Why do most religions feel like black iron prisons?

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   andrew savageposted 11 years ago

   I believe in the word of god, but I have not found a place of worship that meets my spiritual needs.

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      A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Have you tried a bowling alley? I always get my "spiritual" requirements met with a smile and a bourbon.

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   Emile Rposted 11 years ago

   Although the message contained in the Bible can speak to the individual, church is (at its best) a group response.  A group consensus on which parts of the book are speaking the loudest. They are prisons, of sorts. You can't commune with the spirit if the words from the pulpit are at odds.
   
   At their worst, churches are social clubs. Not designed for anything other than to create a comfortable environment in which to check off a block required by the community. So, again, a prison; inasmuch as the organization is formed for reasons at odds with much of the words you say you believe in.
   
   Don't distress yourself at not being able to find a place to share your joy in belief. Your discomfort is not unique. I would think it is why church attendance is at record lows. People want to belong, but they are coming to a better understanding of what they want to belong to and the powers of the church are not that.

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      whomtheSonsetFreeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Church is in no way like a prison. I know the difference for I have been to one and am, thank God, going to the other in which the Pastor sticks purposely to  God's Word the Holy Bible. Line on line and precept upon precept.
      
      I truly feel sorry for anyone who is going to a building which calls itself a church and who ends up feeling like it's a "prison". God is not a Warden, He is the Redeemer who sent His Son Jesus to set all of us who will choose to be, FREE.

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         Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It's great that you feel comfortable and believe your pastor to be right on track. But, there are, in excess of, 30,000 denominations in Christianity. Of the few people I know actively participating in church, if I shuffled them around and they found themselves in different churches on Sunday they would be appalled. Their beliefs are that different. I'm sure they all believe their chosen place to be word for word. 
         
         It'sdifficult for those firmly entrenched to understand this, but religion allows you to hear what you want to hear. You interpret to suit your needs and the life you live. You choose the denomination that lines up with your needs and then assume the interpretation validates that choice. To have someone who doesn't have your needs attend your church, they would be miserable and probably feel imprisoned.

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            whomtheSonsetFreeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I align up with what the Word of God says. Not any man or woman.

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               Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I'm not attempting to be argumentative. As I said, it is difficult for the firmly entrenched to understand but much of what you believe is simply what you want to hear. That's the way it is. For anything you believe, you can find another believer who will declare you wrong...and they will justify that by using words from the same book, or words from another book claimed to be the word of God.

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                  whomtheSonsetFreeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Nor am I. But also I am in no wise ignorant so as to follow something blindly, as it were. I believe the Truth and that Thur is the Gospel. Take care.

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                  andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  What ever happened to calling him The Lord of Hosts?

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                     Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     I'm not certain I understand the question. I guess you can call God whatever you want to.

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                        andrew savageposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        My point is that nowhere did the lord of hosts ever call himself "God," which implies that it is not his name. He may have said "I am the lord, your god," but he never reveals his name to anyone through the bible. The same is true of the son of the lord of hosts, jesus christ, the phrase jesus christ is a pseudonym.

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                           Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           I think it is commonly accepted that Jesus' name was Yashua. I tend to accept the name Y-H for the God of the Bible. I think the use of the word God is not only out of respect (not wanting to use his name) but also is meant to imply there is only one. Anyway, Lord of Hosts strikes me odd. Who are the Hosts? What are the Hosts? I guess whatever title inspires awe is different from individual to individual.

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                  Jeramiposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  And sometimes use the same verse from the same book and yet come to oposit conclusions.
                  
                  There is always avaliable an excuse for doing anything we want to do and to not do the things we don't.
                  It seems the air is full of excuses.  right at our fingertips for picking.
                  
                  Edit    just came up with an excuse to go to the corner for a game of pool.  be back later.

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                     Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Yes. And claiming God authorized the excuse is very convenient.

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         A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Seems more like one of those self-admitting institutions, you can leave at any time, but you're afraid to to deal with reality again when you walk out the door.

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   Jeramiposted 11 years ago

   We are all prisoners of our own minds (beliefs)
   Kinda like ..  when we build a defensive walls around ourselves to protect the ego.  If we only knew (?)  ... that which keeps others out,  keeps us from getting out.

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   andrew savageposted 11 years ago

   The only solid evidence that supports the claim that his name was "Yashua" is a tomb of a married couple in Kashmir India. You are only contributong as proof to my statement that most people who do and do not follow the teaches of the Jesus Christus are misinformed. Jesus Christ is a title, not a name. If lord of hosts strikes you as unfamiliar you may want to read from a bible that was not rehashed by an evangelist.

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      Emile Rposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't say it was unfamiliar. I said it was odd. An ancient title. I don't count in cubits either. When I do reference a Bible, I usually reach for a modern translation compiled by a team of scholars that are not affiliated by sect. I consider such a text to bethe best attempt at translation using the most current knowledge, without fear of any dogma from any sect being interjected.
      
      Use whatever title suits your particular taste. As you said, no name is given. I simply find the title Lord of hosts odd.

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