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Going to church?

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EKnight:
Does anyone attend a church service anymore?  I have been a Catholic all my life but I stopped going to church a few months ago (April, I think).

But now my daughter (17) is questioning me about Christmas and getting married.  She asked if we woud still celebrate Christmas I said yes.  She asked would we go to church on Christmas, I said no.  She asked where she would get married and who would officiate, I had no answer.  She asked me if I was Catholic, I said "well I was born and raised Catholic but I no longer (and kinda never did) believe all of their "own" teachings like not eating meat on fridays during lent".  Then she asked about lent, she said, "I don't have to give anything up for lent?" I said it's a nice sacrifice to make in gratefulness for Jesus' sacrifice on your behalf but you don't have to do anything. 

I am the only one who is seeking the truth in my home and I am feeling bad that now everyone else is not even getting any teaching except for what they hear me talk about.  I too feel bad that I am only fellowshipping here on the internet.  Somehow it doesn't seem demonstrative enough.  Save for the difference one can see in my actions.  But even then, I am not sure they notice.  They just think I relate everything they say and do to God and get mad at me.

I have two family weddings coming up in Sept and Oct. and people will notice when I don't go to communion and believe me, they are not ready to hear what I have to say especially since I am the youngest and never got the respect of my older siblings.  Besides, they are not seeking anything, they are set in their ways.  To tell the truth, I was not searching either, I just needed God to help me, and here is where I ended up.

I am just wondering if anyone else is having similar difficulties.

Eileen

Chris R:
I think we can all relate to your situation, I have been to several services since discovering the truths written on www.bibletruths.com . None were regular services, mostly funerals, weddings, and a communion service for a nephew, and neice.

The last service was at my Grandmothers funeral just a few months ago, i'll admit, it was all i could do to sit and listen to the heresy, my stomach was wrenching, i honeslty felt like somone was pricking me with needles.

Be the best Mom/Wife you can be, Love your family, let everything else take care of itself.

It aint gettin any easier

Peace

Chris R

Akira329:
Hi Eileen,

I can definitely relate. I feel a deeper void between me and my family growing and I haven't even told them everything I believe yet!!
They can't seem to get past the not going to church thing. So I get all kinds of advice on how to find a good church.
In the end, they just tell me no church is perfect. I just say yeah, thats the point! How can I go on to perfection being around imperfection. Honestly leaving the church was easy, I had been fed up for years before and my family new it but then we had all the same grips and concerns. Well a little different now.
Also if I could find a church where they teach this truths I would go! But thats highly doubtful.
I love this group and until God shows me otherwise I'll stick it out here! ;D

Linny:
Our situation is a little unique because we moved into a close by small town 3 years ago and had moved to a new church in our old town just before that where we never were able to connect with anyone. So when we left several months ago, they never noticed (pretty sad) or cared (even sadder but most likely truer :-\).

My friends don't really know we've left church since they all go to different ones. And my sister and her husband (a preacher  :o) thankfully live 12 hours away.

Our only "problem" is the neighbors who attend 2 different local churches and tried now for 3 years to get us to switch who see that we no longer have our "excuse" of the old church as our cars are in the driveway as they leave and return on Sundays. I am sure they see us as backsliders when in fact we are studying more than ever! :D

I guess all this rambling is just that we have decided to ignore what others think about us. If they ask, we'll tell them as we feel led to-- or not. But it isn't our place to make sure everyone judges us justly. It is their problem. As long as we are pleasing our Heavenly Father, that is all we need to concern ourselves with.

We are just thrilled to be out of the church. I still listen to stuff on the radio and occasional TV to keep myself sharp. I am amazed at how they sneak in unscriptural garbage in with truth followed by a Scripture which only backs up one point. How often and how much stuff did I fall for before because of my ignorance and not seeing the sad doctrine they teach? It makes me so thankful to know the truth now.

And yes, funerals must be the worst. My dad's was so full of lies that I was very uncomfortable and my brother in law did the service.
Very hard to keep your mouth shut, especially having one as large as mine.  ;) But I have learned that it is pointless to throw my pearls to swine so I do it.

Dave in Tenn:
Eileen, my answer would be too long if I tried to squeeze it all out.  The short version is:  I've been out of church for 20 years or so.  To at least some degree, this was due to a limited understanding of what B-T is about. 

Would I ever make another visit?

Well, I look at it this way.  My mother is a good Christian woman.  She's in her 70's and in decent health and of sound mind.  If there were special times that I could 'make her happy' by going through some of the motions, I think my concience is strong enough and my faith in the real gospel deep enough that I could do it, and would.

If she were to insist, however, that I made a habit of it, then I would NOT be able to do that, and wouldn't.  I would do the same for my sisters to a lesser exent.

At this point, though, I'm NOT rooted enough to consider 'explaining' in detail what changes I've experienced since finding B-T.  Right now, I think all she (they) would be able to 'hear' is that I 'don't believe' this or that...not that 'I believe' this or that...and it wouldn't just be their spiritual blindness or delusion that would be the cause of that--it would be my own nascent undertanding unable to express it otherwise.

I may not be a babe in Christ...I think I'm more of an pre-adolescent.  LOL.  Full of impulses and enthusiasm, but lacking much real, applied, hard-won wisdom.

BUT...they already know I have been unhappy with orthodox Christianity, so at the least I have a foundation now for that...and it is a continuation of what began 20-25 years ago in many ways.

 

 

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