Religious Disaffiliation in the US

#226
#226
DinkinFlicka said:
I honestly hope I just have a big forehead. I come from a line of big foreheads but no baldness on my mother's side. Isn't that where the bald gene comes from?
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Blended trait, actually. The dominant gene responsible is from the mother, but male pattern baldness can go from father to son.
 
#227
#227
Mtntrout said:
Blended trait, actually. The dominant gene responsible is from the mother, but male pattern baldness can go from father to son.
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I should be good then. I'm just cursed to look like Matt Dillon's stunt double for the rest of my life :dry:
 
#229
#229
n_huffhines said:
Yeah, I've never really understood the reason as to why a perfect being feels the need to be worshiped and believed in. Why does God care that His people do that?
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mortals trying to understand a deity (any deity) is not going to work out. does an ant understand a human? if not why would we understand God, which is several orders of magnitude greater difference than a human to an ant.

maybe, just maybe, he wants us to love him and worship him and follow his Word so that the world is a better place than it would be without him. whether or not it is the right religion i think everyone would agree that the world would be a better place if everyone operated under the same morality (in this case the Christian one). that being said getting everyone to agree is worse than herding cats.
 
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#230
#230
I never wore a hat in church but I did play this sucker in church a few times as a wee lad.

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I hope god forgives me, I did turn the sound off, after all.
 
#231
#231
Kingston Vol said:
At the same time, I bounce my own beliefs (that I posted earlier in this thread) with the fact that if there is an all controlling God, how can we expect him to be fair, just and humane? It seems more likely that he'd toy with us any time he wants, as much as he wants and there's nothing we can do about it.

It's a conflicting thing to ponder.
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so God should be like us? God should have human traits? you got the cart in front of the horse.

and where did the "all controlling God" come from. all powerful and all knowing sure. all controlling i have never heard before either in any teaching i have received or any text i have read. (for Christianity)
 
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#232
#232
LouderVol said:
mortals trying to understand a deity (any deity) is not going to work out. does an ant understand a human? if not why would we understand God, which is several orders of magnitude greater difference than a human to an ant.
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I simply hate this argument. Why would he not want us to try and understand him? Why give us reason and logic if he didn't want us to use it? This "god works in mysterious ways" mindset is counter intuitive to our very nature. I'm not saying we should feign understanding or not accept our ignorance, but we should always question. Always.

maybe, just maybe, he wants us to love him and worship him and follow his Word so that the world is a better place than it would be without him. whether or not it is the right religion i think everyone would agree that the world would be a better place if everyone operated under the same morality (in this case the Christian one). that being said getting everyone to agree is worse than herding cats.
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I'm afraid you're looking through some heavily Christian tinted glasses if you believe that.
 
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#233
#233
LouderVol said:
so God should be like us? God should have human traits? you got the cart in front of the horse.

and where did the "all controlling God" come from. all powerful and all knowing sure. all controlling i have never heard before either in any teaching i have received or any text i have read. (for Christianity)
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"Humane" was me showing my lack of vocabulary - I couldn't think of a better word.

"All controlling," I assumed was a pretty common thought process. If He created the world, I'm sure He can control it.
 
#234
#234
Kingston Vol said:
"Humane" was me showing my lack of vocabulary - I couldn't think of a better word.

"All controlling," I assumed was a pretty common thought process. If He created the world, I'm sure He can control it.
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It is a cliche, but "merciful" is what I think you are going for. Or maybe compassionate.
 
#236
#236
MercyPercy said:
I simply hate this argument. Why would he not want us to try and understand him? Why give us reason and logic if he didn't want us to use it? This "god works in mysterious ways" mindset is counter intuitive to our very nature. I'm not saying we should feign understanding or not accept our ignorance, but we should always question. Always.



I'm afraid you're looking through some heavily Christian tinted glasses if you believe that.
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i am not talking about trying to understand, i believe that is a major player behind faith. I am talking about knowing. I believe God is just and fair because the same rules apply to everyone. people standing outside in the rain often complain about it "raining on them" its not raining on them specifically, it is raining in general. but what i can't say is what God wants of me specifically. in general we can know, but finding out the specifics is what makes faith strong, or not, and can only being answered personally, and not for someone else.

and to that part the reason i used Christianity is because that was the basis of this whole conversation. and as a Christian i would be lying if I said there wasn't some bias, but imagine a world where everybody lived that life of kindness to strangers, loving neighbors and good action. I wasn't saying the world would be better off for everyone being Baptist, Catholic, etc. but Christian in general. and if you see no good in the teachings of Christianity you hold a very different set of morals than i do. Do not: kill, rape, steal. golden rule, forgiveness. that would be a much better world than what we have. also i said morality, not the religion itself.
 
