What do you hate about church?

[Michael Z]

I love the Gospel message “By Grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”.

And I am thankful that my church reminds us of this on a regular basis. I love our old hymns that remind us the message of the cross with their timeless lyrics. And I love my brothers and sisters in Christ, both within my own congregation and other congregations that pray for each other in times of needs.

 

[Della]

I did clarify in my last comment that I hate the STRUCTURE of church services. I think many misunderstood me. It's OK. I'm sure God has heard these complaints plenty over the centuries.

Yes, God read Martin Luther's "95 theses," or '95 things i hate about my Catholic church,' written while he was a priest himself, and Martin went on to start a new church which is alive and well today and probably my favorite denomination.

 

[Aunt Mavis]

I'll start: I am so sick of male preachers teaching the Bible as if heaven is a football game. Or a basketball game. Or a race with blue ribbons to be won at the end. (Alas, if time is infinite, there is no end, correct?)

I am so sick of the male vision of the Bible's many analogies.

I am sick of the male privilege exercised by the church for centuries.

I'm sick of church structure. I hate how we're supposed to sit there for 30 to 45 minutes and listen. When do we get to ask questions or present our opinions or tell people what's going on in our lives? (Don't say "in Bible Study" because I've been to many of those where the church structure is the same: "you heathen just sit there and listen to the learned teacher"). Example: Why don't they have a microphone set up in the aisle so those brave enough among us can walk right up and ask the preacher/pastor some question in the middle of the sermon? Why, after all these centuries, are we treated like little jars to be filled and not equals with church leadership?

I'm sick of praise songs that are the same verse sung 70 times. I hate those the most. When did someone think boring people to death musically was a good way to illustrate the spiritual? And if I say honestly, "I really hate that song", why am I seen as a trouble maker for being honest?

I guess I ask too many questions. If some church came along that did actually shake up the whole church formula, they'd probably be roundly and severely condemned by other churches. Peer pressure.

I figured out it was all staged at the age of 12 or so. They’d sing and get the audience’s spirits up and then……Pass the plate! The phony prophesying was ridiculous too. Those fakes will hopefully be exposed by St Peter at the gate, “off you go!”

 

[January]

Wow. That is a very progressive church. I think there is so much obedience at most churches that I'm the only one who will complain about an issue. Then, if I dare to complain, then I'm labeled a gadfly - an annoyance. Gosh, at some places, not even mere discussion is allowed on how to make things more meaningful.

..

No not really. It wasn't a really progressive church in its way of thinking - it just has women ministers, as do other denominations, and had alternative groups and open discussion sort of services as well as traditional sort.

However, like Warrigal said: The Uniting Church is not uniform in its theology. Some congregations are very progressive while others close by seem to be stuck in the past. There is one in the next suburb to mine that very retrograde. They think that our congregation is on the way to Hell in a handbasket.

 

[rgp]

Other than weddings , funerals , christenings , and the like ... I've never attended. However ........ I do not scorn those that do, or do any such thing. Like another here said .... to each their own. My only [gripe] with churches is the tax situation . IMO they should be required to disclose their income, and taxed on it like any other business.

As far as the holier than thou attitude ..... IMO it is just that ...merely an attitude.

Someone mentioned 'wife-swapping' in a church [church group]. A friend of mine encountered that at his church after he divorced . He said he & the wife attended for about 6-7 years ..... had no idea it was happening . But after his spilt with the wife , he was invited a few times to join in [as a single man] ? He finally did , then the AIDS scare hit and the group quit meeting.

 

[Alizerine]

The church I grew up in was quite liberal. The minister who married us was a Freedom Rider. They flew the rainbow flag, and still do.

 

[Knight]

. When do we get to ask questions or present our opinions or tell people what's going on in our lives?

As an atheist I don't go to church. What I do know when I did go is asking questions was not well received. My latest encounter with a representative of religion was when I was recovering in the hospital. I asked him several questions. This one in particular I think made him uncomfortable. Where did God originate? He had no answers, he left saying he was sorry for being unable to give me an answer.

 

[Alizerine]

Presbyterian clergy have always been very well educated.

