When was the last time you attended a church service and did any part of it stand out?

Yeah the same for the wife and I , was the sister in laws husband who was killed in his small plane with his brother,and the it was held at a Catholic church and the pastor turned it into a church service as well along with communion I thought was a tad odd for a funeral .

The last time I went was for the funeral of a friend, a best friend. What stood out was the photocopied order of service which had his photograph on it.

I went to the funeral of a longtime friend’s wife at a Catholic Church. The ritual was interesting. There was no recruitment. And my friend was very glad we came to the ceremony.

My Mom had a Catholic funeral. It was so surreal. It reminded me so much of stereotypical ancient devil worship.

I found the rituals interesting and refreshing. I didn’t get any devil worship angle.

Christmas Eve. The past few Christmas eves we attended my parents’ Presbyterian church. They have a Children’s Service where the kids enact the nativity scene. Then everybody lights candles. It’s very cute and my daughter, who is 7, really enjoys it. We all have a good feeling when we leave.

At my Mom’s funeral the guy was dressed head to toe in long, flowing, fat garments and walked around chanting mournfully in Latin and waving some sort of incense ball. I have no idea what any of it was about.

The last time I attended any type of religious event was less than a year ago at Mom’s memorial service at the Presbyterian church she attended for 50 years. The minister did an outstanding job of taking the information about her life that we provided him, plus putting his own spin on it based upon his knowledge of her. No one could have delivered a better eulogy. Plus, the church allowed us to place memorabilia from her life and serve strawberry ice cream (her favorite) at the reception.

The last official ceremony attended was a Catholic mass in Fatima, Portugal. (This was three years ago.) The service was delivered in language foreign to us. What stood out for me during the service was when the white robed guy offered to bless the congregation and the trinkets they bought at the souvenir shops before the service.

More than 30 years ago.

For the record, my 11 year old daughter attends church fairly regularly and has been baptized. My wife posted her baptism pics and my gay younger brother immediately began sending me texts, incredulous that I would even allow such a thing (we’re both quite the atheists). I told him that she has a good head on her shoulders and will come to the same conclusions that he and I did growing up going to church.

I also admonished him for getting up my ass about somebody, my daughter, exploring who they are. (you know, with the whole him being gay and all)

He told me to fuck off but with a smiley.

It’s because that Pastor knows that without Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, a person will go to Hell FIRE Forever and be Tortured By Demons F O R E V E R and E V E R.

That would be Horrific!!.

But most importantly, that Pastor has a calling to the lost. :)

The last couple of times I went, I was around 12. The first time, I went to a church where people spoke in tongues, which I had never heard of before. So when the adults around me started bawling, curling up into balls crying on the floor, could barely walk on their own, and were just making nonsensical noises out of nowhere… it freaked me the fuck out.

The last time was when my best friend asked me to go to church with her. They had a bus program set up for the poorer kids who either went without their parents, or who couldn’t afford the cost of public transportation. (My best friend was poor, and I had stayed the night at her place and this was how she got to church.) Once I realized that they brought all of us in through the back, and that they held a completely different service, away from the regular Sunday service, I knew it was the last time I’d ever go. (I had already been questioning those kind of beliefs for a long time, but that kind of pushed me over the edge.)

I went to a Catholic Mass on Easter. It was just my parents and me. I’m still astonished at how different the service is now that I am a non-believer. Sorry if I offend, but I’m so amazed people still follow this stuff religiously (heh!). The homily was so simple-sounding, lacking in depth, and the whole Mass, especially the Liturgy of the Eucharist, seemed so routine and monotonous. The Nicene Creed sounded like it was being recited by robots, but honestly that was something that never changed.

It is interesting having observed from a position of believing and now from a position of not believing. From the non-believing stand point it all seems so utterly ridiculous.

God warns us that if we walk away from God, you send yourself to Hell Fire for Eternity.

Eternity.

@Jewel10 What happens when the people who walk away from God return to the fold? Are they saved from Hell Fire for Eternity? What about the ones who have never been exposed to God? What if they believe in a god but it isn’t the same one from the (your religion’s) bible?

Exactly the kinds of questions that led me to one, inevitable conclusion @Pied_Pfeffer. There is only one answer that explains every question I have.

1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Everyone is exposed to God and everyone knows the truth of God, because God put His law in our minds, and put it in our hearts.

Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when (and IF) you search for Me with all your heart.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is One God and One Mediator (Jesus Christ) between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

Jeremiah 31:
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.

God said “We Will Know Him, from the least to the greatest” That means everyone.

Not sure why you posted all of that, @Jewel10. If you’re trying to convert me back to Christianity it won’t work.

If you are seeking martyrdom @Jewel10 Fluther is the place to preach the gospel.

LOLL!

Not trying to convert you Dutchess! LOL!!!!

Just answering Pied_Pfeffer’s question they asked me.