Church is important to me spiritually (and Christ asked us to fellowship together, so it must be important).
The church has no affect on my conservatism, however I do have an effect on the church's conservatism ;-)
Just as hanging with fellow conservatives is pleasurable as well as intellectually stimulating, so is hanging with christians spiritually stimulating.
For those that complain that the church is full of hypocrits then either change churches or change yourself. Cynicism lends me to believe you are engaging in the spiritually and intellectually deceptive practice of accusing others of what you are guilty of yourself.
I'm a very conservative Christian.
I rarely attend church simply because I haven't found one that I "click" with. So many churches in my area are becoming "mega-churches" and seem to be obsessed with having huge buildings, sports and fitness centers, televised services, etc. I also find that fewer preachers will preach "the word" for fear of offending members of their congregation and losing members. I'm amazed at the amount of money sitting in church coffers to pay for all mentioned above. I'm of the opinion that if churches were doing what God really intended for them to do there would be very little left to spend on fancy buildings. I remember reading a similar thread here on FR months ago about how the Catholic church had millions available to pay off those who had been victimized by priests. Why do churches have all this money sitting around? Why isn't it being spent to help people as fast as it is collected? I'm sure EVERY church congregation has at least one family (probably several) who is going without basic necessities or food, has huge medical bills, etc.
I am a firm believer in the word of God and have witnessed the power of prayer this week with Bush's victory.
oh and I attend church on a pretty regular basis. I'm trying to save the small intimate ones.
Conservative and Atheist (or agnostic if you catch me on a good day).
But, I also find the christian bashing by the left to be very offensive and I'm very grateful that we have christian like GWB in office rather than that phony POS Kerry.
You can be moral and conservative without even believing in God - not sure what your really asing here...
I'm a born-again Christian who attends church regularly, but not necessarily every Sunday. I didn't go this morning; did some Bible reading and praise and worship here at home (miss the praise/worship most when I miss church).
I fellowship regularly throughout the week with Christians -- I generally don't mix much with non-believers or Christians in Name Only in my private life, but will speak up when necessary and will help anyone as I can. I think people can be ethical and conservative without religion.
There's nothing in the Bible commanding us to "go to church" or join one. The church is the body of believers throughout the world, not a building. The tabernacle, the place where God meets with us, is now located in our hearts thanks to the work completed by Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Why do you ask?
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was raised catholic, but after a bible study in the catholic church a priest told the group that it is official catholic doctrine that there is NO DEVIL, that was the last straw. Have never felt comfortable anywhere else. Do not attend.
me
I have four beautiful acres of giant old trees and a fresh water pond here by the house. I'm in my church about 16 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Church is a wonderful thing for some -- God bless those who attend.
My church however is nature, by God's hand!
Me....
Put me down as somebody who isn't comfortable with politicans using religion as a political issue.
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.
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?
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?!
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.
God knows.
And He ain't tellin'!
Me.
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.
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.
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
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")