Who's a conservative here that does not attend church?

[the Deejay]

No, not a Catholic Church.

I was raised in the Church of Christ. In a small town in Oklahoma. The one I was talking about was a Church of Christ in Colorado.

The church I grew up knowing, as a child, was about as far from money donation concerns as a church could get.

In 1968, I was outraged about the church hiring gardeners! Maybe I overreacted at the time, but I thought I was just. After all, I had to do my own yard, pregnant and all!

[Phsstpok]

Yo. Count me as one.

Of course, I had a really bad experience with XXXXXXXXX (name witheld to avoid lawsuits), my pastor at the time, who went on to head the World Council of Churches and use Church donation money to fund the communist guerillas in Angola. He answered a question from my then teen aged sister, when she was confused about the concept of the Trinity, by stating "don't worry about it. God is just a myth anyway."

Strike one against Churches

My Aunts husband was a fundamentalist minister, so fundamentalist that he was kicked out of Bob Jones as too conservative! When visiting his Church school (on an abandoned Nike Missle Base) I made the mistake of expressing the opinion that Genesis and Evolution are not contradictory. The beating with the cane really got my attention.

Strike two against Churches.

I'm perfectly happy in my relationship with God, without some "official" telling me what I should believe and how I should behave.

Strike three against Churches.

Churches have their place in Gods plan. They are an institution that he placed here to help us, to support us. However, we must always remember that they are institution run by men, subject to all the failures men are prone to.

I believe in God, not the Church. If the Church helps someone to find God, then more power to them. I don't need the Church to find or know God, thank you very much.

I may be just a wee bit cynical on this point.

[applpie]

why are you asking this question? justification of your own actions or a potential chance to throw stones at so-called hypocrites?

people choose not to attend church -- for a period of time when they are going through something personal or some never become part of a fellowship. lots of different reasons but you can't draw some generalized conclusion from that. i have gone through those phases myself.

the bible is pretty clear that IF we don't belong to a fellowship body, we are being disobedient and missing out on an essential part of the faith. not salvation. this is the way that christ's body is realized on the earth...different gifts and parts working together. so not only do we miss something personally when we don't have fellowship, but the world misses something too. think of what a powerful witness it could be if all of us lone wolf christians became part of a fellowship.

i think a more important question for those of us NOT attending a body is HOW are you getting fed? do you read your bible? do you pray? do you listen to sermons or teaching? if we DON'T belong to a fellowship, DON'T worship with the body, AND DON'T get fed....how exactly are we supposed to become like Christ?

[applpie]

now that i looked at your information i see you joined on Nov 5--why are you folks on this board pouring out your negative christian experiences to someone who could be a reporter or liberal looking for dirt to throw at the body of Christ?!

[clamper1797]

Don't go to church, but God and I talk daily.

Ditto

[Modernman]

i think a more important question for those of us NOT attending a body is HOW are you getting fed? do you read your bible? do you pray? do you listen to sermons or teaching? if we DON'T belong to a fellowship, DON'T worship with the body, AND DON'T get fed....how exactly are we supposed to become like Christ?

Your question assumes that every conservative is a Christian. Many of us are not.

[Unam Sanctam]

That priest was wrong. The existence of the devil is part of the teaching of the Catholic Church. See, for example, paragraph 391 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil".The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.""

[applpie]

sorry not to be clear. i was not talking about conservatives...i know that many conservatives are not christians. i was talking about christians.

for those who are not part of the family of god through christ, it doesn't make one bit of a difference to God whether they are moral or go to church--that is good works which he doesn't accept as the basis for salvation. when you stand in front of god at the great throne judgement, he won't be asking "did you attend church?" that is all written in the book of deeds, the book of words, and the other books--he already knows. all that will matter is if your name is in the book of life and the only way to get it there is through Christ.

"Rev 20 The Dead Are Judged

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

[Bismark]

Don Stewart of AusAmerica Ministries wrote the following about this:

The Bible stresses the importance of going to church. However it must be remembered that a person becomes a member of the true church the moment they believe in Jesus. The church is made up of every true believer in Jesus, it is not necessarily the same people who walk into a church building every Sunday morning.

Having said that, it is important for believers to assemble with other believers. There are several reasons why this is the case:

Commanded By God

First, we should go to church because it is commanded by God.


Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).


Since God commands us to meet with fellow believers, we do so to be obedient to His commands.

Fellowship

One of the reasons for going to church is having fellowship with other believers.


Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:4).


We are able to comfort one another with God's comfort. Together we can share our victories as well as our defeats. The church should be a place where people can be loved and accepted unconditionally, just as Christ has accepted us just as we are.

Teaching

Going to church is also important for the purpose of receiving teaching. We grow in our Christian experience as we are taught God's Word and we learn more about who God is, who we are, and what His plan for us consists of. This can only be accomplished through a serious study of the Word of God.

