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Post by Goddess on Mar 12, 2010 20:50:49 GMT -5
I belong to another forum with a bunch of "F" personality types, and I'm a "T"...so my take on things is somewhat different.
The topic of organized religion came up, and several members shied away from it, but you all know (and damn well better love) me..... I thought some of you might appreciate my take on it.
My take on organized religion...it's a great way to raise my son, and keep him busy. Seriously... I had to search hard for a church that wasn't hellfire and damnation, I don't go for that. I wanted one that was growing, with kids around, and youth programs, one that would let me be involved. My son and I get fellowship (which is a large part of what church is about for me), he gets to learn about helping others, he gets to go on trips that I don't have to pay bigs $$$ for. This year he's going to Nicaragua. Last Year he went to Virginia, the previous year to South Carolina...all trips where he goes and has a blast, learns about the importance of people helping people, and gets to hang with some really good friends and meet new friends. My involvement is deep, although I don't go on the trips with him. I am there, and I know the people he is with. I know he's not out running around with a drugged up bunch of hoodlums, he is supervised. He helps the homeless by volunteering at our local shelter, he helps in our "Hope" Garden, which produces fresh veggies used for the shelters and our homebound members, or other people in the community that need it. The church is supportive of the non-profit I run as well. I actually have a part time job at the church, running the nursery, which has been some much welcomed cushion in my monthly income. I have a say in where my money goes when I donate, and they offer scholarships for the kids as well. As a single mom, it's almost like having another parent. Plus we get free or low priced meals several times a week for those really tight months! All in the name of fellowship dinners! I am a Christian though, so that helps. But to me the church is a tool, which I use to meet *my* needs.
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Post by Goddess on Mar 12, 2010 20:55:43 GMT -5
someone replied to that and asked if I din't think that was having a relationship with God....
so here's my Big Box reply....
My relationship with God is independant of my relationship with the church. God was with me before I found my church, and I have always been able to commune with him just fine. The church neither adds or subtracts from that...simply facilitates some of our behavior. Before big box stores people went to various different, smaller stores, to get things they needed, or they grew/made what they needed themselves. With the advent of big box stores, people have chosen to en masse to forgo the hard work of growing/making their own and scuttling hither and yon to get what they needed and to do what they needed to do. It's a convenience factor. That's how it is with organized religion, people can be just as spiritual on their own, and can give to the community, but their money goes further and they don't have to work as hard with the big box religion. Fortunately, we don't have a walmart of religion yet....
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Post by Goddess on Mar 12, 2010 21:00:23 GMT -5
I wanted to share this because I keep hearing people talk about organized religion, and I understand a lot of what they are saying.... but I just wanted to give people a bit of a different perspective.
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Post by IncogNITO on Mar 12, 2010 23:30:58 GMT -5
I am going to say the seperation between church and relationship with God is not all that great. Was it not your relationship with God that made you search for a church?
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Post by Goddess on Mar 12, 2010 23:56:48 GMT -5
Not really, to be honest. It was more a desire to find a positive atmosphere in which to raise my son.
I HAD to go to church when I was a kid, the first church I remember I was afraid of the pastor. I remember other pastors, some good, some awful, one I considered evil. I tried some of my friend's churches, and was very disgusted by them singling me out because my dad had died...I was prime for salvation, and they used many of the same methods of a classic abuser...they seperated me from my friends and support system, and they tried to brainwash me into believing things I don't believe. Then they tried to peer pressure me into claiming I had been saved.
I've always seperated these people that make up various churches from God. However, my belief in God was always there. Just because I had suffered my father's illness and subsequent death didn't mean I had lost faith...I knew it was God who gave me strength and determination. It may warm the cockles of your heart to know the one time I purposefully sought out God at a church it was a Catholic church where I looked for him. I found him there too, and he gave me a sign. I've also found signs at the beach, at home, in the sky....
But, when it came time to search for my church family I was aware I see things differently, and I knew what I wanted. I wanted a positive place to share with me in raising my son. The initial pastor there was a wonderful man who had many of the same beliefs and interests that I do, and when he retired I shied away from the church because I had a profound distate for the interim pastor....partly, I think, was simply because he wasn't the first one.
When the new pastor was announced, I was hesitant. It was actually a long time before I heard one of his sermons, but I liked it. What I liked more was the growth and interest in the kids. I still rarely attend services, but I do go to the building several times a week. I talk to the pastor about things I read, I involve myself with the youth and the babies. After my son is grown, (or hopefully soon, after my sonSSSS are grown) then I may attend actual services and Bible Studies.... because the church itself is a resource.
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Post by Sundealer on Mar 13, 2010 9:09:44 GMT -5
As most know, I grew up with 2 religions, Greek Orthodox and Jewish. I attended both until I turned 16. The old HAD to go. At 16 I was allowed to chose or not. The thing I remember most is how my parents were involved with BOTH. Mom would help out at the Greek church festivals (even though she didn't speak Greek!) or after service coffee. Dad spent a lot of time helping at the temple, as he was a pretty good handyman. Even though there was a difference in beliefs, it was the sense of community that was beyond that.
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Post by Goddess on Mar 13, 2010 11:41:18 GMT -5
That's it in a nutshell...its the sense of community. All communities have a few bad seeds, but if the overall group meets your needs, then what a blessing!
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Post by IncogNITO on Mar 13, 2010 13:33:25 GMT -5
Goddess your still a prime canidate for salvation but that is beside the point.
Churches were always meant to be a resource. They were gathering points for communities and have been used as schools and day care and places to meet and greet friends before Christianity came into being.
All things are connected. The Church you pick whether you go every week once a month or only attend social gatherings is based on your walk with God and the need you feel. When you believe there is little in your life that isn't based on that walk. Those who believe yet never put a foot in the church do so because of their walk with God. I doubt you would have picked that church if you did not see at least some part of your walk in it. A church is a tool like everything else on this planet. They are to be used and some of those tools are for worship only others are to be more being a part of the community and serving the community they are in.
For me I have three reasons for going. The first is that participating in the service centers me and opens me up to the word. I'd go crazy if I was just a listener/watcher. The second is community. Not just to see where my talents can be put to use but to feel connected with people. My life is so busy these days that I may not see friends for weeks at a time. So it is a way to connect with them. The third and most important is the food.
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Post by Goddess on Mar 13, 2010 13:43:10 GMT -5
God is in my heart. I have not shut him out. I simply don't attend church just to find God....
My congregation doesn't have as good of cooks as the wonderful predominantly black churches I visit, but they'll do.
And the community is exactly what I was talking about!
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Post by Sundealer on Mar 13, 2010 15:03:16 GMT -5
"The third and most important is the food."
Which I lucked out on at both places!!
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Post by IncogNITO on Mar 15, 2010 18:31:56 GMT -5
Oh the food. It is a shame I can't be a Priest, a Rabbi and a Minister. I would never have to cook again. I would also weigh 475lbs.
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