The church does have a couple problems. At least it did in the past, so it raises doubt.
Because the church and the people who make up the church don’t always act like Jesus did.
Because they are posing.
because the Church sometimes skews the real meaning and reason and messege of Jesus
because the church is full of sinners
just like the rest of the world
Organized religion… especially when it gathers lot of people together isn’t always pretty. Also… there are times when the people in charge of organized religion twist things…
It could also be that people are lazy and don’t want to goto church even though they are supposed to gather together to fellowship. lol
You and your crazy questions… I don’t know why I’m even trying to come up with an answer for this one. lol
A lot of people are disgusted with churches because the people say one thing but do something completely wrong. It’s like they’re being hypocrites.
because they’re secretly Agnostic and trying to figure out what role donating crazy amounts of money to the Church has to do with receiving the love of Jesus and God.
What XristosAnesti said.
People do not act Christ like. Not all churches. But quite a few I belonged to.
Or there’s politics–like the church that fired my favorite youth group leader only to be replaced by a guy that used the churches computers to download porn. (I had all ready left by then.)
Or the ones that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
Or the mean people who have no love for others.
Or the ones that treat church like a social/country club. I.e. they gossip more than Perez Hilton and treat people without money not so nice.
I’m not bitter or anything.
i’m catholic and disagree with the church on many different platforms. i think people should connect with God, and do, in their own way, and would rather not have the church tell them what they can and can’t do to connect with him. many also have beliefs that directly oppose those of the church in many controversial problems in our world today. the church shouldn’t dictate our beliefs, the believers should dictate the church’s beliefs.
fuck organized religion.
because “the church” is normally in reference to the catholic church — who, for the most part, are hypocrites & totally twist around Jesus’ word.
You don’t really need to go to church to be a good Christian. Just read the bible and follow the golden rule. Its not too hard.
But its OK to go to church if your want to, Some people just need guidance and church is where you can get that. Oh, and I’m hindu.
because jesus owns all n00bs lol
XD
depends on the church… some leaders arnt good examples…
Let’s face it: the church has done some REALLY crappy things in the past. It has a historyy of racism, sexism and corruption. Still, true believers don’t let that get in the way of their faith. Religion is run by man. Faith is about God and spirituality.
And intolerance! I can’t leave that out.
Church is full of judgemental hypocrites.
Because of hipocrates and 2 faced people ? !
Perhaps they have met both :^)
because apparently church is really long and boring.
why do people say they love their parent but hate them?
Well, once people of the church start walking on water and parting seas, I’ll have increased respect for them
The church is nothing but a bunch of people getting together, being hypocrites, and causing lots of irrational drama.
You talkin’ bout me? LOL!
I don’t like organized religion because it is so tiring and frustrating to see people use religion as a ‘weapon’ against others who don’t believe the way they do.
Today’s modern church has gotten away from what God intended church to be . . .not arguing about what color carpet to put in the new addition . . .
Because “we” are the church.
That’s like asking why some people say they love bar-b-que, but they hate the idea of a bar-b-qued pig with an apple in it’s mouth. The two are not necessarily the same.
I don’t know anyone who say they love Jesus but hate the church. I know many people, however, who say they love Jesus and are very concerned for the church. Is that what you mean? And I am one of them.
because most churches don’t look or work anything like jesus said to be
because the church is run by some of the biggest hipocrites that want to be christians on sunday, but behave however they want the rest of the week
I don’t know about anybody else’s church but in my church people spoke The Word and did the opposite. I stopped going to church because I was tired of being fed lies. Small ones like how it was okay to come to church as is. I never had any formalwear and when I did come to church in a regular jeans and t-shirt, I was ridiculed. Plus I heard that there was a lot of gossiping and extortion going on behind the scenes. The fact that i heard about these things were bad enough. >.> What happened to Love Thy Neighbor?
Because the church is business, rather, it has been turned into one, turned from the once simple place where worship was made convenient by giving it a place and time. By being a business, it becomes corrupt. Who wants to worship their deity in a corrupt atmosphere? Not me. I’d rather worship my deitous (is that even a word?) whatever without that.
which church? all have problems but, which one?
Perhaps because Jesus lived what He taught……and *most* of the people in organized churches don’t.
Truthfully, and unfortunately, because sometimes, we as christians, can be some of the most judgemental and hypocritical people on earth~
Allegedly, it is because the Church is a corruptible entity, whereas Jesus (of the Bible) is not. Though one might argue that the Bible has already been corrupted by the hands of men. -David
because of all the f-ing hypocrites. there are some in every church and they always stick out. they wreck churches. too bad we couldn’t just set up a hypocrite church and they all could go there. kinda like this guy at work, he tells me all the time how he loves God, loves his wife, sooooo much and in the same breathe tries to sleep with me. because my husband is in mexico and so that means i should be able to sleep with him. um, no. this guy goes to church every sunday and talks to people about God, yadda, yadda, yadda. i know more hypocrites than you can shake a stick at and theres more every day………
For one thing Jesus is somebody that people can trust is understanding and caring.
The Church has alot of ministers and people in power who try to twist His words, like in Miedevil times.
I have no doubt that stuff is still happening today.
And plus, I watched this movie a few years ago. Anyway … in one scene a guy’s young 6 year old daughter is in a Catholic school and a nun hits her for being disobediant, so then she asks the nun “If Jesus is loving and forgiving, why does he have you hit us?”
Just something to think about, The Church often uses their religious influential power for themselves.
Because the people in the church claim to love the church and secretly hate Jesus.
Wow, so just because the members of the Church are not perfect, the teachings of the Church are suddenly all unreliable? That’s ridiculous. A person may speak truth even though his actions can show otherwise.
The Church is a ship sailing to its eternal port in Heaven through time, with Jesus as the captain. The crew (members of the Church) may be heavy sinners and do all they can to try and sink the ship, but they won’t because Jesus won’t allow it. Stop hating on us, jeez.
I love my Church, not because of the members but because it gave me and continues to give me truth – Jesus.
because the church is run by people and people make mistakes.
Much of organized religion has lost touch with what being a Christian really is.
i don’t attend church because the hypocrisy KILLS me. growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. when my family would attend church, we could hear whispers of those discussing our disheveled clothes, hand-me-downs and whatnot. i remember one sunday, i was probably 6 or 7, i overheard adults talking about us not having a car, talking about me having to wear my older sister’s hand-me-downs…i walked up to them and said, ”we don’t have much, but i’m happier than you because i appreciate what i do have and am not sad over what we don’t have”… =)
i’m guilty of judging people..i’m not perfect, however, i don’t pretend to be something i’m not. hypocrisy is a struggle for all, but to not admit it pisses me off. i don’t need to go to church to worship my god.
I do agree that there are many hypocritical Catholics, though, whose asses I want to kick.
because they have been so hurt by the church in their attempts to find God.
I enjoy my church because of our leaders. They “guide” us but let us dictate the way we believe him so its comfortable for us.
Some leaders use religion for politics and a weapon. that makes me sad :[
cuz people are lazy ass hell to get up and go to church
Mainly because churchs are filled with some of those most judgemental hypocrites. I like the idea of my religion…but i don’t like some of the people i’ve gone to church with.
The church is made up of fallible people with obvious faults which are not easily discounted. (Nor should those faults be discounted). A Sunday morning visit, or even a glance through the newspaper, will reveal a multitude of problems within the church.
Meanwhile, “Jesus” has been turned into an amorphous concept which people define and redefine as they see fit. If someone wants to say that Jesus was all lovey-dovey and never got mad when people sinned, or that he would have hugged the Buddha had he only gotten the chance, well, Jesus isn’t here to contradict them. Jesus is easily loved — you need only redefine him to fit your ideals. At least that’s what many seem to think.
We even redefine the word “love”. We get uncomfortable with a Jesus that says “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” We sometimes prefer a love that consists of positive vibes and happy thoughts.
b/c
MEN
run it.
Because the church nowadays is NOT AT ALL how it was designed. The church is NOT supposed to be seeker-driven, or even large, I believe. The church started out meeting in people’s homes with the purpose of fellowship and strengthening of the believers. I understand how people can claim to be Christians but hate the institution of the church.
And let’s not forget, the entire reason the pilgrims came to America was because of a church gone awry.
It seems that so many have been hurt and burned by people in the church. It is very sad that we treat others the way we do. It happens in the secular world too… people just expect it in business and in the real world. They expect (and rightfully so) the church to treat them differently.
I don’t really like Jesus, but church is okay.
I find too much hypocrisy in the church. I have a strong relationship with God. He has watched over me in more ways than one, especially during my days of my own personal apocolypse. But, growing up, I found the church confusing and hypocritical, unbending and stringent. My mom was actually getting on me about not attending the other day, she actually left a message on my voice mail giving the times for mass throughout the week. She tried to pull the Bible out on me, and I told that Jesus said, indirect quote here, “tear this building down and I will rebuild it in 3 days.” In other words, it’s not about where you worship, but how. Faith can not be destoyed no matter where you are.
I love Jesus and the Church that he established.
Because so many churches out there try to make Jesus (or his words) serve them rather than as a church, serve Jesus.
For my church: the people were really snotty and judgmental. Like, you miss church the next time they see you they go “missed you in church on Sunday…” And people are really full of themselves. Half the time I went I forgot what church was actually about.
Because the church is full of hypocrites!
And dramatics.
And boring sermons.
And lots of other stuff.
Although a lot of people say christians are hypocrites. Most people were moral and righteous, so I didn’t see much hypocrisy.
What XristosAnesti said
I love Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, and I love His Church.
Not too many people hate the Catholic Church- a lot of people, however, hate all the lies they’re told about the Catholic Church.
I want to know if any of you have actually gotten a hold of Catholic doctrines and any question and answer books (written by Catholics), read them, and still hated what they taught.
