Would you still go to a specific church if...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

I am a Christian because I believe in God, I love God, I want to glorify God and after my bodily death, spend eternity in His Presence.

I want the same for my fellow man. I want my fellow man to live eternally in peace, with perfect happiness and beyond all pain, with Our Creator. The ultimate goal of religion is to attain salvation for oneself and others.

I do go to Church to be in fellowship with fellow Christians and worship God, but I could not attend a church that wasn’t at it’s core, a place that was purely and surely pushing it’s members and attendees to spend eternity with God. What good is being welcomed and supported and loved in a church on earth, but failing in the end to receive salvation?

There are social clubs, therapists, support groups, all kinds of secular organizations and groups, where people from every viewpoint, walk of life, and community, can join together and give and receive support and advice.


Church isn’t a place where Christians go to receive God’s magical protection on earth. Being a Christian does not give Christians protection on earth from physical pain, emotional pain, heartbreak and suffering. The safest place for a ship is a harbor, but that’s not where ships stay. Jesus didn’t stay in safe spaces. He lived and taught in a high risk environment where He was actively engaged in bringing His Word to those who were not conventionally “good people.”

One of my friends lives in an urban area and actively works to bring the word of God to those living beyond the borders of safe society. He is one of the few people I know who routinely picks up hitchhikers and gives them rides, offers them a meal on the way to their destination. Twice his life has been in serious danger. He continues to pick up people and give them rides and offers them a meal even though it’s very high risk. He does so in the name of our Lord, to his own personal risk. He wants to show people that they are cared for by someone and they are loved and not alone as they wander physically (and probably emotionally) through life.

He has been scammed recently by 2 men who are addicted to drugs he has been financially helping. (He’s smart and computer savvy and noticed the receipts they provided him were photoshopped.) He’s disappointed and disheartened, but he also knows these men are addicted to drugs and not in their right minds. He will not allow himself to be scammed anymore, but also continues to help people in need.

We all want safety and comfort, but life isn’t like that. We know in the will of God our ultimate and assured safety exists, no matter our circumstance on earth.

[Anonymous]

If you all don't want to go to a church that challenges you and your beliefs/lifestyles, then why bother going to a church? Just place your own selfie on an alter at home and worship away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you all don't want to go to a church that challenges you and your beliefs/lifestyles, then why bother going to a church? Just place your own selfie on an alter at home and worship away.

The Church Of American Secular Consumerism, feat. Our Lady of Tik Tok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No

Who goes to a church that spews that crap?

Why would you want to be part of a community that lies and spews hate on others?

Seriously this is stupid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.

I am a Christian because I believe in God, I love God, I want to glorify God and after my bodily death, spend eternity in His Presence.

I want the same for my fellow man. I want my fellow man to live eternally in peace, with perfect happiness and beyond all pain, with Our Creator. The ultimate goal of religion is to attain salvation for oneself and others.

I do go to Church to be in fellowship with fellow Christians and worship God, but I could not attend a church that wasn’t at it’s core, a place that was purely and surely pushing it’s members and attendees to spend eternity with God. What good is being welcomed and supported and loved in a church on earth, but failing in the end to receive salvation?

There are social clubs, therapists, support groups, all kinds of secular organizations and groups, where people from every viewpoint, walk of life, and community, can join together and give and receive support and advice.


Church isn’t a place where Christians go to receive God’s magical protection on earth. Being a Christian does not give Christians protection on earth from physical pain, emotional pain, heartbreak and suffering. The safest place for a ship is a harbor, but that’s not where ships stay. Jesus didn’t stay in safe spaces. He lived and taught in a high risk environment where He was actively engaged in bringing His Word to those who were not conventionally “good people.”

One of my friends lives in an urban area and actively works to bring the word of God to those living beyond the borders of safe society. He is one of the few people I know who routinely picks up hitchhikers and gives them rides, offers them a meal on the way to their destination. Twice his life has been in serious danger. He continues to pick up people and give them rides and offers them a meal even though it’s very high risk. He does so in the name of our Lord, to his own personal risk. He wants to show people that they are cared for by someone and they are loved and not alone as they wander physically (and probably emotionally) through life.

He has been scammed recently by 2 men who are addicted to drugs he has been financially helping. (He’s smart and computer savvy and noticed the receipts they provided him were photoshopped.) He’s disappointed and disheartened, but he also knows these men are addicted to drugs and not in their right minds. He will not allow himself to be scammed anymore, but also continues to help people in need.

We all want safety and comfort, but life isn’t like that. We know in the will of God our ultimate and assured safety exists, no matter our circumstance on earth.

[Anonymous]

No, I want an inclusive church which accepts everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I want an inclusive church which accepts everyone.

The most well-known hymn in America, “Amazing Grace,” by the former slaveholder John Newton, contains a line that many people stumble over.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!”

The hymn may be popular, but the sentiment is not. Few Americans consider themselves “wretches” of moral repugnance and debasement. We like to think of ourselves as basically good, with a few flaws; not fundamentally bad, with few virtues to save us.

