Organised Religion

[Michiah-Imla]

Should we go to church? Does going to church matter? What is a church? Does it matter to God if we go to church or not? Does the Bible say we should assemble to worship the Lord? Is believing enough or should we assemble to worship God too? Should we only attend a perfect church? How do we determine what is a good church? Should a church have a pastor?

Well, you definitely should not go to a church run by a Diotrephes type fellow…

“I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.” (3 John 1:9-10)

 

[stunnedbygrace]

i dont know what type Church you attend or anything. all these so called leaders sounds like confusion . if the Church is not right then find another one. all though there are those who cant be pleased

I can’t find one. Believe me, I tried. But they all teach the same hideous doctrines and my conscience can’t live supporting that.
I did find a group too far to travel to, by video chat once that I was in agreement with but I had to leave for quite some time and it disbanded.

 

[Ezra]

the same hideous doctrines

such as what plz give listed things they teach

 

[stunnedbygrace]

such as what plz give listed things they teach

Eternal torture of unbelievers
To he who is given more, less is required
To he who is given less, more is required
God judges unbelievers harder than He does believers
The worst fate is reserved for unbelievers rather than religious hypocrites
No distinction between righteous and holy
Imputed righteousness

Oh my gosh, I just realized if I don’t stop it’s going to be too long of a post.

 

[Ezra]

Eternal torture of unbelievers
To he who is given more, less is required
To he who is given less, more is required
God judges unbelievers harder than He does believers
The worst fate is reserved for unbelievers rather than religious hypocrites
No distinction between righteous and holy
Imputed righteousness

Oh my gosh, I just realized if I don’t stop it’s going to be too long of a post.

for my own use i would be interested i am trying to understand some of these . i will say not sure what they mean by eternal couture of the lost/ unbelievers. i do see hell as eternal torment's place where the worm dieth not .

God judges unbelievers harder than He does believers
The worst fate is reserved for unbelievers rather than religious hypocrites i see some truth in this but there again i would have know exactly what they mean and the scripture they use.

i would be interested in that long post feel free to priv message me . if you dont care i would like a discussion of this .

certainly strange fire/ doctrine has no place in the pulpit. i also would like to know what type Church it was. feel free to priv message me

 

[bbyrd009]

ya you go sbg

i think what you guys are (currently) calling “church” is a great place to be from, personally

 

[Ezra]

ya you go sbg

i think what you guys are (currently) calling “church” is a great place to be from, personally

if attending Church was not important then why did God allow antioch ? the Church birthed in acts and grew. in the times we live in. so many different teachings . from being baptized to be saved. baptized in jesus name only speaking in tongues to show you have the Holy Ghost . . osas to snas one has to be predestined. the list grows.

 

[marks]

true and the spirit moves through us to.

I'm just saying, don't open a church on a dare.

Much love!

 

[marks]

ya you go sbg

i think what you guys are (currently) calling “church” is a great place to be from, personally

You know, I'm sorry to hear that, it means you've likely never experienced what I did yesterday when we were all together, and that's sad to me.

Much love!

 

[bbyrd009]

if attending Church was not important then why did God allow antioch ? the Church birthed in acts and grew. in the times we live in. so many different teachings . from being baptized to be saved. baptized in jesus name only speaking in tongues to show you have the Holy Ghost . . osas to snas one has to be predestined. the list grows.

well ezra, i would say that there is a time to attend church, and a time to become Church, and they were first called “Christians” at Antioch, right?

The amazing name Antioch: meaning and etymology

An indepth look at the meaning and etymology of the awesome name Antioch. We'll discuss the original Greek, plus the words and names Antioch is related to, plus the occurences of this name in the Bible.

www.abarim-publications.com

so, id rather not get into that with you right now, but imo when you understand that “Christians” had a previous definition, and what “Antioch” means, the Antioch story comes to have a…different cast to it, lets say. Kinda like how “iron sharpens iron” morphs, when “sharpening a friend’s countenance” gets understood for what it is?

as for those proceeding terms up there that religion has appropriated, from “baptized” to “snas,” i suggest that there are perfectly mundane counterparts for all of them, that i admit were hard to accept at first, but i have never gone back, as the mundane definitions were just too apt to reject, at least for me

but meat and milk dont mix, and i dont want to argue about them, so i am mentioning this that you might see that you are allowed to define these for yourself, using the Bible, rather than accept definitions provided by the cult of sol, who has a product to sell.

which i dont mean to denigrate the cult of sol either, some of the highest praise was given to the Roman Centurion by Jesus. Nothing wrong with the cult of sol, as a tree to be from imo
everybody has to start somewhere right

 

[bbyrd009]

You know, I'm sorry to hear that, it means you've likely never experienced what I did yesterday when we were all together, and that's sad to me.

