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Post by raoh on Jun 27, 2014 21:47:09 GMT -6
I feel like there is some fellowship or camaraderie with uniformity in ideals though. Like this is why there are so many sects of Christianity right? People disagree on smaller aspects and group off.
I think part of it is the magnetism of the organization. Like my parents say they are Catholic but they scrutinize the Pope and hardly go to church. They still identify with the powerful influential institution maybe for social value but spiritually I don't think they are on the same page either. My father who was raised through Catholic schools was caught off guard when he heard the church's stances on homosexuality even, which caught everybody else off guard even.
The public stance of the institution is another thing though. They need to hold a set standard for their own integrity though, if they get too wishy washy they are in the air for criticism.
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Post by sjfaerlind on Jun 28, 2014 17:56:14 GMT -6
Camaraderie is surely one of the best things about church (in my experience anyway). I really do consider the people in my church community to be my extended family in many ways. I think when the idea of when "fellowship" is taken to extremes and becomes an exclusive group, that's a real problem however. That's when the "us" and "them" mindset comes into play and that just seems to generate all kinds of bad stuff between people.
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Post by Taliesin on Jun 29, 2014 6:13:16 GMT -6
Yup, that's what happened with me. I just can't go back to that kind of thing now because my experience was nothing like yours, SJ, and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. If only I'd found the kind of religious community that you have.
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Post by SellennaeAlara on Jun 29, 2014 16:13:05 GMT -6
I have never really had a good church family. I have known many good Christians in several churches; but never as a whole church. I do not judge my faith based on the people in the church though.
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Post by Taliesin on Jun 30, 2014 6:55:04 GMT -6
I have never really had a good church family. I have known many good Christians in several churches; but never as a whole church. I do not judge my faith based on the people in the church though. Point well made. And, as much as it must seem like I do judge my faith based on people in the church, I really don't. There were other factors involved. However, it does have to be said that people in the church certainly didn't help. They certainly didn't take the parable of the lost sheep to heart when it came to me and the awful emotional struggles I was going through. On the contrary, they left me behind to rot, so you can appreciate how I might not be overly enamoured of them. The simple truth is, had they been there for me in my darkest hours (as melodramatic as that sounds), I might still have been an attendee today. Still, it was my choice to eventually leave. That's on me. Not them.
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Post by sjfaerlind on Jun 30, 2014 20:37:40 GMT -6
I think any community group has it's ups and downs, whether it be a church community, a municipal community, a school classroom or a group of people who share similar interests. Certainly even our little internet community has it's squabbles, and fun times. For me, the trick to finding value in any social group is finding a place where I fit, where the "ups" outnumber the "downs" and where I can connect with people. Otherwise, I get nothing out of belonging and then what's the point? I still apply that principle to church communities. I'm of the opinion that faith is a personal thing between me and God, while church is a place to go and explore my faith with others. If those others and I were at odds with each other, I think I'd be looking somewhere else for that too, Tali.
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Post by Taliesin on Jul 1, 2014 7:48:00 GMT -6
You always put these things much more eloquently than I ever could, SJ.
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Post by Liv the Librarian on Jul 12, 2014 2:53:38 GMT -6
As a Hellenist I'm very glad that I have no community to "worship" with. In fact, it's not really necessary for me to worship at all. I give an offering to the gods when I can (usually incense, or sometimes I get more creative; a night of drinking is ALWAYS offered up to Dionysus). I have no one to judge me but the gods, and the only real rule I have to follow is to not piss them off (or you know, do stupid things like kinslaying or cooking someone and feeding them to a family member lel). To me no community = no worries, but at the same time, when I was Catholic, community was a nice feeling. There aren't too many feelings that are similar to a candlelit mass at 9 PM when everyone is chanting in Latin. Though, sitting in the rain during a thunderstorm and feeling safe because of Zeus is really better IMO.
That's the beauty of life though, we're all different and we all experience things in different ways. I'd never belittle someone because they get a lot out of a church community or because they prefer to worship Jesus alone etc. The only time I get mad is when someone tries to tell me I'm going to hell because I don't follow this, that, or the other thing. That's what really bummed me out about being a Christian/Catholic.
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