Why do protestants go to church?

[David]

Every tabernacle, in every Catholic Church, all over the world, contains the Body, Blood, Soul and, Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Mathew 28:20 I am with you always, to the close of the age.

Peace
David

 

[lucky4075]

Publisher,

A Catholic Church with a tabernacle containing Eucharists most certainly has ‘holiness within itself.’

How do you explain Eucharistic miracles then? Real verifiable accounts where the bread and wine turned into blood and flesh before they were consumed. You can find them easily on Google.

 

[Publisher]

Publisher,

A Catholic Church with a tabernacle containing Eucharists most certainly has ‘holiness within itself.’

How do you explain Eucharistic miracles then? Real verifiable accounts where the bread and wine turned into blood and flesh before they were consumed. You can find them easily on Google.

Friend, it is your right and pleasure to believe in the “miracles”.

 

[lucky4075]

I would say that they are definitely more than just miracles- they have been verified by science. They started as a host (bread), now its heart tissue. On top of that, the blood type was the same for each miracle- type AB.

 

[gcnuss]

I can only answer from a Lutheran perspective and, of course, my perspective is that of a pastor.

People go to church to hear God’s word, to worship and praise God, to hear the words of forgiveness of sin, and to receive the sacraments. We gather together as the Church Militant to experience a “foretaste of the feast to come” – the unending feast that is now experienced by the Church Triumphant.

 

[couponfit]

Same reason we do: to be as close to God as they are able to be; to openly demonstrate to God an others their love and devotion to Him; to be in “communion” with others of like mind; to seek ways to reach out to the needy within the context of a “team” of individuals rather than solo.

I could go on.

It seems like you need to visit you own reasons for going to church?

The “once saved always saved” mentality is not prevelent throughout all Protestants and it’s not as clear cut as we make it sound here. If you really grill one of the firmly entrenched about their beliefs (in a charitable way- I hope), you will discover that they are not really as far from us as some would make out here. I’m talking the hard core Baptist; the one who only wants to know and love God.

I have found more kinship and understanding from the Protestants around me than the Catholics at this point. My heart longs for them to understand how much more complete their religion would be in the Catholic church - and moreover how much their deep faith would bring to the Church - but I trust in God’s plan. If they ask, I answer, but I never presume to judge their relationship with God.

Thank you.

 

[couponfit]

I can only answer from a Lutheran perspective and, of course, my perspective is that of a pastor.

People go to church to hear God’s word, to worship and praise God, to hear the words of forgiveness of sin, and to receive the sacraments. We gather together as the Church Militant to experience a “foretaste of the feast to come” – the unending feast that is now experienced by the Church Triumphant.

Thank you! As a Lutheran pastor do you accept solo scriptura, or is there a better way of describing your faith?

 

[couponfit]

As a former Protestant that is not quite the case. Upon accepting Christ we are saved but we still must be conformed to the image of Christ and they call this sanctification. Catholics say your not done when you invite Christ in initially and in a round about way Protestants do too so they go to Church to get fed and grow from God’s Word. The reality is there is no such thing as Sola Scriptura and most don’t realize that when they join a group they are affirming that groups stand That’s my take anyway.

Thanks for the perspective.

 

[Kouyate42]

Most I know never attend church while on vacation. I love being able to worship on vacation in new and different Catholic Churches.

I’ve attended Catholic ceremonies in many languages, including Italian and even Chinese. Possibly one advantage of attending a Catholic ceremony is that no matter what the language, the ceremony is still understandable. I’ve also attended a German Lutheran service and being familar with English-language Lutheranism, it was also still decently understandable.

Plus, being on vacation allows you to see other cultures’ interpretations of church architecture. One of the most interesting churches I saw was a Egyptian building which was covered in brilliant tile-work and mosaics, including pieces of gold and silver. It was stunning to see even at night with the moonlight on it.

 

[David]

As if not going to church is a way of avoiding sin.

Jon

Hello Jon, Thanks for responding to my post.

I wasn’t very clear here, and not sure you got my point.
This is a reference to the the Catholic Teaching that intentionally missing mass is a mortal sin.

Peace brother
David

 

[Carter12]

Same reason we do: to be as close to God as they are able to be; to openly demonstrate to God an others their love and devotion to Him; to be in “communion” with others of like mind; to seek ways to reach out to the needy within the context of a “team” of individuals rather than solo.

