A group of Christians I actually respect: Billy Graham and his family

[Sikotic™]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/215141

Anne Graham Lotz, the second of Billy and Ruth Graham's five children, says it's all right: as long as you have a personal relationship with Jesus, church doesn't really matter. Neither does denomination. "Religion is an impediment to knowing God," says Lotz, who is promoting a new book, The Magnificent Obsession. "Procedures, rituals, creeds: how in the world can they help you connect with God? ... If you're sprinkled when you're baptized or dunked when you're baptized, it doesn't matter as far as your salvation goes."

Given her maiden name, you would think that Lotz, an evangelist who travels around the world urging people to come to Jesus, would embody old-fashioned, conservative evangelism. Her father has always strongly advised Christians to attend church; the Billy Graham Evangelistic Asso-ciation Web site tells new Christians to make church a regular part of their lives: "Whatever it meant to you in the past, going to church can now become a rich and rewarding experience."

But like so many other Christians, Lotz, 61, had too many bad experiences in church to believe that God dwells there—and only there. She was kicked out of one church, she says, for insisting on the inerrancy of Scripture. She left another more recently in a fight concerning a new pastor. She soon came to realize that she was a "believer in exile," she says, and for more than a year she wandered from church to church looking for a home. "I've had Christians treat me in a way that is so wrong and so vicious, I realized there's a difference between God's people and God."

Still, conservative Christians have always distanced themselves from progressives by insisting that church—and the adherence to a strict set of doctrines—is a way to derive meaning. And, ultimately, Lotz found her way back there with help from her husband, a strict Southern Baptist. Church may not be necessary to knowing God, she says, but it keeps the relationship going: "You can really love the Lord, but after a while, if you're all by yourself, the fire goes cold."

[QuietTruth]

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Jesus done says watch out for the hypocrites that don't practice what they preach. All them preachers who livin' high off the hog off God's name. They ain't foolin' nobody. Not you, not me, not even the majority of the members of the congregation and definitely not God.

And it is sad, that Christians can't follow their denomination faithly. Look at the the Catholic-raised folks today who are for abortion, for same sex marriage, for birth control, and etc. The fuck? How you following a certain denomination and you don't follow the rules? IS THAT NOT THE WHOLE POINT OF  BELONGING TO A DENOMINATION IN THE FIRST PLACE? Believing and abiding by the rules, laws, principles, etc. Man, I don't fuckin' get it.

Plus yeah, churches themselves is falling apart cuz they ain't even following the f'in Bible themselves, how sad is this? How sad?? Really. Lutherans are allowed ministers in actively gay relationships, now. What - the - fuck. When I heard that shit, I thought, well damn I'm feelin' madd heads switching over to the Catholic Church. BUT now the Catholic Church is letting them folks who believe in some form of gays rights or some shit into their sect. Ha. What in the hell? It's really not funny though. Not funny at all. It's pathetic.

Fuckin' sadder. Cuz now theres a whole notha group of people wit beliefs, criticizing us all.

Cuz them bad ass apples is spoiling the bunch. They ain't foolin' nobody no more though. But they ruining what some folks consider sacred. Demoting it. And that's not fair. Hypocrites. God sees 'em. God sees 'em.

[QuietTruth]

And I'll agree to the selfish part as far as Born Agains go. And the rest of those types 'churches'. Do they even have rules? Do they even got laws? Wrongs and rights of God's word? Or they just preach out a Bible about making one's life better. You can't just do for self. And I'll agree to that. But that-about-it.