Scripture commands us to give diligence to His Word.


Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).


Worship

We are created to worship and serve God. When believers meet together this can be accomplished. Worship is one of the ways in which we express our love toward Him. The Bible says:


Praise the LORD! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for He is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting (Psalm 147:1).


Summary

Though believers are the true church, it is important for those who have trusted Jesus to assemble together. We do this to encourage one another, and for the purpose of receiving teaching and worship. Assembling ourselves together is also something that is commanded by God.

[Flyer]

How important is church to you as a conservative?

God knows.

And He ain't tellin'!

[Snoopers-868th]

Me.

[NYer]

For the lapsed catholics on this thread and those who have been scandalized by messages delivered by some of the more radical, liberal clergy, you may be pleasantly surprised to discover the Eastern "Catholic" (not to be confused with Orthodox) Churches. After battling liturgical abuse in my RC parish, I looked around for a new one. Another freeper suggested that I include any Eastern Catholic Churches on my list. 3 weeks later, I attended the Divine Liturgy at a Maronite Catholic Church. As a Roman Catholic, you may attend any one of the 22 liturgies that make up the universal Catholic Church.

A Rite represents an ecclesiastical, or church, tradition about how the sacraments are to be celebrated. Each of the sacraments has at its core an essential nature which must be satisfied for the sacrament to be confected or realized. This essence - of matter, form and intention - derives from the divinely revealed nature of the particular sacrament. It cannot be changed by the Church. Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as interpreted by the Magisterium, tells us what is essential in each of the sacraments (2 Thes. 2:15). 

When the apostles brought the Gospel to the major cultural centers of their day the essential elements of religious practice were inculturated into those cultures. This means that the essential elements were clothed in the symbols and trappings of the particular people, so that the rituals conveyed the desired spiritual meaning to that culture. In this way the Church becomes all things to all men that some might be saved (1 Cor. 9:22).

There are three major groupings of Rites based on this initial transmission of the faith, the Roman, the Antiochian (Syria) and the Alexandrian (Egypt). Later on the Byzantine derived as a major Rite from the Antiochian, under the influence of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom. From these four derive the over 20 liturgical Rites present in the Church today.

To learn more about these different rites, click on the following link:

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES

To locate an Eastern Catholic Church in your community, click this link:

Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.

Eastern priests are very devout and the liturgies are resplendant with incense, chant and deep reverence for Christ and His church. There is no communion in the hand. In the Maronite Tradition, ONLY the priest may touch the consecrated host. He places it on the tongue with the words - "Receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sin and eternal salvation."

I maintain a Catholic Ping List. Freepmail me if you would like to be added to it. May our Lord bless and guide you on your journey.

[Ostlandr]

I think my Granddad put it best- "Goin' to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a bar makes you a drunk."
I've known a couple so-called Christians who went to church every Sunday (and Bible class on Wednesday) who were mean-spirited, cheated their customers, abused their wives and children and were generally miserable excuses for human beings. (Yes, they are the exception and not the rule.)
The point is, if in your heart of hearts you make the decision to walk in the Light and fight the Darkness, that's what's important.
Spent the first 20 years of my life going to a Baptist church, trying very hard to be a good Christian but not understanding why I didn't "feel" what everybody else felt. Finally realized that most of them were "faking it" too.
Never had a genuine religious experience until I started thinking for myself and finding my own way between the Darkness and the Light.

[MattAMiller]

Conservative atheist right here, same as my parents before me (I respect religion though, I'm not one of those athiests). I saw where Bush's vote among people who don't go to church increased 7 percent over last time. It was a broad based victory, and every day the Democrats deny that is a day they waste.

[MetalHeadConservative35]

i dont,ill have faith in god no matter what,i dont like to go to churches since the last couple ive been to has a "judge and persecute" policy

[kinsman redeemer]

"..Forsake not the gathering..."
(Heb 10:24-25)

Col 4:15 - Nymphas home church

Acts 17: "as was his practice" Paul taught the people in a synagogue service - on the Sabboth

Acts 19:9-10 - transformed from addition to multiplication

But of all the observations I have made in this subject, I find that God has given individual Spiritual gifts to each of us. He expects us to use them. He puts us together in the "body" (e.g. I Cor 12) for the purpose of accomplishing His tasks in the Church. (big "C")

[DocRock]

"How important is church to you as a conservative?"

I build my entire schedule around church attendance. Church is extremely important to this conservative. Just check my homepage.

[exile]

For some reason I'm an oddity. I'm a conservative agnostic.

I haven't been to church in at least a decade.

[Gotterdammerung]

According to Harold Camping; people should not go to church; something about the end of the Church Age. He further states that Satan now controls them (Churches).