Church is Boring. Hymns are annoying.

[VIDEODROME]

This is just a random topic I thought of as I stayed up Saturday and slept till noon while I imagine the Theist members here dutifully got up and did their thing in whatever their denomination is.

I was raised Catholic, and eventually for various reasons stopped taking it seriously. It seemed to me the priest was preaching basically the same stuff all the time and the people singing the same boring hymns. Anyway, I just thought this was a different way to look at the religion discussion. Aside from my belief, or lack of it, I find the trappings of religion itself dull and it's just hard to see it as a vitally important part of my life. If any religion has something interesting to say I think it's plenty adequate to read it from a book at my leisure.

I'm also thinking....... what if one of these Theists does fully convince me of the Personal God that listens to prayers? Well.... for one thing an omnipresent being watching my every move seems kind of spooky. Next though, I'd be asked to go along to church. I'd want to know if I can take an espresso to stay awake or bring my MP3 player with Earbuds or my Netbook. Do churches have Wifi?

Or ask Dannno for some LSD to take in mass.

Random thoughts from a hopeless materialist.

 

[eduardo89]

You say you were raised Catholic, I'm guessing this was post-1960s. Your experience is not a unique one, I would say that the liturgical reforms of Vatican II are highly responsible for so many leaving the Church. What has been lost in the Mass of Paul VI compared with the Tridentine Mass is the sacrificial character, it's sense of majesty, awe, thanksgiving, gratitude, and duty. It is easy to forget that Christ becomes fully present to us! He is there, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! That is why we feel bored or unconnected to God in the new Mass.

 

[Christian Liberty]

You say you were raised Catholic, I'm guessing this was post-1960s. Your experience is not a unique one, I would say that the liturgical reforms of Vatican II are highly responsible for so many leaving the Church. What has been lost in the Mass of Paul VI compared with the Tridentine Mass is the sacrificial character, it's sense of majesty, awe, thanksgiving, gratitude, and duty. It is easy to forget that Christ becomes fully present to us! He is there, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! That is why we feel bored or unconnected to God in the new Mass.

Matthew 18:6

 

[VIDEODROME]

Well yeah, I'm just 37.

Yet, from what I've heard, the old mass was done in Latin. Unless Catechism succeeded in making me learn limited Latin, I wouldn't even know what the priest was saying.

Also, for what it's worth, I did try visiting a Protestant derived church called The United Brethren. They were more informal with less ritual, but the pastor depended heavily on the Spirit to guide his Sermons. The Spirit was not often present for this and he had a lot of rambling unprepared sermons.

If you're wondering, my Mom is Irish Catholic and my dad has just not regularly attended Church. It was his idea to try the United Brethren because he didn't like the stuffy Catholic church.

 

[VIDEODROME]

I also tend to think even Jesus would find church boring.

 

[asurfaholic]

My church doesn't sing hymns and has a rock band type praise band, complete with guitar solos and all.

Also church has a coffee shop located downstairs and you are welcome to bring your coffee/expresso/hot chocolate into the service.

Church is fun

Church SHOULD be fun

fellowship with other believers is important

 

[eduardo89]

Matthew 18:6

Good advice, hence why I don't listen to Protestant preachers.

 

[eduardo89]

Well yeah, I'm just 37.

Yet, from what I've heard, the old mass was done in Latin. Unless Catechism succeeded in making me learn limited Latin, I wouldn't even know what the priest was saying.

You don't need to be fluent in Latin to follow the Mass. I certainly am not. You do learn what each prayer means, what the priest is doing at different times, and not the entire things in Latin. The sermon is almost always given in the vernacular and you have a Missal which is in both Latin and English.

 

[robert68]

I also tend to think even Jesus would find church boring.

Worse he'd be a heretic.

 

[dannno]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to VIDEODROME again.


I agree, church is soooooooo boring... I've been to quite a few. Some black denominations seem kind of exciting in movies and stuff, but I don't know if it's something I'd want to do every week.

 

[oyarde]

This is just a random topic I thought of as I stayed up Saturday and slept till noon while I imagine the Theist members here dutifully got up and did their thing in whatever their denomination is.

I was raised Catholic, and eventually for various reasons stopped taking it seriously. It seemed to me the priest was preaching basically the same stuff all the time and the people singing the same boring hymns. Anyway, I just thought this was a different way to look at the religion discussion. Aside from my belief, or lack of it, I find the trappings of religion itself dull and it's just hard to see it as a vitally important part of my life. If any religion has something interesting to say I think it's plenty adequate to read it from a book at my leisure.

I'm also thinking....... what if one of these Theists does fully convince me of the Personal God that listens to prayers? Well.... for one thing an omnipresent being watching my every move seems kind of spooky. Next though, I'd be asked to go along to church. I'd want to know if I can take an espresso to stay awake or bring my MP3 player with Earbuds or my Netbook. Do churches have Wifi?

