So what if religion is boring?

[Lost_Wanderer]

We’ve heard this line before and frankly, there’s not just one side at fault for thinking like this. From my observations, both religious and non-religious alike are, frankly, tackling this issue in ways that make me laugh.

One side thinks religion is boring. Guess what? So was basic math (at least for me). So was memorizing the multiplication table. So was reading my physics textbook.

Does that mean math is unnecessary? No. Does that mean physics shouldn’t be studied? No. It’s the same with religion. Religion is not entertainment. It is meant to have a place in society as much as entertainment.

And yet again, this same logic applies to entertainment also. Why do so many religious people try to think spiritual materials are somehow substitute for pleasure reading?

Pleasure reading reflects a greater necessity too. Even God took a break. Jesus partied with others as much as he taught.

Lemme tell those who try and make religion the substitute for entertainment: You are free to do what you want. But the moment you try and enforce your view as some kind of dogma (be it from cherry-picking quotes from the saints, Church fathers, the Bible etc), you will be the reason why our religion is a complete joke.

Don’t be feel so bad. I think the people who measure religion along the same values of entertainment are a complete joke too. It’s why both types make me laugh.

Just because something is boring, does not make it bad.
Just because something is NOT boring, does not make it unnecessary.

For many ages, we have proven that we could never do away with either faith or pleasure. (Them and along with many other things.)

Why then do people persist in substituting one with the other? I mean, sure I like it when a priests tells a joke during Mass. I’d like it better though when the joke’s been used to drive a point. It gives me insight. There is a certain priority towards the insight. The joke is just there to make it easier to grasp.

Turning it around, you now have entertainment. Feel free to use religious elements. Express your faith and morals through art and literature. That’s a wonderful thing! But please, know that I read you just for the fun of it. I don’t like work that deliberately attempts to convert me towards another point of view. Isn’t that taboo in any form of entertainment?

Face it folks. Vianney and Alphonsus are not substitutes for Harry Potter or Inkheart. EWTN and Real Catholic TV are not substitutes for Animax or HBO. I subscribe to all of that for very different reasons.

You can say that religion is all the bliss that you need or that you do not need bliss. But frankly, that’s your right. That’s your taste talking. Kindly respect mine if it just so happens that my preferences (along with others) do not align as well. You’re no more virtuous or heaven-bound than anyone else for that matter.

Don’t think I’m letting the opposing camp scot-free either. Guys Obama is not the messiah and neither is Oprah or Lady Gaga. Stop telling me to watch Glee or read Twilight because frankly, they don’t teach me anything other than how to roll my eyes or pretend they’re burning. Finally, if you tell me, with a serious face, that My Little Pony has taught you everything you needed to learn about life, I would have half a mind to call a shrink on your behalf.

So to summarize. It doesn’t matter if religion is boring and neither is entertainment any less valuable just because it doesn’t teach us anything as insightful. Stop getting them to replace each other.

 

[shelly5254]

I dont understand how one can think religion is boring! I dont think a comparison to math is fair…we experience Christ at every single mass! How is that boring?! We hear the very words of God at every single mass! How is that boring?! We have the chance to stand, sit and kneel in praise of the living Christ with other like minded people at every single mass! How is that boring? We have the chance to consume Christ at every single mass! How is that boring? Outside of mass we can read the word of God through which He speaks to each of us on a personal level! Through our prayers we see all the saints, angels and the Holy Trinity do work in our lives! How can any of this be boring?! Talk a walk throigh nature and notice all God created just for you and tell me thats boring! Along with the excitment i find in religion i do also watch and read many things that are just for my entertainment. God doesnt treat us like his puppy by entertaining us. So no i am not entertained at mass or in bible study. But i do not find any part of it boring

 

[InJesusItrust]

Maybe CAF looks like this because it is a Catholic message board. We really are not here to discuss entertainment, so the type of people who come here may seem counter-cultural.

See, my hobby is writing fiction, but on a Catholic message board I probably won’t go on and discuss the intricacies of the craft, although it interests me. I’ll probably posting Jesus this or Catholic that. It doesn’t mean that it is the only thing in my life. Most people come here to discuss the faith, so discussions may not be the norm of general society.

