I see a lot of people making fun of religions, church etc....
 

and I understand where most of you are coming from.
I always tell people I was "INDOCTRINATED" into the Assemblies of God Church...but as I grow older I look back on some of those days fondly.
Sure there were some big egoes there, power plays not for your soul but your brains with cash to follow.
But if you could take that out of the church and keep what I loved mostly about it and that was what people call "fellowship," you could have a good thing going.
I'll be 39 this year and I grew up in a day and age where we still had communities. Something important I think we've lost in all of our "progress."
I played community sports, was in cub scouts with kids from school who's parents all knew each other.
My parents had bbq's, halloween parties and New Years parties where hundreds of neighbors would show up. We all pretty much knew each other or knew of each other and it wasn't a small neighborhood.
My point is, is that some people still find that in Church that little sense of belonging that everyone wants and/or needs.
The shame of it all it is used to explolit people.
I'm not a bar person, I don't like clubs, etc...only go to them at the conventions but it's the very same thing I see in Church going on at these conventions and why so many people let loose when they get there.
Most here are sitting behind our computers for hours on end and our only sense of community is a BBS called GFY...even if it sounds demented. Sure some of us have friends outiside of all this, but with work schedules it becomes difficult to see them.
So then a show comes around, and you see smiling faces, hugs, kisses, people sitting around swapping stories...you see Church exactly how it should be.

Here here man... community is nearly gone. It's so sad.

the whole idea of organized religeon is a fairy tale used to control the masses. Think about it.....what's more terrifing than "Burning in hell FOREVER.....FOR....EV....ER!" It's just another way that a few people can control everyone else.

you don't need church to talk to your neighbors just go say hi.. :winkwink: Or you could dress up like a Mormon and knock on their doors if you think that will work better :1orglaugh

IMO church is nothing more than a social event for people that wanna keep up with the Joneses and live fake lives. It's all relative to the size of your steeple. Proof is in how big and expensive all the churches are. If they really wanted to pray to god, they could do it in a tin roofed shack.

You missed his point entirely

Thomas

Completely over your head and under your knees...did you feel the breeze as my point went by?

and????
You want to address my point now?

I agree. Religion is great for Stupid People who need to believe that
their friends and family go to a "better place" when they die. People just need to STFU about their retarded religous beliefs and keep it to themselves. If you hear voices your insane but if you hear the voice of God then your normal? Keep your relationship with the imaginary ghost in the sky to yourself.
NO ONE CARES :disgust

Yea I just farted so what's it to you... :winkwink:

God damn..why try?...you people are just flat ass stupid.

opinions are like assholes everyone has one..

But yet I also have proof mine is right...take a look above.

I rarely make jokes about God and religion out of respect to the people for whom these are the most important things in their lives.

Dont give up , some of what you have said may have reached the odd person or 2 :2 cents:

:thumbsup

LOL thx...you and BradM so far.

Sorry you've been so misunderstood in this thread, eros.

I get your point, and agree 100%

Coming together, under whatever flag or ideology, is still coming together -- and, therefore, an absolute good.

It's the unfortunate things people do AFTER they come together, when their feelings of fear and paranoia, combined with the apparent inability of the species to RETAIN group cohesion without an external "enemy", that trouble me.

Feelings of belonging are great, it's just that the history of groups contains so few examples of "happy belonging" that didn't rely on a posture of condemnation towards some other group, in order to hold their focus and achieve cohesion.


j-

Why is it that people always latch onto the kneejerk phrases? Are people only trained to think in "soundbites" nowdays?

Thomas

Well said :thumbsup

BTW, I one one these "bastards" who really hate any kind of religion. Got your rocks ready to throw them to me???

Everyone gets defensive when "religion" is mentioned. But the one thing the church did better than any organization ever in existance is bring people together. Oh well.

ohhh boy...take a look around and see the world around you, while your at it look at humankind history... :winkwink:

How Christ-like of you.

And the church is bigger than ever. The church has grown and grown. There are now 4 christion tv stations on my cable. I remember there used to be none.

People are looking for spirituality, theyre just put off by a lot of the wacky beliefs in the bible and the church.

Name one other religion that brought 2 billion people together.

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
heres a list of the largest religions in the world.

Well said.
I was angry at religion for many years.
It took me a long time to re-see the good stuff.
And community/congregation is one of the major things.

Its one of the things I love about the net...it allows people to find their congregation of similar perspectives...all over the world. (But it still can't match a BBQ)

Someone should look up the word analogy and then figure out how it applies to what he originally said.

Then go look up the word maladroit, and figure out how it might apply to you.

Thomas

I would have to agree with THE EROS on this one.

and I thought your comparison was spot on.


OH and I've noticed a growing trend. People love to say leave religon out if it in one breath and bash religon in the next.

I am the farthest thing from a church goer. However I don't bash anothers sense of beliefs either.

Well man, it's one of the things I definitely see in your Burning Man Pics...community.

eros :thumbsup

Oh yeah THE EROS damn I already forgot about that...LOL

the eros is always right

Religion is an opium from the people! Guess who said that?

I just looked up "maladroit", you must be talking about the other guys.

Good post. Its too bad people can't take their heads out of their asses long enough to read the post for what it is. :thumbsup

Hey, so true! Good post ! It has gone WAY over some peoples heads tho :1orglaugh

I'll address your point now..... :warning "Community" died when the internet was born. People no longer actually had to leave their homes in order to communicate with others. If you want to "see" people and call it "community" join a singles group or volunteer. Using Church as an example was a bad idea IMO.

No it was a good idea because people still use the Church to get their need for community.
I'm not interested in joining a singles group...I might as well join AFF or something like that...and what does that leave for people who are already married have families etc.
You don't have as much involvement in school functions by parents anymore, community functions etc.
I've lived here in this house for going on 3 1 /2 years now and I don't know one name of my neighbors here...LOL..and they don't know mine.

Good point.