There is a lot of misunderstanding.
If you still hate the Catholic Church after learning all about the Catholic Church (the true stuff about the Catholic Church, not what everyone else says about it), then you can truly say you hate the Catholic Church.
Peace, seejaybee
but the church is //us// I for one have decided to stop complaining and try to make my actions more like Christ’s. I am the church. I’m the one who has given Christianity the name it doesn’t deserve.
the church isn’t organized religion, it’s believers around the world.
Yeah, but I hate Jesus. Jews killed him, and we’ll do it again!
Because Jesus, or Krishna, or Buddha etc are purely about the individual finding God, The One, Nirvana etc, and most churches are highly impure mixtures of those who appreciate this truth, and those who distort it to gain one of the greatest of gross worldly pleasures: that of making others obey.
The result is that we treat them with a mixture of respect and contempt.
To be less anectdotal, I would say that the evangelical movement’s entry into politics via the neoconservative movement has severly alientated me. I think that they are against women’s rights and I hate that. Another reason is that my grandmother is a christian scientist and I disagree with many of the things she does to hury herself in the name of religion. Another example is Pat Robertson blaming feminists (among others) for 9-11.
The vocal extremists are ruining it for the rest of the Christians and it reminds me of an exercise we performed in Sunday school when I was about 12. We wrote on little wooden blocks “God help me not to be a stumbling block.” It was something I carried with me for years.
When I think of God, I think of love and charity and guidance, but when I see Christians on the news, they are spewing forth messages of hate, intolerance, ignorance and judgementality. I don’t want people to associate that with me. And also, I’m human, I need forgiveness just like everyone else, and I don’t see that in the face of modern Christianity.
because the Church does a good job keeping people out, rather than inviting people in!
Organized religion is just saying to God every Sunday, “I love you,” in a very beautiful way, joined up with everyone around the whole world, shouting out to God what he created us to do. I mean, of course you read the Bible, have your own time alone with God, and everything else, but “organized religion” is when the Church comes together as a family to worship their Creator.
That’s what I believe, anyway. Everyone has their own opinion.
Oh, btw, If you hate Jesus, then you have no clue what you’re missing.
seejaybee
I know my curch is full of some meeeaan people..
They’re always talking about how much we all Love eachother and how Loving our church is.. rrrg but we’re not really.. We all just have to work a little harder at it!
Because the Church is antiquated and hypocritical.
My main problem with church is that of all the years of attending and dealing with judgmental assholes and trying to love them anyway (didn’t work)….didn’t teach me one thing about what the bible really says. Churchianity is a religion unto itself and I don’t bow to it any longer.
while the church represents jesus- alot of churches are just screwed up.
not all churches are like that though.
No, the Church isn’t- some of the people in it are, though. We’re all sinners, every one of us, but that doesn’t mean the Church is all of that stuff you say about it. I mean, if Jesus founded the Church, promised to be with it throughout time, then don’t you think He’s powerful enough to guide it, even if there is a lot of bad people in it?
seejaybee
If you want to find a real Bible Church, the Catholic Church is the way to go! Most of us might not know how to throw out memorized Bible scriptures at people debating us, but true Catholics who listen to the Word every Sunday, know their Bible and the true meaning of its teaching.
Peace, seejaybee
maybe there’s too many hypocrits in church?
Wow there are a lot of people out there who hate the Church…while I personally don’t agree with a lot of the things that go on in the Church (Catholic of course) I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I hate it. They do a lot of good, at least in my community, and while I can’t overlook the harm the Church as a whole has done I can’t just ignore the good either. That is the house of God, so how could I hate it and still profess to love God?
Because there are so many hipocrites in church. You do not need a building full of people to pray to Jesus.
If what you say is true, which I truly don’t believe, then don’t you think God can even work through evil people? Or do you think God can only work through people who have accepted Him into his/her heart, and has giving Him his/her life? The world would be worse off if that was the case.
seejaybee
Because the people of the church are not always very kind, and often don’t treat others as Jesus would have.
simple…..a perfect being like Jesus is easy to Love…..an church fillled with His sinfull imperfect children can mess a lot up. It’s important to remember we ALL have foibles….we are all imperfect we all struggle with something…….
I am a Christian and pray but I DO NOT go to church…churches are full of people who aren’t very Christian like!
Church is about controlling how the hell you should live your life according to their bible…and I’m against it
because, in many cases, the church has become something that hardly resembles what God intended.
People don’t want to face the fact that Jesus left behind a group of imperfect followers who, despite all their faults, were charged with carrying on his work and teaching. Appealing to Jesus as somehow seperate from the Church makes people feel superior; at least they aren’t claiming to be perfect. The fact is, though, that even the Apostles never claimed to be perfect. Their message was pure but even they knew that they didn’t always live up to it. Read Romans 8-9 and Galatians 1 if you don’t believe me. Hating the Church because of its mistakes is to say that God can only work through perfect people, or at least “good” people. But if that’s the case then why did Jesus come in the first place? “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” St. Paul the Apostle in 1 Timothy 1:15.
because people focus on their bad experience with church instead of what it should be. and they refuse to believe that their perception of a true Bible-based church may be wrong.
How does one determine a church to be a Bible-based church? Well, gotta learn the Bible obviously… And one eventually realizes that more than half of the New Testament is all about how churches should be, and that even churches back in the day of the original Christian leaders were never perfect, and were never expected to be perfect. Instead, they’re told to run the marathon towards it, and for the most part, that’s what they did. And for the most part, that’s what they do today (the churches of the news and politics are NOT the norm… why do people think they are?? there’s a reason why they’re on the news all the time!)
This is, of course, assuming that one actually likes the concept of a Bible-based church… if they don’t, then i guess they hate them for believing in something?
Because people are proud enough to think “I can do it on my own”.
because the church is made up of imperfect people. and for those who say it’s full of hypocrisy…so are other institutions so what’s your point?
God made the church, people preserve it, and with people comes sin, and with sin comes hatred.
Because church puts me in a bad mood.
Jesus doesn’t do that.
LOL.
Jk.
Well actually sometimes thats true.
I like church in general though.
Oh yeah. Women can’t be priests in the catholic church.
that pisses me off.
People expect the church to radiate Jesus’s character. Unfortunately, those who inhabit the church are human. Some come to terms with that humanity and admit to stumbling, wipe the “dust” off and move one, and others refuse to acknowledge their own stumbling, develop pride (even self-righteousness) and instead point to the faults in others. The end result–inconsistency between belief and action. It is a cause for frustration–especially if one is on the receiving end of said self-righteousness from others. My answer is getting convoluded now. Let me sum it up: People expect to see Jesus in the church. Instead, they see humanity–sometimes at its worst.
**on, not one
The difference is Jesus don’t try to rip you off where as the church could because they are run by men. Men who are not perfect. They could take advantage of other people believe and trust by using the church. This is only my theory. I can be wrong who knows.
jesus lived a great life, the church is parasitic
I EXPLAINED IT ALL IN 9 WORDS
I don’t have a problem with Jesus. It’s his fan club that I don’t really get along with.
The church forces you to conform to their specific beliefs, when you may not in fact believe exactly so. I’m Orthodox, yet I believe in reincarnation.
The church ALWAYS has problems.
There are just so many different views of what a church should be, subjects that the church thinks is “taboo.”
Eh, it’s always going to be like that, I think.
Most churches are very hyprocritcal, and try to compete with rival churches, which is what they use vistors more…or atleast that is how it is in my small town.
People just make up whatever crap they want to about Jesus, but they can’t really do that about the church. It’s easy to love someone when you made Him up!
“Jesus wouldn’t judge me!” Are you sure about that?
I am a Christian and pray but I DO NOT go to church…churches are full of people who aren’t very Christian like! 6/28/2007 9:08 PM reed44 (message)
Maybe you should join one, and start a revolution.
Because saying you love Jesus is really easy. “I love Jesus.” There. Now I can do whatever the heck I want on Saturday and Sunday, including getting drunk and fornicating [Because we can ask God for more forgiveness so that he can get more credit. At least that's what they told me in Rome...]
I do not agree that when people hear “church” they think “the Catholic church”. I hope by now most people think and know that “the church” is the people. The people are sinners just like everyone else. However, those who follow Christ have acknowledged that they are a sinner in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. While it is easy for us to look at Jesus and want to be like Him; it is equally hard to look at the surrounding people and see them as Jesus does – sinners saved by grace. We tend to want to judge or put people on pedestals. Either way we will be hurt by people. We need to keep our eyes on Christ.
Because the church has issues. Sure, I’m involved in a church, and I would be considered part of the “Church,” capital C, but I am totally aware that we have our priorities messed up. Oftentimes we are following a different standard than the one that Jesus set up for us. And that’s wrong.
The church comes across as fake. The free pizza nights, the dramatic altar calls. And the way they try to draw in people. I don’t think people should “witness” to strangers. I don’t even think it should be a conscious effort. I think Christians should work on becoming closer to God, and building GENUINE relationships with everyone around them. The church didn’t make me want to know Jesus. In fact it was the biggest reason I didn’t want to call myself a Christian. The people who genuinely cared about me made me re-look Christianity (and C.S. Lewis helped).
I don’t want to be associated with cliche church phrases, t.v. evangelists, sunday school answers (just repeating “well, I just love Jesus” I mean that doesn’t say anything but “I don’t know the answer and dont’ want to talk to you about it either”).
-Amber
That is a really good question, but since I’m not religous in the Jesus/God form and I’ve only went to church once my whole life, I cannot answer truthfully.
oh, but yeah the Church is still important. Most of the time the people really do take care of each other. Those were just somethings I don’t like about it. But overall, I can’t wait to find a church family. And if you’re not willing to try and improve something, you dont’ have any right to complain about it. So if you think the church should be better, then join one and contribute.
