Religion/denominations - what made you walk away?

[aurora_borealis]

Originally posted by 33girl
I TOTALLY agree with you & aurora - this is exactly what's going on in my home church. "We're 80 miles from a Limited, but dad gum it, we're going to make this church DA BOMB DIGGITY, DAWG!!" Next thing you know we'll be singing that old classic hymn How Great You Are.

And I understand the concept of making the church more approachable and welcoming to children, but there is such a thing as going too far.

<hijack>
When I was a child there was a special children's talk/sermon and we sat at the front of the church in front of the communion rail. It was after the reading of the gospel, and then we all went downstairs to play. Little kids can't sit that long, and they aren't taking communion, they shouldn't be forced to sit there, nor should those of us sitting in silent reflection be disturbed by them doing what they do because they are kids. Don't get me wrong I like little kids, but until they are old enough to acolyte, help with communion, or are being confirmed, they shouldn't have to be forced to sit still.

I don't know about you Sheila, but I find the blue WOV book to be too contemporary, and I like my service straight out of the LBW word for word. I am from a Norwegian Lutheran background and we don't do anything high spirited or contemporary. At home they still have services in German they take it that seriously. The ensembles of some Lutheran ministers drives me NUTS, but that is my issue.
</hijack>

[33girl]

I hate WOV. Half the hymns sound like Mr. Van Driesen from Beavis & Butt-Head wrote them. I'm surprised Lesbian Seagull isn't in there.

I'm old enough to remember the Service Book and Hymnal - and my mom pitching a royal fit against adopting the LBW in its place. Call me old fashioned, but I want my thees and thous and "lift up his countenance" back.

[ISUKappa]

From perusing the LCMS website, I discovered we are to be getting a new hymnal by 2006. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that as I already dislike the current hymnal supplement from 1998.

I feel like we're "dumbing down" our services more and more. Pretty soon the Lord's Prayer will be:

Yo, Big Guy, upstairs
You're pretty cool, dude
In the hizzle for shizzle
Dude, Just tell us what you want us to do
Down here and up there
And, Yo, how about some food?
We're really sorry for all the bad stuff we do, okay?
And other people are really sorry for what they do to us
Yo, help us stay out of trouble, mmkay
Because, seriously, YOU ROCK!!!
Yeah!

[Xylochick216]

Originally posted by ISUKappa

I feel like we're "dumbing down" our services more and more. Pretty soon the Lord's Prayer will be:

Yo, Big Guy, upstairs
You're pretty cool, dude
In the hizzle for shizzle
Dude, Just tell us what you want us to do
Down here and up there
And, Yo, how about some food?
We're really sorry for all the bad stuff we do, okay?
And other people are really sorry for what they do to us
Yo, help us stay out of trouble, mmkay
Because, seriously, YOU ROCK!!!
Yeah!

This totally made my day One of the funniest things I've seen in awhile

[Munchkin03]

I wasn't raised in any religion. We celebrate Christmas, but who doesn't?

The inordinate amount of suffering some peoples have received for millennia has basically sealed my belief that there is no benevolent Creator. Not to mention, woman has gotten a pretty ishtty deal in Christianity.

[AXO Alum]

Originally posted by aurora_borealis
My farm town has pita bread and the pastor said in his sermon last Sunday "Jesus is ready to get the party started".

This had me ROFLMBO -- too funny when you get a mental picture. Was he wearing overalls with a hanky hanging out of his back pocket?!

I kinda sorta led hubby away from the Catholic Church. Well - he did it himself after he realized that there are a lot of inherent issues with the doctrine. I about had it out with my in-laws regarding Eli's baptism -- we did it when he was 6 weeks old. They were terrified that something would happen before then, and he wouldn't be seen before the eyes of God. I was like WTH are you talking about. Dad-in-law said, well, it would be like taking the nose bleed seats at a basketball game. His soul would be in heaven, but God would not look upon him because he wasn't baptized. Okay - whatever - anyone who would think that an innocent baby would die and go to hell is just really creepy!

Anyhow - we wanted to go to a church that we could both believe in and raise our kids to believe in (although like my momma taught me, our kids are more than welcome to question their beliefs and their faith - if you don't question it, how do you really know what to believe?) So, we joined the United Methodist Church. We really love it, and believe in their "Love all, Serve all" philosophy (to borrow from HRC).

Funny, I went to mass with the in-laws this weekend, and the homily was about coming together to the one table to dine with the Lord --- I thought....now THAT is hypocritical since it says right there on the visitor forms "If you are visiting with us and are not Catholic, you may not partake in communion" -- so much for the ONE table, huh? UMC'ers don't care who you are - all are welcome at the table, and that is perfect for me!

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by AXO Alum
Funny, I went to mass with the in-laws this weekend, and the homily was about coming together to the one table to dine with the Lord --- I thought....now THAT is hypocritical since it says right there on the visitor forms "If you are visiting with us and are not Catholic, you may not partake in communion" -- so much for the ONE table, huh? UMC'ers don't care who you are - all are welcome at the table, and that is perfect for me!