#237
#237
Kingston Vol said:
"Humane" was me showing my lack of vocabulary - I couldn't think of a better word.

"All controlling," I assumed was a pretty common thought process. If He created the world, I'm sure He can control it.
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i knew what you meant, i am just trying to say that using human terms for a non human is largely irrelevant, and without knowing God (god, creator, flying spaghetti monster) any word is not going to be sufficient and therefore i won't hold him to the standards i hold a human being. (holding him to a standard is a bit a vocabulary stretch on my part)

he can control, sure, all powerful. does he actually control it, ie a puppet master, no. that defeats the purpose. the use of "all controlling" makes it seem like an action, an active thing he does. maybe this is just another semantic argument, maybe it isn't.
 
#238
#238
n_huffhines said:
I've never understood this. First of all, accepting Christ and professing your faith is a deed. Second, "faith without works is dead". I know people explain this by saying, "yeah if you have faith then the works will be there" and to that I say, "so then you do need works?"
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That's called back door Lordship Salvation.

As far as faith being a deed, i think Romans 4:5 covers this well.
 
#239
#239
Roustabout said:
That's called back door Lordship Salvation.

As far as faith being a deed, i think Romans 4:5 covers this well.
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I read that as wages are earned for work and not seen as a gift. But we have recieved a gift which we cannot earn as long as we have faith in God and Christ.

is that how you read it?
 
#241
#241
hog88 said:
Just my old fashioned ways. A man doesn't wear a hat at the table, during prayer, the national anthem and damn sure not at church.

And one thing I have noticed over my 20 some years in TN is that hat etiquette is not taught in this state.
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I am the same way hog.

IMO, one should show respect at the House of God. It is not a ball park.
 
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#242
#242
MercyPercy said:
I simply hate this argument. Why would he not want us to try and understand him? Why give us reason and logic if he didn't want us to use it? This "god works in mysterious ways" mindset is counter intuitive to our very nature. I'm not saying we should feign understanding or not accept our ignorance, but we should always question. Always.



I'm afraid you're looking through some heavily Christian tinted glasses if you believe that.
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Did he say he doesn't want us to use logic and reason?
If you are sincere read the paper I linked on DS. It's a natural theology argument using logic and reason.
 
#244
#244
Gramps said:
I am the same way hog.

IMO, one should show respect at the House of God. It is not a ball park.
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I would challenge you to reconsider. A building is not the house of God. You may not like people wearing hats in a building. Fine. But when you try to make a spiritual issue of it, I draw the line.
 
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#245
#245
LouderVol said:
i knew what you meant, i am just trying to say that using human terms for a non human is largely irrelevant, and without knowing God (god, creator, flying spaghetti monster) any word is not going to be sufficient and therefore i won't hold him to the standards i hold a human being. (holding him to a standard is a bit a vocabulary stretch on my part)

he can control, sure, all powerful. does he actually control it, ie a puppet master, no. that defeats the purpose. the use of "all controlling" makes it seem like an action, an active thing he does. maybe this is just another semantic argument, maybe it isn't.
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It's definitely an interesting topic: one that's been talked about as long as humans could make noises with their mouths. "Why are we here?" "Who is God?" "Are you gonna eat that?" :)

Like you said, we'll find out as soon as we're unable to tell anyone about it.
 
#246
#246
Roustabout said:
I would challenge you to reconsider. A building is not the house of God. You may not like people wearing hats in a building. Fine. But when you try to make a spiritual issue of it, I draw the line.
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You are technically correct, a building is not the House of God. Churches are referred to as a House of God.

God does not live in a building. He lives in the heart of believers. Any place that 2 or more believers get together to worship could be considered a church.

While the building itself is not "the church" the believers in Christ make up that church. While the building being used for the local church may not be technically the church. It is a facility open to the public as a place to gather and worship God and should be treated as a place of worship..

I think Jesus taught us when he entered the Temple and drove out those that were using the building to buy and sell goods that the church building should be a place to worship and be respected. He distinguished the difference in using a building as a place to worship vs everyday activities .

As far as wearing hats in a building, I have no issue with that depending on the venue. I think one should dress according to the venue.

I believe Jesus made it clear the church building should be respected. I believe that when one attends Church services, one should dress respectfully. I do not think a man has to wear a suit and tie, but they should clean up a little and show some respect. I think it is very disrespectful for a man to wear cargo shorts, tennis shoes and a tank top to church. I do not think a woman should wear her daisy dukes and a halter top.

Do I think God will not be present is someone wears a pair of shorts and a hat to church ? No I do not. I do question if a man is a true believer would he go to church to worship his Lord and Savior dressed to go jogging. IMO, church is a serious place and should be treated seriously and respectfully.
 
