I abandoned my faith

[Matthias]

I suspect she's more an Atheist than ever. If she connected to some good Christians and a good church, she might have regained her faith. But, I can't find a good church, so I doubt she can.

Why would an atheist go looking for a good church to attend? I can understand why an agnostic would, but not an atheist.

 

[Lambano]

Can the Body of Christ survive without the institutional church?

I used to contribute financially to a ministry that promoted house churches in places like China, Vietnam, etc. Somewhat similar to how the Church got started in Acts. Maybe that's the future of the Body of Christ after the Institutional Church collapses.

 

[Matthias]

The historically unprecedented decline in church membership suggests I'm not being too hard.

Recall the parable of the sower.

 

[St. SteVen]

Here's another topic I launched while working my way through this.

Is there a cure for my religious upbringing? - other than atheism, I mean.

Hello deconstruction. Atheism, is the obvious over-reaction to escaping a religious upbringing. Study on this issue shows people going in many different directions both toward and away from religion. This video outlines the frustration involved in deconstruction. Let's discuss.

www.christianityboard.com

I had emailed a Pastor friend of mine to discuss my concerns.
What he said resonated with me. "Atheism is an over-reaction to questioning your faith."

FYI -- This is a Pastor who is definitely not in it for the money. A circuit preacher in West Virginia.
We met on a Christian forum. He's been a good friend and solid support.

I have ended up in a place where the questions have become more important than answers.
This has actually become very freeing.

Leaving Room for Faith - why we don't know EVERYTHING

At one time I was bothered by the fact that we don't really have ALL the answers. There was always a loose end somewhere. I chased the apologetics in every direction, but always came up short somewhere. And frankly, I don't remember the specifics, only the moment of my release from the tyranny...

www.christianityboard.com

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[St. SteVen]

I used to contribute financially to a ministry that promoted house churches in places like China, Vietnam, etc. Somewhat similar to how the Church got started in Acts. Maybe that's the future of the Body of Christ after the Institutional Church collapses.

I agree.
The result of a "house cleaning" in the church. The cause TBD.

I really appreciate the perks of a well-appointed church. Would I attend a house church? Good question.

I used to attend a multi-campus church. Our satellite church was contained in a trailer.
These hard-working folks set up in an elementary school for Sunday church.
And put it all back in the trailer at the end of the day for the next week.

I visited a couple of times and showed up early to help them set up.
While carrying in some trailer items, I realized that this was like the early church in a way.

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[Finis Fidei]

I used to contribute financially to a ministry that promoted house churches in places like China, Vietnam, etc. Somewhat similar to how the Church got started in Acts. Maybe that's the future of the Body of Christ after the Institutional Church collapses.

House churches are a Christian response to the prohibition of church buildings. Internal collapse of churches is a result of apostacy. In the ladder case, house churches won't go anyplace.

 

[Matthias]

House churches are a Christian response to the prohibition of church buildings.

What prohibition of church buildings?

Internal collapse of churches is a result of apostacy.

Sometimes.

In the ladder case, house churches won't go anyplace.

House churches are flourishing in my faith tradition.