Unhappy people in empty churches

The last decade lots of people have turned their back to their church. 10% of those having left church have left the faith completely, but that means the others did not give up faith totally. Many because of the many questions and of seeing contradictions in their church, left the institution, but wanted to stay spiritual.
When the big institutional churches may still count on 20% who are still in churches and are happy, their members may not see major problems within their congregations or problems resulting from their institutional practice of faith. To them, church attendance is a practical and enjoyable expression of faith.

Though of the 30% who are in churches can not say they are happy, but indicate they are unhappy. They see major problems but continue with church attendance for a variety of reasons. The important thing for this group is that, despite all it’s flaws churches are still worth supporting through attendance and possibly finances.

We may wonder why they do not dare to question their pastors or ministers more and go not look for the real happiness in their Scriptures. For many a real confrontation with what is written in the Book of books seems to dangerous and to much bringing them in confusion, and that is something they do not like; They want a certain certainty? When reading the Bible they encounter too many things which seem so muddling or confusing with the many church doctrines and to leave church doctrines aside looks for them as treason to the community. They forget they are better to do treason to the world of man than to the world of God. That is what Jesus and the other prophets are all about when they talk not to be of this world but to belong to God.

40%of those who abandoned their church see the institutional churches of our era as more damaging than helpful to the Kingdom, and have walked out on the institutions their parents and grandparents built, to practice faith in a far more personal way, a far more tight-knit community.

It becomes time that those who left the institution churches come to see there are other ways to come to God and to please God, but that we still have to come together to unite as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The "Unchurching" is a growing movement of Christians who are leaving churches and the allegiance to trappings churches demand in order to find God, experience him more personally, and enjoy smaller, tight-knit communities that don’t put institutional concerns in front of godliness.

We can only hope they shall be able to find like minded people who find it more important to come to Biblical truth and to worship God in the way that God wants to be worshipped.

For those who left their big institutional church they, when they look for an other community of believers, should know

It isn’t about moving the same old church practices to a smaller venue. It’s about reassessing every one of those practices to see if they meet the needs of the Kingdom, advance the message of the Gospel, and draw closer to God.

Faith, storms and actions to be taken

Today it is very windy. Storms are coming over West Europe. With winds up to 150 km per hour and hail going against the windows we do hear a lot of noise.

In the past Jesus once stilled a storm and got the other men in the boat surprised, wondering who such a man could be that he had control over the weather. they were afraid of the storm but we can imagine that they also could get some fear from that man who could use his voice in such away that even wind and sea obeyed him. (Mark 4:41).

We have already read in Mark of Jesus doing many marvellous healings; a paralysed man, a leper, a man with a withered hand, etc., so that “his fame spread everywhere” (1:28): yet when he stills the storm and “the wind ceased and there was a great calm” (4:39) the  disciples of Jesus then asked each other “Who then is this?”.

Jesus had asked those fishermen to follow him and they had trusted him, being convinced this was a special man sent from higher regions, namely the promised Messiah. though at that time they probably still thought he would come to fight the Romans and get them liberated from this worldly oppression.

Knowing the risks at sea, that storm seemed to have come like not foreseen or not announced. They were very familiar with the lake, so we can imagine that they also knew how the water was behaving. But that time it seemed so different and they were really frightened. Surely they had learnt when there was a risk of weather of this this nature they would not venture out. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record this dramatic event, it was etched in their memory. It is described as “a great windstorm” and the “waves were breaking into the boat”.

As Jesus dramatically stills the storm, he asks, “Have you still no faith?” (verse 40). Faith is something which seems difficult to blend with mankind. People seem to have faith in lots of things, like being it dangerous to walk under a ladder, or to live on the 13th floor, having faith in a lot of people even making some of them into their gods. But having faith in God is a total different matter. who wants to believe in some one or something which can not be seen nor heard, nor felt?

Abraham is one example of faith we do have who showed what happens when a person has the right faith and does the right works. Lots of Christians do not want to believe we need to have works of faith, but in the Holy Scriptures we get many examples of people who showed their faith and got called righteous also because their works. We even find people like the prostitute Rahab and king David who had killed some one to have sex with his wife.

Though at moments going into the wrong the Old testament (and the New testament with Peter for example), shows us how they were taken by faith and regretted their wrongdoing. They repented and took the path of God.

