Right brain

[AndyDT]

Somebody summed up in a few words what I think is wrong in church. It's "too right brain". Every time I try to get  a feeling for it (the concept of God they teach) and meld it into my own intuition they come back with som old testament horror about God killing pharisees or ultimately the souls of pagans. Then they say "we're just telling you how it is". I think they're telling church doctrine how it is.

If it's "how it is", then how is the Koran any less valid?  That's more recent and warns against abandoning God AIUI. And so much of the bible is apparentlty like other ancient texts - Hermetic, Sumerian, you wonder who the church is trying to convince any more now people can research these things relatively easily.

It's this persistent undercurrent - I'd like to follow the teachings of Jesus, i'd even like to believe that doing so will lead to liberation in this life or after. But that's not enough - week after week. You've got to believe everything else is invalid even though there's no proof it is less valid and a lot of it sounds moral and consistent. So there's threats week after week -

you'll go to hell

no that's wrong and this is right

God detests you

God will abandon you


So the moment you try to get a frequency of love in your mind - which Jesus says is the most important commandment - the church bombards you with a frequency of hostility.

The moment you look within for God and your own responsibility and power, they plaster you with guilt to put responsibility outside of yourself to a concept - doctrine rather than God.

It's quite depressing. I'd like to spend more time with the people there but if I'm not on board with all this I don't see how I can. It feels incongruent.

[lordxizor]

Why couldn't this go in one of your other threads about this topic?

You don't like your church, so don't go anymore. It's that simple.

[bosk1]

Why couldn't this go in one of your other threads about this topic?

You don't like your church, so don't go anymore. It's that simple.

This.  And as far as what to do about it, there have been lots of threads, and I've given up responding.  Perhaps I am not keeping the right attitude, but I am simply no longer interested in providing advice because from reading Andy's thread's/posts on the subject, I just can't get past this:

1.  The church Andy is going to has such a completely messed up and warped set of doctrine that Andy really needs to understand that it is not a good church and needs to stop going there and find a different one.  But Andy has repeatedly rejected this advice from a number of people, so there isn't much more to say on the subject.  OR...

2.  Andy has such a messed up and warped understanding of what is being taught at the church and what the people there are about that he really needs fix himself before getting so down on what he misperceives to be the faults in others.  OR...

3.  Both 1 and 2. 

Either way, I'm really tired of all the theads that amount to "church, person x, [insert whatever the currect target for Andy's personal problems happens to be] sucks--what do I do?  But by the way, whatever solution you offer, I'm going to simply ignore it anyway."  Again, maybe I just don't have the right attitude here.  But it's really getting old.