ArtificialGrape
04-08-2012, 22:39
Today, at the request of some family members who are aware that I'm an atheist, I attended Easter services with them -- I'm somewhat of a Christmas and Easter atheist :cool:
The service was late morning and the 3rd service of the day at a non-denominational church. If I were to guess, and I am, it seats 500-600 people, and was only slightly over 1/2 full for this service.
The service started with a few loud, modern hymns -- 2 guitars, bass guitar, drummer, 2nd percussionist and vocalist, then a few words from the pastor and greeting one another. Then the pastor shared the story of a truck that he was once restoring, but got busy after his first child was born, so he gave up on it and got rid of the truck to a friend. A few years later he visited the truck and saw what a great job he had done on restoring it. The message was that God never gives up on trying to restore us.
Next was communion. The pastor welcomed anybody who believes in Jesus to partake of communion -- no exclusions for non-members, or those currently in sin as seen in some recent threads here. I elected not to partake even though I was a bit hungry. The wafers were tiny and it just would have seemed in poor form to munch on a whole handful of the Body of Christ <--- easy there... just a joke.
The sermon was based on Matthew 22:34-46
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Perhaps that "Love thy neighbor" piece has since been lifted, since we often see that one ignored here.
Anyway, the presentation and service was engaging enough, the most disturbing part of the entire service was the announcements. The pastor announced that in a few weeks a speaker from Answers in Genesis was going to be presenting a 2 day seminar with the following topics:
Creation vs. Evolution: Why It Matters
Dinosaurs: Have You Been Brainwashed?
Noah's Flood: Washing Away Millions of Years
Origin of Species: Was Darwin Right?
Ape-men: The Grand Illusion
So the question of why do I participate on a Religious Issues forum is right in my face -- the ridiculous AiG group is out in full force undermining science with their ridiculous agenda. I have a morbid sick interest in it, but I don't really think that I could sit through that.
-ArtificialGrape
The service was late morning and the 3rd service of the day at a non-denominational church. If I were to guess, and I am, it seats 500-600 people, and was only slightly over 1/2 full for this service.
The service started with a few loud, modern hymns -- 2 guitars, bass guitar, drummer, 2nd percussionist and vocalist, then a few words from the pastor and greeting one another. Then the pastor shared the story of a truck that he was once restoring, but got busy after his first child was born, so he gave up on it and got rid of the truck to a friend. A few years later he visited the truck and saw what a great job he had done on restoring it. The message was that God never gives up on trying to restore us.
Next was communion. The pastor welcomed anybody who believes in Jesus to partake of communion -- no exclusions for non-members, or those currently in sin as seen in some recent threads here. I elected not to partake even though I was a bit hungry. The wafers were tiny and it just would have seemed in poor form to munch on a whole handful of the Body of Christ <--- easy there... just a joke.
The sermon was based on Matthew 22:34-46
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Perhaps that "Love thy neighbor" piece has since been lifted, since we often see that one ignored here.
Anyway, the presentation and service was engaging enough, the most disturbing part of the entire service was the announcements. The pastor announced that in a few weeks a speaker from Answers in Genesis was going to be presenting a 2 day seminar with the following topics:
Creation vs. Evolution: Why It Matters
Dinosaurs: Have You Been Brainwashed?
Noah's Flood: Washing Away Millions of Years
Origin of Species: Was Darwin Right?
Ape-men: The Grand Illusion
So the question of why do I participate on a Religious Issues forum is right in my face -- the ridiculous AiG group is out in full force undermining science with their ridiculous agenda. I have a morbid sick interest in it, but I don't really think that I could sit through that.
-ArtificialGrape