What is Wrong with going to Church?

[Count]

Good point. May I add that some people don't want to "sacrifice" two hours a week to God. To be able to sleep in late or "go fishing" is more important to them. For some this is really the reason FOR NOT DOING CHURCH.

A very good reason!

 

[FLANDIDLYANDERS]

Sleep in late LOL. I have 4 kids!
Seriously, Sunday morning is my wife and I's gaming time, playing MORP with the America's, Ozzies, European's and some UKs!! Then it's down to the bar to meet peeps or to the graveyard with friends to play hide and seek. Or just watch a DVD with friends. But you see, such things are community and community should be Church! Including Christian and non-Christian. As for fishing... well we all deserve a break, and I'm sure God still hangs out on rivers! (even if u are murdering his creatures! J/K)

 

[J4Jesus]

................My question is: just what is wrong with going to church? Wherein lies the objection? .................

This is what God says about it

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching

 

[discernomatic]

Good point. May I add that some people don't want to "sacrifice" two hours a week to God. To be able to sleep in late or "go fishing" is more important to them. For some this is really the reason FOR NOT DOING CHURCH.

Going to a church building that has a "pastor" is not necessarily giving time to God. Giving time to God is giving time to the needy, helping someone with his troubles and telling him the gospel. I can do that any day, not just on Sunday.

 

[FLANDIDLYANDERS]

This is what God says about it

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching

No that would be Paul. And he is talking about BEING CHURCH, not going to a meeting.

 

[discernomatic]

No that would be Paul. And he is talking about BEING CHURCH, not going to a meeting.

Yep!

 

[New_Wineskin]

This is what God says about it

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching

Says nothing about "church" in there . Even so , it was said to someone named "ye" . Definitely not me .

 

[New_Wineskin]

Going to a church building that has a "pastor" is not necessarily giving time to God. Giving time to God is giving time to the needy, helping someone with his troubles and telling him the gospel. I can do that any day, not just on Sunday.

Yep . It may be considered to be giving that "pastor" some time - not the Lord . I give all of my time to Him .

 

[strikerchris0411]

Good point. May I add that some people don't want to "sacrifice" two hours a week to God. To be able to sleep in late or "go fishing" is more important to them. For some this is really the reason FOR NOT DOING CHURCH.

I also wanted to add that it is not a bad thing to sleep in or go fishing during church hours. I mean as long as you keep a personal relationship with God that is healthy and all that lol

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Good point. May I add that some people don't want to "sacrifice" two hours a week to God. To be able to sleep in late or "go fishing" is more important to them. For some this is really the reason FOR NOT DOING CHURCH.

Hmm. Interesting. Tell me, you obviously assume that organized religion, by nature, is representative of the body of Christ, right? Can you show us those elusive parellels? What are they? Where are they?

Is perpetual, passive sheepdom representative of what it means to be a priest unto the Most High God. Is partaking or religious ceremonies a part of what it means to be the Church?

Suppose I gather with one other person in the woods, in the name of Christ Jesus? Are we not, then, gathering in His name, therefore fulfilling what it means to be a gathering of believers?

You obviously have strong feelings about attending organized religion. Do you feel that those buildings and/or what goes in within them is representative of the Church? Is what goes on within organized religion the sum total of what the gathering was meant to be? If so, then how does that work? Where does scripture provide such a description?

How do you fellowship with the backs of other people's heads?

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot...cell groups...right? Hmm. Well, a band-aid by any other name is still a band-aid, and that band-aid fails to provide the needed healing of a torn, fractured, schismatic system that is, overall, a devicive force in keeping most of the body of Christ divided into all the little fraternities most mistakenly call "churches".

My, but what a testimony.

BTW

 

[BeforeThereWas]

I suspect that SNPete may be one of those hit-an'-run artists, here to drop his fire bomb, then run before it detonates. Fortunately, the hay, wood and stubble has already been burned away. See? No more smoke where there's fire...

BTW

 

[FLANDIDLYANDERS]

Indeedily-doodily-doo.

 

[Count]

This is what God says about it

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching

Well, by the way, tell me please if there is any "exhorting one another" at Sunday services?

That is what happens today, we take a verse and refer only to the half of that verse we are interested in, forgeting the second half of it, or we take a verse out of the context and interpret it as we want.

By the way, do you know that in the bible it is said that there is no God? Yes, this is true, the Bible says that there is no God, but this is only the half of the verse.

Now, as for the church, I would say that christians are not species designed to be chained on their pews every Sunday morning for 1 hour or so. They suffer in such a habitat, because it is strange to them. Christians are species that belong to their own habitat, and their habitat is......Ekklesia, the Church, the most beautiful girl in the world, who is free, free from human systems, free from organizations, free from Pastors, free from leaders. She is free to love Her Lord, free to know Him, free to explore Him, in a way that is strange to human systems.

 

[lismore]

This is what God says about it

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching

Assembling together is good, but denominational church is assmebling under one person, a priest or vicar who does it all. most of us are just there to make up the numbers and give a tithe.

But in the Kingdom no-one is useless - there are no pew fillers. We all have something to give. All of us. As paul said in Corinthians one should bring a psalm, another a song, another a word of encouragement etc so that the whole body would be built up.