I belonged to a book club at a local Presbyterian Seminary. They were very smart and better read than I and had lively discussions. I stopped going when I could no longer drive at night.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Like any social club churches are as good or bad as their leaders and the people that attend. I didn’t enjoy church, Sunday school or 3 years of confirmation classes for 3 years after spending all day in school. I didn’t make my kids do any of that.

 

[Mr. Ed]

What Do I Hate about the Church?

The only problem with the church is that it's a gathering of imperfect people seeking different things...some good, some bad, some are givers some are self-serving, some are still seeking their way, some have found their way and want to rejoice and fellowship with others, some are there to help others, some are there to use others.

I don't do hate...except that God hates sin (so do I). He loves the sinner though (so do I). He never gives up hope that they will genuinely seek forgiveness and turn from sin whenever it presents itself. Sin is everywhere including in the churches.

We all sin (so do I)...some more than others, some worse than others. Some are sorry and ask forgiveness. God forgives the genuine repentant sinner no matter how great the sin...but Only if the one asking forgiveness means it and it shows. And that ticks some people off.

First of all I don’t hate church but I disagree with you about sin and gods love. I don’t assume god loves just because that is what I am told. The same with Jesus it’s all here say, and I am skeptical. I tried Chrisitianity and all it did was push me further away.
I attend church with my wife and I like the people there but I do not support the message they send.
What I don’t like about church services and the songs is the persuasive tones and brainwashing lyrics.
The thing about sin is the church invented sin to empower god’s usefulness. Meanwhile the preaches against sin by offering redemption through Jesus who happens to be the doorway to heaven and god. Interestingly I don’t recall god having interest in non-believer’s with the exception of becoming believers. The whole thing is a gimmick to recruit new members into the cult by promising god and heaven to each individual personally. In order to maintain control and commitment the church meets regularly to reinforce commitment through prayer, preaching and biblical instructions. Religious people immerse themselves in the Bible, hymnals and preachings to the point of selective isolation. You are what you eat.

 

[Tommy]

The Christian church is not a building nor is it a particular organizational hierarchy. It's people - plain, ordinary, deeply flawed people - who believe in (and believe) God, the Bible, and the gospel of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It saddens me that so many have such a flawed understanding of the gospel.

 

[rgp]

If ... If there is a god ? And if he is supposed to be this all loving entity / being ?

Why are we condemned to the fires of hell, if we **** up ? Why do we need fear him ... [god fearing man] etc.

And why do innocent babies need to die in horrible ways by horrible illnesses . When they haven't even had a chance at life ?

Why do so many die by natural disaster(s) If he's up there ? he could prevent all that in his encompassing power.

And again babies, sucked right out of their mother's arms by a Tornado , and impaled on a tree branch a block away [it happened here] .

Yeah he sure as hell loves us <sarc>

 

[Mobilman44]

When I was 13, I was going thru the process of being "confirmed" by my Church - Maplewood Covenant Church. The Pastor, who happened to be my best friend's father was pretty formidable, and was Nixon's double (in my eyes).

Part of the process was a one on one interview with the Pastor. As I recall it was a bit scary, but when he asked if I had any questions of my faith/Church, I got up the nerve to ask something that had bothered me.

In so many words, I explained that I have many Catholic friends, and Jewish friends. They all firmly believe in their religion and believe it is THE religion. And we believe that ours is the only religion. How can this be???

Well, I can't recall his words, but I to remember that he was pretty unhappy with me. How dare I question our religion? Anyway, I did get confirmed, but an incident happened later on that had me leave that Church. I'll save that story for another time.

 

[rgp]

When I was 13, I was going thru the process of being "confirmed" by my Church - Maplewood Covenant Church. The Pastor, who happened to be my best friend's father was pretty formidable, and was Nixon's double (in my eyes).

Part of the process was a one on one interview with the Pastor. As I recall it was a bit scary, but when he asked if I had any questions of my faith/Church, I got up the nerve to ask something that had bothered me.

In so many words, I explained that I have many Catholic friends, and Jewish friends. They all firmly believe in their religion and believe it is THE religion. And we believe that ours is the only religion. How can this be???

Well, I can't recall his words, but I to remember that he was pretty unhappy with me. How dare I question our religion? Anyway, I did get confirmed, but an incident happened later on that had me leave that Church. I'll save that story for another time.