-Amber
’cause jesus is cool but the church is a big fake
You guys must be going to the wrong church…
Try attending Covant Fellowship in Cushing, Oklahoma with Pastor Art Fox.
It will change your life, change your mind and charge your life with a positive perspective of things! And who doesn’t need more positive things in their life…
because it seems as if church has become irrelevant to most people’s lives this day and age.
i would venture to suggest that you read the radical book “Revolution” by George Barna. Barna runs The Barna Group and does polls and statistics for many major companies, organizations and religions groups. He wrote a book in 1970 that listed his predictions for the next 25 years based on his research and statistics and 90% of his predications were correct. His new book “Revolution” includes his predictions of what will happen in the church in the next 25 years or so. He believes that people will start to leave (in fact they already have) organized local “churches” to break out into smaller groups, home churches, ect., to become the Church, (capital C).
–amanda.
They’re hypocrites?
Cause they don’t know Him.
If you ever find the perfect church, DON’T JOIN IT! You are not perfect and you would ruin everything!
Seriously, the church is made up of people who want to be like Jesus, who is the only one that was perfect. When the world sees these imperfect people, the world looks at these people as hypocrates and the reputation of these imperfect people fall on to the church.
i have to say it is becuz church is supposed to be someplace where everyone feels welcome. However most churches and i have tried a few despite my current beliefs, are two faced. Bunch of people who think they are better then sara lee becuz she is not dressed right or didn’t donate enough to the collection plate..
Its a place that one should feel warmth and love when the go in not alienated. That and most sermons sound to much like a sermon. I think a church should inform vs. a judgy sermon.
my 2 cents worth.
that a church starts to early lol on sundays anyway or to late on wednesday for me anyway
Because Jesus was perfect and the church is made up of people (myself included) who are definately not.
Because the church, not Jesus, is the coorporation that promotes group polarization and blind acceptence of dumb ideas.
jesus is an entity. church is an organization that may or may not follow the teachings of the entity. and humans have flaws, and church is a human-made organization, which will drive it toward a series of bad calls.
bc 95% of Christians are MAJOR hypocrites…or they are Christians just for show. I have met very few that were devoted Christians, because of the love of God.
Not that I’m any better….
Those who aren’t in the Church do not realize that those within the Church are sinners as well and can never be perfect. We are only made perfect before the Father by the Blood of Christ the Lord.
We fall into sin just as do non-believers. We are not sinless.
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” -Mahatma Gandhi
My answer is too long to fit in this tiny little box. Plus I already did a blog about it. Basically, I just haven’t found a church that “fit” yet. If I do, I won’t be so against the Church. Right now, my church is me.
Jesus never took a strong moral stance against condoms.
Jesus was a kind fellow who bummed around Israel for 33 years and helped everyone. He was a loving soul who did what he could to help anyone at possible. Everyone loves a philanthropist, and people hold Jesus as the epitome of a humanitarian. The church, however, feels it is their duty to interpret and misinterpret the bible (no matter how fictional it may be). They feel they can push their opinion and beliefs onto others and feel they need to “save” those who do not coincide with their chosen religion. IE, Jews, homosexuals, Mormons…they feel that these people are less than them, “sinners” in need of “salvation”. Jesus embraced everyone and the church embraces no one. You aren’t embraced by the church if you’re divorced, homosexual, female (in some cases), etc. In some cases, the church will shun you for ASSOCIATING with certain groups of people. A church in my area does not encourage niceties between Jews and their members because the Jews are unclean and they need to “change” them to become Christians. Christians have abandoned the teachings and followings of Jesus and adopted their own. They claim it’s the word of Jesus, and since Jesus isn’t here to stop them, they’re free to do as they please. The church is a divide between people and a catalyst for war. So, angry-hateful-discriminatory-nonloving group of people or Jesus, who loved his neighbors and helped his community. Which would you like?
You been to church recently?
Ryc: Yea, seriously. Silly heads. Even my boyfriend…sigh, et tu brutus?
Hmmm…”hate” is a pretty strong word, but the Church contains people with all of their human flaws. I guess some people expecting something more divine would be disappointed.
Thanks for the invite, btw!
Unfortunately the “Church” (those who are in the body of Christ – not necessarily the building where people meet) often act far different than the way Christ would have us behave. There are hypocrites and they are often the only “Christians” that people ever meet. Sad, but true.
I love Jesus, but it took me a long time to find a “church home” were I felt that the people were genuine and actually persuing a life of Love.
Just my two cents. *clink clink*
because churches tend to be full of hypocrites and liars Churches also sometimes have some over controlling people in them…it can be really nasty.
Sometimes it’s like a trend especially to some teen kids. “J-Christ” kinda people. I don’t know, I personally don’t like going to church because I think it’s basically the same stuff year after year….and maybe people claim they love Jesus because God can read your mind and they don’t wanna be damned to hell…I’ve always thought the devil would get me if I didnt love Jesus.
churches, like many organizations, become political over time. Do you know the right people, talk to the right ones, go tot he right meeting to be held in esteem in your community?
Around the turn of the last century, Mark Twain said something like, “If Jesus were to come back today, there is one thing he would not be: A Christian.” This was around the time that the church (Protestant and Catholic) was in full support of the US military’s genocidal war in the Philipines in the interest of imperialism.
Now we’re in Iraq. Nothing ever changes. Kurt Vonnegut made similar points in 2004-2005, about how Jesus was cool and advocated mercy and helping the weak, yet mainstream Christianity focused more on “eye for an eye.”
In short; Jesus is cool, Christianity/The Church is not.
That is all.
i don’t know why they say it, but i think it’s inconsistent. sure, Jesus didn’t come to set up a hierarchy, but He did say to gather together in fellowship and encourage one another. that’s pretty much what the church is supposed to do. the church isn’t your building, it’s your friends with whom you can be honest with, pray with, allow yourself to be cared for by… don’t hate the church. build it. fix it. Jesus wasn’t a quitter. neither are His disciples.
Unfortunately the church is made up of people!!
But Jesus did tell us to love our brother-and the Bible says we can’t say we are of God if we hate our brother…
I can’t believe you even have to ask.
Because most churches, and christians, act like they don’t have a clue about the principles Jesus taught for us to live by. They are too busy doing bloody battle over this, that or the other doctrinal principle. Power in the church goes to the wealthiest donors. Compassion, love, forgivness, and charity don’t appear to even cross their minds. Sometimes, if you truely want to connect with god, the best approach is to stay as far away from the churches as possible.
I guess today’s Christian culture makes it easy to love Jesus. A lot of the praise and worship songs I hear today like to protray him as a best friend, in a sugary way… I don’t care so much about that, but it gets pretty one-sided. As far as religion goes, I think many people find it either constricting, untrustworthy, or provoking.
Because they are two completely different things. Jesus is a man, the church is organized worship of that man. I don’t want to be a drone like all the other church goers, so I’ll show my appreciation for god and all that in some other way.
Church is for some people and not for others. It’s also more than simply organized religion. There are so many good things about going to church. You learn things about others, you learn about the bible and the historical goings-on of the time, and you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. It’s a very satisfying feeling. However, the media seems to only focus on the part where the priest tells you what god is saying, which is corrupt and stupid, so people who almost never go to church only know about that part.
If you’re going to say you hate church, go for a couple weekends and see what it’s like. It’s like the saying goes, try it you’ll like it!
Because the church looks nothing like Jesus at all…
I think it was something that Ghandi said that I think applies here. He said something along the lines of “I like your God, but your Christians are not like your Christ.”
When Jesus is God, and the church has often had a problem being unrighteous, hypocritical and oppressive (not truly being the Body of Christ as the Church should be), you really can’t blame a lot of people for loving one and being disgusted by the failure of the other.
Jesus is God, perfection incarnate. the Church is full of people, aka flawed and sometimes self-serving, and always holding differing opinions on how things should be done…
you can have your own kinda of faith by following jesus, by going to a church you have to follow there ideas…and the same exact routine, every single day((if your episcipalian))
because Jesus is perfect and the church is composed of flawed people.
I love Jesus and have served and attended church all my life and am now the wife of a youth pastor…but unforunatly I have run across more hyprocrites in church…more hurt in some churches than anywhere. The problem is there are many church goers that try to follow and force others the follow the “laws of the Lord”…but completely forget the grace and mercy and love of the Lord that overrules all…and are behind those “guidelines” that the Bible states. Or you have the bunch of Christians that think…”sweet…I saved and have my ticket to heaven…so I’ll just go to church on Sunday and praise God…then the rest of the week I can do what I want”…I try my hardest not to be one of those…but it can be tough. With those types as the one that most see and hear of…no wonder people hate the church and don’t trust it….I don’t trust it either…I trust my Lord and Savior…
I think that people hate the church, because sometimes the church does very un-Jesus type things.
It’s interesting because Derek webb sings “If you love Me, you will love the Church.”
I think we shoot ourselves in the foot. Instead of obeying what Jesus and His apostles said…. encouraging and exhorting our brothers and sisters, instead we point fingers and use every moment to criticize instead of extending grace. We are actually worse than the cynics toward one another and it needs to stop!
U can’t create positive change when u’re being so negative! Definitely call people on stuff… accountability but don’t just sit back and be a jerk either. What are u doing to make the church a better place…….
This is my question to the cynic on satan’s team
Derek Webb paraphrases God singing, ” If you love Me, you will love the Church.”
I believe that we shoot ourselves in the foot. Instead of encouraging and exhorting (which basically means nailing a person with accountability and encouraging in the way of the Lord, not fluffy excuses!) we point fingers like cynics worse than politicians.
We shoot OURSELVES in the foot and thus join Satan’s team.
