Why are you not in church?

I'm not in church not because I don't believe in God, I do. Its just sometimes there so many things that are not appropriate that I am seeing inside the church, there are people inside church whom they call their selves righteous but can undignify a person so easy. They come and go to church on a routine basis but the preaches and sermons doesn't seem to sink in to their minds. I believe in God and His words, I know how to pray even if I'm not in church, I know what is wrong from right even if I'm not in church and I question other people of why they can't be kind and giving while they portray righteousness just because they are seen inside the church.I even see people go to church just to gossip another church member during the mass. They don't even listen to the sermon, its like they just go there to socialize and gossip somebody's life. I hate to see religions by religions won't seem to respect an individual belief when they are trying to talk about the words of God. They attack the other religion just because it counters the way they preach the bible. It doesn't seem right for them to do those things at the first place since they call their selves the servants of God because from what I believe in servants of God are humble people.

I can't say that I get this, but I was raised in a certain religion and I still (and probably always will) have people who try to get me to go back. I have no intention of doing this, though. I enjoy thinking for myself and making up my own mind without some religion telling me what they think I should do and crap like that. To answer your other questions: No, a person doesn't have to go to church every Sunday to be a good person. A person doesn't have to go to church AT ALL to be a good person.

I am not in church because I do not believe in church. I say that because I am Agnostic, and Agnostics do not believe in church. We do not believe in religion.

My mother has been trying to get me to go back to church for a while now. I find this amusing because she knows that theology is one of my hobbies and I am constantly studying the bible amongst other texts. I became really disheartened when I learned that our preacher had yet to read the bible from front to back. I think that too often some people view attending church service as one more thing he or she can check off his or her "I'm a good Christian" list. I tell my mother every Sunday that one of the reasons I do not attend church is because I feel that it stifles original thought and critical thinking/analysis. You sit in a pew and listen to a preacher give you a message, but you cannot raise any opposition to what is being said until after the sermon is over and usually you can only ask these questions in private. I really do not understand that process. In school you listen to a professor or teacher and you get to ask questions and learn in a group setting. I find I get a lot more out of just hosting friends and family at my house and having an open dialogue concerning our views on scripture than I do attending a service where I cannot even asks questions of the speaker while he speaks. I think that church service is bogged down with traditionalism. I know that I am a good person without attending church. My ethical system and moral values stem from what I have learned from studying theology and philosophy. I do not need to attend church to know that I should extend my love to my fellow humans, that I should fellowship, and that I should do my part to talk/teach others about what I have learned concerning the word of God.

yes, sometimes

I just tell people that I don't believe in God and that I'd rather stay home and watch sports on Sunday. When they argue with me, I just repeat what I said until they shut up.

I love to go to Church, My Husband and I went for the last two weeks which is good, because sometimes he get lazy and don't want to show any interest in the Church, I think he is getting back on the right track. we need it in our lives everyone needs religion in there life.

I went to church last Sunday night, it was a fellowship night for singers from different churches. There was one outstanding group that offered their CD on the projection screen during the service. What was also outstanding was how the manager of the group was conducting his sales and counting money on the bench and making change during the service. The second thing that I observed was the deacon who was emceeing the program was obviously not in the best of health (suffering from diabetes) telling the congregation about the power of prayer that God will answer all prayers. As a christian if you see a money grabber operating in church and a sick deacon telling a lie, what would be your reaction? You don't need the church to be good. If this is religion, I don't need it period.

I would ask them the same question since it is likely they are also not in church either. I do not believe in having to be in church to prove one's religious faith. It is the behaviour that reflects the character of the individual.

It is no one's business if I am not in church. If someone asked why I don't go to church I would laugh in their face and walk away from the,..Trey have no right to judge me.

This is something I deal with on a regular basis I very rarely go to church (once a month if that) I am not Christian, I dont believe in the Christian God, I dont believe in Jesus Christ or the patron saints or holy communion My kids go to church regularly because its something they enjoy and occassionally I will go with them to see what they have been doing when I go I do not disrupt the service or disrespect the church in any way however I do NOT participate in the communion my children have come to me and told me that some of the church members were asking WHY I dont participate that really bothered me because these people see me around town and they know where I live I think it is very wrong of them to ask my children why I dont do something I think its wrong of them to put my children in the middle like that If they were to ask me directly I would be happy to explain it but I will not use my kids as messenger pigeons

No, people don't say that to me, but if anyone ever asked if I should be in church, I'd turn it right around and say "Shouldn't you???" Everyone's religious (or lack of) beliefs are personal and should remain that way. Whether or not you go to church or even believe in God is YOUR business, no one else's. If they think less of you because you're not doing what THEY think is right, then oh well. It isn't up to them. That is my opinion anyway. I believe "church" can be wherever you want it to be. It can be within the mind, if that is where you go to worship. You can sit in the middle of the woods, or in a quiet room, and still consider yourself to be in the house of God, according to the Christian religion, because God's house is literally everywhere.