That is my question with religion in general.

There are so many of them [religions] they cannot all be right, therefore IMO they're all wrong.

 

[Vida May]

The title of this thread saddens me... why be negative? I'm not saying church is perfect but there are some very good things.

Why be negative? There are a few good reasons. Not only is it a belief about God, it is also a belief about Satan and demons. And a terrible belief about the nature of humans and why they do as they do and good Christians impose this on everyone and vote according to their beliefs. For a good many Christians it is a battle against science, the LGBTQ members of society, racism, and also the belief that God wants us to be pure (no mixed races) and that God wants us to go to war against those "evil" people.

It is also refusing to wear a mask or get vaccinated and going to church when this is dangerous to our families and others.

For most of my life, I avoided discussion of religion, until Bush jr. invented a war against evil, and Billy Graham did a Christmas show about how God wants us to send our sons and daughters into Iraq. A neocon dream come true. Then came the refusal of some Christians to follow the advice of science. Sorry, I can no longer keep silent. The superstition and self-righteousness has to end.

 

[Vida May]

When I was 13, I was going thru the process of being "confirmed" by my Church - Maplewood Covenant Church. The Pastor, who happened to be my best friend's father was pretty formidable, and was Nixon's double (in my eyes).

Part of the process was a one on one interview with the Pastor. As I recall it was a bit scary, but when he asked if I had any questions of my faith/Church, I got up the nerve to ask something that had bothered me.

In so many words, I explained that I have many Catholic friends, and Jewish friends. They all firmly believe in their religion and believe it is THE religion. And we believe that ours is the only religion. How can this be???

Well, I can't recall his words, but I to remember that he was pretty unhappy with me. How dare I question our religion? Anyway, I did get confirmed, but an incident happened later on that had me leave that Church. I'll save that story for another time.

When I crossed that bridge by asking a Sunday school teacher why Christians and Catholics didn't agree, I did not get a good answer either. I stopped going to churches on a regular basis and determined I would learn of God by learning about every religion. I agree with Joseph Campbell, that God spoke to everyone. They all explain the universal truths. Their stories are different because of regional differences. Part of the reason Christianity spread is the belief is almost identical to everyone else's. And we all know the Easter Bunny and eggs are very pagan Egyptian symbols of resurrection and new life in Spring. Nothing is changed, the story is just tweaked so one size fits all.

 

[Knight]

The OP actually posted such a title on our public Senior Forum haha? Associated the word church and hate together in a thread title like ignoring trying to mix oil and water? Which planet did you grow up on?

It's a thread to express an opinion. With like the one you posted @ #52 I see mine is @ 92 so I guess as a topic it has been of interest to others.

 

[Vida May]

That is my question with religion in general.

There are so many of them [religions] they cannot all be right, therefore IMO they're all wrong.

Actually, there is a lot of agreement. It was a Christian friend who pointed out the Aztecs had the equivalent of the 10 commandments. Importantly they all say "do unto others as you would have them do to you" but the wording may be slightly different, "don't do to others what you would not want to you".

Christians what to believe it is an exclusive Christian power that makes humans good and that everyone else is helplessly evil, but this begins with compassion and that is strong in Hinduism and Buddhism. The belief in the specialness of Christianity is generally a lack of knowledge of all the others. Muslims are very focused on peace, charity, obedience to God and Islam is a blend of Judaism and Christianity, and Semitic/Arab culture. "peace be with you"

Namaste

(Sanskrit pronunciation: [nɐmɐste:],[1] Devanagari: नमस्ते), sometimes called namaskār and namaskāram, is a customary Hindu[2][3][4] manner of respectfully greeting and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day.[5] It is used in the Indian subcontinent, and among the Indian and Nepalese diaspora. Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is called añjali mudrā; the standing posture incorporating it is pranāmāsana.[6] Namaste - Wikipedia

If you want family values, check out Confusious.

If you want to point out all the other beliefs say false things, therefore they are false, then check the Bible for things not compatible with science or liberty, such as if we are slaves, God wants us to be good slaves.