Sounds strong? Go read 1 John!
The church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites, and I work in a church. Jesus was never hypocritical.
The church and its members, can be confining, restrictive, arrogant with condescending and judgemental attitudes, with ministers that are too busy preaching and not listening , who are out of date with the world and how it has changed, who love to hear themselves talk, and who can be very egotisical and condemning to those people and young people who they do not believe fit into how Chrisitans should behave, walk, and talk, etc. (this includes youth ministers). So for me, I am a hard-core believer in Jesus, but there was a time I left the Church for a number of years because of the judgemental attitudes -like nasty, vicious, and especially righteous – that I saw. I have slowly come back on a part-time basis to a Bible-based church - but I still crinch at some of the attitudes and righteous arrogance that I see and hear among the Christian community. Thanks for the good question. C.L. Knowles
I think it’s because sometimes the Church twists the real meaning of the holy message. And many of them are hypocrites. We are the followers are Jesus, NOT the church!
Because they want to do things their own way with no reguard to if its right or wrong. I guess they figure if no one is there to point out their mistakes they are right.
I am Catholic and very proud of my One, True Faith.
It’s like a chore having to go to church… that’s not right…. for me anyway
There are hypocrites in the supermarket too, that doesn’t keep anyone from buying groceries. Church is supposed to be food for the soul. I would be the first to agree that many churches are not fulfiling the role they were intended to fulfil. That is why many Christians have a hard time making it a priority in their week. I do find the judgemental attitude of some well-meaning church people turns off potential once a week-ers because it’s not enough in their eyes if you don’t go every time the doors are open. But the reality is that all churches really need to prioritize their given mission and goals. I think we’ve lost focus on what that is. And what’s more important. That being said I go about once a month and try to get everything out of it that can.
Observations from a Former PK
The church doesn’t necessarily represent Jesus like it should all of the time. I think Revelations mentions how Jesus feels about that.
You dont have to go to church to beleive in Christ, christianity or God. Church is just a place to go of worship. The leaders of the organisation reflect the idea of trying to draw in more worshippers.
Because the church is really fucked up.
The church can become corrupt, but Jesus is never that.
The church is known for having sinners bastardize the bible to justify hate.
Because church is boring? (it is for me, being in a church makes me sleepy).
cuz people there claim to be Jesus loving christians but they’re fake as fake can get. they say we should love and forgive all–do as Jesus would but they themselves do the exact opposite by holding their prejudices against those who are “different” from them. Jesus shouldn’t be blamed for the hyprocrital things fake christians do. The church is also very dogmatic (and i suppose it should be?) If there’s anything that i believe in the Bible is that Christ loves all his children whether black, white, purple, or homosexual. I don’t know.. i could go on.. but yeah.. just to generalize my opinion the church claims to be accepting when it’s not and Christ IS accepting.
most churches are more concerned with keeping there little community alive and keeping the church building open than sharing the love of God with those around them in there comunities. and they show a lot of narrow mindedness…
Because the Church is full of humans, and humans are flawed creatures.
people just follow the trends. they’re all sheep. the “church” ( all zillion of them) has been showing it’s ass lately.
Because the church has so many problems…
I love Jesus, but the people in some churches, including some pastors, disappoint me. Yes, we are all sinners, but we are also supposed to be the body of Christ and to treat each other lovingly, be there for each other, be Jesus to each other. I haven’t experienced that in a church in nine years. I hate to go to church, because it’s so painful and lonely.
Well, coming from a completely logical view. Jesus is perfect (by perfect I mean without sin). Easy to love that. People are not perfect. The church is made up of people. Therefore the church is imperfect; something imperfect can be picked apart and people can hate it for what it is made up of.
probably because the church tries to BE Jesus
The Church can’t control people’s attitudes, thoughts, actions; it can only preach the truth, and hope the Holy Spirit guides them to straighten out their lives. The Sacraments help draw us closer to God. We aren’t forced to take them; we aren’t forced to go to church every Sunday; we aren’t forced to read the Bible, or pray at all. If we don’t sacrifice and do all of that stuff, it only hurts ourselves, because the further away from God you are, the more confused your life is going to get.
I’m not saying you’re evil if you don’t go to church, I’m only saying you’re hurting yourself from not wanting to draw closer to the Creator.
And also, if you do go to church, but you don’t listen to the Word, and (if you’re Catholic) receive the Eucharist in a knowing way, and know the true meaning of the Mass, then you might as well not go to church, because you’re missing the whole point of going in the first place; He’s not going to be able to open your eyes if you don’t want to know more.
Because it’s easy to say you like something when it doesn’t require anything of you to do so.
And it’s easy not to like something when you’re looking at the stereotypes.
cuz most of the church does not love Jesus, at least not the REAL Jesus
Because the church has become a business and you can’t incorporate Jesus.
Because church is secular, loving Jesus isn’t. No one likes to be dragged into believing something they don’t want to, or aren’t completely into. Such as, I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe in a certain secular form, such as Baptist or Episcopalian. I don’t want to be told what is the “truth”. I just want to believe.
Because Jesus isn’t corrupt and selfish. The church makes things up for their own benefit and takes things from the bible that aren’t even there. I cite, the debate on homosexuality… Did Jesus say no? Absolutely not.
You can think of Jesus however you like, and he’ll always accept you.
The church has rules that you have to follow and if it’s just you and Jesus personally, he’ll accept you for you I guess.
“It’s like a chore having to go to church… that’s not right…. for me anyway”
I know, a lot of people don’t go there to have fun but to endure it. It’s like that line in Dogma…We’re not celebrating life, we’re mourning it.
you people have such poor arguments … lots of you make it obvious that you don’t really know God’s Word. and why is that? because you weren’t taught properly!
B/c Jesus was a nice guy who had some pretty great ideas. “The Church” is dominated by old men who have sex with small boys and then condemn the rest of the world for having impure thoughts. “The church” is often hypocritical, and uses religion as a way to divide people, rather than unite them through love and understanding. Jesus is a MUCH more likeable character.
It’s because the church so often doesn’t live up to expectations. The church is made of people, and people very frequently screw up. When you read the Gospels, you can read Jesus’ message of love, hope, compassion and freedom. The church doesn’t always get that message across – sometimes the church is judgmental, and even hateful. When people have negative church experiences it’s easy to think that’s how every church experience will be. But some churches are loving and supportive and trying hard to follow the example Jesus set.
because they have not yet realized that the Church is the Body of Christ, although not outwardly perfect, inwardly sanctified by Jesus’ blood.
Because Jesus died for our sins. He loves and forgives people unconditionally. He is a symbol of love.
Church/bible/religion can be avery cruel, strict thing that completely contradicts faith in Jesus Christ. It inspires racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and close-mindedness in general.
There is a difference between faith and relgion. Christian faith leads people to love and forgive others the way Jesus loves and forgives you while Christian relgion leads people to be judemental and cruel.
Churches are closeminded and unnaccepting, therefore it paints a very bad picture of christians. The truth is that those closeminded churchgoers more then likely don’t have christian faith to begin with. they aren’t real actual christians. and most real chrisitans are uncomfortable around those kinds of people.
Ghandi once said something to the effect of, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I think that is the reason so many people say they like Jesus, but not the Church. I think a lot of people have had bad experiences with organized religion, so that even if Jesus himself sounds appealling to these people, his followers do not.
I have nothing against the idea of the church. If a person belongs to a church as is a better person for it, it is a good thing. But it’s not for everyone. I don’t like going to church. It’s just not my thing. I feel if I am going to worship any sort of god or gods, it is more fitting to do it in the beautiful natural world they created rather than in a man made building. But the main thing I have against the Church is that pretty much every religious group I have belonged to has been so focused on appearence, even as they stressed the importance of being genuine and real. You had to listen to the right music, wear the right clothes, have enough faith, not have negative emotions, not think about sex unless you were married… and if you didn’t fit their little mold, then obviously you weren’t a very “godly” person. They were so focused on all the little things that they didn’t care about helping people in need or righting the injustices that were within their power to fix. And once I was old enough to realize that was what was happening, and worse yet, that I had become that sort of person, it scared me.
Because it’s true. The bigger issue here is the people that say the love the church and don’t really love Jesus. And an even bigger one than that is the people who say they love Jesus and don’t act like it.
Who’s Jesus?
Jesus is a messenger from god…Churches are Institutions from people.
The church can get very… messed up. Even in history it was bad… People would become Popes for the power. It can all be very corrupted.
because many people don’t as as Jesus would have them. take the crusades for instance. i believe that war is to be used only as a last resort. trying to conquer israel is not a legitimate reason for a war, but the church supported it. stuff like that taints the image people have of the church.
i think that spirituality can only come from within. i’m not a christian, but if i was, i wouldn’t go to church. ever. supposedly, god wrote the bible for his people to have his mandates, and yes, he does mention church as an important part of the faith, but anymore, church seems to be for show, or for people who are to lazy to actually read the bible. my grandparents are hardcore christians, but i don’t think they’ve read anything in the bible for themselves in years. they take every word that their preacher says as though it came from the bible, and that’s what they use as ammunition to tell me that i’m wrong in my disbelief. it pisses me off so much. i also think that churches are way too big on numbers. the more people they have filling their rows, the more successful they are, regardless of whether or not they’re actually helping a person find their faith or not, which is another reason i will never ever go to a church for the service ever again. my father is the only christian i know who i genuinely respect for their faith, because he takes the road of personal searching with prayer and the bible to further his faith. i wish christianity wasn’t so trendy! it’s disgusting.
Comments (191)
The church does have a couple problems. At least it did in the past, so it raises doubt.
Because the church and the people who make up the church don’t always act like Jesus did.
