Church?

[Nish]

i thought not politics and church on this board

They do, and we are talking about it and watching it. At this point it is just this side of being closed. As Grendel said this is more information seeking and not a debate.

[SignOfZeta]

I just read at home these days. I quit church at around 18. Most church people seem to be in it for the identity politics now. The current state of popular American Christianity is utterly repellent and essentially non-Biblical. I can’t have anything to do with it. This is a shame for a lot of people, America clearly needs...something.

If I wanted fellowship on spiritual matters I’d only consider the “garbage” churches like Salvation Army or indie “Bible” joints, the only places where I never had a bad experience. I’m only in it for the lepers and the bastards now. I can’t stand to hear a guy who owns a car dealership talk about who need to get deported or whatever, totally evil.

[Number six]

It's unfortunate that that has been your experience, but I do not believe that it is typical. There are certainly people that attend, and that got into the clergy that I do not agree with for whatever reasons. That said, I don't think there is such a thing as "American Christianity", as much as there is the sort of faith that does not have a central leadership or authority (other than the Big Guy, of course). I prefer it that way, simply because while it may be said that I am of the Christian faith, there is nothing else that can be definitively said of me because of that.

[Fubarius]

This reminds me of when the family moved back in 95 or so. We're Catholic, but not overly devout. Your stereotypical Easter/Christmas Catholics. But we were always welcome in our hometown church. The town was about 25% Catholic, so it was a pretty big church. Big pipe organ. Classic wooden pews with nice kneeling pads ( we kneel a Lot during service). Stained glass, etc.

Well we moved from Wisconsin down to central Illinois. That town was mostly Baptist, with a very small number of Catholics. The Catholic church there was, well, quaint. No pews, folding chairs. No kneeling pads. No organ, just a dude with a guitar. Felt more like a community Center than a church. But that's just stuff, doesn't really matter. The service itself was fine, the Priest super friendly. But the other people there, that was an issue. They felt a bit too standoffish. Like they didn't trust us. It just felt weird.

We ended up trying out the church one town over. Much bigger town, much bigger church. Way more welcoming for some reason. Super inclusive, the service was bilingual ( well trilingual if you count the occasional bit of Latin). And one impressively huge pipe organ.

[punkncat]

Thanks. It seems to be out of the norm for most areas and was just curious. I will try to, or mods, please close.