Today we also see lots of people who live like the nation of Israel which had witnessed miracles, the plagues, walking through the sea on dry land and the destruction of the Egyptians armies at the hands of their all-powerful God – the one whose name / reputation was being established by these events, grumbling like their ancestors did against Moses [because of the lack of food (verse 2)]. Moses then could have said, “Have you still no faith?” and we also could ask those who got to know about those miracles and who received so many blessings if they still have no faith.

When we look at how the world is going we can see many who call themselves Christian, but have a life which is not worthy of a Christian. so called Christians do enjoy having sex with more than one person of the opposite or even same sex. Lots of them do not mind telling lies (so called for the good), or taking things from others (it is from work and as such does not belong to a person or would not do any harm, they say as excuse). They use public transport trying to avoid paying for their fair. They look for the cheapest bargain,no matter if their had to be children or other slaves working for it. they do not mind using articles with a big ecological footprint. Many of them also do not mind bullying others at work or in their club. They think they have to live today and not to worry about tomorrow.

Such attitudes we can hardly call an attitude of a real Christian.
Jesus in his parables also warns his listeners about the danger when we do not do the right works that we can miss the entrance of the gates of the Kingdom of God.

Are we willing to here that story or do we prefer to enjoy our life like we have ever done before? do we prefer to follow those teachers who mislead the world saying Christians are saved for ever?

We better listen to what is written in the Holy Bible and see that the storms of God’s judgements are starting to break out on this world. They are going to get worse. News bulletins are full of the detail of countries with problems and catastrophes.
We all need to really get to know our Lord and develop such a measure of faith that makes us certain God is in control whatever may come on this earth.

Meditate on James 1:5-8 and on the second chapter about faith and works.

Please also look at our series on From Guestwriters:

1. Leading people astray!
2. Restitution
3. Comments to James remarks, about Faith and works
4. Luther’s misunderstanding
5. January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works
6. Our life depending on faith
7. Romans 4 and the Sacraments
8. Is Justification a process?
9. Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer
10. Faith itself not the cause of justification – Louis Berkhof
11. Letter to the Romans, chapter 3
12. Letter to the Romans, chapter 4
13. Additional comments to the 3rd Letter to the Romans
14. Additional comments to the Letter to the Romans 4
15. Which is worse–works without faith, or faith without works?
16. James 2:14-23 — Justified Dynamic Faith & works
17. James 2:24 – You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
18. James 2:25. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

and read also other articles as:

1. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
2. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
3. Christ’s ethical teaching
4.  Being Justified by faith
5. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
6. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
7. A Living Faith #6 Sacrifice
8. Faith and works
9. Bearing fruit
10. Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word
11. The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
12. Be holy
13. She who sows thistles will reap prickles
14. Love for each other attracting others
15. Outflow of foundational relationship based on acceptance of Jesus

Related articles

• DIG for Wednesday the 3rd of February.....yes, even in a grace church there is need for repentance.....Romans 2 v 4
• Pelagianism, abundant sex, no works and refugees
• Romans 4:22-25
• The Thorn and The _nd
• To die is gain, no. 1
• Scripture Of The Day - February 5th
• Pefect. One Thing At Which Christians Are Perfect.
• Luther's misunderstanding
• Daily Devotion - Tuesday, January 12, 2016
• The Mountain: Radical Obedience

Are you religious, spiritual, or do you belong to a religion, having a faith or interfaith

Many people today feel they have stepped away from religion, and found a way to feed their spirituality without a religion or faith practice.

Religion and its contribution to culture of peace (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many practice 'out of religion' activities and are convinced they have nothing to do with 'a religion'. But....If they have certain things they believe in, If they use these concepts to better themselves and others, and If their concepts lead them closer to "the source"... is it not a religion or faith practice for them?  You can also ask if spirituality is connected with only religious exercise.

All created in the image of God do have received intelligence and some instinct also knowing good and bad.  Throughout history people looked for ways to form their minds. They created different systems to form the soul (spirit/pneuma/psyche/mind). In this way they also created rites or returning actions which were recognised by others and as such got them labelled under religious and spiritual groups. In their truest deepest form religion and spirituality may belong together.