Much love!

pls lol, ive been through virtually every Prot religion, attended plenty of love feasts, and meant what i said, that they were great places to be in at the time, and i learned much from every one. That you deem the feel-fests “worship” right now is completely fine imo, for where you are at right now, and i would not be in a hurry to move on either! Some of my fondest memories, no lie

and if you choose to stay in organized religion your whole life, more power to you imo

 

[Michiah-Imla]

ive been through virtually every Prot religion, attended plenty of love feasts

they were great places to be in at the time, and i learned much from every one.

How much is there to learn if you have a Holy Bible and read it daily?

 

[marks]

That you deem the feel-fests “worship”

Maybe that's your idea of what I'm talking about . . .

Much love!

 

[marks]

Should we go to church? Does going to church matter? What is a church? Does it matter to God if we go to church or not? Does the Bible say we should assemble to worship the Lord? Is believing enough or should we assemble to worship God too? Should we only attend a perfect church? How do we determine what is a good church? Should a church have a pastor?

In Hebrews it says to not stop assembling together, so we shouldn't stop doing that. And Ephesians says that Jesus gave pastors as gifts, should shouldn't we receive His gifts? I think assembling together is a wonderful thing, and pastors I've known have been valuable gifts.

Much love!

 

[bbyrd009]

How much is there to learn if you have a Holy Bible and read it daily?

well, i guess youd eventually learn that the Bible is not holy, but i would say that its probably impossible to learn it all in a lifetime, simply bc many of the allegories have been lost to us now. Who knows that Balaam is a ref to the Muleteer, the famous Roman general? And with the decay of google, these get harder to find every year

 

[marks]

Yes, Jesus is king, but would you have someone here on earth be second in command to Jesus? I think that could cause problems.

Like this . . .

1 Peter 5:1-4 KJV
1) The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2) Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3) Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
4) And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Jesus gave shepherds (pastors) to us, and He is the Chief Shepherd.

Much love!

 

[bbyrd009]

Maybe that's your idea of what I'm talking about . . .

Much love!

im just reflecting what my opinion was at the time, which might not be yours at all ok

 

[Ezra]

I'm just saying, don't open a church on a dare.

Much love!

trust me this was no dare. we did not have the finances to reopen the Church. it was closed for several months. water bill not paid electric bill not paid. we got stuck with a old insurance Bill that was not ours. as in present church. money started coming in from other Churches and we had some members who was over and beyond giving. were small in number but the doors are still open. i dont do God work on a dare. i am very adamant on Church attendance and person growth. i had one leave who said they wasnt getting anything out of it.

to get something you have to put something in to it you dont just go and so put it on me. it takes a want to and a desire.

 

[bbyrd009]

In Hebrews it says to not stop assembling together, so we shouldn't stop doing that. And Ephesians says that Jesus gave pastors as gifts, should shouldn't we receive His gifts? I think assembling together is a wonderful thing, and pastors I've known have been valuable gifts.

Much love!

however you choose who to assemble together with, and also who you perceive as a “pastor”
(fwiw i currently donate to a “church” ministry i dont even attend, a Methodist congregation i think, with an “organized religion” pastor)

im sure even you would admit that your definition of those has changed over the years, and that you are more selective about that now right

 

[Pearl]

i dont know what type Church you attend or anything. all these so called leaders sounds like confusion . if the Church is not right then find another one. all though there are those who cant be pleased

We haven't been talking about our own church but the Church in general, most of which seems to be run by committees who make all the decisions and who may or may not be born again.. Churches where people know about Jesus but not all know him personally. And that's mostly due to the fact that they are taught wrongly.