Why I don't like organised religion

[Whispered]

I bet you secretly love a bit of extra filler?

Are you proud of what you meant to convey with that remark?

God tells us that He is not found in structures built by mortal hands. Any church is just a building.
What makes a church is The Church. And The Church is the body of believers, the faith filled, who are in Christ.
Church can be found gathered in Bible study at someones apartment. Church can be found at an outdoor BBQ where fellow believers gather, eat, and share in Gods bounty and love.
Church in point of fact is found on the face of this beautiful blessed planet home, Earth. Where over a billion people who love and praise Jesus live.

 

[Blain]

I agree that organized religion can be a bit stifling. If your a new believer and lets say you go to a random church that for instance preaches the prosperity gospel, (I am not really keen to the prosperity gospel as you can probably tell) and because your a new believer you don't know any better and so you get wrapped up in this doctrine and don't have the discernemnt to study and test these teachings as we are to test all spirits.

Many people have come out of that doctrine damaged because they couldn't seem to flow in that gospel like everyone else seemed to. If you ask but do not recieve even though you put your whole heart into it then you just didn't have enough faith. This is one of the things I have seen some people come out of that doctrine new believers and all damaged and doubting their faith and even salvation.

Basically I think a pure relationship with God is much more effective, no restrictions to a certain set of beliefs within the church just pure relationship and whatever he teaches you will follow. I actually had no one to teach me when I became saved no church to go to no one to help me so I decided to go to the best teacher ogf all- God himself.
Personally I think it turned out much better for me than had I gone to organized religion first I was someone who would have had no discernmnt at all

 

[KhedetOrthos]

I'm one of the many followers of Jesus.
Despite being a follower of Jesus, I don't like organised religion.

Part of the reason for this is purely based on my own experience at a Hillsong 'Church' here in the UK, which you can read about in the 'Hillsong a cult?' thread I made.[/question]

You shouldn’t let your

Mostly though I don't like organised religion because of what it does.
Organised religion takes your belief in God and your faith is Jesus, your core beliefs, and wraps these core beliefs in ceremony, pomposity, dogma and tradition.

Unless you take the time to properly study the Bible for yourself, as I have, you will not spot the false teaching and dogma, and you will interpret pomposity and ceremony as some kind of Biblical requirement

The pope, Church elders, the requirement to give money to your Church to fund a lavish lifestyle for your pastor, the belief that the Earth is at the centre of the universe.
I could go on.

So much dogma and tradition has come about throughout history that has absolutely no Biblical foundation whatsoever..

What do you believe about church history?

...and what do you consider to be “extra filler”?

The prosperity gospel isn’t actually the gospel.

 

[breno785au]

OP might find some value in this book perhaps?

https://www.amazon.com/Unchurching-Christianity-Churchianity-Richard-Jacobson/dp/0692749950

 

[biker]

Amen!

Organizations originally tried to do the right thing. But the leaders that come and go through organizations tend to apply their opinions rather than what the Bible actually claims. As a result, you end up with organizations discrediting other organizations and making enemies of one another. No sect of belief per organization is the absolute correct Biblical way. No one preacher/teacher/evangelist preaches absolute truth because their own personal views at times get in the way. There is not a single organization, preacher, teacher, evangelist living specifically like Christ Jesus did. In fact, no one even lives remotely close to anyone mentioned in the Bible except for the sinners and people doing others wrong.

But with all of that said, a righteous person will try to find common ground. But when a church service includes the verbal tearing down of other sects and beliefs within the Body of Christ, it's very difficult for a righteous person to bring them together.

We truly are fulfilling Laodecia. There has been a great falling away from what Jesus Himself taught. I look at pie charts a lot. Especially those pie charts that are about Believers and nonbelievers. When I see out of 8 billion people, that almost 2 billion claim to be followers of Christ. I think that is impossible. That is 1/4 of the population claiming to be saved by God. With 2 billion saved people, our prayers to God should have stopped abortion, stopped crime, helped humanity. But the truth of the matter is, many within the Church are having abortions, committing crimes, and could care less about humanity. I went to a church a few years ago and they had a local band performing. It was not even a Christian band, but a member of the churches son's band. I walked out. Was asked if I didn't like the band? I said, I came to be in Church and worship God. This here, I can get at any bar in town.

 

[KhedetOrthos]

It was not even a Christian band, but a member of the churches son's band. I walked out. Was asked if I didn't like the band? I said, I came to be in Church and worship God. This here, I can get at any bar in town.

Thats a growing trend in evangelical circles, to hire the necessary pop music talent for your “worship team“ whether or not they are actually Christian.

 

[Nebuchadnezzer]

I'm one of the many followers of Jesus.
Despite being a follower of Jesus, I don't like organised religion.

Part of the reason for this is purely based on my own experience at a Hillsong 'Church' here in the UK, which you can read about in the 'Hillsong a cult?' thread I made.

Mostly though I don't like organised religion because of what it does.
Organised religion takes your belief in God and your faith is Jesus, your core beliefs, and wraps these core beliefs in ceremony, pomposity, dogma and tradition.

Unless you take the time to properly study the Bible for yourself, as I have, you will not spot the false teaching and dogma, and you will interpret pomposity and ceremony as some kind of Biblical requirement

The pope, Church elders, the requirement to give money to your Church to fund a lavish lifestyle for your pastor, the belief that the Earth is at the centre of the universe.
I could go on.

So much dogma and tradition has come about throughout history that has absolutely no Biblical foundation whatsoever.

I refuse to attach my relationship with Jesus to any Church, to any group of people or to any dogmatic and false beliefs, and so I have nothing to do with organised religion.

You are right, there are many false churches. But not all churches are false. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you to a church where He is present at. He will do it! They do exist. I will pray for you.

 

[Blain]

Also I agree there are good churches out there not all churches are corrupt or unworthy of praise, some churches have actually done some amazing groundbreaking things