Faith - is the demonstration of our spiritual beliefs even if it is a combination of various spiritualities
interfaith is the sharing of one's faith with others to gain an understanding of one's beliefs.  When we look at "Interfaith" we may find a situation were the people present a willingness to overlook the borders of the different faithgroups. Those who consider themselves belonging to an interfaith are persons of goodwill who want to reconcile the various opinions, beliefs, faiths and sometimes invention of the wide variety of religions which have developed as a result of the lack of understanding of the true facts of our spirituality.

His Religion and Hers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We do not need a religion to question ourselves , the reason why we are here or what we do have to do. When we do use our brains we shall come to an understanding that have in our soul (nephesh) the flesh and the inner soul (pneuma/psyche) our way of thinking which is the one which give more importance to the soul (ruach/breath/wind), the life-breath which keeps us alive. This knowledge having to give importance to psychological and spiritual development gives way to the liberty to look across the many borders set up by religious, non-religous and atheist people.

As explained in the several articles on Spirituality and Religosity on Stepping Toes, "Spirituality" requires no belief or faith, because it has the knowledge of its abilities and experience. Our mind can think and guide our body. Without a healthy mind we shall not be able to get a healthy body.

Today we see that some sort of cross-fertilisation is occurring within and between religions at this juncture of history.

As we are caught up with it and feel the energies of the process positively so we find ourselves sustained by what we are calling "spirituality", and exhilarating tone of life that is a vibrant reality for many - whether our lives are full of suffering and tragedy or just plain humdrum, or remarkably privileged amonst the gross inequalities of our lives. So our old religious homes are actually benefitting from this renewal rather than fading away and dying. There remains however the problems of fanaticism and desperation and exclusivism in religions. Can our spiritualities overcome our new fanaticisms and the continuing oppressive inequalities of our ancient political economies which seem to revive old types of wars of religion?

writes George Armstrong.
according to Rev. Stephen Albert:

WP Religion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Interfaith" is not a religion. It does not have a set of rules that require an adherent to act or perform one way or another. Those who call or involve themselves with Interfaith, may celebrate one or more religious traditions and they honor the many people who believe differently than they. The beauty of interfaith is that once you take the time to investigate the deeper beliefs of a religious group of people, the more they begin sounding just like you. Abigail and I just returned from the NAIN (North American Interfaith Network) conference in Detroit Michigan where 150 or so people from a variety of faiths celebrated the similarities and the differences of the many religions. They were not afraid to ask the "hard questions" and to more deeply interact with new friends and colleagues. For the last two years I have mentioned this yearly conference to this group and, besides us, only Laura Zinn has attended. By the way, her workshops were great and she is a great organizer and presenter. Mark your calendars now to attend the NAIN Connect from July 19-22, 2015 in Regina Saskatchewan Canada. Bring your interfaith friends or even those who believe their way is the only way (They won't come anyway). The events are fun, they feed us great and you will come away with a great respect for whatever you believe. Blessings.

++

Additional literature:

1. Religions and Mainliners
2. What is faith and is it the only thing required
3. Faith
4. Soul
5. Do not forget the important sign of belief
6. Living in faith
7. Science, belief, denial and visibility 1
8. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
9. Ian Barbour connecting science and religion
10. Religion and spirituality
11. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
12. Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite
13. Looking for True Spirituality 3 Mind of Christ
14. Looking for True Spirituality 4 Getting to Know the Mind of Christ
15. Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
16. Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer
17. Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News
18. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
19. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
20. Experiencing God
21. The Supreme Being God of gods
22. Cosmos creator and human destiny
23. Only One God
24. God is One
25. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
26. Patriarch Abraham, Muslims, Christians and the son of God
27. Preparedness to change
28. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
29. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
30. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
31. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
32. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
33. Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruit
34. American atheists most religiously literate Americans

+++

Related articles

• Bklyn Boro Pres Adams Leads Interfaith Rally Against Hate Attacks On Religious Communities (jpupdates.com)
  “When any one group is assailed by the fabric of our society, then it’s torn to pieces,” said Ibrahim Kurtiuis of the United American Muslim Faith Mosque. “Hatred in any type of form will not be tolerated at all by our community or any community in the greatest city in the world.”
• Minnesota Interfaith Group Changes Its Name to Become More Inclusive of Atheists (patheos.com)
  When you mention the word “Interfaith” around atheists, you often hear a lot of pushback against the word itself. Even if an interfaith dialogue is supposed to represent a conversation between people of all different beliefs, I’ve heard atheists say something like, Atheism isn’t a faith, so “interfaith” excludes us by definition.
  Well, a group in Minnesota has finally taken a positive step toward becoming more inclusive.
  The St. Paul Interfaith Network in Minnesota hosts a monthly meeting called the “Interfaith Conversation Cafe” (ICC) where different groups come together to talk about whatever that month’s theme is.
  
