Serious religion question: which church to attend?

[Alexcab7]

Its all about what meets your needs in a spiritual way. There really isnt any church thats better than the others. I go to a Methodist church and I love it. I mean you will never be able to find a church that you completely agree with but if you get more out of a particular church than another I say go for that one no matter what it is. Just try and be open-minded when going into each one. So I guess I have to go with everyone else and say just look around and see what you like. Oh and also I did not vote because I dont think anyone can tell you which ones the best. Hope this helps some if not sorry.

Alex

[91firebirdv6]

I voted Catholic since i am. I think that You should find whatever church suits you best. I know how catholics can be, we can be some exclusive sobs. I think any church is better than no church.

[Flowbee V6]

I've never gone to any other church service other than catholic so I wont vote. My parents just did their own separate thing on sunday.

The main man at my catholic church is the infamous "Father Chuck". He actually does his sermon in purple tites believe it or not and is very funny. The church is as warm and accepting as any you'll find. As far as being strict, catholics are far from it (at least from what I've seen in my generation), and are about forgiveness of sins (although my dad who's 62 said he was "kicked out of the church" when he got divorced in the 70's)... There's more "bad catholics" that go to my church than I can count, me being one of them

[GrigoryRasputin]

Methodist is what I am, there are a lot of good preachers and congregations in Northern VA. Its worth a try.

[camaro_speedemon]

Just my personal opinion.


I can say, I don't like the catholic church at all. This has nothing to with the whole priest/alter boy thing either. My ex gf was catholic, and I had, shall we say the pleasure, of attending a few masses. They were very odd to me. I did get the feeling of, you're catholic or you're nobody during the masses. I've been to my fare share of different churches and I found mass to be very, very ritualistic. You have to do this, this way and that that way. Some of the stuff they require you to do to be a 'good catholic' is pretty rediculous to me. The catholic religion seems very 'dated' for lack of a better word. Yes values are set in stone, but the how you teach them needs to be constantly changing. This just scratches the surface on why I dislike the catholic faith. I don't want to get into a rant. Also Catholics and protestants have two very different beliefs. The two faiths claim to belive the same thing, but they really as different as night and day.

My church is very contemporary, but it also has traditional services as well. The music is up beat, not some hymn that was written 200 years ago.

BTW I consider myself non-denominational christian and attend a very liberal baptist church.

[WishIHad$$$]

I don't really understand your 3rd option "Nuetral", since both of the faiths you listed as examples are protestant, like your Lutheran denomination.

I voted Lutheran. Here's why:
Based on my experiences, the Catholic church is not going to accept you unless you are Catholic. This may be a stereotype, but every catholic church I have been to has been less welcoming towards my family and I having known we are not Catholic. I am Methodist, I have gone to Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc. churches, and found that the stereotype Catholic attitude is a trend among Catholic churches.

Also as stated above, the Catholic faith refuses to "modernize" and in my personal opinion takes some things too literally.

Something to keep in mind:
If you go to a Catholic church:
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• Jenn is accepted
  You are not</font>

If you go to a Protestant church:
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• Jenn is accepted
  You are accepted</font>

I don't want to go home from church feeling like a dirty sinner--I want to feel heartened in the knowledge that Christ our Savior forgives me for my many faults and will guide me and help me grow into a better person.

Well it looks like you have answered your own question there.

[Everglades W68]

There are so many Catholic churches; each is highly individual depending upon the congregation and the pastor. My wife and I used to drive past three other Catholic churches to get to our congregation because the pastor there was great. He made each mass relevant to our lives.

There were other Catholic churches where we did not feel comfortable because, for example, the priests were constantly railing against abortion. At another church, the priest went through the precise, exact, same rituals each mass and was very, very boring.

As for Catholics not being as "accepting" of "outsiders," unfortunately the church does seem to give that impression. For example, if you read the Catholic orders of the mass publications, there usually is a little discussion of who is eligible to receive Holy Communion. The orders seem to give the impression that not all Christians are eligible to receive Holy Communion.