 

[St_Francis]

Several saints over the centuries have pointed out that spiritual works have mostly been written by those in the religious life… but we lay people are not in the religious life and need religious writings which reflect our state of life.

And this is very true. The problem arises when people like me (!) get a hold of these things and think, oh, gee, I should be praying 15 decades of the Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours, soing spiritual reading, going to the church for Adoration several times a week…

…while caring for two toddlers!

The focus needs to be on our state of life. Am I a nun? No! Then why do I try to make my life that of a nun’s? It is unbalanced and takes away from the duties of my state of life.

Others in the lay state have different types of lay lives. A writer, a father, a single engineer, an actress, a doctor, a small business owner–their spiritual task is to spiritualize what they are doing; to do what they are doing in a holy way. But they are not going to be able to be a good _____ if everything they read is written by a Doctor of the Church.

And we must “loosen the string.” I read a little illustrative anecdote:

According to tradition, when the apostle John was overseer in Ephesus, his hobby was raising pigeons. It is said that on one occasion another elder passed his house as he returned from hunting and saw John playing with one of his birds. The man gently chided him for spending his time so frivolously. John looked at the hunter’s bow and remarked that the string was loose.

“Yes,” said the elder, “I always loosen the string of my bow when it’s not in use. If it stayed tight, it would lose its resilience and fail me in the hunt.”

John responded, “And I am now relaxing the bow of my mind so that I may be better able to shoot the arrows of divine truth.”

We cannot do our best work with nerves taut or frayed from being constantly under pressure. When Jesus’ disciples returned from a strenuous preaching mission, their Master recognized their need for rest and invited them to come with Him to a quiet place where they could be refreshed. Jesus invites you too. —D. J. De Haan. Our Daily Bread

So, yes, we cannot engage solely in study and prayer… we must also take time to enjoy the wonderful things God has given us.

ETA: sorry, I picked that up thinking it is a Catholic site, but it may not be… just an FYI.

 

[Joe_5859]

So to summarize. It doesn’t matter if religion is boring and neither is entertainment any less valuable just because it doesn’t teach us anything as insightful. Stop getting them to replace each other.

I always appreciate the colorful ways you make your points, Lost Wanderer.

I probably would not have worded it in exactly the same way, but I think you raise a good point.

 

[GangGreen]

IDK, to me religion is very exciting and interesting .

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I dont understand how one can think religion is boring! I dont think a comparison to math is fair…we experience Christ at every single mass! How is that boring?! We hear the very words of God at every single mass! How is that boring?!

Firstly, it’s the same ceremony every week. Every. Single. Week. The homily is only the part that is even remotely stimulating to the mind. It’s like when I was reading for Philosophy and Theology. I was intrigued but all the study really paled in comparison to the relief from watching Game of Thrones or reading a chapter of Fairy Tail.

Secondly, is that really the purpose of Mass? To be NOT boring? Last time I checked, that wasn’t the goal of being in Christ’s presence.

Through our prayers we see all the saints, angels and the Holy Trinity do work in our lives! How can any of this be boring?!

It is boring when it doesn’t actually happen as much as you’d like. I don’t see God, the saints, or the angels are always eager to do us favors like the Olympians or the Asgardians.

Talk a walk throigh nature and notice all God created just for you and tell me thats boring!

I hiked once. The only thing I liked about it was the feeling of walking for miles and now understanding what my in-game avatars must’ve felt when I made them trek from town to town.

Get me a magic book that sucks me into a fantasy dimension on the other hand and you’ll be killing two birds in one stone. I’ll be both extremely ecstatic AND I get to apply my experience.

Several saints over the centuries have pointed out that spiritual works have mostly been written by those in the religious life… but we lay people are not in the religious life and need religious writings which reflect our state of life.

For once, you and I actually agree on something. This makes me wonder as well. Why do people assume that the religious life of the saints they quoted is the ultimate ideal?

Frankly, it’s why I’m often turned off at the prospect of sainthood. From a secular perspective, it sounds as if the goal of a Church is to make a nun or a priest out of everyone.

