Very interesting observations Cat, thanks for sharing!
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
If you have been reading my posts, you will see that I made it clear that Evangelical Protestant churches offer multiple opportunities during the week to worship/pray/hear the Word of God/praise/sing/study/work/give.
Cat, when EP’s say that Jesus comes into their hearts for all time, what do they say about when Jesus said clearly that if one doesn’t eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, they have no life in them.
For the sake of clairty, my post was number 17.
They say that this is symbolic language, much like when Jesus said, “We are the lights of the world.” We aren’t literally lights, glowing and putting out a real “light” from our bodies. It is a symbolic phrase meaning that we are supposed to live our lives in such a way that others can see Jesus in us and want Him.
As an evangelical Protestant, I can tell you would receive different answers on this depending on what tradition you come from.
Are you saying that EP’s believe that when many of Jesus’ OWN disciples walked away and longer followed him because they took it as literal when Jesus “logically” meant it as symbolic language? Seriously…logically?
That is probably because some Catholics aren’t really focusing on the Mass. :tsktsk:
Thanks for some of the clarifications of how EP’s think.
I was thinking slightly different Cat. Unfortunate, but for reasons mostly relating to crime, Churches cannot keep their doors open 24/7 anymore which they have in the past. Its unheard of that in your darkest moment the Church door might be closed. I remember when that was not so. But yes service/worship/liturgy strikes a different chord.
It is not unheard of for Lutheran parishes to have daily divine service. It would depend on the size of the parish, location, demographics, etc
My understanding-- from an old priest who taught seminarians for twenty years, and who is a Greek and Latin scholar–is that the correct translation is CHEW or GNAW on the flesh, not eat. Which makes it obvious that it is NOT just a symbol.
I agree with you about the practical reasons why many churches have to keep their doors shut and locked. It’s a dangerous world out there.
Thanks Jon. I noticed in my area that the LCMS parishes are mostly small. The biggest ones are the those that include a school, mostly elementary. Do you know if the school children attend Service during the week for those Parishes?
This is so true
. I remember having access to the Church in my neighborhood 24/7.I think you have a habit of mixing Evangelic in general with mega church. As they grow in size it is the suburbs where they can afford enough land for their large campuses. In the City of Los Angeles beside Bishop Noel Jones City of Refugee which lefty a large location in Southcentral LA for a huge location in a southern suburb or Bishop McClendon’s Full Gospel Baptist Full Harvest which started out renting a concert venue in Hollywwod on Sundays most of your megachurches are in and stayed in the city after their growth. Real estate being relative depressed because of the Crip versus Blood and 18th Street versus MS-13 gang wars in the city made it possible.I agree with you about the practical reasons why many churches have to keep their doors shut and locked. It’s a dangerous world out there.
But let me tell you all a little secret about Evangelical Protestant churches…
…In the United States, Evangelical Protestants tend to build or re-locate their churches to the affluent, therefore very safe, areas of any town or city, because that’s their main mission field–people who are wealthy, comfortable, or at least getting by. So leaving the doors open 24/7 isn’t really an issue, other than with insurance companies who no doubt penalize heavily for churches who leave their doors unlocked!
Sssh! I know it’s a generalization and there are exceptions, but in the 47 years that I spent with Evangelical Protestant churches, I don’t know of a single one that voluntarily remained in the “tough” section of any town or city. They always buy land in a growing, affluent area, and then raise the funds and build!
It’s not that the Evangelical Protestants don’t love the poor. Oh, heavens, Evangelical Protestants give huge amounts of money and time to helping the poor! Do NOT accuse them of abandoning the poor, because you would be wrong.
But they don’t build their churches in the poor or “dangerous” sections of town. They prefer to send their buses or vans around to pick up the poor and bring them to their suburban church in the “good section” of town.
There is some merit in this, so don’t be too quick to criticize. By exposing the poor to a better lifestyle, the poor can learn how to take steps to achieve this lifestyle. They can make friends with wealthier people and often end up getting jobs or at least job leads. They can learn skills that help them to get out of poverty. They can often get involved with classes in ESL or money management or nutrition or child-care that help them to make better use of the money that they have. And of course, if they qualify, they can get financial aid very quickly–a wealthy church has money to give.
But it means that many Evangelical Protestants never do any hands-on work with the poor, unless you count “writing a check” as hands-on.
Interestingly, in many cities, it is the “despised” Mainline Protestant churches that remain in the inner city and do a lot of hands-on work with the poor. I say “despised,” because many Evangelical Protestants consider the Mainlines churches “theologically and politically liberal beyond redemption.” Well, it seems to me that the Lord is just as interested in what we DO as what we BELIEVE and CONFESS. Right?!
Inglewood. To the Dream Center/Angeles Temple just outside of LA’s downtown in Echo Park.I agree that most of the “black” churches, which I would agree are mainly evangelical/pentecostal, remain in the location where they first started up, even if those neighborhoods become dangerous (often due to gang activity). In our city, the black churches are the fortresses of good and decency in those neighborhoods, and the pastors and leaders of these churches maintain many excellent programs for their neighborhoods.I think you have a habit of mixing Evangelic in general with mega church. As they grow in size it is the suburbs where they can afford enough land for their large campuses. In the City of Los Angeles beside Bishop Noel Jones City of Refugee which lefty a large location in Southcentral LA for a huge location in a southern suburb or Bishop McClendon’s Full Gospel Baptist Full Harvest which started out renting a concert venue in Hollywwod on Sundays most of your megachurches are in and stayed in the city after their growth. Real estate being relative depressed because of the Crip versus Blood and 18th Street versus MS-13 gang wars in the city made it possible.
Just using the TV ministries Presiding Bishop Blakes’ West Angeles COGIC on Crenshaw, the heart of the Black community. The Price’s Crenshaw Christian Center near the touch off point of the Rodney King riots in what was the Pepperdine college campus before they moved the school to scenic Malibu. To Bishop Ulmer’s Faithful Central Bible Church on the other side of the city limits line in Southcentral to “suburban”
And along every street you will see storefronts for those who are not comfortable in the mega setting.Now the people in storefronts to to band together outside of denomination distinctions so the 72nd ST. COGIC, the 71st ST AOG and the 70th ST Full Gospel Baptist will each take a day to provide community service and members freely go to each others church to provide the clothing or food kitchen. The mainline churches tend to be a bit larger in floor space and more widely separated and they are more likely to have full time clergy