Just To Feel Good

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Singinbeauty

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Ok, so for a while I have been around on these forums and there is a certain accusation going around from catholics to protestants that all we are really after when it comes to our choice in what church to go to is that we are looking at what makes us ‘feel good’. If you don’t agree with this please feel free to elaborate but from what I have seen it seems this is a common thought amongst the catholic followers.

I guess my question would be this…

At first I kind of thought of this as an insult (as I took most of the posters to mean it to be who brought this up) but then it got me thinking… Why shouldn’t the worship of our Heavenly Father be joyous and ‘feel good’? They bring up the whole 'ooooohhhhh someone else wants the whole kumbaya experience :rolleyes: ’ but again, why is this suppose to figure as an insult? Isn’t worship supposed to show our joy in our God? To show our respect, yes, but also to show how Good He is to us? That through our deepest and most painful experiences we can still throw our hands in the air and praise Him for what He has done in our lives? So yes, I do go to church to ‘feel good’ but not for a reason to be an insult to my faith but to say that even though I am plagued in my life with human failing and sickness I have a God who stays with me and that makes me so joyous that I want to lift my eyes and sing at the top of my lungs. God gave each of us a certain gift and to use music (which seems to be a HUGE arguement against the protestant faiths) to worship Him can’t be a bad thing… If you worship with your whole heart, body, mind, and soul you can’t help but feel good because He is there filling your very existance with His love, so… Go ahead, say I do it just to ‘feel good’… I’ll agree with ya! 🙂
 
I’ve never made the accusation myself, but I think it would be a valid one if it is true. If ALL one goes to a church for is to feel good–at the expense of doctrinal truth or denying the possibilty that Christ established a single church–then the feel good reason is a poor one. That is NOT a good reason to choose a church.

Having said that, I don’t think people should make the accusation unless they know it for a fact – for example if a a person tells them “I go to this church because it makes me feel good.” Other than this involves mind and soul reading–something only God can do.

I happen to be a convinced and convicted Catholic who loves his parish --I wouldn’t go anywhere else. But I’ve also attended or belonged to “dead” and “boring” parishes which I’ve stayed with because I know that Christ’s truth is found in it’s fullness in his Catholic Church which he founded. No “fun” church could replace that.
 
I guess we are talking about two different ‘feel good’s’. Mine can’t happen without a deep spiritual connection with Christ. 🙂
 
I haven’t made this accusation before - but I do know that it feels good for me to go to church as well.
I have been to churches where the music is excellent - and where it is not so excellent - but both places still feel good to me.

I feel good because I know Jesus is present. He is present in the Word being proclaimed. He is present in all the believers who have gathered together. Most of all He is truly and fully present in the eucharistic sacrifice.
It feels good to know that Jesus loves us so much that this great miracle is performed at every mass throughout the world, and that He becomes present in my own body and soul. Boy do I need it!
 
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Singinbeauty:
I guess we are talking about two different ‘feel good’s’. Mine can’t happen without a deep spiritual connection with Christ. 🙂
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Thus my second point in the above post. It depends on the person. My premise was that choosing a church just to feel good was a poor reason.
 
This is a very interesting thread. . .

Singin’ has pointed out that some Catholics accuse Protestants of choosing a church primarily on the basis of what “feels good.” I certainly have heard this criticism myself. In personal conversations, I think that perhaps this has been a sentiment of mine as well. However, it is reactionary rather than an offensive strike (at least in my case).

Many friends and family members (Catholic and Protestant) have often commented that they will not attend a certain church because it doesn’t appeal to their sensibilities (music, aesthetics, pace, etc.). These observations are not entirely unwarranted or “wrong.” However, to refuse a church based on mere sensibility does not seem to be a function of a search for Truth, but rather a search for comfort and even to some degree entertainment.

This is not a general accusation, nor should it be consider such. It is my personal opinion based on personal conversations and experience.

Having said that. . .I have observed a similar accusation made by some Protestants towards Catholics. Namely, that many Catholics just “play follow the leader” and endure long, boring, meaningless ritual at the expense of a truely heartfelt worship experience.

Obviously, there is much room for progress in mutual understanding!

Back to the issue at hand. . .Is it wrong to “feel good” in your worship?

Anyone who has found the joy of the Lord knows the answer to that one! But, again, if “feeling good” is the primary motivating factor, then, I think the message of the gospel is lost in our human weakness. We are always meant to find love, peace, hope, and joy in our pursuit of true worship. Jesus Christ, the Lord came into this world that we would have all these things and have them abundantly. However, we know through His beautiful example and prolific Word that these gifts are given to those who obey his Word. To those who take up the Cross and follow in his very footsteps. And those footsteps are sacrificial. They do not always “feel good” and they are not always laced in sensual experience. It is only through dying that we may truly rise with him in new life. . .that’s when it REALLY feels good!

God Bless
 
Thank you so much Jane! 🙂 Very inciteful and I agree 100%! 😃
 
Hey SB!

I don’t believe that my feelings at Mass are relevent one way or another. I am there to participate in a miracle…a spiritual reality, that exists whether I feel anything or not. If the rest of my life stinks for some reason, tat doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is right there in the Eucharist and I receive Him and can spend my time in very intimate worship and prayer. I can excercise that spiritual reality that changes my life a little bit more every time.