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Well, by the way, tell me please if there is any "exhorting one another" at Sunday services?

Of course not. If people did that, the ushers would exhort them right out the door. Besides, mutual edification and exhortation would disrupt the precious order religionists think Paul was talking about.

That is what happens today, we take a verse and refer only to the half of that verse we are interested in, forgeting the second half of it, or we take a verse out of the context and interpret it as we want.

How else will they make the Bible say what they want it to say? Good grief, without that practice, they would never be able to do things like, for example, inject a moral crisis into the absence of a piece of paper from City Hall for those married couples who don't have that item. Yes'sir'ee. Didn't you ever read in the book of Leviteronomy where the Lord relinquished to mankind His authority over the definition and governance of marriage? Oh yes. A couple is not married until AFTER they have that piece of paper and perform the magical ceremony where the dude with the certificate from City Hall declares a couple to be married. Never mind they might not have already consumated their relationship by having become one flesh. Oh yes, those magical words, "I now prounounce you man and wife," uttered by a pastoral magician bypass everything God has ever said or done in relation to marriage. (Just one example of many that I could give.)

Now, as for the church, I would say that christians are not species designed to be chained on their pews every Sunday morning for 1 hour or so. They suffer in such a habitat, because it is strange to them. Christians are species that belong to their own habitat, and their habitat is......Ekklesia, the Church, the most beautiful girl in the world, who is free, free from human systems, free from organizations, free from Pastors, free from leaders. She is free to love Her Lord, free to know Him, free to explore Him, in a way that is strange to human systems.

As much truth as there is to this, it sounds just like that cult leader, Gene Edwards, verbatim. He said some things that I agree with, and other things I do not. Sorry, but I have little to no respect for elitists who think of themselves as some of the only church planters who walk this continenet, and that other church planters are not true church planters unless trained by him.

BTW

 

[Count]

As much truth as there is to this, it sounds just like that cult leader, Gene Edwards, verbatim. He said some things that I agree with, and other things I do not. Sorry, but I have little to no respect for elitists who think of themselves as some of the only church planters who walk this continenet, and that other church planters are not true church planters unless trained by him.

Me too! The Holy Spirit's work cannot be confined in particular persons, however pious they may be.

So, I don't believe in one's "exclusivity" do do His work, and I don't believe Gene Edwards believes that, but this is another matter which cannot be discused here.

However, I agree 100% with you. Once someone believes only in his own work, that person and his followers have become sectarians.

 

[BeforeThereWas]

So, I don't believe in one's "exclusivity" do do His work, and I don't believe Gene Edwards believes that, but this is another matter which cannot be discused here.

Well, I've heard him alude to that very thing with my own ears when he was within spit-wad distance of me. He made it very clear that one cannot possibly be an effective church planter without having been trained by either himself, one of those he has trained, or someone trained by one of the others of whom he has published, being that they are pretty much the only TRUE church planters on this very planet. You're pretty much right in that he would not admit to such a glaring statement, but he sure did dance around saying that very thing for pretty near two hours. That's almost verbatim, but you're right. That is a topic for another thread.

BTW

 

[strikerchris0411]

Hmm. Interesting. Tell me, you obviously assume that organized religion, by nature, is representative of the body of Christ, right? Can you show us those elusive parellels? What are they? Where are they?

Is perpetual, passive sheepdom representative of what it means to be a priest unto the Most High God. Is partaking or religious ceremonies a part of what it means to be the Church?

Suppose I gather with one other person in the woods, in the name of Christ Jesus? Are we not, then, gathering in His name, therefore fulfilling what it means to be a gathering of believers?

You obviously have strong feelings about attending organized religion. Do you feel that those buildings and/or what goes in within them is representative of the Church? Is what goes on within organized religion the sum total of what the gathering was meant to be? If so, then how does that work? Where does scripture provide such a description?

How do you fellowship with the backs of other people's heads?

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot...cell groups...right? Hmm. Well, a band-aid by any other name is still a band-aid, and that band-aid fails to provide the needed healing of a torn, fractured, schismatic system that is, overall, a devicive force in keeping most of the body of Christ divided into all the little fraternities most mistakenly call "churches".

My, but what a testimony.

BTW

Yes i agree, and by going on this site and discussing christ kinda being like the biggest online church ever?

 

[FLANDIDLYANDERS]

No playing Online Massive Role Play is the biggest church ever. It's more real too as you have to work in teams and use coms to coordinate stuff. CF is mostly just typing.

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Yes i agree, and by going on this site and discussing christ kinda being like the biggest online church ever?

It can be a place for distant fellowship if this were the atmosphere. However, there are usually hostiles who occasionally come wandering through to stir things up. Religionists tend to think very highly of their organization, more highly than they should. Most of them assume that because organized religion has been around for so long, that it must thereofre carry God's "Seal of Approval." NOT! Organized religion has its good points, and it has its bad points. I personally am happy to be free from the load of the outrageous expenditures that institutionalism heaps upon itself. I pastored many years before finally growing weary of being ground into the dirt by never-ending expenditures of the system, not to mention the expectations of the people and their thinking that I was going to be their hirling for next to nothing. No thanks. They can always find some other fool for that job. I won't play by those rules any more.
BTW