IDK, to me religion is very exciting and interesting .

Well if the trappings of incense, wooden statues, and rows of pews fascinate you, I’m not arguing against that.

I’m just letting you know there are other Catholics out there who find excitement and interest in, say, giant robots fighting underwater aliens or a billionaire engineer commanding his own small army of power armors.

Maybe CAF looks like this because it is a Catholic message board. We really are not here to discuss entertainment, so the type of people who come here may seem counter-cultural.

Not always. Popular Media is the section dedicated to that and yet even there, people from this section chime in with only a bad thing or two to say how unnecessary it all is and how everything we need is in our local chapel.

I probably would not have worded it in exactly the same way, but I think you raise a good point.

Thanks. It’s been on my mind for some time. Chalk it up to me having new friends that show a more sophisticated side to the entertainment industry and its fanbase.

 

[shelly5254]

Im really sorry that you arent on fire for mass and all that happens during each one i would suggest praying to the Holy Spirit…

 

[Daizies]

Stop telling me to watch Glee or read Twilight because frankly, they don’t teach me anything other than how to roll my eyes or pretend they’re burning. Finally, if you tell me, with a serious face, that My Little Pony has taught you everything you needed to learn about life, I would have half a mind to call a shrink on your behalf.

That is just too awesome

Sometimes it drives me crazy with the proliferation of threads that seem to think that every bit of non-Catholicness is a sin. I can’t imagine thinking that way - what sort of fear drives that kind of thinking. I mean seriously, reading fiction is a sin, is watching anime a sin, is listening to any secular music a sin…:banghead:

I totally agree with you, Church is not entertainment. It’s not meant to be. I don’t understand those who think it is. That’s not why I go to Mass. I go to Mass because Jesus is there, not to be entertained. If I want to be entertained, I’d rather watch giant robots fighting underwater aliens

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I go to Mass because Jesus is there, not to be entertained. If I want to be entertained, I’d rather watch giant robots fighting underwater aliens

Jesus ain’t some masseuse either yet it boggles my mind that people act that way (especially those hooked on spiritual bliss).

P.S.

Because of this thread, I now feel like watching Pacific Rim right after Sunday Mass. Oooooh sinful me.

Im really sorry that you arent on fire for mass and all that happens during each one i would suggest praying to the Holy Spirit…

If I were to have a conversation with any higher being, it’s not a fun one either. It’s more like part class discussion, part angry argument.

It kinda sounds like Antonio Banderas’ rant from The Legend of Zorro

Talk to me!

Please!

What are you trying to tell me, huh?

No matter what choice I make, it’s always the wrong one!

I have failed everyone I ever loved.

My wife, my son and now the people too!

What do you want from me?!

Help me.

I have always listened to my heart.

And it speaks to me now of a great darkness.

I fear Guillermo Cortez was only the beginning…

…and that Elenais in great danger too.

So I beg you…

…give me the courage, the strength…

…to wear the mask a little longer.

Allow Zorro one last ride.

Tell me, does that sound like a guy who’s having fun? No, that’s me whenever I’m talking to God lately. The only difference is that I’m more doubtful of being anyone’s hero.

It’s why I seek pleasure in equal amounts. It doubles as proof that religion is just as much work as my day job. Please don’t tell me that religion does not need a lot of work cuz frankly, even the saints you suggest I venerate would disagree with you.

 

[GangGreen]

Well if the trappings of incense, wooden statues, and rows of pews fascinate you, I’m not arguing against that.

Those are all great things , but it goes beyond that. It’s the mental and theological aspects of religion which can keep the mind constantly in a state of wonder that many other things cannot even get close too. Watching robots and aliens fighting is fun while it’s going on, but it isn’t a long lasting fascination.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

It’s the mental and theological aspects of religion which can keep the mind constantly in a state of wonder that many other things cannot even get close too. Watching robots and aliens fighting is fun while it’s going on, but it isn’t a long lasting fascination.

That’s your opinion. The faith teaches otherwise. It is not a matter of emotional or mental ‘fascination’. Truth is truth whether you are titillated by it or not. Just because I’m not nor do I intend to be does not change anything. Same goes the other way around with you.

