the church is not the vehicle through which one can best establish a relationship with "god". words are meaningless -- whether you say them every day or for an hour once a week. a person is (or should be) defined only by actions. this is why i don't attend church or subscribe to any one faith in particular. that, and all the hypocrisy.
why are ornate, million-dollar churches built for communities to worship in? can't and shouldn't that money better serve to assist the poor? the church is generally active in outreach programs and other charitable causes, but i never understood why a humble building in which to worship was not suitable.
actually i know exactly why -- it's to cajole people into attending mass in a beautiful building with stained glass, to give it that "holy" look. so much for finding god under an upturned stone or a split piece of wood.
and getting people to attend mass, it seems to me, is all about money. everything is.
2 comments:
Yes, phillip, it's about money, but it's also a social thing. People want to see and be seen. It isn't enough to adhere to Matthew 6:5-6 (which says private worship is the way to go), it only matters if other people see it. Which makes me wonder if, deep down, people really believe it. Still, if they want to do so that's cool with me. I've even been there a couple of times. But mostly to look at cute girls. God's gift and all :)
That said, First Baptist Church offends me. That place has a jumbotron, for crying out loud! It's a stadium. They don't call it, "Six Flags Over Jesus" for nothing. Also, I don't like how they built it three feet closer to the restaurant across the street in an effort to get its liquor license revoked. What kind of antiquated shit is that?
i think it was shakespeare who said "even the devil can quote scripture to further his purpose", or something like that. it's easy to take biblical passages out of context and contort them to convenience your id.
besides money, people need a sense of validation -- that what they believe is plausible because look at all the other people who belive it!
that, to me, seems like a sign of insecurity.
Post a Comment