Religion is not popular especially if religious people are seen as self-righteous; and they often are.
In Mark's gospel He says "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Righteous people believe that they can make themselves right with God by being good or moral. This is sadly what religion has taught and many have believed. It should be a safe place for people who have been broken to be made whole.
We see early in the message of Jesus that it stirs up resentment and hatred so that two opposing groups now are plotting to kill him. The Herodians, supporters of Herod and the Pharisees that stressed living by Hebrew scripture and upheld traditional values. The Herodians thought they were more modern and moving with the times and had been enemies of the Paharisees.
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an offense to both religious and irreligious."
from The King's Cross by Timothy Keller.
Dad and I had a short walk in the woods; using his poles and the softer ground is much better for him.
Once you get in among the trees, with the eagles circling above, you do not feel the wind.
I can understand why people who have not been in a church feel very uncomfortable there. I feel very uncomfortable in a place of loud music and a lot of drinking. The church is doing some things to make people more comfortable. There has been changes in the music, some good and some not. I know that there are other changes but the older people do not want to be budged from their comfort zone.
I have found small groups the best way to express my beliefs and also learn about Christianity; from scripture and from the experiences of others.
8 comments:
Yes, Beth change in the church is not an easy thing to do. Our church is small and has a very small back room for meetings or coffee so we would like to do away with the large pews and have chairs instead, so we can make use of the actual church for coffee houses, meetings or a larger place for Sunday school BUT some are adamant that the pews stay.
Changes in the service are not always welcomed such as omitting the Creeds. On it goes! We were just talking about some of the larger "showpiece" churches in Winnipeg that have large screen tv's, and large operating expenses and the small street ministries in the poor districts, my vote goes to the churches who are ministering to the people in need, as Christ did. One of those wealthy churches had half their congregation leave to start a poor small church in the very poor area of Winnipeg. Love, Nancy
Thanks Nancy,
I did not learn a lot today.
doug talked about religion and spirituality, changing our theology, using more art and beauty to make our churches more alive, also use of less words in our services but more sharing of faith that brings feeling into the time of worship.
Be open to different voices within our community such as yoga and meditation.
Use the visual to open the soul to the sacred with candles, inscense and other things.
Not to be anti-intellectualism but embrace the scientific and new knowledge that keeps us in touch with culture changes.
I think our church does very well in many ways but maybe even changing the time of the service or making it a time of debate and exchange of ideas.
Be creative and joyfull.
It is always hard to get people to be open to new ideas, like removing the pews. I think I still came away with many questions.
love beth
Randy and I took the dogs to the beach today. At the parking lot with no wind it did not feel cold, but once we got to the water we had a very brisk to the end and back! Sandra
What did Douglas Todd have to say?
There was an interesting book written in the last year or two by a chap who was the religion writer for the Los Angeles times. I've been meaning to look for it, but now I've forgotten the fellow's name.
Love,
Rick
William Lobdell "Losing My Religion"
Not as negative as it sounds.
Love,
Rick
nice and stormy and wet here.I had my first airport closure last night , boy where we busy once it reopens and everyone scramles for a departure.
Ken
Douglas Todd said what I said back to Nancy but the main message was be willing to take some risks
love mon
I will search for the book...alibris.com has many used books as well as out of print at very reasonable prices. I am open to looking at all thoughts about religion except for atheists...oh boy that is not correct spelling! Thanks to Rick....Beth, did Sandra tell you about the handsome little black cat at your local humane society who badly needs a good home? Yes, I know, I am relentless when it comes to finding homes for needy animals. That is why my friend and I started our local rescue..East Beaches Animal Shelter.We have saved countless cats and dogs and spayed and neutered hundreds of feral cats.
Love and prayers for good health,
Nancy
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