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'Church' These Days

I have seen real power demonstrated at church (the few times I've been there).

There's this one priest who becomes genuinely possessed by the holy spirit and the authority of Christ when he gives a service. Genuinely awe-inspiring, but I guess you need to be open to it or sensitive to it.
 
Nixiam said:
He's going to put me in chuch every Sunday
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I grew up with a religious mother... my dad was sort of like meh, but my mom made us all go to church every week. It was a pretty good Methodist church, I was bored in the service but I liked Sunday school because it was taught by different people I had always known (from church), and I had a lot of kids my age, some of whom are still friends. I never really resonated with it... I professed to believe when I was young, and even thought I did, but I always was sort of like "this isn't real" in the back of my mind. I also was in church choir all growing up, and so I went to church for that on Wednesday every week. I even got confirmed in 8th grade (where you have to learn a bunch of stuff and recite some things in front of the congregation to "officially" become a member of the religion/the church). When I was 15 my mom told me I only had to go every other week if I wanted, and then at 17 I didn't have to go at all if I didn't want to (I still wanted to be in choir but I started missing it whenever I wanted to do something else which was a fair amount because I had started smoking weed that year and wanted to drive around and adventure with my friends :D).

I really didn't find it oppressive at all but my mom was never into enforcing beliefs on us, she always told us that we could make up our own minds but that she wants us fully exposed as kids so we would be able to make that decision, and that she of course hoped that we will choose her path. I always understood that was the purpose so it felt like a loving thing to me, and it was. None of myself or my two siblings ended up religious but my mom is happy with us anyway... I am the only one who considers spirituality at all, my siblings aren't into it, but I have discussions with my mom about my beliefs, I've even told her about my trip that opened my eyes to spirituality, years after it happened, and she was pretty fascinated.

After I graduated college, I moved pretty far away from my family, but my girlfriend/fiance/wife at the time was pretty religious, in the sort of way where she didn't really live her life that way but it was ingrained into her so she wanted to go to church. We never really went until she became a church pianist and convinced me to join the choir there. I resisted but I actually loved it. That church was amazing, the congregation and the pastors were wonderful, truly beautiful people. The sermons were funny and thought-provoking. Everything centered around love and community service, and they did a lot for their community. I felt magic during services quite often there, and I really enjoyed being a part of it. I definitely got something out of it even though I didn't agree with all of the things they said. The thing is, I agreed fully with their messages, I just didn't buy into any of the Christian god stuff.
 
Yes, in some places you can find truly extraordinary people. That priest was also the one who taught me before my confirmation (we all get confirmed to get a big party and gifts) and also come to us for funerals, and he's really special. Everyone asks for him so he's overworked all the time and they always send him when there's been tragedies, etc.

It's funny, because in normal life he's more like a comedic geek/hillbilly type character who makes everyone laugh. But there's such a change in him when he gets up to speech in front of the church, it's like another spirit takes him over, and he speaks with such authority it's impossible not to feel respect or veneration. I can only think it's all the time spent serving and connecting with Jesus/God, as that is all he basically does, so it must serve to build higher self connection in some way.

Well, that made a big impression on me, maybe because I'm not used to seeing it or never go to church. But I don't think most priests are like that.
 
I used to go to church. I still believe in God, but I follow my own religion altogether rather than one that comes from a church.
 
LandsUnknown, have you thought about writing a 'bible' of sorts expressing your religion?
 
We should move away from bibles. Focus more on manifesto's I think.
 
In my country there are only Christian churches (and Scientology buildings are also called churches). Other spiritual havens are called temple, mosque, synagogue, group, sangha, dojo etc. The term "church" for me personally is negatively connoted, because there is always a Christian link to the building. And here in Europe Christian churches are usually expensive, pompous buildings (albeit beautiful), that likely caused a lot of suffering during the build process.

I never go to church (I have nothing against Christians, there are very good, socially open and charitable Christian people here, I like them, but the buildings themselves feel like a void of spirit for me personally).
 
I hadn't gone to church in years until maybe a year ago I started going again. I tried a few. The first few were either boring or the preacher was a simp/weak. (I've had a problem falling asleep in Church since I was a kid) The last one I went to before I found my Church had a real wimpy preacher talking about nothing, interspersed with videos about giving water to third worlders and such (not interesting to me at all, if I was going to help people with water it would be Flint Michigan.)

After the service I talked to some people and they all bragged about the money they gave to random Africans. OK whatever but what about God?

A lot of churches are set up so people can go in on Sunday, drop a few bucks in the hat, and forget God the rest of the week.

Finally a friend invited me to a Pentecostal church and I was blown away. The energy in the room was incredible, I could tell God was present. The music was awesome, basically funk music praising God, I was sweating bullets dancing and I let myself go in praise and worship in a way I had never done before. All the people there had a glow to them. There were some strange aspects such as people speaking in tounges which I'd never heard before but I get it now, I haven't received the Holy Spirit but I pray I will.

I also go to a Pentecostal bible study once a week and stay linked up with my Pentecostal brothers to keep each other in line, pray and read the Bible every day.

