“Going to church doesn't make you a Christian....."

A friend whom I respect and like very much joined a Facebook group called “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car”

On the face of it the statement sounds plausible. It points to the boringly obvious: i.e. the hypocrisy of some church attendees. We all know about this. It’s an “all too easy” target, at which any cynic can shoot with impunity.

But it is a demonstrably foolish statement. It ignores the fact that:

1. Those who attend Church are constantly urged, in scripture and in sermon, to move away from complacency to engagement. (You do not get that in bed of a Sunday morning!)

2. Those who attend Church encounter folks who are hard to like. Being in Church reminds them that they are called to love the unlovable. (That does not happen at Sunday brunch with one’s best friends!).

3. Those who attend Church are very frequently called upon to examine their lives and to move from selfish desire to deep compassion. (You’ll not get that message from the Sunday morning T.V. talk shows).

4. Those who attend Church will be challenged to sacrifice personal well being in favour of the good of all humanity. (That’s not the message of the “Tea Party”, nor of shows such as “The Apprentice”)

5. Those who attend Church will learn that giving is more important that acquiring. (A seditious and very un-American concept.)

6. Those who attend Church will be connected with a 2000 year old history of failures and successes. (American history is all about success and not a bit about failure).

7. Those who attend Church will eat a little bit of bread, and drink a tiny sip of wine. The bread and wine will remind them of their solidarity with all of humankind; and of their awe in the face of the mystery of the universe. (Try that alone in your garage!).

Comments

  1. Anonymous19 June 2010 at 01:39

    Anyway shouldn't it be "makes you a mechanic" (or maniac if you work at our local garage)

    BroM

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous27 October 2010 at 02:37

    Don't over analyze the comment. It merely means that there are a lot of people that go to church every Sunday and pretend to be something that they are not. Plain and simple.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4 September 2012 at 15:09

    Bang on, and it's not overanalyzing the comment at all. The comment is usually made by people who are trying to justify why they don't go to church, so the analysis is exactly right.

    If this comment were quoted in a homily, to try to give some of the lazier Christians in the congregation a kick in the pants, then it would be a propos. As it's usually used by non-churchgoers and even non-Christians (as a slight against Christians), I usually take it as a petulant demand that churches become enclaves of sanctity before the speaker would even consider going to one.

    People are people, everywhere. People going to church are, for the most part, trying to become better people. That those who are not trying to better themselves criticize those who are is lamentable, but otherwise irrelevant.

    ReplyDelete

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