Why My Generation Stopped Going To Church

[oak]

Recently I attended services in a Church that my family was a part of as well as many of my childhood friends. It used to be jam packed. Also, my religion had "Saturday School" in which we would study the Bible among other things. I remember the Priest during his lecture, telling us that a religion or belief of any nature could be tested by asking if, they admit Christ as a Personal Savior and that he was resurrected on the third day form death; and that he sent the Holy Spirit as a Comforter for His believers left on earth - belief in the Trinity. Also, Christ was the only begotten son and not made of God. I took it all very seriously sometimes listening with my mouth agape.

 

I entered my old Church and saw mostly old ladies - no more then 10 people while in my childhood there were hundreds (of families). What happened? Yes, there were people that had left NY and there are other logistical reasons.  Also other reasons include a handful of the people I knew started believing in prosperity preachers' and feel that this is the message of the Bible.

 

So what is my explanation for this sad state of affairs? When I hit my early 20's while I would attend Church services, there would be uncomfortable feelings that took hold of me. I would experience sweating profusely, awful words would come into my mind and I felt very disconnected. What was going on with me? Could my friends be going thru the same thing and not expressing it?

 

The answer came in my recent goal of letting Christ into my life without any resistance or weird feelings.... This is what I found. For starters I visited a friend of mine in Australia who became a priest. When I was with his teenage son's and I would speak about the Beatles which music they have adopted till the early hours. This included how Lennon decided what version Lennon had picked in terms of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." A Harrison song but Lennon thought the acoustic version was not as good as the electric version with Clapton. My friend sat me down with one of his sons, and told me I was a bit over the top with rock music. I logically told him that every profession under the sun has an evil element within it: for example Wall Street.

 

However I came back to the States and started a research project concerning the music I loved. In short the Beatles and the Stones were surrounded by Satanists (Kenneth Anger) and they took Alstier Crowley - the foremost British Satanist - of ushering an anti-Christ age and a new era, seriously. For instance "it was 20 years ago today" on the Sergeant Pepper album was dedicated to Crowley who's death was 20 years from the albums inception. As far as books to back it up there is Sanchez book, I forgot the title, that points to Satanism in the works of the Stones and the Beatles who were on a very close level as well as Shotton's book on Lennon in which Lennon told him he sold his soul to the Devil. And much more....

 

So what about my stance on my "church theory?" To the point I feel that the world offers famous people and works that we admire while conditioning our soul to be pro-earthly vs. pro-spiritual, earthly wins. Stars like Madonna and Lady Gaga are clearly into evil but their packaging is very clever. Our literature has left the word hero for protagonist. Our movies are blurring the lines between bad vs. good. And our soul is an addictive creation as well as being potentially holy. Take notice of Maltz's book, Cybernetics; it states that our sub conscience records every action we take. So, you can't calmly approach God with many opposite feelings in your soul. The ultimate meaning is we are responsible for what we view and accept. In my opinion, whatever you watch, read, expose yourself to becomes a part of your soul if you're unaware. Putting God first may be easy to say but if you're carried away with books like Harry Potter, or star-struck or even watch a lot of true-crime etc., God can be subtly and easily overtaken. As it is with food, it is with mental and emotional habits; what we "digest" has a way of becoming part of who we are....

 

In the final analysis, you can't go to Church with competing feelings. And some wont test this out or feel that their new found knowledge that is opposed to Christ which makes the Word very difficult. Unfortunately the pervasive answer is: I just don't have the time. My advice search your heart of hearts in terms of what you truly desire. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:21)  

[BFP]

Awesome post Oak. I completely agree!

[nebula]

You make some good points, Oak.

 

When the culture of society understood the word "sin", it was a lot more clear why we need a Savior.

 

But in a society that keeps blurring good and evil, and that even excuses evil when it stares in your face - why need a Savior? Repentance...what is that?

[Willa]

I do agree that lyrics with music can bypass our intellectual filters and can be absorbed emotionaly. It is said that Hitlers used his marches to sway the public toward his nationalistic propaganda. Fortunately, I didn't understand most of the Beatles drug undertones etc because I wan't into that scene and didn't know the jargon. The same can be said of satanic stuff.

However, I was also raised in a liberal church that had about 450 in attendance when I was a kid and now is down to 20 elderly ladies. Part of the problem with many of these churches is that many have no study groups for people over confirmation age. Some have no high school or college age and young adult classes. These ages are extremely social and desire to meet other people of the same age group who share their values. When this is lacking they will try other churches. Eventually they may resort to bars and social networking. However, a church is much more than a social club. It is also the body of Christ.

Secondly, these churches for the most part have forsaken the Bible as the standard of practice, stopped teaching it and stopped adhereing to the orthodox fundamentals of faith. That is why I left the church I had been raised in. It taught nothing and had even taken every mention of the Trinity out of the hymnal. Fortunately I found a church that still adhered to conservative fundamentals. But when a church disintigrates into a money hungry country club, there is no food to feed the soul. There is nothing to guide us in life or help us resolve the hard questions. In most cases you can see that the Holy Spirit has no power there because He is so grieved by it all.

