting....... kind if long though so I only read parts of it, but I agree whole heartidly with it.

intricatic · Feb 17, 2008

LOVEthroughINTELLECT said:
"The Bible gives exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) attention to the organization of religion: the building and rebuilding of the Temple; its furnishings; the orders, duties, and paraphernalia of the priesthood; the orders of rituals and ceremonies. But that does not disguise the fact that the most significant religious events recounted in that book do not occur in "temples made with hands." The most important religion in the Bible is unorganized, and is sometimes profoundly disruptive of organization. From Abraham to Jesus, the most important people are not priests, but shepherds, soldiers, men of property, craftsmen, housewives, queens and kings, manservants and maidservants, fishermen, prisoners, harlots, even bureaucrats. The great visionary encounters did not take place in temples, but in sheep pastures, in the desert, in the wilderness, on mountains, by rivers and on beaches, in the middle of the sea; when there was no choice, they happened in prisons. However strenuously the divine voice prescribed rites and observances, it just as strenuously repudiated them when they were taken to be religion...

It is clearly impossible to assign holiness exclusively to the built church without denying holiness to the rest of Creation, which is then said to be "secular." The world, that God looked at and found entirely good, we find none too good to pollute entirely and destroy piecemeal. The church, then, becomes a kind of preserve of "holiness," from which certified lovers of God dash out to assault and plunder the "secular" earth." -- Wendell Berry, Christianity and The Survival of Creation.

You need to read or reread Christianity and The Survival of Creation.

Humanity's modus operandi after the fall is towards depravity and corruption, that extends to our dealings with the whole of creation as well. It should certainly spice the Christian life to look at how we are in standing towards the environment and our stewardship of it, but sadly, most Christians just don't think that's important. However, the split between secular and Christian, I think, rightly divides the human world in relation to creation, but not the world as a natural habitat. One can hardly call the handiwork of God, given to us to be stewards over, "secular" any more than one can call a ball of yarn a sentient being in need of salvation.

LOVEthroughINTELLECT · Feb 17, 2008

Masked_Chris said:
well hahah! I COULD start a group meeting and gather people together and stuff. Thats relaly not a bad idea. I could start a small "fellowship" of maybe 10 people at most and meet up and stuff every week.

Well, the large church that I am currently a member of (albeit an inactive member) started in a person's living room.

2slippers · Feb 18, 2008

When I was younger and attending church I got the feeling that Christians had to be these perfect people who could do no wrong or committed no sin and I was trying to emulate that. But then I started to notice that they really weren't perfect... they were one person in church and outside of church they were someone completely opposite. I never understood that and so I stopped going after my parents stopped forcing me to go (they never went).

With all that has been going on with heads of the church taking advantage of their situation and betraying the trust of the community how can I ever go back? So it would be a good idea to start your own thing... go for it.

Niels · Feb 18, 2008

My parents acted the same at church as they did at home.

PeculiarTreasure · Feb 18, 2008

LOVEthroughINTELLECT said:
Well, the large church that I am currently a member of (albeit an inactive member) started in a person's living room.

That's how my church started too.

PeculiarTreasure · Feb 18, 2008

Chris, I know exactly how you feel. I was in churches like you're describing for most of my life. People would look down on you for what you wore, what you looked like, what you did, your past.

I've finally found a church however that accepts everyone. It's a very large church but I'm now part of a small group that I attend weekly. We've only met twice but I've been in one before and let me tell ya it was amazing! I went through a very difficult time during the time I was in it and I know that group was a God-send. There's no doubt in my mind that God placed those people into my life at that exact time. I think it's so important for Christians to have that community and support. I'm sorry that your church doesn't offer that. It breaks my heart to hear about churches like I've been to in the past. Because I know how it is and I know how tough it is.

In my opinion you're not at the church you need to be at. Start looking around. Search the internet for churches that you think you might enjoy. There are churches out there. You just have to find them.

Luther073082 · Feb 18, 2008

Masked_Chris said:
no offense guys... but all of the Christain people I've met [outside of this fourm] were willfully ignorant and pompus beyond beleif. Why isn't there anyone Christlike anymore? I can't STAND going to church because of the thick atmisphere that the additudes of Christain people create. It's all so fake.... no one is allowed to be real and honest so the church is the place you would most expect to find people wearing masks because their afriad of being rejected. I know this grieves our Father in Heaven..... because it disturbs my spirit so greatly. I just don't know anymore. I want Christain support but the only Christain support thats offered is the community/busness/politcs of modern Christainity, which i don't want any part of. When i get married and have kids, I don't want them growing up in the church because I fear they may develop the churches additude! Thats pretty bad! I'm just sick of tired of it all in general.

rant out.

That sort of thing used to bother me.

But I decided that once I was perfect I could worry about them. So I'm still working on being perfect so I can tell them all how bad they are.

Sweet Pea · Feb 18, 2008

There are some Godly Christians out there. There's a lot of people who uses the *christian* title but doesn't live it unfortunately even here at CF.
Doing self checks is a good thing and something I have to do regularly. Can others say the same thing about you? We can't help how others live only encourage them in their walk with Christ. When we stand before God we will only have to answer for ourselves and not others.
A lot of pastors will tell people to keep their focus on Christ instead of Christians. We should be able to see Christ in Christians.

I think I've given up on Christains

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