No one requires unquestioning obedience
Posted By: sbMT on 2008-11-06
In Reply to: there are a lot of bibles - christian enough
I have questioned my pastor many many times.
Yes, there are different versions of the bible. There is the King James Version, the New International Version (same as KJV without all the thous and shalts for easier reading) but they all say the same thing. It is just taking it out of the Old English context and putting it in a way that is easier to understand. Just like translating a movie into a different language.
Black churches have just as much right to be angry as white churches. If you are referring to Wright's GD America statement, he could have been polka dotted and that would still be wrong.
Shout out of the "next" antichrist? I don't get what you are saying there.
The main purpose of church is supposed to be for Christians to come together and learn and grow. It is supposed to be a place to find comfort among others and to recharge after being in a world that does not love Christ all week. It is not a requirement at all. But there really is no such thing as the "lone Christian". It is too tough in this world to not have the support of others.
In my opinion the best way to judge a church is by what they preach. If it comes out of the Holy Bible, then it is good. If they add to (or take away) from the Bible, I would question. If they don't allow questions, I would leave. We are encouraged to question anything that we don't understand or don't agree with. Our pastor also voluntarily has the church take an anonymous vote once a year as to whether they would have him stay or go. There is nothing in the Southern Baptist Convention or even in the Bible that requires him to do this, but he wants the congregation to have that choice. So far it has been an unanimous decision to keep him every year for the past five years since he started there.
If you are seriously curious about this, I would suggest you do some more digging. You sound like you have a lot of biased feelings towards the church, and maybe you've been treated wrong by one before. I know when I was 16 I left the Presbyterian church because of the way people acted there and because the pastor had said my stepbrother was condemned to he.ll when he died because he had been under the influence when he was in the car accident that killed him. I for one do not believe that anyone can condemn someone to he.ll except God, and while we may have a good idea of whether or not someone is saved, the only one who knows for sure is Christ. I am now part of a church that has maybe 50 or so people and they are the most kind and loving folks I have ever met. They would literally give you the shirt off their back.
I honestly believe small churches are the best. When a church gets to big, that's when evil has a chance to creep in and start to destroy it, even if the original intention was good.
If you are concerned about your sister, why not maybe check out a few other small churches and find one you are comfortable with? Then you can invite her and maybe she will see the difference. No one should be forced into unquestioning obedience.
Good luck, I'll be praying for you!
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