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#247
#247
Roustabout said:
No. Had nothing to do with tithing. Tithing was a system of support for the Levitical priests. It had nothing to do with currency, but goods (livestock, grains, oil) The whole tithing aspect today is a lie. If any church or leader tells you that giving 10% or more will result in you getting financial blessing, run the other way. It doesn't matter how subtle. It is a false teaching.

Giving is NT, and each one should give what he has decided to give, and not under compulsion.

when A & S died, Israel was still the method God was operating through apostolic authority (Peter and the 12). The concept of a Gentile church had yet to be addressed. So, that economy isn't in effect today.
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Preach the truth!
 
#248
#248
Gramps said:
You are technically correct, a building is not the House of God. Churches are referred to as a House of God.

God does not live in a building. He lives in the heart of believers. Any place that 2 or more believers get together to worship could be considered a church.

While the building itself is not "the church" the believers in Christ make up that church. While the building being used for the local church may not be technically the church. It is a facility open to the public as a place to gather and worship God and should be treated as a place of worship..

I think Jesus taught us when he entered the Temple and drove out those that were using the building to buy and sell goods that the church building should be a place to worship and be respected. He distinguished the difference in using a building as a place to worship vs everyday activities .

As far as wearing hats in a building, I have no issue with that depending on the venue. I think one should dress according to the venue.

I believe Jesus made it clear the church building should be respected. I believe that when one attends Church services, one should dress respectfully. I do not think a man has to wear a suit and tie, but they should clean up a little and show some respect. I think it is very disrespectful for a man to wear cargo shorts, tennis shoes and a tank top to church. I do not think a woman should wear her daisy dukes and a halter top.

Do I think God will not be present is someone wears a pair of shorts and a hat to church ? No I do not. I do question if a man is a true believer would he go to church to worship his Lord and Savior dressed to go jogging. IMO, church is a serious place and should be treated seriously and respectfully.
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Story.
a woman walks into a church. She's just come to know Jesus and comes from a pretty rough upbringing and suffice to say her attire is a little provocative. At the end of the service the pastor is waiting at the door to thank the congregants. When the young woman comes up the preacher shakes her hand. He says "we are glad to have you here. Before you come back next week, please pray and ask God how youbout to be dreesed in this church.

The next Sunday arives and the lady comes to church dressed the same way she was the week before. At the end of the service the preacher is there at the door again greeting congregants and up comes the lady to shake his hand. This time the Pastor, obviously distraught, steps out of line and asks her, "Young lady, did you not hear what I said last week? Did you not go home and pray and ask God about what you should wear in this church?

"Yes," she said. "I did pray and I did ask the Lord."
"Well, what did he say ask the preacher?"

"He said he didnt have a clue what I should wear since he had never been inside that church."

Gramps, the temple was destroyed. The church house today is not the temple of Jerusalem and keep in mind that Jesus likely got run out of synagogues. If you prefer a dress code, fine. But to imply any spiritual connection is simply in error.
I remember hearing a discussion between pastors. A youth event was going on and hundred of kids were filing into the auditorium. Several of the kids were wearing ball caps. One pastor said, " those boys shouldn't wear hats in the sanctuary."
The other pastor said, "No, you got it all wrong. The hat is ON the sanctuary."

Oh, the damage the church has done by picking nits.
 
#249
#249
Roustabout said:
Story.
a woman walks into a church. She's just come to know Jesus and comes from a pretty rough upbringing and suffice to say her attire is a little provocative. At the end of the service the pastor is waiting at the door to thank the congregants. When the young woman comes up the preacher shakes her hand. He says "we are glad to have you here. Before you come back next week, please pray and ask God how youbout to be dreesed in this church.

The next Sunday arives and the lady comes to church dressed the same way she was the week before. At the end of the service the preacher is there at the door again greeting congregants and up comes the lady to shake his hand. This time the Pastor, obviously distraught, steps out of line and asks her, "Young lady, did you not hear what I said last week? Did you not go home and pray and ask God about what you should wear in this church?

"Yes," she said. "I did pray and I did ask the Lord."
"Well, what did he say ask the preacher?"

"He said he didnt have a clue what I should wear since he had never been inside that church."

Gramps, the temple was destroyed. The church house today is not the temple of Jerusalem and keep in mind that Jesus likely got run out of synagogues. If you prefer a dress code, fine. But to imply any spiritual connection is simply in error.
I remember hearing a discussion between pastors. A youth event was going on and hundred of kids were filing into the auditorium. Several of the kids were wearing ball caps. One pastor said, " those boys shouldn't wear hats in the sanctuary."
The other pastor said, "No, you got it all wrong. The hat is ON the sanctuary."

Oh, the damage the church has done by picking nits.
Click to expand...

Wear the most appropriate attire you can afford. It costs nothing to take a ball cap off your head.
 
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