I could go on.

It seems like you need to visit you own reasons for going to church?

The “once saved always saved” mentality is not prevelent throughout all Protestants and it’s not as clear cut as we make it sound here. If you really grill one of the firmly entrenched about their beliefs (in a charitable way- I hope), you will discover that they are not really as far from us as some would make out here. I’m talking the hard core Baptist; the one who only wants to know and love God.

I have found more kinship and understanding from the Protestants around me than the Catholics at this point. My heart longs for them to understand how much more complete their religion would be in the Catholic church - and moreover how much their deep faith would bring to the Church - but I trust in God’s plan. If they ask, I answer, but I never presume to judge their relationship with God.

This quote says it all, How can you question someone’s belief? I don’t see any understanding in the Catholic Church at this point in any of the quotes i have read. I thought about converting from Baptist but not if you think you are the only ones going to Heaven.

 

[lucky4075]

Questioning someone’s beliefs isn’t a bad thing. People on here are trying to have a legitimate forum about their beliefs.

Catholics dont think we are ‘the only ones going to Heaven.’ No ordinary person knows who is going to Heaven and who isn’t. It may seem like Catholics on here appear condescending or rude with some comments, but we are ardent in our beliefs. I hope that you convert to the Church and experience the fullness of Truth.

 

[Michael19682]

The Church is God’s Living Temple, not made with stones. Places aren’t holy…people are…buildings and structures do not carry a “holiness” in and of themselves.

With the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem…there is no “building” where God lives…He now lives within the hearts of His People. WE are His Temple now…no longer a structure or edifice.

God does not dwell or reside in buildings made with stone and wood…there is no place where His Presence cannot be known…and NO PLACE BUILT WITH HANDS contains His Presence in and of the structure alone…the only thing that makes a place “holy” is when God’s People assemble in His Name…and then it’s the People of God that are “sacred” not the building they meet in.

Thank you Publisher. An alternate viewpoint as I have learned is that the Church’s Buildings, colloquially and conventionally and formally called Church’s by Catholics, are ‘sacred’ because they represent a sacrifice of the Church - they have been built with extraordianry care and according to traditional, standard specifications, and are supported by the sacrficial offerings of the Church. They might even be called holy in that they are a special reminder of his presence for Catholics and others who visit them. Jesus taught out in the open, but also in houses; and he gave special instructions for his disciples for when they evangelize and spread the good news upon entering a house. He says to offer it your peace. To me this is a straight forward yet gentle way of saying that a house can accept or reject peace. Therefore it must have some life to it.

 

[Lapell]

The Church is God’s Living Temple, not made with stones. Places aren’t holy…people are…buildings and structures do not carry a “holiness” in and of themselves.

With the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem…there is no “building” where God lives…He now lives within the hearts of His People. WE are His Temple now…no longer a structure or edifice.

God does not dwell or reside in buildings made with stone and wood…there is no place where His Presence cannot be known…and NO PLACE BUILT WITH HANDS contains His Presence in and of the structure alone…the only thing that makes a place “holy” is when God’s People assemble in His Name…and then it’s the People of God that are “sacred” not the building they meet in.

Isn’t the ground where your feet stand on holy ground? Not just your body and soul and those of your fellow neighbours. And like you said some places are made holy. When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others after them erected altars to God, were these not made holy? So, there ARE holy places and even buildings, such as the Temple of Jerusalem which was… consecrated to the Lord! Would you mean to say the Temple was consecrated only when there were holy assemblies in there? Sorry, but when a thing is consecrated, it means that its use is from then on purposely dedicated to the Lord.
You don’t know what you are saying, my friend.

 

[JonNC]

Hello Jon, Thanks for responding to my post.

I wasn’t very clear here, and not sure you got my point.
This is a reference to the the Catholic Teaching that intentionally missing mass is a mortal sin.

Peace brother
David

And peace also with you, David.

Yes, I knew your point of reference. Actually, I was calling into question the idea, if so held, that one could claim to avoid sin by not attending worship/mass. If there is someone here that believes this, I’d like to hear their thinking on it, as it doesn’t make sense to me.
While Lutherans don’t view attendance in the same way that Catholics do (a mortal sin for intentionally missing), we certainly recognize that missing divine service/mass obviously denies oneself of the means of grace, hearing the word and receiving the sacraments through Absolution and the Eucharist.

