What do we go to church for
-
This question kinda came up in a thread @ CC,what do we go to church for?
-
We go to church to worship God as a community.
And definitely not just to hang out with friends or look at girls. -
Come on be honest. It is primarily to make friends, look at girls and be in line with the times surely!
-
Fellowshiping with other same frequency believers, to put it crudely. And to learn and study more about God. To look at girls and get in line with time, I'd rather hang out with you guys.
-
To brainwash, to not let the people think about the scripture in their usual manner, to exert control over the masses.. these r probably some of the reasons which have been passed from the past till now
-
question is... why a church?
fellowship does not necessary be in the church. Priest/father, do they have direct links to god to be able to preach the gospel and no one else?? In tat case John and all the apostles will not be in the bible at all. -
Agreed, a church is not merely a building made of concrete or wood. But rather, it is a community of His people. It is the people that make up a church, not a building. A church (building) merely provides a good environment for people to worship God in.Originally posted by diggo:question is... why a church?
fellowship does not necessary be in the church. Priest/father, do they have direct links to god to be able to preach the gospel and no one else?? In tat case John and all the apostles will not be in the bible at all.
Priests are men (I used the word 'men' for a good reason.) who have been chosen by God to become ministers of Word and Sacrament. Through the priest, God has chosen to make use of them to forgive sins, to heal spiritual sickness and to turn bread and wine into flesh and blood.
John and the other apostles are important people. They are our forefathers. Why do you say they will not be in the Bible? John and the rest of them have followed Jesus Christ around personally.
Who says only the priests have a link to God? Everybody has a link to God, it's just whether one decides to make use of it. -
Church has that level of popularity accrued to it. People dress nicely, the youths loook beautiful, the guys hair is gelled, they wear hip funky black sometmes u'd think they were all NEo wannabes lol. Church is where u meet NICE cool gfs or bfs or people who can INTRO u to more social occasions and where u derive social life, which u may call fellowship. HA!
But honestly, yeah why a church? Coz churches are popular, they are clean, they are WHITE, and they do not involve smelly incense, yellow walls, BANGING drums and weird tibetan prayers or screeching scripture readings of the Koran (No pun intended Muslims).
Basically, go to church because it represents the most highly marketable and marketed Religion in the world. -
There are parts of the world where Christians make do with basically nothing to have a church. Not the "church" u'd think of.Originally posted by men_@_arms:Church has that level of popularity accrued to it. People dress nicely, the youths loook beautiful, the guys hair is gelled, they wear hip funky black sometmes u'd think they were all NEo wannabes lol. Church is where u meet NICE cool gfs or bfs or people who can INTRO u to more social occasions and where u derive social life, which u may call fellowship. HA!
But honestly, yeah why a church? Coz churches are popular, they are clean, they are WHITE, and they do not involve smelly incense, yellow walls, BANGING drums and weird tibetan prayers or screeching scripture readings of the Koran (No pun intended Muslims).
Basically, go to church because it represents the most highly marketable and marketed Religion in the world. -
They do use incense during the Holy Mass you know.....Bet you didn't know that
-
Agreed. Go and ask missionaries in PRC. Their church setup is nothing but an open field, where the 'church-goers' hide under the tall grass ya know.Originally posted by fallin:There are parts of the world where Christians make do with basically nothing to have a church. Not the "church" u'd think of.
The church description from men_@_arms is an insult to Christians in countries like the PRC. -
No wonder the Catholic membership is falling.Originally posted by SingaporeMacross:They do use incense during the Holy Mass you know.....Bet you didn't know that 
-
What does that have to do with declining membership? And how do you know for sure that membership is declining?Originally posted by Icemoon:No wonder the Catholic membership is falling.
The use of incense goes far back in time. The reference books tell us that incense was in common use in Near East countries, burnt for its perfume. Are they suggesting incense was an ancient kind of air freshener? From a secular use it passed into religious service. Pagans employed it in worship of their gods. According to one source, at a fete in honor of Baal the Babylonians burned 1,000 talents of frankincense. Incense also played a part in honor given to kings and the Roman emperor.
And among the gifts of the Magi was frankincense--a gift worthy of a king. Illustrations of altars of incense can be found in the St. Joseph edition of the New American Bible.
Already in the Book of Exodus there is reference to incense. In Chapter 30, Moses is told to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense and Aaron is to burn incense morning and evening. Also, in Exodus 30:34-38 Moses is given a formula for incense to be used solely in the worship of Yahweh. It is to be made of equal parts of storax, onycha, galbanum and frankincense, blended and ground into fine dust. The incense is to be placed before the Commandments in the meeting tent. Elsewhere in the Old Testament incense was often burnt in connection with the burnt offerings of animals.
The sweet smell of incense and its rising smoke gave it a kind of natural symbolism. It became the image of something pleasing to God. The rising smoke came to symbolize a person's or people's prayers rising up to God. So in Psalm 141 we have the plea, "Let my prayer come like incense before you."
Early Christians also found symbolic meaning in the use of incense. In the Book of Revelation, for instance, John has a vision of heaven and a kind of heavenly liturgy where the 24 elders worship the lamb that was slain. The elders hold harps and gold bowls filled with incense, "which are the prayers of the holy ones" (5:. In Revelation 8:3-4 an angel holding a gold censer is given a great quantity of incense to offer and the smoke of the incense goes up before God with prayers.
So, among Christians today, incense has ritual and symbolic meaning. Its sweet aroma symbolizes something pleasing and acceptable being offered to God.
