Quote:
Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate
I occasionally go to church.
I have never been alone with a priest or minister or the like. I didn’t have to get circumcised to attend church or join a congregation (in fact, no one has ever asked if I am not and I’m not aware of anyone else being asked either).
One can certainly go to a church, listen to the sermons, take away from them what you want, and not believe in so-called fairy tales or allegedly outdated teachings or whatever it is you are ranting about. Indeed, not much of most mainstream Christianity is fire and brimstone anymore and most sermons in most churches are about social justice, trying to be a better person, using biblical stories to teach about wisdom or love or understanding, and lessons that are more or less about general positivity. Some churches are into the whole prosperity gospel too, but that is another topic.
Can you live a good, moral life without going to church? Of course. But some of us need some encouragement and reinforcement, and church helps with that.
Regardless, it should be noted that areligious clubs and teams and groups have their share of moral and ethical lapses too, and kids in them are sometimes subject to damaging behaviors and acts too.
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I always go to church when I am in the UK, there is something deeply moving about sitting in a stone building that's a thousand years old listening to evensong or just quietly meditating, I also tend to go to midnight mass and pray for my kids, its a tradition for me that goes back almost 40 years, I cant say there isnt a God and I will take any help I can get, even from the flying spaghetti monster