Some Christians believe it would be good to remove unnecessary offense by downplaying human sinfulness, but such a move severs the root of what makes grace so powerful. It is precisely because we’re bad, not good, that God’s love in sending his Son to die for our sins is so significant.

I want my church to help people improve their lives in a loving manner, with the goal of salvation.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. Why the hell would you give a penny to anyone who thinks you were born wrong? You're contributing to a cycle of hatred.

You can have your faith and believe in God without patronizing a church that supports hatred. You can find community elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.

I am a Christian because I believe in God, I love God, I want to glorify God and after my bodily death, spend eternity in His Presence.

I want the same for my fellow man. I want my fellow man to live eternally in peace, with perfect happiness and beyond all pain, with Our Creator. The ultimate goal of religion is to attain salvation for oneself and others.

I do go to Church to be in fellowship with fellow Christians and worship God, but I could not attend a church that wasn’t at it’s core, a place that was purely and surely pushing it’s members and attendees to spend eternity with God. What good is being welcomed and supported and loved in a church on earth, but failing in the end to receive salvation?

There are social clubs, therapists, support groups, all kinds of secular organizations and groups, where people from every viewpoint, walk of life, and community, can join together and give and receive support and advice.


Church isn’t a place where Christians go to receive God’s magical protection on earth. Being a Christian does not give Christians protection on earth from physical pain, emotional pain, heartbreak and suffering. The safest place for a ship is a harbor, but that’s not where ships stay. Jesus didn’t stay in safe spaces. He lived and taught in a high risk environment where He was actively engaged in bringing His Word to those who were not conventionally “good people.”

One of my friends lives in an urban area and actively works to bring the word of God to those living beyond the borders of safe society. He is one of the few people I know who routinely picks up hitchhikers and gives them rides, offers them a meal on the way to their destination. Twice his life has been in serious danger. He continues to pick up people and give them rides and offers them a meal even though it’s very high risk. He does so in the name of our Lord, to his own personal risk. He wants to show people that they are cared for by someone and they are loved and not alone as they wander physically (and probably emotionally) through life.

He has been scammed recently by 2 men who are addicted to drugs he has been financially helping. (He’s smart and computer savvy and noticed the receipts they provided him were photoshopped.) He’s disappointed and disheartened, but he also knows these men are addicted to drugs and not in their right minds. He will not allow himself to be scammed anymore, but also continues to help people in need.

We all want safety and comfort, but life isn’t like that. We know in the will of God our ultimate and assured safety exists, no matter our circumstance on earth.

you posted your bigoted and hateful comment above the post you quoted. This is your bigoted and hateful comment:


“Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.”

God is love. You are a troll, or a hateful and bigoted atheist/anti-theist.

[img]














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I would not live my life as a hateful bigot, as many atheists and anti-theists do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.

I am a Christian because I believe in God, I love God, I want to glorify God and after my bodily death, spend eternity in His Presence.

I want the same for my fellow man. I want my fellow man to live eternally in peace, with perfect happiness and beyond all pain, with Our Creator. The ultimate goal of religion is to attain salvation for oneself and others.

I do go to Church to be in fellowship with fellow Christians and worship God, but I could not attend a church that wasn’t at it’s core, a place that was purely and surely pushing it’s members and attendees to spend eternity with God. What good is being welcomed and supported and loved in a church on earth, but failing in the end to receive salvation?

There are social clubs, therapists, support groups, all kinds of secular organizations and groups, where people from every viewpoint, walk of life, and community, can join together and give and receive support and advice.


Church isn’t a place where Christians go to receive God’s magical protection on earth. Being a Christian does not give Christians protection on earth from physical pain, emotional pain, heartbreak and suffering. The safest place for a ship is a harbor, but that’s not where ships stay. Jesus didn’t stay in safe spaces. He lived and taught in a high risk environment where He was actively engaged in bringing His Word to those who were not conventionally “good people.”

One of my friends lives in an urban area and actively works to bring the word of God to those living beyond the borders of safe society. He is one of the few people I know who routinely picks up hitchhikers and gives them rides, offers them a meal on the way to their destination. Twice his life has been in serious danger. He continues to pick up people and give them rides and offers them a meal even though it’s very high risk. He does so in the name of our Lord, to his own personal risk. He wants to show people that they are cared for by someone and they are loved and not alone as they wander physically (and probably emotionally) through life.

He has been scammed recently by 2 men who are addicted to drugs he has been financially helping. (He’s smart and computer savvy and noticed the receipts they provided him were photoshopped.) He’s disappointed and disheartened, but he also knows these men are addicted to drugs and not in their right minds. He will not allow himself to be scammed anymore, but also continues to help people in need.

We all want safety and comfort, but life isn’t like that. We know in the will of God our ultimate and assured safety exists, no matter our circumstance on earth.

you posted your bigoted and hateful comment above the post you quoted. This is your bigoted and hateful comment:


“Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.”

God is love. You are a troll, or a hateful and bigoted atheist/anti-theist.

