Why do people attend church?

[OldGuy]

@kenobi_65

Growing up in Wisconsin, my father and I used to joke:

• Even the smallest towns in Wisconsin have a bar
• If the town is a little bit bigger, it’ll also have a church
• If the town is a little bit bigger still, it’ll have a second bar

My father-in-law said a town in Wisconsin is defined as a gas pump and a bar.

[Ulfreida]

@Corry_El

That put down, ‘mouth breather’ has always been strange to me. I’ve always had sinus problems, nose stuffed up a large % of the time, so rather than suffocate I breathe through my mouth a lot. What of it?!?

My guess it is a passed-down reference to people with Down’s Syndrome.

[carrps]

I was raised Catholic, but I don’t think I was ever a believer. And mass was just so boooooring. I found myself getting actively angry being forced to sit through it even as a kid. I didn’t let it show, but it’s left me with a bad attitude towards church services generally. Interestingly, two of my most serious relationships were with sons of Lutheran ministers. I went to a few Lutheran service. They were even more boring. Ha. I could see going to a UU “church,” if it were completely non-religious, but I wouldn’t want to go every week. I’m not as social as a lot of people, apparently. I get those goose-bumpy feelings from things other than religion – great art, architecture, music, movies, plays or books. Tying those feelings up with theology taints them for me.

[Sigene]

specifically for Christians as to why they attend church. I think I got something like 10 replies.

I was surprised that only 2 of those 10 mentioned god, and only 1 mentioned Jesus.

It was both confusing and enlightening to me.

[Nava]

@ISiddiqui

You can worship God anywhere, but I generally find that without a community to ground oneself in worship that personal worship tends to be… well, a bit self-centered. That’s not something I think Jesus is a big fan of, but YMMV.

The Spanish word for church, iglesia, comes from a Greek word meaning “assembly”, ἐκκλησία. You go to the iglesia to assemble with the other people in your Iglesia, because without assembly there is no Iglesia.

[Shodan]

@Sigene

specifically for Christians as to why they attend church. I think I got something like 10 replies.

I was surprised that only 2 of those 10 mentioned god, and only 1 mentioned Jesus.

It was both confusing and enlightening to me.

For Christians, referring to God means referring to Jesus, and vice versa. That having been said, I didn’t go thru the thread and count, but it does not seem to me that only 2 of the responders to the thread who are Christian mentioned God. And, no offense I hope, but “worship” means worshipping God.

FWIW.

Regards,
Shodan

PS - in the Lutheran understanding, Jesus is present “in, with, and under” the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist. So receiving the Eucharist means receiving Jesus.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@Shodan

I didn’t go thru the thread and count, but it does not seem to me that only 2 of the responders to the thread who are Christian mentioned God.

I’m pretty sure Sigene was referring to responders to the earlier thread, not this one.