In short, I don’t find this satisfying ‘fascination’ that you speak and have no need of it. Why presume it’s mandatory? It isn’t.

 

[cat3gs]

I hear ya…but I get both sides.
One minute I am like “lets put on the prairie dresses and say 15 rosaries everyday and attend daily Mass and make sure the kids are only coloring out of Saint coloring books etc” and then the next I am like " I need to have a Stargate marathon after watching Dr. Who on netflix while re-reading Harry Potter "

My new favorite saying is “With all things moderation” I just need to remember to not let any one thing become my false god. Even “religion” and church can take you away for Christ

God Bless

 

[minion]

Agree, but I wanted to point out one thing.

Turning it around, you now have entertainment. Feel free to use religious elements. Express your faith and morals through art and literature. That’s a wonderful thing! But please, know that I read you just for the fun of it.** I don’t like work that deliberately attempts to convert me towards another point of view.** Isn’t that taboo in any form of entertainment?

Any storytelling form of entertainment is ALWAYS doing this. It may not always be obvious, but it always there, and it could just be as simple as “don’t kill people.” Lord of the Rings, source material every modern fantasy ripped off from, does it.

Jesus preached through parables…story is an artform that inherently has a grounding in morality.

But sometimes, yes, I just want to mindlessly shoot people’s heads off in an 1st person shooter like Gears of War, just to relieve some stress and get away from reality.

 

[BluesPicker]

Firstly, it’s the same ceremony every week. Every. Single. Week. The homily is only the part that is even remotely stimulating to the mind. It’s like when I was reading for Philosophy and Theology. I was intrigued but all the study really paled in comparison to the relief from watching Game of Thrones or reading a chapter of Fairy Tail.

Secondly, is that really the purpose of Mass? To be NOT boring? Last time I checked, that wasn’t the goal of being in Christ’s presence.

It is boring when it doesn’t actually happen as much as you’d like. I don’t see God, the saints, or the angels are always eager to do us favors like the Olympians or the Asgardians.

I hiked once. The only thing I liked about it was the feeling of walking for miles and now understanding what my in-game avatars must’ve felt when I made them trek from town to town.

Get me a magic book that sucks me into a fantasy dimension on the other hand and you’ll be killing two birds in one stone. I’ll be both extremely ecstatic AND I get to apply my experience.

For once, you and I actually agree on something. This makes me wonder as well. Why do people assume that the religious life of the saints they quoted is the ultimate ideal?

Frankly, it’s why I’m often turned off at the prospect of sainthood. From a secular perspective, it sounds as if the goal of a Church is to make a nun or a priest out of everyone.

Well if the trappings of incense, wooden statues, and rows of pews fascinate you, I’m not arguing against that.

I’m just letting you know there are other Catholics out there who find excitement and interest in, say, giant robots fighting underwater aliens or a billionaire engineer commanding his own small army of power armors.

Not always. Popular Media is the section dedicated to that and yet even there, people from this section chime in with only a bad thing or two to say how unnecessary it all is and how everything we need is in our local chapel.

Thanks. It’s been on my mind for some time. Chalk it up to me having new friends that show a more sophisticated side to the entertainment industry and its fanbase.

What kind of magic books fascinate you?

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

What kind of magic books fascinate you?

What else? The kind that take me to faraway lands where dragons soar the skies, heroes battle monsters, and there I am in my little arcane library, studying to fine-tune my mystical prowess before I once again go on God knows what kind of quest that’s in the guild hall today.

 

[GangGreen]

That’s your opinion. The faith teaches otherwise. It is not a matter of emotional or mental ‘fascination’. Truth is truth whether you are titillated by it or not. Just because I’m not nor do I intend to be does not change anything. Same goes the other way around with you.

In short, I don’t find this satisfying ‘fascination’ that you speak and have no need of it. Why presume it’s mandatory? It isn’t.

I never said it’s mandatory. I said that it’s a reason why I find religion exciting.

 

[BluesPicker]

What else? The kind that take me to faraway lands where dragons soar the skies, heroes battle monsters, and there I am in my little arcane library, studying to fine-tune my mystical prowess before I once again go on God knows what kind of quest that’s in the guild hall today.