Don’t sweat what ya feel like though… remember all that stuff at the end of the “Four Spiritual Laws” tracts about where feelings fit into the walk of faith?

"Do Not Depend on Feelings

The promise of God’s Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).

The train will run with or without a caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, as Christians we do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word."

I’ve never seen it said better than that. I have to laugh becasue i think it’s correct because of 1st Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (Emphasis mine)

It’s not about “feelin’ good”, (though that will come and go over time), to me it’s about knowing that I am obeying God, and that is very cool. That is where I always wanna be.

Pax vobiscum,
 
I think that many people come up with the comment of feelings especially when someone says that Catholics are somehow spiritually dead.

You will see many Catholic Masses much quieter than many Protestant services.

What many people are trying to assert by making the comment on feeling is that a relationship with Jesus is not just feeling. A relationship goes 2 ways and should be based on truth.

Catholics believe in ultimate truth, like 1+1=2, there are truths that must be believed or else it is just a feel good relationship. Not that feeling good is bad but that a relationship with Jesus actually means that He created it first. Not something we created but a participation in a relationship created by God that we respond to. On God’s terms and not ours.
It is like a marriage, there are terms to a marriage, like fidelity. Now that I am married I am married for life and I can’t just go off with any lady I meet. I must respect my wife and submit to her and vice versa.

Sometimes that doesn’t feel so good, as it takes submission and is difficult. Sometimes sin feels good but is it good? With God there must be a truth, love and submission.

An arguement against Protestant faith is not about the music, which it might be seem to be. But against whether it is 100% true or is it man made. People complain about the music because many times a Protestant will say that Catholic Mass doesn’t feel good. I go sometimes to Protestant services because I enjoy spending time with my friends and praising God with them. I will fellowship with them.

But ultimately there has to a firm basis in truth. Either divorce is wrong or not, either the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus or not, either abortion is wrong or not, either the Bible has 66 books or 72.
That is the difference between feelings and truth. There is truth and feelings are subjective.

God Bless
Scylla
 
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scylla:
That is the difference between feelings and truth. There is truth and feelings are subjective. God Bless scylla /QUOTE]

It is really a blessing when one can have both. I have sometimes had the impression from folks that it is somehow wrong for a Catholic to be emotional and find exuberant joy in ones Faith. The good Lord did give us both intellect and emotions. If one takes some of the Psalms at face value it would seem that Joy and exuberance has some part in worship of the Lord.
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Singinbeauty:
Ok, so for a while I have been around on these forums and there is a certain accusation going around from catholics to protestants that all we are really after when it comes to our choice in what church to go to is that we are looking at what makes us ‘feel good’. If you don’t agree with this please feel free to elaborate but from what I have seen it seems this is a common thought amongst the catholic followers.

I guess my question would be this…

At first I kind of thought of this as an insult (as I took most of the posters to mean it to be who brought this up) but then it got me thinking… Why shouldn’t the worship of our Heavenly Father be joyous and ‘feel good’? They bring up the whole 'ooooohhhhh someone else wants the whole kumbaya experience :rolleyes: ’ but again, why is this suppose to figure as an insult? Isn’t worship supposed to show our joy in our God? To show our respect, yes, but also to show how Good He is to us? That through our deepest and most painful experiences we can still throw our hands in the air and praise Him for what He has done in our lives? So yes, I do go to church to ‘feel good’ but not for a reason to be an insult to my faith but to say that even though I am plagued in my life with human failing and sickness I have a God who stays with me and that makes me so joyous that I want to lift my eyes and sing at the top of my lungs. God gave each of us a certain gift and to use music (which seems to be a HUGE arguement against the protestant faiths) to worship Him can’t be a bad thing… If you worship with your whole heart, body, mind, and soul you can’t help but feel good because He is there filling your very existance with His love, so… Go ahead, say I do it just to ‘feel good’… I’ll agree with ya! 🙂
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The one thing I guess I would be careful about is this:
there can be a fine line between pleasure and worship. Music is a powerful thing and I think some Christian music is entertaining more than it is worship. I play on a worship team in an Evangelical Church. Sometimes music is worship and sometimes it is entertainment - I’ll leave it at that. I have to be careful when I play - it can be a prideful thing. In contrast, prayer is never entertaining - it is reverent. The mass is essentially prayer. Im not sure what your service is like, but there is very little opportunity for worship at the evangelical servvice: there’s 30 minutes of music and about 45 of sermon. As good as sermons can be, I don’t consider that worship.
 
It depends on what we’re talking about here…if people choose a particular denomination because the “doctrine” fits their lifestyle and thus “feels good”, I would have to question if that kind of faith has the power to change a person for the better. Maybe an example would better illustrate what I’m trying to say: let’s say that I like the idea of contraception; my spouse and I use artificial contraception; and I really don’t want to know the reasons against it because we’re happy using it. I then avoid any and all orthodox Catholic churches, because I might hear something that makes me feel bad about my decision (at our parish, by the way, our priest talks about this topic quite a lot). I don’t want to feel bad, so I just choose the Protestant church down the street because then I’ll continue to feel good.
Objective truth is important.
 
originally posted by **scylla **
But ultimately there has to a firm basis in truth. Either divorce is wrong or not, either the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus or not, either abortion is wrong or not, either the Bible has 66 books or 72.
That is the difference between feelings and truth. There is truth and feelings are subjective
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Amen!! You posted the thoughts in my head.
 
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