The Opinion of Carla McCoy

I dont go to church myself but I did as a child and then again to various churches several times. Ive been to the Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, and Nazareth church and Im sure there are others Ive forgotten about. The reason I dont go to church myself is because I honestly do not think a person has to go to church to be with god, or to pray, or to receive miracles or answers. It clearly states in Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Another one is Ye Are the Church from 1 Corinthians 12:27. Sure its cute to say Family, who prays together, stays together But do you know how many families stayed together without going to church anyway? There are a lot out there. I find it fascinating when I see or hear people say such statements. Not because it may not be true but because thats all they have to say which I find very odd unless there is a specific point they are trying to make by using that statement and even then the point should be made clear with other statements in place as well. Thats just my opinion though in which you may or may not agree with. One thing that really gets people in church is when you hear others say If you dont go to church you will go to hell. (_) Oh! So you mean thats why I am going to hell then? Hmm, what an interesting concept. A statement bold enough, that Im sure will just rush people right in the front door of your local church. NOT! Cmon do you honestly think thats going to get people there? Psh! Whats worse is when you tell them your reason (whatever it may be) and they still continue to invite you or even begin to harass you to the point of giving you ill feelings about even going, Ever! Nobody has ever personally done that to me but you know I kind of feel for those who may have been considering going and then decided not to because they felt pressured. Everyone has their own definition of anything and everything and I can tell you the definition of what a Christian truly is in my opinion doesnt even come close to what anyone elses probably is. Anyway Im going to list a few reasons that I found on the Internet as to why people dont go to church and it doesnt matter if they used to go or have never gone. The point of this article is to get people thinking about it for themselves. No pressure here, I swear! I just like for people to think for themselves and make decisions on their own rather than having to be pressured into something. This is what is also known as Peer pressure no matter if you are a child or an adult. Some of you may call these reasons Excuses and some of you may not even believe in God. Either way I hope you enjoy the list Ive compiled together.

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The Opinion of Carla McCoy

Perhaps theyve discovered they are the church Boring or unfulfilling church services Beliefs of the church Churchs moral views No need to Prefer to do other things My beliefs are too weak The way churches are organized Other commitments Bad experience among church people Not enough time because of work Loss of confidence in churches Churches need a better youth program We have to have a different style of worship service If only more churches had nurseries for young children Christianity has become completely identified by the general public with unacceptable moral and social agenda. Evangelicalism is now the public face of religion Episcopalians are invisible and inaudible Bad money drives out the good Religion is perceived as a system of obligations for belief and action rather than a source of enjoyment through ceremony, stories, and art People regard churches are preaching stations rather than holy places where they can get aesthetic pleasure and a vision of another world mysticism and metaphysical thrills There is no reason why educated people should pay attention to the meanderings of clergy or look to them for guidance Some churches are riddled with clericalism and people are not taken seriously Church is a voluntary organization that doesnt give us what we want, and patronizes and insults us into the bargain Anymore its childish and nave Church is low on the priority list Because they want me to believe in issues that surround human sexuality that exclude our brothers and sisters in Christ who may even be full members. They arent stepping back into those spaces that exclude people They dont offer anything worthy of our time The churches have become a vehicle for liberal agendas Cant find an interesting preacher that doesnt repeat the same thing Ive heard before Im too lazy Its a mockery of the mass They have stopped discipling and are now, often, just places to collect tithes and condemn behaviors Page 2

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The Opinion of Carla McCoy

The pedophilia associated with it in the news God was removed from public schools eliminating encouragement from children to go to church Stores and the invention of shopping malls are now open on Sundays They insinuate that those who suffer from mental illness are Satanic It has been over-run with money grubbers, Marxists, and homosexual agenda supporters Tired of the church trying to raise money for the outreach programs for the poor and for the missions in places that turn out to be Marxist crapholes Unwilling from the pulpit to condemn Islam and attack its tenets directly Same old, same old. Opening prayer, Worship, offertory, announcements, sermon, communion, closing prayer, closing songs then go back to daily life Cell group. Debate sessions or open discussions seems like everyone knows all the answers and know who we are when in reality they dont Church people judge me which makes me feel like an outcast because Im a smoker Dont want to be lectured Theyre a bunch of hypocrites I dont want religion, I want God Its just a bunch of bible rules of dos and dont Its useless to serve God after seeing non church goers do so well without God People dont want to be told how to live Theyre not religious They dont believe in God They might believe that God is everywhere and not only in churches God would be kind of an idiot for only loving you as long as you go to church They watch it on TV or the Internet Its just a means to control a mass population They dont want to or arent ready to leave their life of sin (Drinking, smoking, sex) We went once looking for food and was turned away Because divorcing an abusive spouse isnt supported or discussed Dont know I have no time We dont sacrifice our personal needs for others, and churches often require participation

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The Opinion of Carla McCoy

If you can relate to this article in any way and understand your own reasons for not going to church then certainly you should understand the reasons that others do. I dont personally think church is a bad thing I just dont think its proper when others say you have to go when you know darn good and well that you dont. I also dont think enough churches offer home bible study anymore and this is something that should be on the list of what to dos. Do you have to be the preacher to hold one of these? No. You can do it yourself and invite your friends over. You never know what you might discuss in situations like these. We all have a choice in the things we do, and the things we say. I can remember when I was a child and going to church that my church bus would come to my house and pick me up. My parents didnt go to church, but they made me go. The highlight of every Sunday for me wasnt God though it was the bag of candy and small rubber fruit erasers Id get in my brown bag as I was getting off the bus. I think I went more back then for that than anything. What? Im just being honest! I loved those colorful little fruit erasers and loved eating that sack full of candy. Do they even hand candy out on the busses anymore? I doubt it.

-Carla McCoy

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