Because they are posing.
because the Church sometimes skews the real meaning and reason and messege of Jesus
because the church is full of sinners
just like the rest of the world
Organized religion… especially when it gathers lot of people together isn’t always pretty. Also… there are times when the people in charge of organized religion twist things…
It could also be that people are lazy and don’t want to goto church even though they are supposed to gather together to fellowship. lol
You and your crazy questions… I don’t know why I’m even trying to come up with an answer for this one. lol
A lot of people are disgusted with churches because the people say one thing but do something completely wrong. It’s like they’re being hypocrites.
because they’re secretly Agnostic and trying to figure out what role donating crazy amounts of money to the Church has to do with receiving the love of Jesus and God.
What XristosAnesti said.
People do not act Christ like. Not all churches. But quite a few I belonged to.
Or there’s politics–like the church that fired my favorite youth group leader only to be replaced by a guy that used the churches computers to download porn. (I had all ready left by then.)
Or the ones that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
Or the mean people who have no love for others.
Or the ones that treat church like a social/country club. I.e. they gossip more than Perez Hilton and treat people without money not so nice.
I’m not bitter or anything.
i’m catholic and disagree with the church on many different platforms. i think people should connect with God, and do, in their own way, and would rather not have the church tell them what they can and can’t do to connect with him. many also have beliefs that directly oppose those of the church in many controversial problems in our world today. the church shouldn’t dictate our beliefs, the believers should dictate the church’s beliefs.
fuck organized religion.
because “the church” is normally in reference to the catholic church — who, for the most part, are hypocrites & totally twist around Jesus’ word.
You don’t really need to go to church to be a good Christian. Just read the bible and follow the golden rule. Its not too hard.
But its OK to go to church if your want to, Some people just need guidance and church is where you can get that. Oh, and I’m hindu.
because jesus owns all n00bs lol
XD
depends on the church… some leaders arnt good examples…
Let’s face it: the church has done some REALLY crappy things in the past. It has a historyy of racism, sexism and corruption. Still, true believers don’t let that get in the way of their faith. Religion is run by man. Faith is about God and spirituality.
And intolerance! I can’t leave that out.
Church is full of judgemental hypocrites.
Because of hipocrates and 2 faced people ? !
Perhaps they have met both :^)
because apparently church is really long and boring.
why do people say they love their parent but hate them?
Well, once people of the church start walking on water and parting seas, I’ll have increased respect for them
The church is nothing but a bunch of people getting together, being hypocrites, and causing lots of irrational drama.
You talkin’ bout me? LOL!
I don’t like organized religion because it is so tiring and frustrating to see people use religion as a ‘weapon’ against others who don’t believe the way they do.
Today’s modern church has gotten away from what God intended church to be . . .not arguing about what color carpet to put in the new addition . . .
Because “we” are the church.
That’s like asking why some people say they love bar-b-que, but they hate the idea of a bar-b-qued pig with an apple in it’s mouth. The two are not necessarily the same.
I don’t know anyone who say they love Jesus but hate the church.
I know many people, however, who say they love Jesus and are very concerned for the church. Is that what you mean?
And I am one of them.
because most churches don’t look or work anything like jesus said to be
because the church is run by some of the biggest hipocrites that want to be christians on sunday, but behave however they want the rest of the week
I don’t know about anybody else’s church but in my church people spoke The Word and did the opposite. I stopped going to church because I was tired of being fed lies. Small ones like how it was okay to come to church as is. I never had any formalwear and when I did come to church in a regular jeans and t-shirt, I was ridiculed. Plus I heard that there was a lot of gossiping and extortion going on behind the scenes. The fact that i heard about these things were bad enough. >.> What happened to Love Thy Neighbor?
Because the church is business, rather, it has been turned into one, turned from the once simple place where worship was made convenient by giving it a place and time. By being a business, it becomes corrupt. Who wants to worship their deity in a corrupt atmosphere? Not me. I’d rather worship my deitous (is that even a word?) whatever without that.
which church? all have problems but, which one?
Perhaps because Jesus lived what He taught……and *most* of the people in organized churches don’t.
Truthfully, and unfortunately, because sometimes, we as christians, can be some of the most judgemental and hypocritical people on earth~
Allegedly, it is because the Church is a corruptible entity, whereas Jesus (of the Bible) is not. Though one might argue that the Bible has already been corrupted by the hands of men.
-David
because of all the f-ing hypocrites. there are some in every church and they always stick out. they wreck churches. too bad we couldn’t just set up a hypocrite church and they all could go there. kinda like this guy at work, he tells me all the time how he loves God, loves his wife, sooooo much and in the same breathe tries to sleep with me. because my husband is in mexico and so that means i should be able to sleep with him. um, no. this guy goes to church every sunday and talks to people about God, yadda, yadda, yadda. i know more hypocrites than you can shake a stick at and theres more every day………
For one thing Jesus is somebody that people can trust is understanding and caring.
The Church has alot of ministers and people in power who try to twist His words, like in Miedevil times.
I have no doubt that stuff is still happening today.
And plus, I watched this movie a few years ago. Anyway … in one scene a guy’s young 6 year old daughter is in a Catholic school and a nun hits her for being disobediant, so then she asks the nun “If Jesus is loving and forgiving, why does he have you hit us?”
Just something to think about, The Church often uses their religious influential power for themselves.
Because the people in the church claim to love the church and secretly hate Jesus.
Wow, so just because the members of the Church are not perfect, the teachings of the Church are suddenly all unreliable? That’s ridiculous. A person may speak truth even though his actions can show otherwise.
The Church is a ship sailing to its eternal port in Heaven through time, with Jesus as the captain. The crew (members of the Church) may be heavy sinners and do all they can to try and sink the ship, but they won’t because Jesus won’t allow it. Stop hating on us, jeez.
I love my Church, not because of the members but because it gave me and continues to give me truth – Jesus.
because the church is run by people and people make mistakes.
Much of organized religion has lost touch with what being a Christian really is.
i don’t attend church because the hypocrisy KILLS me. growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. when my family would attend church, we could hear whispers of those discussing our disheveled clothes, hand-me-downs and whatnot. i remember one sunday, i was probably 6 or 7, i overheard adults talking about us not having a car, talking about me having to wear my older sister’s hand-me-downs…i walked up to them and said, ”we don’t have much, but i’m happier than you because i appreciate what i do have and am not sad over what we don’t have”… =)
i’m guilty of judging people..i’m not perfect, however, i don’t pretend to be something i’m not. hypocrisy is a struggle for all, but to not admit it pisses me off. i don’t need to go to church to worship my god.
I do agree that there are many hypocritical Catholics, though, whose asses I want to kick.
because they have been so hurt by the church in their attempts to find God.
I enjoy my church because of our leaders. They “guide” us but let us dictate the way we believe him so its comfortable for us.
Some leaders use religion for politics and a weapon.
that makes me sad :[
cuz people are lazy ass hell to get up and go to church
Mainly because churchs are filled with some of those most judgemental hypocrites. I like the idea of my religion…but i don’t like some of the people i’ve gone to church with.
The church is made up of fallible people with obvious faults which are not easily discounted. (Nor should those faults be discounted). A Sunday morning visit, or even a glance through the newspaper, will reveal a multitude of problems within the church.
Meanwhile, “Jesus” has been turned into an amorphous concept which people define and redefine as they see fit. If someone wants to say that Jesus was all lovey-dovey and never got mad when people sinned, or that he would have hugged the Buddha had he only gotten the chance, well, Jesus isn’t here to contradict them. Jesus is easily loved — you need only redefine him to fit your ideals. At least that’s what many seem to think.
We even redefine the word “love”. We get uncomfortable with a Jesus that says “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” We sometimes prefer a love that consists of positive vibes and happy thoughts.
b/c
MEN
run it.
Because the church nowadays is NOT AT ALL how it was designed. The church is NOT supposed to be seeker-driven, or even large, I believe. The church started out meeting in people’s homes with the purpose of fellowship and strengthening of the believers. I understand how people can claim to be Christians but hate the institution of the church.
And let’s not forget, the entire reason the pilgrims came to America was because of a church gone awry.
It seems that so many have been hurt and burned by people in the church. It is very sad that we treat others the way we do. It happens in the secular world too… people just expect it in business and in the real world. They expect (and rightfully so) the church to treat them differently.
I don’t really like Jesus, but church is okay.
I find too much hypocrisy in the church. I have a strong relationship with God. He has watched over me in more ways than one, especially during my days of my own personal apocolypse. But, growing up, I found the church confusing and hypocritical, unbending and stringent. My mom was actually getting on me about not attending the other day, she actually left a message on my voice mail giving the times for mass throughout the week. She tried to pull the Bible out on me, and I told that Jesus said, indirect quote here, “tear this building down and I will rebuild it in 3 days.” In other words, it’s not about where you worship, but how. Faith can not be destoyed no matter where you are.
I love Jesus and the Church that he established.
Because so many churches out there try to make Jesus (or his words) serve them rather than as a church, serve Jesus.
For my church: the people were really snotty and judgmental. Like, you miss church the next time they see you they go “missed you in church on Sunday…” And people are really full of themselves. Half the time I went I forgot what church was actually about.
Because the church is full of hypocrites!
And dramatics.
And boring sermons.
And lots of other stuff.
Although a lot of people say christians are hypocrites. Most people were moral and righteous, so I didn’t see much hypocrisy.
What XristosAnesti said
I love Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, and I love His Church.
Not too many people hate the Catholic Church- a lot of people, however, hate all the lies they’re told about the Catholic Church.
I want to know if any of you have actually gotten a hold of Catholic doctrines and any question and answer books (written by Catholics), read them, and still hated what they taught.
There is a lot of misunderstanding.