I was raised a catholic but my faith resides in Christian monotheism. I prefer to nurture my belief & my faith on my own. For me, being in church doesn't mean you become more religious, but it's all about what you know & how much you believe in it.

MY opinion...If you have a deep rooted faith, going to church services is usually a part of it. In my case, being a Catholic Christian, I go to church to receive Christ in Holy Communion in order to be sustained the rest of the week with his presence in my life. However, there are many who to go to their services, and walk out the door without ever knowing what they were there for. They often go just because they were raised as a child to attend services. Taking time out once a week to thank the God you believe in, is also another reason to go. If your God has done great things for you, He deserves some time from us. Finally, going to services, is also being among another fellow believers, and there is something said about Community. There is truth in the statement "It takes a village to raise a child"...in a close Parish Community, you have your fellow believers supporting you.

There is no command in scripture which says that a believer in Christ must attend a church building in order to worship God? This is true. Also, there are no examples of any follower of Christ going to a church building to worship God. They worshipped God by their obedience to Him in every area of life, every day of their lives. They did not worship Him by giving only one hour of their time every week to some temple made with hands. A "Church" is basically a temple made with hands. Does God dwell in temples made with hands? Scripture tells us: Acts 7:48, "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" Acts 17:24, "God...dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/attend.html

We live far my from my regular church now. Our pastor has not tried to contact us either since we moved even though he has our new address and phone number. I feel like I can worship the lord in my home without haing to drive for miles, to get to church. Alot of churches are not what they should be either.

Hello heathcliff!!! Well I prefer to answer only a question about being a nice person without going to any religious places. Personally I don't go to any of those. But I am highly concerned with the spirituality. And I don't need spirituality need to be concerned with any temple, or any church or any mosque. I would always like to focus on living a life with love and compassion to all other beings and not only human beings. Instead there are some religious superstitions that have made the people bad. There are tortures in the name of religion, so the question is does going to church, temple, mosque will make people necessarily good? But I like to read the philosophy of various religion. I would like to pick the good points from each of them, the things I feel good about and leave the things I don't like. Mostly I learn things from Buddhist philosophies. I have most respect for the Buddhist philosophy of life and apply them into my life to the farthest distance I can. Though I don't go to the monastery... happy mylotting...

Attending Church is not a badge of good believer, in any religion. We are all human. It gets disheartening at times watching people cut one another down over beliefs and the way they "should" act. Last I checked, we are all human, fallible, with thriving egos lol. I don't attend Church regularly because my relationship with God is just that, mine. It's personal. Just as some love and thrive on socializing with other believers of their faith, I think it's safe to say that some do not. That has no bearing on my relationship with my God. I don't feel closer to God in Church. I feel closest when I am alone in meditation. Belief is within. Who is to know your heart other than you and your Creator? Certainly not a passerby.

i dont have that question asked from me, because i seldom go out and talk less with people... but the question that is mostly asked is - where do you go to church? i dont go to church anymore as i find it really hypocritical going there, knowing that some people goes there and be a "christian" during sundays and church time only, once they are out of the church, they are worst than the unbelievers. im not trying to be a super righteous one here... i know im a sinner too. i deal with my faith my own way, as long as i am not harming anybody, im doing what i think is right as it says in the bible... i dont see anything wrong not going to church and fellowshipping with "other" so called believers. but of course it is important to have fellowship with other believers, i just havent found the right one here. i did went to church when we were living in the city... but now where we are there are a few, and the other one we attended before, we dont go there anymore. other churches here we have tried to attend, are teaching it the wrong way from what i have read in the bible and from what they are saying in the pulpit.

man i hate those questions and people always trying to convert me, they see the all black and think that i need saving or jesus or something. fact of the matter is, i do not believe in organized religion. i do not like the fact that religion is one of those things that can be perverted to the point of causing global conflict. if you really think about it the last few major wars have had one thing in common,religion. then they are those weekend christians or catholics or whatever. they believe that it is okay to sin the rest of the week so long as you repent come church time. furthermore churches are now business a lot of the time some sort of money is required of you. i am not saying that they are all like this but a lot of them are. not only that but until i hear from the maker about why there is such suffering of the innocents in the world, all those poor, hungry, sad and hurt children out there, until i am made to understand what is up with that i want no part of organized religion. and to all the jesus people out there, until someone can tell me what happened during jesus' teenage years so that he arrived at the man that he became, till i am told why that is not included in the bible, i have nothing more to say to any of you. i would like to know if the good lord was like the rest of us and went through the same struggles that teens go through. now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with religion or going to church, i admire and envy people of faith because they believe in something that makes sense of the madness for them and gets them through the day. good for them, i am a person of science and THAT gets me through the day. i am also a spiritual person, and not a sometime goodie either, i have a strong moral compass and i do not need any validation of a religious leader or the sense of community that comes with a church group. so long as my conscience is clear and i do the right thing, and i remember the age old adage treat those as you would like to be treated, if i have that to fall back on then i am all good. besides which even if i was a religious person, i would not need church in order to commune with my maker.