• How Spiritual Can You Be Without Religion? (patheos.com)
  New Age thinkers usually enter the ditch on the other side of the road: They idealize altered states of consciousness and draw specious connections between subjective experience and the spookier theories at the frontiers of physics. Here we are told that the Buddha and other contemplatives anticipated modern cosmology or quantum mechanics and that by transcending the sense of self, a person can realize his identity with the One Mind that gave birth to the cosmos.
  In the end, we are left to choose between pseudo-spirituality and pseudo-science.
  
• Understanding the multi-faith initiative (elonpendulum.com)
  One of the developmental goals of young adulthood is to clarify what our “religions” will be, what our deepest convictions are, and what we will do about any of them. So our priority is to help you discover, explore, more deeply understand, and take ownership of your faith.  Whatever your tradition we aim to encourage your knowledge and practice.  We won’t make you something you’re not.  We want you to be a rooted and good at who you are and choose to be.
  
• Religion and devotion, prayer and meditation (lifesharerjuneluna.wordpress.com)
  Spirituality is religion put into real form and applied practically. The Bible is a scared scripture. When we read it, its essence must be put into our hearts and minds, not our armpits.
• HumanistLife : A Humanism without the word 'spirituality' (humanistlife.org.uk)
  Can humanists be spiritual and/or use the term spiritual? Should humanists use the term? Is spirituality ‘the best word’ to describe our sense of deepest meaning? I will focus on the question of why I do not use the word, but I also want to state up front that humanists can use the term spirituality if they find it appropriate. I do not use it for two reasons. First, using other words helps me clearly communicate my humanism to non-humanists. Second, I find other words more moving.
• Is Humanism a Religion? (appliedsentience.com)
  Religion may be impossible to define, whether we ask ourselves what the word means or what specific things count as “religious.”  In his classic text The Sociology of Religion, the famous sociologist Max Weber argued that “Definition can be attempted, if at all, only at the conclusion of the study” of religion.  However, as Nicholas Wade points out, and does in his own book, The Faith Instinct, Weber never defines religion – even at the end!
  +
  Just as the definition of “religion” varies greatly, there is a lot of variety in the content and form of Humanism.  Humanism focuses mostly on a method, namely naturalism and reasoned experience, instead of a set of dogmas from holy books or prophets.  So, given the fact that we all have different personal experiences and capacities to reason, the conclusions we come to can be expected to vary.
  This has two effects. First, different groups use different definitions of religion.  Second, different groups often have widely divergent Humanist worldviews.  So even on inclusive definitions many Humanist groups simply are not religious.  Historically, different Humanist groups have self-identified as religious and non-religious.
  
  
• Religion vs Spirituality (spreadmyvision.wordpress.com)
  Man made religions are nothing but a group of cunning crafty peoples’ way of holding the reigns to others’ faith and hence their fates. No wonder loss of faith in religions is getting increasingly common among the youth today.
• How do you define religion? (thoughtofvg.wordpress.com)
  If one attempts to describe it in terms of belief in God, Buddhism wouldn’t be considered a religion and comparatively, Any organisation or collective group would be labelled a religion if the definition of  “a group in which all members have  similar moral beliefs and goals” were used.  A more accurate definition would perhaps be found by comparing the world religions and by discussing what common concepts they share.
  +
  Conclusively, we can see that what most religions have in common is spiritual awareness and goals, be there a God or not. Abrahamic fiaths have spiritual goals to become closer with God, Buddhism focusses on the journey to spiritual enlightenment and Hinduism acknowledges a spiritual link and awareness between all things in existence. It is therefore not belief in God that separates moral organisations from religions, but spirituality is what makes an organisation a religion.