4 ms·

The Christian church has gone through an interesting time in 2020. Many churches have lost attendance as pastors closed their doors or tried to stay out of poli

by ccn0p 6y ago

The Christian church has gone through an interesting time in 2020. Many churches have lost attendance as pastors closed their doors or tried to stay out of politics, while other stronger pastors who have kept their doors open despite lockdowns and are speaking up against the US government with respect to threats against religious freedom (eg see H.R. 5) -- those churches are stronger and more vibrant than ever.

fennecfoxen 6y ago
I'm not 100% sure who and what you're referring to (having followed only my own church of late), but it's worth vaguely agreeing with the sentiment that successful religious establishments have some meaning — and moreover, a meaning that's materially different than what the secular world around them has to offer. If they're just an extension of whatever is popular these days, people will simply cut out the middleman.
_1100 6y ago
The absolute bias and lack of any self awareness present in your statements here is fascinating. There really is only the One Way for you, isn’t there? Call me brave, but I would counter that there may, in fact, be at least one other way to interpret ideas like “strong”, “freedom”, and “vibrant”.
- ccn0p 6y ago
  Isn't everything a bias in some way? But point taken. I don't attend multiple churches, I attend one, and it, like others of its ilk, has been under attack, so observations are of course my own. But if you want to mute the language some, let's s/strong//, s/freedom/choice, and s/vibrant/well-attended.
  - RankingMember 6y ago
    Under attack how, exactly? By being asked to close during a pandemic?
    - _1100 6y ago
      Ask: Do this hard thing for the greater good His Church's Response: No This person obviously has no interest in understanding or conversing outside of bad faith arguments and victimhood. Not worth the trouble.
      - ccn0p 6y ago
        I respect your opinion and sadly I think you misunderstood mine, but we definitely disagree on "hard thing" and "greater good" but you're right it's a much much longer conversation to go into those through comments.
RankingMember 6y ago
Do you have any evidence to back up the causal relationships you're inferring?
timbit42 6y ago
This poll is about membership, not attendance.

by ccn0p 6y ago

fennecfoxen 6y ago

I'm not 100% sure who and what you're referring to (having followed only my own church of late), but it's worth vaguely agreeing with the sentiment that successful religious establishments have some meaning — and moreover, a meaning that's materially different than what the secular world around them has to offer. If they're just an extension of whatever is popular these days, people will simply cut out the middleman.

_1100 6y ago

The absolute bias and lack of any self awareness present in your statements here is fascinating. There really is only the One Way for you, isn’t there? Call me brave, but I would counter that there may, in fact, be at least one other way to interpret ideas like “strong”, “freedom”, and “vibrant”.

ccn0p 6y ago
Isn't everything a bias in some way? But point taken. I don't attend multiple churches, I attend one, and it, like others of its ilk, has been under attack, so observations are of course my own. But if you want to mute the language some, let's s/strong//, s/freedom/choice, and s/vibrant/well-attended.
- RankingMember 6y ago
  Under attack how, exactly? By being asked to close during a pandemic?
  - _1100 6y ago
    Ask: Do this hard thing for the greater good His Church's Response: No This person obviously has no interest in understanding or conversing outside of bad faith arguments and victimhood. Not worth the trouble.
    - ccn0p 6y ago
      I respect your opinion and sadly I think you misunderstood mine, but we definitely disagree on "hard thing" and "greater good" but you're right it's a much much longer conversation to go into those through comments.

RankingMember 6y ago

Do you have any evidence to back up the causal relationships you're inferring?

timbit42 6y ago

This poll is about membership, not attendance.