Page 4 of 4 [ 55 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4

iamnotaparakeet
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 25,091
Location: 0.5 Galactic radius

11 Apr 2010, 3:12 pm

Master_Pedant wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Sand wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
I was horribly bullied in a "church" setting and as a result I am extremely wary of anyone who calls themself a "Christian". I never understood why I am supposed to dress up. My parents say I need to be uncomfortable to show God I love Him. But I feel so fake when I dress up. The last one I should feel fake for is God. If I feel closer to God when I am all alone out in the middle of the boondocks or woods, why must I go inside a manmade structure where I'm so uncomfortable I'm not worshipping at all because I'm using every fiber of my being to keep myself from screaming. If I can't get a tatoo, self mulitate or commit sucide because my body is a temple, why then do I need to go to church. Church is a concept invented by people, not God.


Now that you have progressed to the point that church makes no sense perhaps you should move on and reconsider God.


Sand, you are such a(n) [insert valid ad hominem here]. I mean, what the heck? You read about someone's bad experience and then you seek to convert them? If you aren't a missionary for antitheism I don't know what else you could be.


Its amazing at what an adverse reaction "iamnotaparakeet" is having with the mere notion that somebody go through a process of theological introspection.

Truly demonstrates how frail faith is.


Hardly, that isn't a suggestion of merely thinking about what you believe and questioning, that's kicking someone when they're down. An attempt at being an opportunistic proselytizer.



leejosepho
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,011
Location: 200 miles south of Little Rock

11 Apr 2010, 7:24 pm

AngelRho wrote:
Moses once engaged in a contest against Pharaoh's magicians. For a brief time they could match, move for move, the effects that Moses appeared to bring about until God caused something to happen that Pharaoh's men could not undo. Even they had to concede that what they were dealing with were far beyond their powers. That's because Moses wasn't clever or a magician. He only did what God told him to do. Therefore, it wasn't Moses that worked the miracles, but God Himself.


I once read a very interesting book wherein someone showed all the plagues preceding the Hebrew exodus from Egypt to have come from a really big volcanic eruption quite some distance away.


_________________
I began looking for someone like me when I was five ...
My search ended at 59 ... right here on WrongPlanet.
==================================


Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 98
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

11 Apr 2010, 7:54 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Master_Pedant wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Sand wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
I was horribly bullied in a "church" setting and as a result I am extremely wary of anyone who calls themself a "Christian". I never understood why I am supposed to dress up. My parents say I need to be uncomfortable to show God I love Him. But I feel so fake when I dress up. The last one I should feel fake for is God. If I feel closer to God when I am all alone out in the middle of the boondocks or woods, why must I go inside a manmade structure where I'm so uncomfortable I'm not worshipping at all because I'm using every fiber of my being to keep myself from screaming. If I can't get a tatoo, self mulitate or commit sucide because my body is a temple, why then do I need to go to church. Church is a concept invented by people, not God.


Now that you have progressed to the point that church makes no sense perhaps you should move on and reconsider God.


Sand, you are such a(n) [insert valid ad hominem here]. I mean, what the heck? You read about someone's bad experience and then you seek to convert them? If you aren't a missionary for antitheism I don't know what else you could be.


Its amazing at what an adverse reaction "iamnotaparakeet" is having with the mere notion that somebody go through a process of theological introspection.

Truly demonstrates how frail faith is.


Hardly, that isn't a suggestion of merely thinking about what you believe and questioning, that's kicking someone when they're down. An attempt at being an opportunistic proselytizer.


Obviously we differ on the basic directions of up and down. When someone starts questioning their basic outlook you consider that a step down. I encourage that questioning as it seems to me a step up.



Aimless
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Apr 2009
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 8,187

11 Apr 2010, 8:07 pm

OP (sorry, by the time I skimmed through 4 pages of the usual I had forgotten), I would suggest finding a Friend's Meeting House(Quaker). It is an hour of communal silence. If someone wants to stand up and say something about what they been thinking about, they do. It's very refreshing. You can commune with the Spirit as you understand it or make a mental grocery list. Your choice.



Kraichgauer
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 48,341
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.

20 Apr 2010, 5:16 am

nika7 wrote:
My mom was a church hopper too. It was a pain to say the least...

I really like the Missouri Synod Lutheran church. I have found them a lot quieter and easier to handle. At this point though I think I am open to most denominations. I do get really in to what the doctrine is. I have a great fascination of church history... but that's another book.

i love the "Mathew 6:6 Shut yourself up in a room alone and pray there." Made me smile... Thanks!


Hey, I'm a Missouri Synod Lutheran, myself. I was born and raised in the church, though as an adult, I choose to stay put. I don't agree with everything the Missouri Synod teaches - I'm a strong believer in evolution, and I'm pro gay rights - but I can take it all in stride. My wife tended to be something of a generic protestant, jumping between churches, though she is now a committed Lutheran since she joined up after meeting me. We are currently raising our four year old daughter in the faith.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer



ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 88
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

20 Apr 2010, 12:29 pm

The best church to go to is Greek Orthodox. When the folks there have a dinner it is first rate Greek cuisine, which I love dearly. I don't have to buy their doctrine to appreciate the food. When there is a food sale to raise cash for charity I always go toe Greek Orhodox and the Armenia bake sales.

ruveyn



dddhgg
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Dec 2006
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,108
Location: The broom closet on the 13th floor

28 Apr 2010, 4:55 pm

I agree that a Quaker meeting is the way to go. I found the respectful and reverent silence deeply impressive.


_________________
Dabey müssen wir nichts seyn, sondern alles werden wollen, und besonders nicht öffter stille stehen und ruhen, als die Nothdurfft eines müden Geistes und Körpers erfordert. - Goethe