Essentially, I think we agree on the matter.

Jon

 

[exnihilo]

My understanding is that there is a general belief, depending on which denomination or church you’re referring to, that salvation is done. That upon accepting salvation a person is saved. So why go to any church? Why not just pray at home and read the bible without attending any service? If religion is corrupted by man and the focus should be on doing gods work, then why not simply not attend church? What is the need?

I think others have given reasons why Protestants attend church. But I do think there is some truth to your idea that some beliefs would naturally lead a person to not feel the need to attend church. If one truly believes that nothing they do after accepting Jesus as their savior effects their salvation then church would be unnecessary. I do think that some bad doctrines have lead many people to conclude rightly, from that doctrine, that it is just me and Jesus and we dont need anybody else. Any doctrine that does not include the duty to worship God and to come together with other Christian’s to worship is deficient.

If doctrine is unnecessary why do all denominational and non denominational churches have some element of a basic belief structure, why bother since that would be considered outside solo scriptura.

To be a group you must share something in common. For most people the church they belong to is a matter of ethnicity or culture. In America most churches were as much based on nationality as anything else, at least at first. As time went on people began to form new churches in America. But even at that many people’s choice of churches when they switch was often a matter of geography as in what church is close to me. People raised in a belief system tend to hold to those beliefs. Some people change over time but most dont, at least substantially. A church can get by with saying they dont have a basic belief system because many people who are members are not so much concerned with right doctrine. Most people are members because of their birth and inertia.

I think a group is wrong when it says they dont have a belief system. This is the kind of thinking that comes from relativism. Relativists will claim that that all beliefs are equally valid but then will find repugnant and work to suppress beliefs which they claim are not sufficiently ‘open minded’. So the no doctrine system is really a fantasy that is based on a perversion of what it means to be united and what is good about unity.

The churches which are most assertive in the claim that they dont have doctrine, or too much doctrine, are declining just as fast if not faster than other churches. The churches that are growing are those which are more assertive in their claims about the importance of right belief. It seems that people are not really all that excited about churches which downplay doctrine for the sake of unity. I’m not really surprised because especially in America we are no longer unified in culture so if you remove beliefs you have absolutely no reason for a group to exist.

 

[anodos]

I think a group is wrong when it says they dont have a belief system. This is the kind of thinking that comes from relativism. Relativists will claim that that all beliefs are equally valid but then will find repugnant and work to suppress beliefs which they claim are not sufficiently ‘open minded’. So the no doctrine system is really a fantasy that is based on a perversion of what it means to be united and what is good about unity.

Good post, exnihilo. Here’s what this line in particular reminds me of: youtube.com/watch?v=DBCwYJU5IMg
When you say “thou shalt not say ‘thou shalt not’,” you are saying “thou shalt not”.

 

[Omar_Gatskill]

My understanding is that there is a general belief, depending on which denomination or church you’re referring to, that salvation is done. That upon accepting salvation a person is saved. So why go to any church? Why not just pray at home and read the bible without attending any service? If religion is corrupted by man and the focus should be on doing gods work, then why not simply not attend church? What is the need? How is the need to attend church as a christian somehow different and more correct than if a Catholic attends church? If doctrine is unnecessary why do all denominational and non denominational churches have some element of a basic belief structure, why bother since that would be considered outside solo scriptura.

Really?? Are you kidding me? This has got to be one of the most arrogant AND ignorant posts I’ve seen here. Come on, really… If you think all Protestants fit in the same mold, you need to go and get your money back from whatever so called learning institute you attended. This is downright offensive.

 

[elysianverse]

I would say that they are definitely more than just miracles- they have been verified by science. They started as a host (bread), now its heart tissue. On top of that, the blood type was the same for each miracle- type AB.

Could you explain this a bit more? I thought it was symbolic.

 

[hn160]

I will give you my answer why I go to church. As a Lutheran, I believe that God comes to serve us in His Word when it is preached and read by the pastor, and in His Sacrament of the altar where we receive Christ’s Body and Blood in the bread and wine, and in the Sacrament of Absolution. We believe that Lutheran worship is downwards from Heaven to earth ( God to man, not man to God ). There is a very good book that explains Lutheran worship by Rev. Dr. Arthur A. Just, Jr, Heaven on Earth: Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service.