[img]














[/img]

I would not live my life as a hateful bigot, as many atheists and anti-theists do.

pp must hang out with atheists and anti-theists, to know that they are hateful bigots. Or maybe it's just something pp learned in Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

Stop pretending like you don’t have endless options to express your personal religious views.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:…you knew you wouldn't be welcome if leadership knew you were gay, Republican, divorced, whatever? Being vague on purpose because I'm curious in general how people would react, not about our specific situation.

No I would not. It is important to me to be out of a welcoming spiritual community.

Even if the rejection was not based on formal theology but just cultural biases, I would not go to a church that excluded people for the reasons you cited. When living abroad, I attended a church where the priest and church leadership were very welcoming but other parish members mostly segregated themselves by race. My DC and I were shunned during the Peace by people of different race. I did not want to expose my DC to that kind of racism and did not attend that church although it was the closest one in my faith tradition.

Religion for me is about our spiritual journey while being in community. I don’t need everyone in my church to look or think like me. However, I do need to be part of a church that welcomes everyone and creates safe spaces to listen to and support each other.

Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.

I am a Christian because I believe in God, I love God, I want to glorify God and after my bodily death, spend eternity in His Presence.

I want the same for my fellow man. I want my fellow man to live eternally in peace, with perfect happiness and beyond all pain, with Our Creator. The ultimate goal of religion is to attain salvation for oneself and others.

I do go to Church to be in fellowship with fellow Christians and worship God, but I could not attend a church that wasn’t at it’s core, a place that was purely and surely pushing it’s members and attendees to spend eternity with God. What good is being welcomed and supported and loved in a church on earth, but failing in the end to receive salvation?

There are social clubs, therapists, support groups, all kinds of secular organizations and groups, where people from every viewpoint, walk of life, and community, can join together and give and receive support and advice.


Church isn’t a place where Christians go to receive God’s magical protection on earth. Being a Christian does not give Christians protection on earth from physical pain, emotional pain, heartbreak and suffering. The safest place for a ship is a harbor, but that’s not where ships stay. Jesus didn’t stay in safe spaces. He lived and taught in a high risk environment where He was actively engaged in bringing His Word to those who were not conventionally “good people.”

One of my friends lives in an urban area and actively works to bring the word of God to those living beyond the borders of safe society. He is one of the few people I know who routinely picks up hitchhikers and gives them rides, offers them a meal on the way to their destination. Twice his life has been in serious danger. He continues to pick up people and give them rides and offers them a meal even though it’s very high risk. He does so in the name of our Lord, to his own personal risk. He wants to show people that they are cared for by someone and they are loved and not alone as they wander physically (and probably emotionally) through life.

He has been scammed recently by 2 men who are addicted to drugs he has been financially helping. (He’s smart and computer savvy and noticed the receipts they provided him were photoshopped.) He’s disappointed and disheartened, but he also knows these men are addicted to drugs and not in their right minds. He will not allow himself to be scammed anymore, but also continues to help people in need.

We all want safety and comfort, but life isn’t like that. We know in the will of God our ultimate and assured safety exists, no matter our circumstance on earth.

you posted your bigoted and hateful comment above the post you quoted. This is your bigoted and hateful comment:


“Church is full of hate.
Churches should not be tax deductable especially now given all their political leanings. They are not non profit.

What Church welcomes everyone? LOL none.”

God is love. You are a troll, or a hateful and bigoted atheist/anti-theist.

[img]














[/img]

I would not live my life as a hateful bigot, as many atheists and anti-theists do.

pp must hang out with atheists and anti-theists, to know that they are hateful bigots. Or maybe it's just something pp learned in Church.

No, those are men (why are they all men?) who proudly “came out” as atheist on reddit in a movement called “Faces of Atheism.” These participants decided not to hide and to proudly show their faces and thoughts about being atheist.

My only thought is they speak of intelligence and education and knowledge but seem to think posting online is sufficient to gain these things.

It’s like the atheist poster here who quoted a Tom Hanks line from a movie as a reference about belief in God. Really? A movie line? And people can post anything online. Anything. Just because it’s posted online, doesn’t mean it’s true. Like the Ghandi quote flogged about- untrue. It’s like pop culture has become sentient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, I want an inclusive church which accepts everyone.

You mean accepts the people you feel are deserving of value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I want an inclusive church which accepts everyone.

The most well-known hymn in America, “Amazing Grace,” by the former slaveholder John Newton, contains a line that many people stumble over.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!”

The hymn may be popular, but the sentiment is not. Few Americans consider themselves “wretches” of moral repugnance and debasement. We like to think of ourselves as basically good, with a few flaws; not fundamentally bad, with few virtues to save us.

Some Christians believe it would be good to remove unnecessary offense by downplaying human sinfulness, but such a move severs the root of what makes grace so powerful. It is precisely because we’re bad, not good, that God’s love in sending his Son to die for our sins is so significant.

I want my church to help people improve their lives in a loving manner, with the goal of salvation.

So the Joel Osteen Mega churches what function do they serve? Besides grifting.