The church preaches forgiveness yet there is so much divisiveness inside the church...even backstabbing among members.I feel I will have a better relationship with Jesus outside the church
121608
No u dont hav to go to church to go to heaven 1st of all do u know where is heaven? as i know heaven n hell both r on the earth itself no one knows whether there is hell or heaven after death its just our imagination just lead a happy life when u r alive no need to worry abt that going to heaven or hell do gud things, help ppl, understand them, be happy enjoy ur life if u really believe that there is heaven n hell just be simple help others u will go to heaven. hav self confidence in urself do gud things remember one thing if u do gud things u will hav a heaven life on earth if u do bad things u will hav hell life on earth i mean to say u will lead a happy life or sad life
651109
Becuase Jesus promised that those who would follow him would be treated just as hurrendously as he was. Christians should not be suprised if everyone is against us. It is the nature of rebellious humankind to rage against their Creator God and against his Anointed (Jesus) and his anointed ones (The Body of Christ, the Church)
312113
Why don't you read the bible or go to a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship --official group that is non-denominational and just studies the Bible. Anyone is welcome.)\n\nWith no one yelling at you about what you should or should not do, you might find the voice of God, who has a very QUIET voice inside us, telling you where He is and how you should worship him.\n\nAsk yourself; if my church condones and hides the abuse of little boys and girls, is it the church that I can find peace in... or maybe is this church not the religion I seek?\n\nThere are other types of churches that may feed your spirit and soul. But you need to be quiet inside and find out.
84916
People will do and say anything to provoke others and it is best to express forgiveness and I hope you can forgive that person but as for me I do have a difficult time forgiving others for their trespasses against me especially when there are things in my past that has left me emotionally scarred to where I express distrust and resentment towards others mixed with a short temper and I do admit that this does hinder my personal relationship with the lord and I would ask that you would remember me in your prayers since it is likely that I'm about to get kicked off of this forum of which I don't care if I do get the boot.\nThey can kick the lord out of this forum but they can't kick the lord out of me.
18970
All of us feel like hypocrites sometimes. Forgiveness can happen because of who God is and the decisions He makes. Not because of who we are. The discomfort you feel can be very helpful because it can help you to make new decisions and try a new direction. Some sins are so much a part of our nature that we need a lot of time and a lot of forgiveness before we begin to master the part of our will that keeps making us mess up. Don't give up, and don't dwell too much on guilt. Spend your time being grateful for the forgiveness and for the opportunity to try again. God loves us as we are where we are right now. He will never love you more than He loves you right now and He will never love you less. You have started down a good path. Give yourself a chance and some time to grow.
312714
There are various reasons why one leaves a church; not all of them have to do with doctrinal disagreements. Sometimes it is just because they move to another area where there isn't a local church of their particular denomination.
286740
First time I've seen "hypocrisy" spelled correctly in weeks -- congratulations.\n\nFor insight into hypocrisy -- not just the christian variety -- check out Jesus' opinions of the Pharisees.  He nails it.
637771
I'm sorry that you had so much trouble and pain in your life.  I am Catholic also.  I was away from the church for a long time because I just kinda wanted to do my own thing.  It was about 4-5 years ago that I started feeling something missing in my life.  I couldn't figure it out.  Initially I started looking for a sense of meaning in my life.  Tried a couple churches, even a Methodist church.  Nothing felt quite right until I found the church I attend now.  It's a Catholic church.  It is truly amazing when I look back now on things that happened in my life and to people I love.  I looked at things very much like you.  My son went to jail, I was in financial hell, didn't have the greatest relationship with my wife which caused us to separate for a year.  Looks pretty gloomy huh?  Where was God during all this?  Well, my son was running with some pretty bad people.  He was put in jail where he had time to reflect on where his life was going and he now attends mass with me and my wife who are now together with a relationship stronger than ever because we needed time apart to see how much we needed each other.  As for the finances, we still live week to week, but when I look back, there is always enough there.  There is always a sum of money that comes from somewhere right before we really need it.  Sometimes God doesn't give us what we want.  Sometimes that's a good thing because we rarely know what we want and our mind is always changing.  Mostly God gives us what we need.  Because he knows us.  I doubt what I said will change your mind about God right now.  But please keep in mind what I said.  Please give Him time to work in your life.  I don't know what you have been through, but maybe some of the things were for the better.  For your better.  Maybe they weren't what you wanted.  Maybe they were what you needed.  God is always there waiting for you to turn around and talk to him.  Start small and tell Him how you feel.  Even if it's anger.  Tell Him that you hurt and need healing.  I know it's cliche' but even if you don't believe in him, he believes in you and he loves you very much even if you don't feel it.  Faith isn't a feeling.  Faith is what keeps us praying when we have no feeling to grasp.  If everyone had that feeling of God's love and presence, there would be no need for faith.  Hang in there my friend.  God Bless you.
194983
Yes. I cried (especially during the flogging), this is how people treated Jesus... and they STILL treat Jesus as such.
577806
I know how it feels to be betrayed. But still if GOD can forgive us for our sin we can to forgive others for theur mistakes.GOD gave you a heart use it.
20156
Church should be a place where people FORGIVE one another and ARE FORGIVEN by each other. Sounds like that's not happening where you're at right now ... spend some time asking yourself where the dysfunction is, and how to heal it.\n\nRemember that there's a difference between HEALING and AVOIDING.
390460
Take it up as an issue with your church's organisation, instead of bleating about it on Yahoo! Answers. It is unreasonable of you to expect Yahoo! users to help you, because you haven't even bothered to indicate the denomination of your church.
434277
I take no joy in anyone's disgrace. However, the irony of the situation isn't lost on me. It makes me wish that the Fundamentalists and other groups would lighten up on the gay issue so that people could just come out of the closet instead of living lives based on secrecy and falsehood. It's a recipe for hypocrisy. My own church is open to gay clergy, and we haven't seen anything like this coming from them; we already know they're gay, so there's nothing to hide. It's a sad commentary on one individual--in this case, the minister in question--but a worse indictment of his own church and its homophobic agenda.
626218
Christians will find a way to justify anything they want to do.  A religion founded on 'forgiveness of sin' promotes amoral behavior.
223340
The Church of Jesus Christ will never be willing to do this as long as we are content to sit around polishing our armor or fighting one another.  \n\nWe will also not get along as long as we continue to use denominational titles, and wear them like badges of honor.\n\nD7
455843
There are gay churches, because gay people are not willing to accept the Truth. They need to repent and stop sinning, just like everyone else.
537709
Wow!  Thank you very much for that.  I concurr.  \n\nPeople react with fear and/or hatred to things or people that are different than them in some way, and to those who  "overstep" the invisible boundaries they feel obligated to stay within.  I have no problem with someone's convictions.  Whatever you believe is fine - but it does not give you warrant to hate or mistreate others.  This is directly contradictory to the message of Jesus.  I believe he would slap the faces of many so-called christians today if he were not such a loving person.  He called us to love.  He called us to bring togeather - not tear apart.  Remember the parable of the sower and the tares?  Don't rip up what you believe to be tares or you will also rip up the harvest.  Wait and let the Lord do it at the judgement.  Just friggen learn to coexist and play nice....ok?