Send me a PM before you open that valve. I'd hate to see you get badly burned.

 

I'm usually the one who opens a valve unintentionally and gets scalded before she realizes what happened.

Question 1: Is going to church necessary to achieve Heaven?

 

Question 2: Is going to church necessary, required or strongly encouraged of those who have been "saved"?

 

Question 3: Is not going to church detrimental to the Christian?

Q-1 No

Q-2 Yes

Q-3 Yes

 

Q-1 A church has nothing to do with Salvation. That is through Jesus Christ.

Q-2 People learn in Church. Why do we go to school?

Q-3 A true Christian wouldn't miss church, even if he had tickets to a far away college football game in the south. A pun there. To become an Train Engineer I had to travel to go to school. Once there the first thing I did after checking into my room was to call local Baptists Churches. Every Sunday I was away I went to Church and at night too. It was about 8 weeks. They almost made me a Deacon, another pun.

Question 4: If a Christian knows that going to Church is the right thing to do, and continually refuses to go for various reasons, is that a mortal sin?

Question 4: If a Christian knows that going to Church is the right thing to do, and continually refuses to go for various reasons, is that a mortal sin?

According to the Catholic Church, yes.

"Mortal" Sin. I know some Churches if you miss too much they remove you from the roll. Again a true Christian on Sunday morning will not stay at home reading the sunday paper or golfing. Now going out of town for a weekend get-a-way thats planned should be OK.

"Mortal" Sin. I know some Churches if you miss too much they remove you from the roll. Again a true Christian on Sunday morning will not stay at home reading the sunday paper or golfing. Now going out of town for a weekend get-a-way thats planned should be OK.

Shouldn't they attend Mass or Church or Worship of some kind? I guess I'm getting picky but this is eternal salvation we are talking about.

5432...By all means. Why wouldn't they want to?

Now going out of town for a weekend get-a-way thats planned should be OK.

 

Alabama, that is what confused me.

I have mentioned something a few times in threads like this and I think it is a vital thing to understand about going to church.

 

Attending church is not just about what we get out of it. Attending church is WHAT YOU BRING TO THAT BODY OF BELIEVERS. We are supposed to be selfish and each one of us have special talents or gifts that we bring to a body of believers.

 

The nursery and toddler programs at almost EVERY church is in desparate need of workers. Maybe your attendance and volunteering to work one Sunday a month in the nursery allows an unbeliever to visit, leave their baby in a what they see as a safe place and listen to the message. Maybe that is the day that the Holy Spirit convicts them.

 

And if that nursery was closed and the baby was sitting beside them, maybe they don't hear the message and not convicted.

 

So to Christians, it is NOT SUPPOSED to be SOLELY about what you are getting from church but also what you can selfishly do to help others.

So you're saying if we're not Roman Catholic, we're heretics?

 

of course not. But it is very clear from Scripture that Jesus founded one church.

Original terms and meanings have changed over the years, just as the original intent for the Democrats and Republicans have changed over the years.

 

You are right that the word Catholic means "Universal" but that word has taken on a different meaning in the last 800 years or so.

 

 

not really - catholic still means universal - and the church that Jesus founded is universal, i.e., open to everyone.

not really - catholic still means universal - and the church that Jesus founded is universal, i.e., open to everyone.

 

 

What I meant was that people have taken it to be something different. Yeah, you look the word up and thats what it says but people have taken it to mean the Roman Catholic Church. When in fact it does mean universal. I think you knew what I was talking about.

If you would like to continue this discussion in regards to the term "catholic", you may do so here.