Pentecostalism is pretty hard-line in some ways but to me that's better than all these half-Christian compromised churches out there. For example they don't like the women wearing pants (skirts or dresses) marriage is for life NO DIVORCE PERIOD (good thing IMO) and if a gay person comes to the church we believe God can save them from the sin of homosexuality.

But anyways if you're going to a church full of half-Christians and seek a church where people have fire in their eyes check out the Pentecostals. I can only vouch for the two I've been to but they are incredible.
 
treezy z said:
Pentecostalism is pretty hard-line in some ways but to me that's better than all these half-Christian compromised churches out there. For example they don't like the women wearing pants (skirts or dresses) marriage is for life NO DIVORCE PERIOD (good thing IMO) and if a gay person comes to the church we believe God can save them from the sin of homosexuality.
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I dig your post overall, I've found some great churches too where I really felt the love, but just wanted to point out that this part is a great example of the sort of harm that has come from religion. Here we have a system that is perpetuating control over women, romantic involvement, and sexual orientation, causing pain or difficulty to all people belonging to groups who are these or want to do these things. By the way I do think people should try to stay together if at all possible (IF they have children), but there are cases where divorce is the best thing whether there are children or not. And given I'm sure your church doesn't mean only with children, but with all marriage, the number of cases where divorce is the best option grows massively. What if two people grow to be miserable with each other and they both want to move on and find someone else? Why should they have to be unhappy the rest of their lives? What if someone is being abused? Why should they be stuck in that horrible situation? Why would god want them to be? The whole idea of promising to be together forever is silly anyway, people grow and change (especially if they get together young), how can you ever know for sure that you should be with someone forever?

Spirituality is what humans are attracted to, I am a spiritual person, I believe I am part of the universe, that the universe is aware, and you could call that universe god (though I don't). Religion is a social/cultural framework imposed externally on spirituality, and as such, I only see it as a means towards shaping the mass of people into a certain way of thinking and being. It's a separate between you and your spirituality, the idea that your spirituality has to be filtered through an external filter of acceptance. The sexual orientation of a person does not have anything to do with morality. The universe does not care about whether a person is attracted to the same gender or not, that's ridiculous if you actually think about it... what does it matter whether a speck of dust on a speck of dust in a speck of dust prefers one speck of dust or another? The only reason people consider it a sin is because their religion told them to. It's codified homophobia that people feel they have to agree with or else they're going against god. It's the definition of a cancerous belief. These types of beliefs do not only come from religion (bigotry exists in many forms), but religion is a very major enabler of these types of beliefs.
 
I'd probably enjoy going to a church service that awakenes my kundalini energy for a little while but would need a good mental filter though to participate in a service like that causes people to shout all this weird mental stuff about sinners, hellfire, liberals, taxes and stuff while having this amazing surge in energy. It'd get a bit confusing after a while.
 
That reminds me, I had a kundalini rising/holy spirit awakening last Christmas watching the boy's choir sing live on TV. Maybe it will come again this year. Think that's as close as I'll get, though. It just sort of took me by suprise. But there's something to be said for groups of people rousing the spirit within you.
 
treezy z said:
Pentecostalism is pretty hard-line in some ways but to me that's better than all these half-Christian compromised churches out there. For example they don't like the women wearing pants (skirts or dresses) marriage is for life NO DIVORCE PERIOD (good thing IMO) and if a gay person comes to the church we believe God can save them from the sin of homosexuality.

But anyways if you're going to a church full of half-Christians and seek a church where people have fire in their eyes check out the Pentecostals. I can only vouch for the two I've been to but they are incredible.
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Hmmm.... Being an openly gay male I was on payroll working for a pentecostal church 20 years ago so I think you must have found a pretty 'unique' church. I attend a pentecostal church now as a openly gay male. As Xorkoth mentioned in his comment sexual orientation isn't defined by religion. That's like wearing an odd shaped hat trying to change your head shape.

Tbh I don't think any of the description above represents me or my belief or the church I attend. Perhaps there are some old members that have some of these beliefs, if I find them I'll be sure to be the Gay guy that sits beside them every Sunday. The music is good there is no dancing, I'd be ok with that, but with intolerance I'm just not real good. The church more than any other place should never be intolerant.
 
Yourbaker said:
Hmmm.... Being an openly gay male I was on payroll working for a pentecostal church 20 years ago so I think you must have found a pretty 'unique' church. I attend a pentecostal church now as a openly gay male. As Xorkoth mentioned in his comment sexual orientation isn't defined by religion. That's like wearing an odd shaped hat trying to change your head shape.

Tbh I don't think any of the description above represents me or my belief or the church I attend. Perhaps there are some old members that have some of these beliefs, if I find them I'll be sure to be the Gay guy that sits beside them every Sunday. The music is good there is no dancing, I'd be ok with that, but with intolerance I'm just not real good. The church more than any other place should never be intolerant.
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I go to a Oneness Pentecostal church which is yeah it's different widely considered a heresy etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneness_Pentecostalism
 
Seems odd to me that a church based on an idea of oneness would be more restrictive in terms of acceptable personality traits such as sexual orientation.
 
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