Organized Religion - Not for Me
I was born and raised as a Catholic. And to some extent, I still consider myself as a Catholic. I'm just a non-practicing Catholic. Meaning, I don't go to church every Week. I go on holidays like Easter and Christmas. I only go on those days because those are the sermons I truly want to hear.
I believe organized religion is not about God. It's a business. It's about money. Every week, I receive a packet of envelopes for donations from the Catholic Church. They collect for a wide variety of things, like the Church upkeep fund, the Catholic School tuition fund, the Catholic School upkeep fund, etc. None of these things have anything to do with God. Every three months, we receive a statement listing our donations for that quarter. Ours always has $0.00. We never use the envelopes. It is no one else's business how much we give to the church. And it is certainly less than the percentage the church "suggests" we donate.
I cannot understand why a religion would ask for a percentage of its member's income. It is like they're saying if one doesn't give a certain percentage of their income, they will not get into Heaven. That is ludicrous. God doesn't care how much money one gives to the church. And why should a member of the congregation, such as myself, give money to a tuition fund when my own children go to the public school? If I were going to give money to any school, it would be to the school my kids attend. Why should I donate to send someone else's child to the Catholic School when the only difference between the two is that one has religion classes?
Several years ago, I had enrolled my sons in the CCD classes to learn about the Catholic Religion. The first year went rather smoothly. At the beginning of the second year, however, a problem arose. The priest asked me to volunteer to teach one of the classes. At the time, I was going back to college and had a class on the same night. I explained this to the priest. His reaction was to tell me to decide which was more important: my education or helping with this class. When I told him this was a required class for my degree and was only offered on that night, he told me I needed to get my priorities straight. I was shocked and offended. I pulled my sons out of the CCD classes. I decided to let them make their own choices about religion and faith. I could not push something onto them when I did not believe in it myself.
I don't need to go to church in order for God to hear my prayers. He'll hear them no matter when or where I say them. Whether I'm saying them before I go to bed at night or if I'm in the car, driving down the road, He'll hear my prayers. And He does answer my prayers. I ask Him for help and guidance everyday. He gets me through each day. I don't need a church for that.
For me, church is nothing more than a social gathering. It isn't about God. It's about being seen and having one's neighbors think they're good Christians. It's about doing what's expected. But isn't Christianity something that comes from within? Is going to church really that important in the grand scheme of things?
Some will say that a church is God's house. I disagree. A church is just a building. God lives in each one of us. If we choose to accept Him, His house is within our soul. How we honor Him in our daily lives is what will get us into His kingdom when we die.
Religion is different for everyone. None is better than the other. All religions teach basically the same thing. Or they used to. These days it's become less about God and more about money. And that's why I don't buy into it anymore.
Published by Judy Kramer
A mother of 2, grandmother of 2. Writer. View profile
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25 Comments
Post a CommentMy aunt in law donated thousands and thousands of dollars to her catholic church, because they "told" her too. She was their biggest donor. She got dementia and was put into a nursing home. No one from the church has ever asked about her, where is she, is she okay, NOTHING! This is my experience with the catholic church as well. GARBAGE
I agree with you. I also appreciate seeing that others also have the same thoughts on religion as I do.
when i hear the father the son and holy spirit,I feel sad.when u were born,something iside you told u God is one.not three.
who said jesus died?
compare quran bible and the other religions.
I wanted to become a pastor when i was young,i got savedbut felt deep within me,i was 8 years old.
i was not satisfied and stopped pretending.
i got this answer when we talked with a friend from afternoon all the way till 5 in the morning.even jesus was called a teachernot pastor or father-they force religion down our throats.and peope enjoy,they pretend.in fact i came to this site while i had edited my profile.
it asked,religion?i repl no religion only God.thats when i clicked this site through facebook.bye for now.
Judy-I completely agree with you. I appreciate you puting my feelings into words. It's nice to know that someone else feels as I do.
The Apostle Paul established the early New Testament Gentile (not Jews) Churches and he described the Church as a Body where Christ is the Head. The body has many parts physically and spiritually.
The head needs the neck, the neck needs the shoulders, the shoulders connect the arms, etc and so forth. A neck by itself can do nothing but as a whole body the people of God are a positive and powerful force to reckon with against the trials, and ills of this world but I am speaking of the real church not the counterfeit!
We need one another for strength. If you are not regenerated and born again then this will make no sense. As the saying goes: Like minded people have things in common and birds of a feather flock. The presence of God's precious spirit is missing in many Churches today and it is nothing more than a country club or a business. Read your bible starting in the Gospel of John and seek the face of Jesus as to a Church home or body of believers to fellow-ship and worship among
The Catholic Church is made up of rituals and man-made traditions that keep people from a real personal relationship with God. They are working to pull God down when Jesus died to bring us up to him. A relationship based on having to work for love or pay God for the love Jesus freely gave is not a relationship at all but a deception based on self-efforts and not what Jesus paid in full for free. Many Churches have are into paying and performing to get God to approve of us when he already did by sending Jesus to pay for us to have the right to be God's children. Just a simple prayer in faith and receiving Jesus will do.
The Church is not buildings anymore but a body of people who have received Jesus Christ in their hearts and repented of their sins. We assemble together for nourishment from one another and to study the words of our Lord as proclaimed in the Bible. The Authorized Version not the one cults use because they have changed it to deny the Divinity of Christ as God.
Today I met with a large church to discuss a rather expensive purchase from my company. While waiting for my meeting a young couple came in and asked if the church would buy them some gas to get home on. The man said no because they were afraid of being scammed. They did not ask for cash only to go to the station on the corner and get $10.00 of gas. I did not have any money on me or access to any and all I could do was mutter a good luck to them. I then went into a meeting and they wanted a bigger project and wants my help to raise the money from their members. I left and came home and sent them an email telling them from what I observed from their refusal to help the couple that I did not want anything to do with their "church" and to find someone else for the project. I had invested several hundred dollars in the design and they wanted more..Does not sound like a church to me..
Mary, in answer to your question. It is exactly what I said. It's how I feel. I don't believe in organized religion. I don't buy into it.
I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I just don't believe in churches. I don't need a church to pray. God hears my prayers no matter where I am. I've always believed that. I really don't think God cares where you are when you pray. He's in my heart and my soul belongs to Him. I don't need to go to church or believe in a religion to prove that.
YES, and what do you call not believing in organized religion? I thought it meant Agnostic, not so, someone said it was Deism, nope...