Burning incense is also a sign of reverence and dedication. Incensing the body at a funeral Mass is a sign of reverence for the body that was once the temple of God. In a more solemn liturgy, incensing the Book of Gospels indicates reverence for the word of God and Christ himself who is the Word Incarnate. Incensing the altar shows respect for Christ whom the altar represents and his sacrifice made present upon the altar. Incensing the Easter candle is, again, a sign of reverence for Christ who is the light of the world. Incensing the Blessed Sacrament at Benediction is a sign of adoration and worship given to Christ, truly present upon the altar. It becomes a sign of our prayers rising to heaven.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jan1997/Wiseman.asp -
May I ask why don't protestants have this practice?Originally posted by SingaporeMacross:What does that have to do with declining membership? And how do you know for sure that membership is declining?
The use of incense goes far back in time. The reference books tell us that incense was in common use in Near East countries, burnt for its perfume. Are they suggesting incense was an ancient kind of air freshener? From a secular use it passed into religious service. Pagans employed it in worship of their gods. According to one source, at a fete in honor of Baal the Babylonians burned 1,000 talents of frankincense. Incense also played a part in honor given to kings and the Roman emperor.
And among the gifts of the Magi was frankincense--a gift worthy of a king. Illustrations of altars of incense can be found in the St. Joseph edition of the New American Bible.
Already in the Book of Exodus there is reference to incense. In Chapter 30, Moses is told to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense and Aaron is to burn incense morning and evening. Also, in Exodus 30:34-38 Moses is given a formula for incense to be used solely in the worship of Yahweh. It is to be made of equal parts of storax, onycha, galbanum and frankincense, blended and ground into fine dust. The incense is to be placed before the Commandments in the meeting tent. Elsewhere in the Old Testament incense was often burnt in connection with the burnt offerings of animals.
The sweet smell of incense and its rising smoke gave it a kind of natural symbolism. It became the image of something pleasing to God. The rising smoke came to symbolize a person's or people's prayers rising up to God. So in Psalm 141 we have the plea, "Let my prayer come like incense before you."
Early Christians also found symbolic meaning in the use of incense. In the Book of Revelation, for instance, John has a vision of heaven and a kind of heavenly liturgy where the 24 elders worship the lamb that was slain. The elders hold harps and gold bowls filled with incense, "which are the prayers of the holy ones" (5:. In Revelation 8:3-4 an angel holding a gold censer is given a great quantity of incense to offer and the smoke of the incense goes up before God with prayers.
So, among Christians today, incense has ritual and symbolic meaning. Its sweet aroma symbolizes something pleasing and acceptable being offered to God.
Burning incense is also a sign of reverence and dedication. Incensing the body at a funeral Mass is a sign of reverence for the body that was once the temple of God. In a more solemn liturgy, incensing the Book of Gospels indicates reverence for the word of God and Christ himself who is the Word Incarnate. Incensing the altar shows respect for Christ whom the altar represents and his sacrifice made present upon the altar. Incensing the Easter candle is, again, a sign of reverence for Christ who is the light of the world. Incensing the Blessed Sacrament at Benediction is a sign of adoration and worship given to Christ, truly present upon the altar. It becomes a sign of our prayers rising to heaven.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jan1997/Wiseman.asp -
for us protestants...Prayers of christians r incense to the Lord and there is no need for any literal incense.
Incense got to do with Old Testament worship and we recognise the new covenant that comes with Christ. Therefore there is no need for the usage of incense.
let's not be legalistic...even if using incense....nothing wrong also -
i don't care what other pple's reason are. i only care abt why i am there and i go becos i want to learn more abt God and it is my weekly sanity.
the_don (using TX's account) -
Singapore is not PRC, no matter how you people are ambivalently begining to side with the Chinese after their economic progress.
-
What is your point?Originally posted by men_@_arms:Singapore is not PRC, no matter how you people are ambivalently begining to side with the Chinese after their economic progress. -
ya......wats the point?
-
The point is, somebody wants to oppose for the sake of opposing.
I can't totally disagree with him though, but I have my own take on this issue, seeing such things from the opposite side as he does. -
By the way, are SingaporeTyrannosaur and SingaporeMacross brothers? Not brothers in Christ but just related in some physical ways? Siblings?
-
I've always been tempted to fart in a church. wicked echo effects! But don't think God will be impressed. He will probably send a bolt of lightning on my ass if I farted in his house
I used to go to church to pray but now that I am losing my faith, I go to church as a "habit" or to stare at girls with my mouth open.
I love standing right at the back near the door so that I am the first one to zoom out when Mass is ended.
-
Lol, no relation.Originally posted by Icemoon:By the way, are SingaporeTyrannosaur and SingaporeMacross brothers? Not brothers in Christ but just related in some physical ways? Siblings? -
Yo, here's some advice pal. Go home and pray. Pray in the morning, pray in the night, pray always.Originally posted by EvilDead:I've always been tempted to fart in a church. wicked echo effects! But don't think God will be impressed. He will probably send a bolt of lightning on my ass if I farted in his house
I used to go to church to pray but now that I am losing my faith, I go to church as a "habit" or to stare at girls with my mouth open.
I love standing right at the back near the door so that I am the first one to zoom out when Mass is ended.
You need to try, no matter how hard it is. -
Skully his sweat flowed out and dripped down like blood how?Originally posted by SingaporeMacross:Yo, here's some advice pal. Go home and pray. Pray in the morning, pray in the night, pray always.