The real reasons for the overall decline in church attendence (Christianity, Christian)
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I went and asked around over on the Christianity forum and many of them don't take the Bible literally or think being a Christian is about preaching or going to church. I dare say a few of them are further to the left than I am.
The "Christianity" forum here yes you will get this. No Bible-believing Christian is going to sit around and debate endlessly on the Christian forum like the people there do.
The problem with Christianity in this country is a lukewarm or even dry relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ.
It's not about going to church or being religious. Jesus preached about hypocrisy pretty heavy actually when He walked this planet.
I have a feeling if He spoke in a church today in America, the vast majority would be cut like a knife to just how spiritually bankrupt they truly are.
With the true Christian, it's all about their WALK in this life. Many people going to church want nothing to do with the actual words of Jesus Christ.
The "Christianity" forum here yes you will get this. No Bible-believing Christian is going to sit around and debate endlessly on the Christian forum like the people there do.
The problem with Christianity in this country is a lukewarm or even dry relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ.
It's not about going to church or being religious. Jesus preached about hypocrisy pretty heavy actually when He walked this planet.
I have a feeling if He spoke in a church today in America, the vast majority would be cut like a knife to just how spiritually bankrupt they truly are.
With the true Christian, it's all about their WALK in this life. Many people going to church want nothing to do with the actual words of Jesus Christ.
They think they are doing the right thing just like any of us. They have just let con men set themselves up as the middleman between them and whatever you want to call "it".
Well "those" people are MORE hateful and hypocritical than other people.
I am 48 years old and when I look back on my life the most viciously cruel people have been Christians. I know plenty of other people with the same experience. On one of the forums I visit we were just discussing this very thing. How Christians talk about "inclusion" but it is in most cases about exclusion. It seems most Christians are filled with glee to find faults in others and condemn them for it when their own sins are ten times worse.
I went and asked around over on the Christianity forum and many of them don't take the Bible literally or think being a Christian is about preaching or going to church. I dare say a few of them are further to the left than I am.
Sounds like a lot of Americans I've met. One step away from growing up a bit more.
I went and asked around over on the Christianity forum and many of them don't take the Bible literally or think being a Christian is about preaching or going to church. I dare say a few of them are further to the left than I am.
That is absolutely true, L8. It does prove my point though. Church is just not that important to a lot of people.
Take where I live for example... I live in one of the most religious areas of the country, in one of the most conservative counties. In my office there are about 35 people, and out of those 35 people, about 33 or 34 of them say they are Bible believing Christians. They would tell you they are "conservative, God fearing Christians". All of them would tell you that Christianity and their belief in God is the most important thing in their lives...... Out of those 34, only about 10 go to church regularly, while the rest only go periodically. Out of those 10, I know of at least 2 that go for no other reason than to rub elbows with our branch manager who goes to the same church.
There are many people down in this area who will tell you to they are blue in the face what a good Christian they are, yet they do nothing inherently "Christian". They drink, they smoke, they sleep around, they lie, they cheat, they steal..... I know MANY people here in the south that go to church for no reason other than to appease their relatives, or to make connections. Point is, there is a whole lot of people who CLAIM to be Christian (some of whom even go through the motions), that certainly are not. The non believer count is much higher than some people believe.
Take where I live for example... I live in one of the most religious areas of the country, in one of the most conservative counties. In my office there are about 35 people, and out of those 35 people, about 33 or 34 of them say they are Bible believing Christians. They would tell you they are "conservative, God fearing Christians".
Isn't it odd how soooooo many 'Christians' in the USA are 'conservatives' in the political sense. Yet the teachings associated with the Christ character is the polar opposite to conservative America today. I rather like this....
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I know MANY people here in the south that go to church for no reason other than to appease their relatives, or to make connections. Point is, there is a whole lot of people who CLAIM to be Christian (some of whom even go through the motions), that certainly are not. The non believer count is much higher than some people believe.
Indeed it is. I personally know atheists that live the lie of being a Christian because they are too afraid of being ostracised by their very own family and even loosing their job if it ever became known that they were atheist.
Isn't it odd how soooooo many 'Christians' in the USA are 'conservatives' in the political sense. Yet the teachings associated with the Christ character is the polar opposite to conservative America today. I rather like this....
Yea, it has always struck me as funny that they can't see it. In fact, their Jesus character would probably be appalled at how they treat others, if he were real that is.
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Originally Posted by Rafius
Indeed it is. I personally know atheists that live the lie of being of being a Christian because they are too afraid of being ostracised by there very own families and even loosing their job if it ever became known that they were atheist.
What a place to live!! Oy vez!!!
Exactly Raf! It says a lot about these so called Christians too.
Last edited by southernbored; 09-01-2016 at 08:37 AM..
Indeed it is. I personally know atheists that live the lie of being a Christian because they are too afraid of being ostracised by their very own family and even loosing their job if it ever became known that they were atheist.
They're doing the same thing most Americans do, faking it.
The main reason people don't go to church is to avoid conviction. They don't want to face their sins and shortcomings, so they avoid people and places where it might be pointed out.
Well if you spend a lot of time around authoritarian / judgmental teachings, you might think that, but not everyone is guilt-riddled and seeking to avoid "conviction" (although, when you think about it ... who wouldn't want to avoid condemnation and judgment).
Speaking only for myself, I don't go to church because I'm not interested in religious faith anymore ... it has demonstrably been a failed epistemology that has not predicted or explained experienced reality. Also its false claims to be the source of societal morality means that if you DO get "conviction" it's going to be for purposes of control rather than actual morality.
Um, DISH network have about two dozen channels devoted to religion.
those channels are on the fringes of christianity
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