Read this passage:

Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord. 34But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: 35Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king: 36Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.

 

[BluesPicker]

What else? The kind that take me to faraway lands where dragons soar the skies, heroes battle monsters, and there I am in my little arcane library, studying to fine-tune my mystical prowess before I once again go on God knows what kind of quest that’s in the guild hall today.

\

Read this passage of the Gospel of Matthew 5:33-37:

Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord. 34But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: 35Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king: 36Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.

Do you understand what Christ is saying? For me He is clearly saying either you must be a follower of Christ by saying yes to Godly things and no to bad things; or, you are in the camp of Satan.

  I just want you to understand that clearly.

 Believe me if you find a ministry in the Church to become devoted to it by study and becoming active you will not be bored.   There is so much to learn and much work to be done.

 

[perro_sarnoso]

We’ve heard this line before and frankly, there’s not just one side at fault for thinking like this. From my observations, both religious and non-religious alike are, frankly, tackling this issue in ways that make me laugh.

One side thinks religion is boring. Guess what? So was basic math (at least for me). So was memorizing the multiplication table. So was reading my physics textbook.

Does that mean math is unnecessary? No. Does that mean physics shouldn’t be studied? No. It’s the same with religion. Religion is not entertainment. It is meant to have a place in society as much as entertainment.

And yet again, this same logic applies to entertainment also. Why do so many religious people try to think spiritual materials are somehow substitute for pleasure reading?

Pleasure reading reflects a greater necessity too. Even God took a break. Jesus partied with others as much as he taught.

Lemme tell those who try and make religion the substitute for entertainment: You are free to do what you want. But the moment you try and enforce your view as some kind of dogma (be it from cherry-picking quotes from the saints, Church fathers, the Bible etc), you will be the reason why our religion is a complete joke.

Don’t be feel so bad. I think the people who measure religion along the same values of entertainment are a complete joke too. It’s why both types make me laugh.

Just because something is boring, does not make it bad.
Just because something is NOT boring, does not make it unnecessary.

For many ages, we have proven that we could never do away with either faith or pleasure. (Them and along with many other things.)

Why then do people persist in substituting one with the other? I mean, sure I like it when a priests tells a joke during Mass. I’d like it better though when the joke’s been used to drive a point. It gives me insight. There is a certain priority towards the insight. The joke is just there to make it easier to grasp.

Turning it around, you now have entertainment. Feel free to use religious elements. Express your faith and morals through art and literature. That’s a wonderful thing! But please, know that I read you just for the fun of it. I don’t like work that deliberately attempts to convert me towards another point of view. Isn’t that taboo in any form of entertainment?

Face it folks. Vianney and Alphonsus are not substitutes for Harry Potter or Inkheart. EWTN and Real Catholic TV are not substitutes for Animax or HBO. I subscribe to all of that for very different reasons.

You can say that religion is all the bliss that you need or that you do not need bliss. But frankly, that’s your right. That’s your taste talking. Kindly respect mine if it just so happens that my preferences (along with others) do not align as well. You’re no more virtuous or heaven-bound than anyone else for that matter.

Don’t think I’m letting the opposing camp scot-free either. Guys Obama is not the messiah and neither is Oprah or Lady Gaga. Stop telling me to watch Glee or read Twilight because frankly, they don’t teach me anything other than how to roll my eyes or pretend they’re burning. Finally, if you tell me, with a serious face, that My Little Pony has taught you everything you needed to learn about life, I would have half a mind to call a shrink on your behalf.

So to summarize. It doesn’t matter if religion is boring and neither is entertainment any less valuable just because it doesn’t teach us anything as insightful. Stop getting them to replace each other.

Wooo hooo!!! the exciting world of prayer and reverence and devotion…wow!!!

Let’s face it, this world is distraction to the real and eternal treasures that await us in eternity.
Blah, blah, blah Oprah…blah, blah blah Gaga…blah, blah blah Obama. The fact of the matter is that they will pass and die.

Our eternity is forever. Do you still want to woooo hoooo about the things of this world???