If you still hate the Catholic Church after learning all about the Catholic Church (the true stuff about the Catholic Church, not what everyone else says about it), then you can truly say you hate the Catholic Church.
Peace,
seejaybee
but the church is //us// I for one have decided to stop complaining and try to make my actions more like Christ’s. I am the church. I’m the one who has given Christianity the name it doesn’t deserve.
the church isn’t organized religion, it’s believers around the world.
Yeah, but I hate Jesus. Jews killed him, and we’ll do it again!
Because Jesus, or Krishna, or Buddha etc are purely about the individual finding God, The One, Nirvana etc, and most churches are highly impure mixtures of those who appreciate this truth, and those who distort it to gain one of the greatest of gross worldly pleasures: that of making others obey.
The result is that we treat them with a mixture of respect and contempt.
Gee, lets see. how about http://www.godhatesfags.com?
To be less anectdotal, I would say that the evangelical movement’s entry into politics via the neoconservative movement has severly alientated me. I think that they are against women’s rights and I hate that. Another reason is that my grandmother is a christian scientist and I disagree with many of the things she does to hury herself in the name of religion. Another example is Pat Robertson blaming feminists (among others) for 9-11.
The vocal extremists are ruining it for the rest of the Christians and it reminds me of an exercise we performed in Sunday school when I was about 12. We wrote on little wooden blocks “God help me not to be a stumbling block.” It was something I carried with me for years.
When I think of God, I think of love and charity and guidance, but when I see Christians on the news, they are spewing forth messages of hate, intolerance, ignorance and judgementality. I don’t want people to associate that with me. And also, I’m human, I need forgiveness just like everyone else, and I don’t see that in the face of modern Christianity.
because the Church does a good job keeping people out, rather than inviting people in!
Organized religion is just saying to God every Sunday, “I love you,” in a very beautiful way, joined up with everyone around the whole world, shouting out to God what he created us to do. I mean, of course you read the Bible, have your own time alone with God, and everything else, but “organized religion” is when the Church comes together as a family to worship their Creator.
That’s what I believe, anyway. Everyone has their own opinion.
Oh, btw, If you hate Jesus, then you have no clue what you’re missing.
seejaybee
I know my curch is full of some meeeaan people..
They’re always talking about how much we all Love eachother and how Loving our church is.. rrrg but we’re not really.. We all just have to work a little harder at it!
Because the Church is antiquated and hypocritical.
My main problem with church is that of all the years of attending and dealing with judgmental assholes and trying to love them anyway (didn’t work)….didn’t teach me one thing about what the bible really says. Churchianity is a religion unto itself and I don’t bow to it any longer.
while the church represents jesus- alot of churches are just screwed up.
not all churches are like that though.
No, the Church isn’t- some of the people in it are, though. We’re all sinners, every one of us, but that doesn’t mean the Church is all of that stuff you say about it. I mean, if Jesus founded the Church, promised to be with it throughout time, then don’t you think He’s powerful enough to guide it, even if there is a lot of bad people in it?
seejaybee
If you want to find a real Bible Church, the Catholic Church is the way to go!
Most of us might not know how to throw out memorized Bible scriptures at people debating us, but true Catholics who listen to the Word every Sunday, know their Bible and the true meaning of its teaching.
Peace,
seejaybee
maybe there’s too many hypocrits in church?
Wow there are a lot of people out there who hate the Church…while I personally don’t agree with a lot of the things that go on in the Church (Catholic of course) I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I hate it. They do a lot of good, at least in my community, and while I can’t overlook the harm the Church as a whole has done I can’t just ignore the good either. That is the house of God, so how could I hate it and still profess to love God?
Because there are so many hipocrites in church. You do not need a building full of people to pray to Jesus.
If what you say is true, which I truly don’t believe, then don’t you think God can even work through evil people? Or do you think God can only work through people who have accepted Him into his/her heart, and has giving Him his/her life? The world would be worse off if that was the case.
seejaybee
Because the people of the church are not always very kind, and often don’t treat others as Jesus would have.
simple…..a perfect being like Jesus is easy to Love…..an church fillled with His sinfull imperfect children can mess a lot up. It’s important to remember we ALL have foibles….we are all imperfect we all struggle with something…….
I am a Christian and pray but I DO NOT go to church…churches are full of people who aren’t very Christian like!
Church is about controlling how the hell you should live your life according to their bible…and I’m against it
because, in many cases, the church has become something that hardly resembles what God intended.
People don’t want to face the fact that Jesus left behind a group of imperfect followers who, despite all their faults, were charged with carrying on his work and teaching. Appealing to Jesus as somehow seperate from the Church makes people feel superior; at least they aren’t claiming to be perfect. The fact is, though, that even the Apostles never claimed to be perfect. Their message was pure but even they knew that they didn’t always live up to it. Read Romans 8-9 and Galatians 1 if you don’t believe me. Hating the Church because of its mistakes is to say that God can only work through perfect people, or at least “good” people. But if that’s the case then why did Jesus come in the first place? “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” St. Paul the Apostle in 1 Timothy 1:15.
because people focus on their bad experience with church instead of what it should be. and they refuse to believe that their perception of a true Bible-based church may be wrong.
How does one determine a church to be a Bible-based church? Well, gotta learn the Bible obviously… And one eventually realizes that more than half of the New Testament is all about how churches should be, and that even churches back in the day of the original Christian leaders were never perfect, and were never expected to be perfect. Instead, they’re told to run the marathon towards it, and for the most part, that’s what they did. And for the most part, that’s what they do today (the churches of the news and politics are NOT the norm… why do people think they are?? there’s a reason why they’re on the news all the time!)
This is, of course, assuming that one actually likes the concept of a Bible-based church… if they don’t, then i guess they hate them for believing in something?
Because people are proud enough to think “I can do it on my own”.
because the church is made up of imperfect people. and for those who say it’s full of hypocrisy…so are other institutions so what’s your point?
God made the church, people preserve it, and with people comes sin, and with sin comes hatred.
Because church puts me in a bad mood.
Jesus doesn’t do that.
LOL.
Jk.
Well actually sometimes thats true.
I like church in general though.
Oh yeah. Women can’t be priests in the catholic church.
that pisses me off.
People expect the church to radiate Jesus’s character. Unfortunately, those who inhabit the church are human. Some come to terms with that humanity and admit to stumbling, wipe the “dust” off and move one, and others refuse to acknowledge their own stumbling, develop pride (even self-righteousness) and instead point to the faults in others. The end result–inconsistency between belief and action. It is a cause for frustration–especially if one is on the receiving end of said self-righteousness from others. My answer is getting convoluded now. Let me sum it up: People expect to see Jesus in the church. Instead, they see humanity–sometimes at its worst.
**on, not one
The difference is Jesus don’t try to rip you off where as the church could because they are run by men. Men who are not perfect. They could take advantage of other people believe and trust by using the church. This is only my theory. I can be wrong who knows.
jesus lived a great life, the church is parasitic
I EXPLAINED IT ALL IN 9 WORDS
I don’t have a problem with Jesus. It’s his fan club that I don’t really get along with.
The church forces you to conform to their specific beliefs, when you may not in fact believe exactly so. I’m Orthodox, yet I believe in reincarnation.
The church ALWAYS has problems.
There are just so many different views of what a church should be, subjects that the church thinks is “taboo.”
Eh, it’s always going to be like that, I think.
Most churches are very hyprocritcal, and try to compete with rival churches, which is what they use vistors more…or atleast that is how it is in my small town.
People just make up whatever crap they want to about Jesus, but they can’t really do that about the church. It’s easy to love someone when you made Him up!
“Jesus wouldn’t judge me!” Are you sure about that?
I am a Christian and pray but I DO NOT go to church…churches are full of people who aren’t very Christian like!
6/28/2007 9:08 PM
reed44 (message)
Maybe you should join one, and start a revolution.
Because saying you love Jesus is really easy. “I love Jesus.” There. Now I can do whatever the heck I want on Saturday and Sunday, including getting drunk and fornicating [Because we can ask God for more forgiveness so that he can get more credit. At least that's what they told me in Rome...]
I do not agree that when people hear “church” they think “the Catholic church”. I hope by now most people think and know that “the church” is the people. The people are sinners just like everyone else. However, those who follow Christ have acknowledged that they are a sinner in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. While it is easy for us to look at Jesus and want to be like Him; it is equally hard to look at the surrounding people and see them as Jesus does – sinners saved by grace. We tend to want to judge or put people on pedestals. Either way we will be hurt by people. We need to keep our eyes on Christ.
Because the church has issues. Sure, I’m involved in a church, and I would be considered part of the “Church,” capital C, but I am totally aware that we have our priorities messed up. Oftentimes we are following a different standard than the one that Jesus set up for us. And that’s wrong.
The church comes across as fake. The free pizza nights, the dramatic altar calls. And the way they try to draw in people. I don’t think people should “witness” to strangers. I don’t even think it should be a conscious effort. I think Christians should work on becoming closer to God, and building GENUINE relationships with everyone around them. The church didn’t make me want to know Jesus. In fact it was the biggest reason I didn’t want to call myself a Christian. The people who genuinely cared about me made me re-look Christianity (and C.S. Lewis helped).
I don’t want to be associated with cliche church phrases, t.v. evangelists, sunday school answers (just repeating “well, I just love Jesus” I mean that doesn’t say anything but “I don’t know the answer and dont’ want to talk to you about it either”).
-Amber
That is a really good question, but since I’m not religous in the Jesus/God form and I’ve only went to church once my whole life, I cannot answer truthfully.
oh, but yeah the Church is still important. Most of the time the people really do take care of each other. Those were just somethings I don’t like about it. But overall, I can’t wait to find a church family. And if you’re not willing to try and improve something, you dont’ have any right to complain about it. So if you think the church should be better, then join one and contribute.