Now our college culture is so brain washed to be "broad minded, inclusive and socially correct" that many seek churches that also represent these perverted ideals. No longer are they teaching to hate the sin but love the sinner. It is all I'm OK, you're OK. Some maintain social decorum, as at the royal wedding but abandon godliness. Others abandon social decorum as well. Social more' can go if we maintain godliness and orthodox beliefs. For instance, My mother in law considered me a loose woman because I telephoned my husband while we were engaged! Her ideas of right and wrong were not based on scripture. She was a good Episcopalian but she did not own a Bible. A Methodist lady who claimed to be a Christian told us her mother had died. We asked her if she had been saved. She replied "we'll see if the good outweighs the bad". It is tragic when churches do not teach the way of salvation clearly. It is even more tragic when they no longer require a person to repent and receive Christ as Savior and Lord, crucified and risen from the dead, to become a member.

[oak]

Butero and Willamena:

 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first commandment." (Matt 22:37) This is the first law of two. My post was an effort to explain that the things one exposes himself to, may cause an emotional contradiction to the first law. I tried to just bring forth contradictions that catch people in a subliminal way, in my opinion. You guys cited different reasons but they boil down to earthly reasons in a fallen world. In my experience I have seen my friends leave church because in all honesty they really are focused on money, fame or entertainment without even knowing this. But this commandment is all inclusive. Yes, you can be dissatisfied by the priest, the congregation, the length of service, being broad minded or holding your family closer than God and many more reasons. I did not attempt nor try to list all the reasons we don't worship God as our number one obligation.

 

You may take this to another level and say I'm satisfied with my relationship with God on my lonesome. To that I cite

:Matthew 18:20

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  Also a writer CS Lewis wrote "The Screw Tape Letters" where a demon takes people away from Church by making them connoisseurs of Churches and many other subtle sins. I am not introducing the "end all statement" on this topic. All I'm simply saying in the final analysis is that you may have spiritual problems with things like going to Church if your not putting God first. Maybe you should look at your reasons head on. Never give up searching for the truth in your heart / soul.

 

Oak

[Fez]

Nope I disagree. My church has a spread from old to very young. It is vibrant and friendly and we are like a family. So no one from my generation, and I am older than you has stopped going to church and I know from relating churches in our greater areas that this is also the case. Our church is also growing and is being blessed by God in amazing ways.

When it comes time for the youth to go do their thing after worship, which is amazing in itself, half the church empties! That has got to be a good thing!

You lot need to come visit us here!

[missmuffet]

Churches are just not what they used to be.

[other one]

i know a lot of people who stopped going to church when they found things the churches taught were not scriptural.  happened to me when i was about 19.

[Guest]

.... belief of any nature could be tested by asking if, they admit Christ as a Personal Savior and that he was resurrected on the third day form death; and that he sent the Holy Spirit as a Comforter for His believers left on earth - belief in the trinity. Also, Christ was the only begotten son and not a made of God. I took it all very seriously sometimes listening with my mouth agape....

 

.... search your heart of hearts in terms of what you truly desire. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:21)  

 

 

Heart Changing

 

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11

 

Treasure

 

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. Psalms 119:114

[JohnD]

In my understanding of what the Holy Spirit has taught me over the years... the anemic Church has about played itself out.

 

1. the Jewish rejection of Christ and the New Covenant

2. the persecution of the Church until the split between it (mostly Gentiles) and the Jewish people was over the course of several generations

3. the legalization of the Church by Roman Emperor Constantine causing unprecedented amicability between Church and State

4. the Constantine (& mom) interference

5. the morphing of the Roman Empire into the Roman Catholic Church / Holy Roman Empire

6. the Protestant Reformation that fizzled out long before true reformation was achieved

7. the modern denominational movement

8. the contemporary non-denominational movement with growing messianic movement

 

None of which dealt with or taught the core problem with the Church which is the identity crisis that allows such great corruption and division.

 

The Lord Jesus in his high priestly prayer (John 17) prayed all through it for the unity of the Church.

 

Look around.

 

The Church could not be more divided.

 

Two reasons.

 

1. The said identity crisis

2. Human traditions outweigh biblical authority

 

So when a congregation based on human traditions which nullify the Word of God (Mark 7:7-13) places babbling like one has left their senses as indicative of salvation (or more in their vernacular... "Gots da HOOOOOLLLLYYYY GHOOOOSSSTTT") then atheists, false religionists, cultists, you name it can poke holes in that doctrine using the very Bible we cling to and bleeds off converts to their belief systems for having done so. 

 

As I said, the message I am getting is that this is about to play itself out. And like all the old bastions of large Churches and church attendance there will be empty buildings that are sold off for office space or yoga or karate class that have stained glass windows...

 

Post Christian buildings and towns and nations dot the planet.

 

Why?

 

The anemic Church in identity crisis using human traditions to reinvent everything over and over again.