http://www.sojo.net/blogs/2011/12/27/bait-and-switch-contemporary-christianity

A friend of mine thnks this is great stuff. "Rather than pouring our efforts into two hours of worship, bible study and Christian fellowship on Sunday why don't we just take a moment and a few extra bucks to act like a decent human being when we go to lunch afterwards? "

Now on some level the author has a point, going to mass is not a cure for a weeks worth of sinful activity and am also suspicious of a person who say they need to work on a " relationship with God" I am not sure what that means.

Any thoughts?

He's all wet

Where have you been hiding??

SV

The sentence starting with “Rather than…” does make it sound like just doing things that show you are “a decent human being” is the same as going to Mass, or “going to church” for the Protestants, which is only correct if “pouring our efforts into two hours of worship” is all about us. Now - if we are being honest - I suppose we must admit that for some groups this may be the case, but I think there are many more Christians, and Christian leaders who do everything they can to ensure (to the best of their ability and knowledge) that Sunday morning is an encounter with God. And I am not talking about providing the most up-to-date seeker-sensitive experience.

He does make a good point though, but it wasn't until the last sentence that he tied the two together and even then it wasn't as clear as it could be. Were it me I would have said, "If you are 'a little more kind, more generous, more interruptible, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, (and) more tolerant' toward people when you are away from church, then you will be "working on (your) relationship with God."

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God* whom he has not seen.

The writer actually makes some great points. Too often we do tend to mess up our witness for Christ by our shameful behavior.

It would seem to me though, that he is making a case for social activism over spiritual activity. Of course, we need to remember that the gospel is not simply to do good things, but good things are the result of a changed life in Christ.

I also wonder what he would have thought of the Monastics...or the Desert Fathers. There have been many religious folk in the history of catholicism that have lived secluded lives seeking higher knowledge of God rather than social activism.

Ha ha, not hiding..

I need to respond to this FB friend on the subject.

Yes, I think the article makes a valid point about living a life with a Christian outlook "rather than" (Greg) reserving it for Sunday. Attending mass and living a decent life between Sundays is, of course, what we are to do, indeed, they are intertwined.