-Amber
’cause jesus is cool but the church is a big fake
You guys must be going to the wrong church…
Try attending Covant Fellowship in Cushing, Oklahoma with Pastor Art Fox.
It will change your life, change your mind and charge your life with a positive perspective of things! And who doesn’t need more positive things in their life…
because it seems as if church has become irrelevant to most people’s lives this day and age.
i would venture to suggest that you read the radical book “Revolution” by George Barna. Barna runs The Barna Group and does polls and statistics for many major companies, organizations and religions groups. He wrote a book in 1970 that listed his predictions for the next 25 years based on his research and statistics and 90% of his predications were correct. His new book “Revolution” includes his predictions of what will happen in the church in the next 25 years or so. He believes that people will start to leave (in fact they already have) organized local “churches” to break out into smaller groups, home churches, ect., to become the Church, (capital C).
–amanda.
They’re hypocrites?
Cause they don’t know Him.
If you ever find the perfect church, DON’T JOIN IT! You are not perfect and you would ruin everything!
Seriously, the church is made up of people who want to be like Jesus, who is the only one that was perfect. When the world sees these imperfect people, the world looks at these people as hypocrates and the reputation of these imperfect people fall on to the church.
i have to say it is becuz church is supposed to be someplace where everyone feels welcome. However most churches and i have tried a few despite my current beliefs, are two faced. Bunch of people who think they are better then sara lee becuz she is not dressed right or didn’t donate enough to the collection plate..
Its a place that one should feel warmth and love when the go in not alienated. That and most sermons sound to much like a sermon. I think a church should inform vs. a judgy sermon.
my 2 cents worth.
that a church starts to early lol on sundays anyway or to late on wednesday for me anyway
Because Jesus was perfect and the church is made up of people (myself included) who are definately not.
Because the church, not Jesus, is the coorporation that promotes group polarization and blind acceptence of dumb ideas.
jesus is an entity. church is an organization that may or may not follow the teachings of the entity. and humans have flaws, and church is a human-made organization, which will drive it toward a series of bad calls.
bc 95% of Christians are MAJOR hypocrites…or they are Christians just for show. I have met very few that were devoted Christians, because of the love of God.
Not that I’m any better….
Those who aren’t in the Church do not realize that those within the Church are sinners as well and can never be perfect. We are only made perfect before the Father by the Blood of Christ the Lord.
We fall into sin just as do non-believers. We are not sinless.
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” -Mahatma Gandhi
My answer is too long to fit in this tiny little box. Plus I already did a blog about it. Basically, I just haven’t found a church that “fit” yet. If I do, I won’t be so against the Church. Right now, my church is me.
Jesus never took a strong moral stance against condoms.
Jesus was a kind fellow who bummed around Israel for 33 years and helped everyone. He was a loving soul who did what he could to help anyone at possible. Everyone loves a philanthropist, and people hold Jesus as the epitome of a humanitarian.
The church, however, feels it is their duty to interpret and misinterpret the bible (no matter how fictional it may be). They feel they can push their opinion and beliefs onto others and feel they need to “save” those who do not coincide with their chosen religion. IE, Jews, homosexuals, Mormons…they feel that these people are less than them, “sinners” in need of “salvation”. Jesus embraced everyone and the church embraces no one. You aren’t embraced by the church if you’re divorced, homosexual, female (in some cases), etc. In some cases, the church will shun you for ASSOCIATING with certain groups of people. A church in my area does not encourage niceties between Jews and their members because the Jews are unclean and they need to “change” them to become Christians.
Christians have abandoned the teachings and followings of Jesus and adopted their own. They claim it’s the word of Jesus, and since Jesus isn’t here to stop them, they’re free to do as they please. The church is a divide between people and a catalyst for war.
So, angry-hateful-discriminatory-nonloving group of people
or
Jesus, who loved his neighbors and helped his community.
Which would you like?
You been to church recently?
Ryc: Yea, seriously. Silly heads. Even my boyfriend…sigh, et tu brutus?
Hmmm…”hate” is a pretty strong word, but the Church contains people with all of their human flaws. I guess some people expecting something more divine would be disappointed.
Thanks for the invite, btw!
Unfortunately the “Church” (those who are in the body of Christ – not necessarily the building where people meet) often act far different than the way Christ would have us behave. There are hypocrites and they are often the only “Christians” that people ever meet. Sad, but true.
I love Jesus, but it took me a long time to find a “church home” were I felt that the people were genuine and actually persuing a life of Love.
Just my two cents. *clink clink*
because churches tend to be full of hypocrites and liars
Churches also sometimes have some over controlling people in them…it can be really nasty.
Sometimes it’s like a trend especially to some teen kids. “J-Christ” kinda people. I don’t know, I personally don’t like going to church because I think it’s basically the same stuff year after year….and maybe people claim they love Jesus because God can read your mind and they don’t wanna be damned to hell…I’ve always thought the devil would get me if I didnt love Jesus.
churches, like many organizations, become political over time. Do you know the right people, talk to the right ones, go tot he right meeting to be held in esteem in your community?
Around the turn of the last century, Mark Twain said something like, “If Jesus were to come back today, there is one thing he would not be: A Christian.” This was around the time that the church (Protestant and Catholic) was in full support of the US military’s genocidal war in the Philipines in the interest of imperialism.
Now we’re in Iraq. Nothing ever changes. Kurt Vonnegut made similar points in 2004-2005, about how Jesus was cool and advocated mercy and helping the weak, yet mainstream Christianity focused more on “eye for an eye.”
In short; Jesus is cool, Christianity/The Church is not.
That is all.
i don’t know why they say it, but i think it’s inconsistent. sure, Jesus didn’t come to set up a hierarchy, but He did say to gather together in fellowship and encourage one another. that’s pretty much what the church is supposed to do. the church isn’t your building, it’s your friends with whom you can be honest with, pray with, allow yourself to be cared for by… don’t hate the church. build it. fix it. Jesus wasn’t a quitter. neither are His disciples.
Unfortunately the church is made up of people!!
But Jesus did tell us to love our brother-and the Bible says we can’t say we are of God if we hate our brother…
I can’t believe you even have to ask.
Because most churches, and christians, act like they don’t have a clue about the principles Jesus taught for us to live by. They are too busy doing bloody battle over this, that or the other doctrinal principle. Power in the church goes to the wealthiest donors. Compassion, love, forgivness, and charity don’t appear to even cross their minds. Sometimes, if you truely want to connect with god, the best approach is to stay as far away from the churches as possible.
I guess today’s Christian culture makes it easy to love Jesus. A lot of the praise and worship songs I hear today like to protray him as a best friend, in a sugary way… I don’t care so much about that, but it gets pretty one-sided. As far as religion goes, I think many people find it either constricting, untrustworthy, or provoking.
Because they are two completely different things. Jesus is a man, the church is organized worship of that man. I don’t want to be a drone like all the other church goers, so I’ll show my appreciation for god and all that in some other way.
Church is for some people and not for others. It’s also more than simply organized religion. There are so many good things about going to church. You learn things about others, you learn about the bible and the historical goings-on of the time, and you feel like you belong to something bigger than yourself. It’s a very satisfying feeling. However, the media seems to only focus on the part where the priest tells you what god is saying, which is corrupt and stupid, so people who almost never go to church only know about that part.
If you’re going to say you hate church, go for a couple weekends and see what it’s like. It’s like the saying goes, try it you’ll like it!
Because the church looks nothing like Jesus at all…
I think it was something that Ghandi said that I think applies here. He said something along the lines of “I like your God, but your Christians are not like your Christ.”
When Jesus is God, and the church has often had a problem being unrighteous, hypocritical and oppressive (not truly being the Body of Christ as the Church should be), you really can’t blame a lot of people for loving one and being disgusted by the failure of the other.
Jesus is God, perfection incarnate. the Church is full of people, aka flawed and sometimes self-serving, and always holding differing opinions on how things should be done…
you can have your own kinda of faith by following jesus, by going to a church you have to follow there ideas…and the same exact routine, every single day((if your episcipalian))
because Jesus is perfect and the church is composed of flawed people.
I love Jesus and have served and attended church all my life and am now the wife of a youth pastor…but unforunatly I have run across more hyprocrites in church…more hurt in some churches than anywhere. The problem is there are many church goers that try to follow and force others the follow the “laws of the Lord”…but completely forget the grace and mercy and love of the Lord that overrules all…and are behind those “guidelines” that the Bible states. Or you have the bunch of Christians that think…”sweet…I saved and have my ticket to heaven…so I’ll just go to church on Sunday and praise God…then the rest of the week I can do what I want”…I try my hardest not to be one of those…but it can be tough. With those types as the one that most see and hear of…no wonder people hate the church and don’t trust it….I don’t trust it either…I trust my Lord and Savior…
I think that people hate the church, because sometimes the church does very un-Jesus type things.
It’s interesting because Derek webb sings “If you love Me, you will love the Church.”
I think we shoot ourselves in the foot. Instead of obeying what Jesus and His apostles said…. encouraging and exhorting our brothers and sisters, instead we point fingers and use every moment to criticize instead of extending grace. We are actually worse than the cynics toward one another and it needs to stop!
U can’t create positive change when u’re being so negative! Definitely call people on stuff… accountability but don’t just sit back and be a jerk either. What are u doing to make the church a better place…….
This is my question to the cynic on satan’s team
Derek Webb paraphrases God singing, ” If you love Me, you will love the Church.”
I believe that we shoot ourselves in the foot. Instead of encouraging and exhorting (which basically means nailing a person with accountability and encouraging in the way of the Lord, not fluffy excuses!) we point fingers like cynics worse than politicians.
We shoot OURSELVES in the foot and thus join Satan’s team.