Then there are some priests who declare it is "my way or the highway" as far as having differences with the Church. For example, there is the priest (bishop?) who declared he would refuse to give John Kerry Holy Communion because of Kerry's abortion position (side bar: make that positions - flip, flop).

I humbly submit to that priest and others who try to be of an exclusionary nature, that they need to reflect on the passages of the new testament that remind us that the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone of the church. Jesus actively sought out the sinners, he did not tell them to take a hike.

Having been to many different Catholic churches, I've seen a huge spectrum of priests and congregations. I'd say it is just as varied as the rest of Christianity.

When we moved to Boca, we were extremely fortunate to have a church nearby with a caring congregation and a incredibly thoughtful, intelligent, inclusionary pastor who challenges us to improve ourselves and our world. He teaches us lessons from the Bible that we can apply to our lives everyday.

"Catholic" means universal. It is very helpful to be able to go to a Catholic church anywhere we travel and be able to attend mass in a setting we understand and are comfortable in.

As far as other branches of religions being accepting or exclusionary, I've seen and personally experienced other Christian churches that told me that I was not truly Christian if I was Catholic...hmmm.

I want to feel heartened in the knowledge that Christ our Savior forgives me for my many faults and will guide me and help me grow into a better person.

That is exactly what our local Catholic church does for me. It does not mean you just sit back and Jesus will guide you to heaven on autopilot- you have to keep trying. Our Creator gave us free will. The challenge is to use that free will to acknowledge our failings, but keep trying to become better.

That's just my two cents worth from a sinner.

[ October 29, 2004, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: Everglades W68 ]

[91Firebird]

In my opinion, I think you both should keep visiting churches, until you find one that you both feel welcome in. I agree with your original post. It would be a good idea to spend a few weeks going to a Catholic church, then switch to a Lutheran church. When its time to visit a Catholic church again, decide whether or not you liked the one you visited before, if not, try another one. Sooner or later you'll find a church that you both feel comfortable in.

I voted Lutheran, and I agree with you, the Lutheran church feels more welcoming. For example, the Lutheran church I am a member of welcomes all Christians to partake in Communion. However, when I asked the priest of a Catholic church I once visited if I could have Communion, he said he would have to ask the bishop . I don't know, it just seems like they give humans too much power for interpretation in the Catholic church.

However, when I am not able to attend my Lutheran church, I sometimes visit a Catholic church that is close by (a different one than I mentioned above), and I feel comfortable going there. So perhaps its not so much about finding the right denomination, than the right congregation. It may take time, but you'll eventually find one that you both are happy with.

[Alexcab7]

I voted Lutheran, and I agree with you, the Lutheran church feels more welcoming. For example, the Lutheran church I am a member of welcomes all Christians to partake in Communion. However, when I asked the priest of a Catholic church I once visited if I could have Communion, he said he would have to ask the bishop . I don't know, it just seems like they give humans too much power for interpretation in the Catholic church.

Really? They let you have communion? My girlfriend is Lutheran (its a pretty conservative Lutheran Church, Wisconsin Sect I believe) and I was not allowed to take Communion with them because I had not done confirmation through their church therefore did not know the true meaning of Communion. I found it pretty ridiculous that I was not allowed to do it because of that because I grew up in church so I know what Communion is about. But anyways I hope that you do not take this as criticism about your church because I am in no way bashing Lutherans, I mean I am dating one ;) . Everyone have a good weekend.

Alex

[Johnny Ray]

Something Neutral (Methodist, Baptist, etc.)

:cool:

[98Wicked6]

Alright, I'm going to shed some light on the Lutheran thing. There is the ELCA (evangelical lutheran church of america) and the Missouri synod lutheran church. The elca is more liberal than the missouri synod and my be more relaxed when it comes to communion. I'm missouri synod. As far as the communion thing goes, different churches believe different things. some believe it represents the body and blood, some believe it transforms into the body and blood, others believe it's a rememberance meal, and others believe the body and blood are present with the bread and wine. We believe it is present with the bread and wine. I don't want to turn this into a theology debate, just wanted to shed some light.

I forgot to mention that we are the only ones who believe that, and we believe that it is so important, if you don't believe, you aren't going to be allowed communion. Like i said, just an explanation.