Two verses from Paul in the New Testament - Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22 - call on slaves to be obedient to their masters. "Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord

Or in the Old Testament is an explanation of why only Jews can not be slaves but they can own them and their children inherit them, and there are special laws for how to treat slaves. The South used the Bible to support slavery and they believed this is how God ordained things and they were fighting to protect God's order on earth believing our civilization would collapse if we did not maintain this slave owning order. A problem that still plagues us today.

 

[Vida May]

I figured out it was all staged at the age of 12 or so. They’d sing and get the audience’s spirits up and then……Pass the plate! The phony prophesying was ridiculous too. Those fakes will hopefully be exposed by St Peter at the gate, “off you go!”

It would be nice if it stopped there but today White Christian Nationalism is a very strong political power and I fear very bad things can happen because of this unAmerican blend of Church and State.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Most people are inherently good and don’t need religion or a big daddy in the sky in order to live a decent life and to help others. There will also always be evil people who would rather enslave or kill their enemies. Often innocent women and children are the victims. There’s never going to be a perfect world.

 

[Mobilman44]

Okay, I'm in a writing mood and will tell the story of why I left the Church at the ripe old age of 14....
I was a regular at the Church, mainly because my best friend was the son of the Pastor. My parents nor sisters went there. Anyway, one nice summer day the Church threw a picnic at a forest preserve area, and I went with my friend and his family. There was well over 100 - 150 people there, all set up by the side of a fast flowing creek.

It turns out the creek had a waterfall at one end, and me and a few others decided to walk across the top of the waterfall. The water was maybe a foot deep at the top, and then it fell for 8-10 feet and went on downstream from there. Well, as you might guess, I lost my footing, fell on the top of the drop off, and the water rolled me over and down to the deep, churning water below.

I still recall being thrown around under the water, and then washed downstream. The current was fast and the creek was a good 30-40 feet wide and I was in the middle. At some point I finally managed to stand up. I was scared, panicky, and yelling for help. The water was rushing by me up to my neck, and I was afraid to move because the bottom was all sand and I could step into a hole. I couldn't really swim, so that was out of the question.

So I could see these people all along the bank, and I'm screaming for help, and no one made a move. I don't recall how long this went on until I got the nerve to take steps downstream to shallow water. About then I started cussing, yelling ever swear word my Chicago education had taught me. Of course this really upset the church people, but at that point I didn't care.

I finally made it to waist deep water and managed to make it to the shore and up the bank. I was pretty upset, and to make it worse, no one came over to console or help me. It was a very somber ride home with the Pastor's family, and that was the last time I attended Church as a youngster.

 

[helenbacque]

The word hate is not in my vocabulary. I stopped supporting organized religion because of the hypocrisy in the modern church.

 

[rgp]

Way back when I was married ..... 69/70 somewhere in there. My wife and her mother were at church [catholic] and during the service it started raining.
When they came out, the wife's car had a flat tire. Her dad was working, I was cruising yard-sales looking for a roll top desk for the wife.

Not a single member of the congregation stopped to offer any help. The wife [in her Sunday best] ended up changing the tire herself.

 

[Lara]

Many have excellent questions here. I used to try to answer everyone's questions from a biblical viewpoint. I realize that the internet is not the place. We're faceless. No one is totally trusted here no matter how nice we think someone is. All I can say now is that it's between you and your creator. And we all agree that we didn't create ourselves.

We're all thirsty for answers...even Bible believers because not all the answers are in there. Seek, and you shall find...if your heart is soft enough and your mind is open enough. It's personal.

For me, my faith in God has grown as I search His Word for answers, as I receive answers to prayers, as I look around and see all the created flora and fauna and all it's intricate beauty that is mind boggling, as I see we were all created with choices between good and evil, we are rewarded and punished just as a good earthly father is with his children...

...I see that the sins of earthly fathers are visited upon his children for generations as it says in scripture, like not taking good care of our earth, the children suffer, some die, but they will go to a better place full of love...no longer sad but rather full of joy.

 

[ElCastor]

Being an Agnostic I don‘t go to Church, but I admit to an envious feeling when I see people lined up at a church door on Sunday. Religion is at the root of our civilization. It was the foundation of our social order as well as our concept of right, wrong, and morality. Considering the incredibly vast nature of the Universe, who am I to declare what may or may not be true.