Sounds strong? Go read 1 John!
The church is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites, and I work in a church. Jesus was never hypocritical.
The church and its members, can be confining, restrictive, arrogant with condescending and judgemental attitudes, with ministers that are too busy preaching and not listening , who are out of date with the world and how it has changed, who love to hear themselves talk, and who can be very egotisical and condemning to those people and young people who they do not believe fit into how Chrisitans should behave, walk, and talk, etc. (this includes youth ministers). So for me, I am a hard-core believer in Jesus, but there was a time I left the Church for a number of years because of the judgemental attitudes -like nasty, vicious, and especially righteous – that I saw. I have slowly come back on a part-time basis to a Bible-based church - but I still crinch at some of the attitudes and righteous arrogance that I see and hear among the Christian community. Thanks for the good question. C.L. Knowles
I think it’s because sometimes the Church twists the real meaning of the holy message. And many of them are hypocrites. We are the followers are Jesus, NOT the church!
Because they want to do things their own way with no reguard to if its right or wrong. I guess they figure if no one is there to point out their mistakes they are right.
I am Catholic and very proud of my One, True Faith.
It’s like a chore having to go to church… that’s not right…. for me anyway
There are hypocrites in the supermarket too, that doesn’t keep anyone from buying groceries. Church is supposed to be food for the soul. I would be the first to agree that many churches are not fulfiling the role they were intended to fulfil. That is why many Christians have a hard time making it a priority in their week. I do find the judgemental attitude of some well-meaning church people turns off potential once a week-ers because it’s not enough in their eyes if you don’t go every time the doors are open. But the reality is that all churches really need to prioritize their given mission and goals. I think we’ve lost focus on what that is. And what’s more important. That being said I go about once a month and try to get everything out of it that can.
Observations from a Former PK
The church doesn’t necessarily represent Jesus like it should all of the time. I think Revelations mentions how Jesus feels about that.
You dont have to go to church to beleive in Christ, christianity or God. Church is just a place to go of worship. The leaders of the organisation reflect the idea of trying to draw in more worshippers.
Because the church is really fucked up.
The church can become corrupt, but Jesus is never that.
The church is known for having sinners bastardize the bible to justify hate.
Because church is boring? (it is for me, being in a church makes me sleepy).
cuz people there claim to be Jesus loving christians but they’re fake as fake can get. they say we should love and forgive all–do as Jesus would but they themselves do the exact opposite by holding their prejudices against those who are “different” from them. Jesus shouldn’t be blamed for the hyprocrital things fake christians do. The church is also very dogmatic (and i suppose it should be?) If there’s anything that i believe in the Bible is that Christ loves all his children whether black, white, purple, or homosexual. I don’t know.. i could go on.. but yeah.. just to generalize my opinion the church claims to be accepting when it’s not and Christ IS accepting.
most churches are more concerned with keeping there little community alive and keeping the church building open than sharing the love of God with those around them in there comunities. and they show a lot of narrow mindedness…
Because the Church is full of humans, and humans are flawed creatures.
people just follow the trends. they’re all sheep. the “church” ( all zillion of them) has been showing it’s ass lately.
Because the church has so many problems…
I love Jesus, but the people in some churches, including some pastors, disappoint me. Yes, we are all sinners, but we are also supposed to be the body of Christ and to treat each other lovingly, be there for each other, be Jesus to each other. I haven’t experienced that in a church in nine years. I hate to go to church, because it’s so painful and lonely.
Well, coming from a completely logical view. Jesus is perfect (by perfect I mean without sin). Easy to love that. People are not perfect. The church is made up of people. Therefore the church is imperfect; something imperfect can be picked apart and people can hate it for what it is made up of.
probably because the church tries to BE Jesus
The Church can’t control people’s attitudes, thoughts, actions; it can only preach the truth, and hope the Holy Spirit guides them to straighten out their lives. The Sacraments help draw us closer to God. We aren’t forced to take them; we aren’t forced to go to church every Sunday; we aren’t forced to read the Bible, or pray at all. If we don’t sacrifice and do all of that stuff, it only hurts ourselves, because the further away from God you are, the more confused your life is going to get.
I’m not saying you’re evil if you don’t go to church, I’m only saying you’re hurting yourself from not wanting to draw closer to the Creator.
And also, if you do go to church, but you don’t listen to the Word, and (if you’re Catholic) receive the Eucharist in a knowing way, and know the true meaning of the Mass, then you might as well not go to church, because you’re missing the whole point of going in the first place; He’s not going to be able to open your eyes if you don’t want to know more.
Peace,
seejaybee
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Hey I hate both
Because it’s easy to say you like something when it doesn’t require anything of you to do so.
And it’s easy not to like something when you’re looking at the stereotypes.
cuz most of the church does not love Jesus, at least not the REAL Jesus
Because the church has become a business and you can’t incorporate Jesus.
Because church is secular, loving Jesus isn’t. No one likes to be dragged into believing something they don’t want to, or aren’t completely into. Such as, I’m a Christian, but I don’t believe in a certain secular form, such as Baptist or Episcopalian. I don’t want to be told what is the “truth”. I just want to believe.
Because Jesus isn’t corrupt and selfish.
The church makes things up for their own benefit and takes things from the bible that aren’t even there.
I cite, the debate on homosexuality…
Did Jesus say no? Absolutely not.
You can think of Jesus however you like, and he’ll always accept you.
The church has rules that you have to follow and if it’s just you and Jesus personally, he’ll accept you for you I guess.
“It’s like a chore having to go to church… that’s not right…. for me anyway”
I know, a lot of people don’t go there to have fun but to endure it.
It’s like that line in Dogma…We’re not celebrating life, we’re mourning it.
you people have such poor arguments … lots of you make it obvious that you don’t really know God’s Word.
and why is that? because you weren’t taught properly!
B/c Jesus was a nice guy who had some pretty great ideas. “The Church” is dominated by old men who have sex with small boys and then condemn the rest of the world for having impure thoughts. “The church” is often hypocritical, and uses religion as a way to divide people, rather than unite them through love and understanding. Jesus is a MUCH more likeable character.
Jesus never took a strong moral stance against condoms. 6/28/2007 11:36 PM jimmyjazz86
Very well said.
’nuff said…
It’s because the church so often doesn’t live up to expectations. The church is made of people, and people very frequently screw up. When you read the Gospels, you can read Jesus’ message of love, hope, compassion and freedom. The church doesn’t always get that message across – sometimes the church is judgmental, and even hateful. When people have negative church experiences it’s easy to think that’s how every church experience will be. But some churches are loving and supportive and trying hard to follow the example Jesus set.
because they have not yet realized that the Church is the Body of Christ, although not outwardly perfect, inwardly sanctified by Jesus’ blood.
Because Jesus died for our sins. He loves and forgives people unconditionally. He is a symbol of love.
Church/bible/religion can be avery cruel, strict thing that completely contradicts faith in Jesus Christ. It inspires racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and close-mindedness in general.
There is a difference between faith and relgion. Christian faith leads people to love and forgive others the way Jesus loves and forgives you while Christian relgion leads people to be judemental and cruel.
Churches are closeminded and unnaccepting, therefore it paints a very bad picture of christians. The truth is that those closeminded churchgoers more then likely don’t have christian faith to begin with. they aren’t real actual christians. and most real chrisitans are uncomfortable around those kinds of people.
Ghandi once said something to the effect of, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I think that is the reason so many people say they like Jesus, but not the Church. I think a lot of people have had bad experiences with organized religion, so that even if Jesus himself sounds appealling to these people, his followers do not.
I have nothing against the idea of the church. If a person belongs to a church as is a better person for it, it is a good thing. But it’s not for everyone. I don’t like going to church. It’s just not my thing. I feel if I am going to worship any sort of god or gods, it is more fitting to do it in the beautiful natural world they created rather than in a man made building. But the main thing I have against the Church is that pretty much every religious group I have belonged to has been so focused on appearence, even as they stressed the importance of being genuine and real. You had to listen to the right music, wear the right clothes, have enough faith, not have negative emotions, not think about sex unless you were married… and if you didn’t fit their little mold, then obviously you weren’t a very “godly” person. They were so focused on all the little things that they didn’t care about helping people in need or righting the injustices that were within their power to fix. And once I was old enough to realize that was what was happening, and worse yet, that I had become that sort of person, it scared me.
Because it’s true. The bigger issue here is the people that say the love the church and don’t really love Jesus. And an even bigger one than that is the people who say they love Jesus and don’t act like it.
Who’s Jesus?
Jesus is a messenger from god…Churches are Institutions from people.
The church can get very… messed up. Even in history it was bad… People would become Popes for the power. It can all be very corrupted.
because many people don’t as as Jesus would have them. take the crusades for instance. i believe that war is to be used only as a last resort. trying to conquer israel is not a legitimate reason for a war, but the church supported it. stuff like that taints the image people have of the church.
i think that spirituality can only come from within. i’m not a christian, but if i was, i wouldn’t go to church. ever. supposedly, god wrote the bible for his people to have his mandates, and yes, he does mention church as an important part of the faith, but anymore, church seems to be for show, or for people who are to lazy to actually read the bible. my grandparents are hardcore christians, but i don’t think they’ve read anything in the bible for themselves in years. they take every word that their preacher says as though it came from the bible, and that’s what they use as ammunition to tell me that i’m wrong in my disbelief. it pisses me off so much. i also think that churches are way too big on numbers. the more people they have filling their rows, the more successful they are, regardless of whether or not they’re actually helping a person find their faith or not, which is another reason i will never ever go to a church for the service ever again. my father is the only christian i know who i genuinely respect for their faith, because he takes the road of personal searching with prayer and the bible to further his faith. i wish christianity wasn’t so trendy! it’s disgusting.