That's because Catholics believe something different occurs during Communion than other faiths. I don't take Communion when I'm at services with my friends of other faiths because to me it's not Communion at all.

[ISUKappa]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
That's because Catholics believe something different occurs during Communion than other faiths. I don't take Communion when I'm at services with my friends of other faiths because to me it's not Communion at all.

Same with me. I can't even commune with the other Lutheran Synods, it has to be LCMS. And we won't commune at a strange LCMS church until after we've had a chance to talk to the pastor first. It's just respecting what we believe.

[MTSUGURL]

I've never fallen away from God. I accepted Christ when I was 5, have always been Southern Baptist, have been to many other denominations, but have always been a Christian. If it's atrue commitment, falling away doesn't happen.

There are 3 years of my life where I walked away from God and did my own thing. I call it my temper tanrum. It was basically my being angry with God because I felt he took something away from me that I wanted. Since then, I've thanked him several times for not giving me what I thought I needed.

I don't see Christianity as a religion. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's give and take, and a very personal intimate thing.

Churches and denominations will always be flawed and imperfect. People fill them. How could they be otherwise? If I had looked to a church or denomination for faith instead of my God, then I would have fallen away.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally posted by AXO Alum
Anyhow - we wanted to go to a church that we could both believe in and raise our kids to believe in (although like my momma taught me, our kids are more than welcome to question their beliefs and their faith - if you don't question it, how do you really know what to believe?) So, we joined the United Methodist Church. We really love it, and believe in their "Love all, Serve all" philosophy (to borrow from HRC).

Woooooo Methodists! My ancestors knew Francis Asbury! We are Methodist ROYALTY!

[kk_bama]

One of the founders of Gamma Phi Beta's father was a Methodist minister.

[Jill1228]

I have many religions in my family. I was raised Catholic. There were too many things that I didn't agree with in the Catholic church (like being a flaming advocate of a woman having control of her body and her reproductive right). Also I have many gay friends and I had issues with the views on gays and homosexuality.

I have a lot of family members who are AME and Baptists. I have seen too many "so called" Christians that preach one thing and do another...total hypocrites (including a lot of members in my family)

I didn't get married in a church (neither one of us are religious) and I think that might be one reason my estranged father did not come see the first (and probably) only daughter get married. (I am the youngest of 3 girls and I have a brother)

Had MAJOR issues with folx that say: "if you don't worship X way, you are wrong and are going to hell" (or whatever)

I am not going to tell a person how to worship and

So yeah I am not really down with organized religion at all. I consider myself spiritual more than religious. Kinda bordering on agnostic

[kafromTN]

I'm Catholic in the South and haven't "walked away" per se from the church, but I don't go nearly as much as I should.

I keep reading about how all the other Catholics have had terrible priests & experiences but I guess I have been lucky not to have experienced that stuff. The only problems I have had are with the type of people who go to my church, but it's not so bad I would stop going. I guess that is one of the good things about being a Catholic in the South, you have to have good priests since Catholicism isn't huge down here.


Just my $.0135694 worth,
Mark

[MysticCat]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
That's because Catholics believe something different occurs during Communion than other faiths.

Isn't it a little more complicated than that? There are others whose beliefs about what happens in Commnunion are much like Catholicism's -- Anglicans, particularly Anglo-Catholics particularly come to mind, as well as the Orthodox. Lutheran and Presbyterian/Reformed beliefs are, in some ways, closer to the Catholic view than to other Protestant views.

The way it was always explained to me is that the Eucharist is a sacrament of, among other things, unity. To a Catholic, that specifically means unity in the Church -- being in union not only in belief but in union with a bishop who is in turn in union with the bishop of Rome. To take Communion in a Catholic church when one is not a Catholic implies a unity that does not exist.

The classical difference between the Catholic Church and most Protestant churches in this regard is that the Catholic Church would insist on unity (as described above) before communion, which would then be a sign of the unity that has been achieved. Meanwhile, most Protestant (mainline, at least) churches would insist only on the unity brought about by baptism, maintaining that taking communing together would lead to unity in other areas.

'Course there's always the renegade. Ms. MysticCat and I were taken quite by surprise once when we were invited to a neighbor's son's First Communion at a local Catholic church. The parents told us to be sure to go up for communion with them, which seemed odd, since they knew we weren't Catholics. But right after that, during announcements before the Mass began, Protestants were specifically invited to take Communion. We've been to that church other times for special services (such as funerals) as well as regular Masses, and always that invitation has been made. Friends who are parishioners there told us once that the bishop had told them quite a few times to stop it, but since the priests were Fransicans not directly under the bishops authority, they just kept saying "we'll think about it."

[winneythepooh7]

I was raised in the Protestant church. I stopped going when I was 18 because I felt it was forced upon me and feel that most people in my particular church were all preaching BS because they would be all nicey-nice love thy neighbor during the sermon, but as soon as the sermon was over they were all in the back of the church gossiping about each other. Plus they were always nagging about money. One "elder" in the church told my mom when I was away at school I shouldn't be a member anymore because I hadn't been there in awhile giving to the collection plate. I feel being a Social Worker is doing my role in being good and helping people. I don't feel I need a "God" to tell me that.