Or ask Dannno for some LSD to take in mass.

Random thoughts from a hopeless materialist.

A " hopeless materialist" , interesting , not sure I have ever heard someone describe self as such . I think though I have known many .I cannot imagine they would be so honest

 

[BuddyRey]

Sad to say, white American Christian music is pretty much an epic fail (except for bluegrass, which I love).

My advice: ditch the CCM/Christian rock, and check out some Mahalia Jackson, Dorothy Love Coates, and early Sam Cooke. You'll be overflowing with the Holy Ghost in no time.

 

[VIDEODROME]

Umm... My dad likes BlueGrass but it drives me crazy after a while.

I'm mostly an Electronic Music guy. I still listen to Kraftwerk and also Daft Punk or Ladytron. I thought M83s film score for Oblivion was really nice.

I do enjoy some symphony sound to from film scores.

 

[I<3Liberty]

This is just a random topic I thought of as I stayed up Saturday and slept till noon while I imagine the Theist members here dutifully got up and did their thing in whatever their denomination is.

I was raised Catholic, and eventually for various reasons stopped taking it seriously. It seemed to me the priest was preaching basically the same stuff all the time and the people singing the same boring hymns. Anyway, I just thought this was a different way to look at the religion discussion. Aside from my belief, or lack of it, I find the trappings of religion itself dull and it's just hard to see it as a vitally important part of my life. If any religion has something interesting to say I think it's plenty adequate to read it from a book at my leisure.

I'm also thinking....... what if one of these Theists does fully convince me of the Personal God that listens to prayers? Well.... for one thing an omnipresent being watching my every move seems kind of spooky. Next though, I'd be asked to go along to church. I'd want to know if I can take an espresso to stay awake or bring my MP3 player with Earbuds or my Netbook. Do churches have Wifi?

Or ask Dannno for some LSD to take in mass.

Random thoughts from a hopeless materialist.

I've gone to some older churches and didn't like them for similar reasons (the boring and slow hymns, repetitive sermons that were poorly executed, and the atmosphere was just too dated for my liking.) I'd suggest going to a more modern church because I feel like they're more engaging. Some churches in more urban areas or with a large young adult population will also have multiple services for each age group. We have one that does three services: a very formal traditional service, a blend of contemporary and traditional, and then a super contemporary one like the churches you see on TV (christian pop and rock-type music and everyone gets up to clap and sing.)

My church gives people coffee and tea before church and they have wi-fi (but, no LSD. ) I'm never bored because the pastor is a really good speaker and the service is more contemporary. I'm United Methodist, so the service is probably a bit different than the catholic services. We start it off by walking around and greeting everyone, and partway through the service they'll do interactive stuff like have everyone write an anonymous prayer request on a post it note, place them in a box then have everyone take one on their way out.

 

[oyarde]

Sad to say, white American Christian music is pretty much an epic fail (except for bluegrass, which I love).

My advice: ditch the CCM/Christian rock, and check out some Mahalia Jackson, Dorothy Love Coates, and early Sam Cooke. You'll be overflowing with the Holy Ghost in no time.

Love Sam Cooke.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

The classic hymns you typically find in hymnals are actually quite well done. They're just typically poorly performed. Classic Catholic and Orthodox music is really beautiful IMO. Vivialdi wrote some amazing sacred music when he wasn't doing secular stuff. Maybe I have unusual taste, but I think the archaic tunes done in Latin services are fascinating. People are still using the contrapuntal techniques used in those, usually unwittingly-they just use modern instruments.

 

[VIDEODROME]

One other thing that might mostly be a part of the Catholic Church is the display of the crucified Christ which is kind of depressing to look at on top of the the blah music.

It's about as much fun as sitting in the doctor waiting room looking at medical magazines.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Sad to say, white American Christian music is pretty much an epic fail (except for bluegrass, which I love).

My advice: ditch the CCM/Christian rock, and check out some Mahalia Jackson, Dorothy Love Coates, and early Sam Cooke. You'll be overflowing with the Holy Ghost in no time.

Have you ever heard the Hee Haw gospel quartet? That was a corny show, but their gospel was top notch.

I'll throw in some Anonymous 4 too, just because they interpret ancient and gospel religious so well.

 

[James Madison]

Most Americans have the attention span of a fly, so I understand why churches are trying new things. I'm seeing the same thing in books, movies, video games, music...everything is faster paced, more action, explosions, Michael Bay-ified bunch of James Cameron wannabes. Anything that requires even the tinniest sliver of thought, subtlety, or nuance must be purged.

 

[eduardo89]

One other thing that might mostly be a part of the Catholic Church is the display of the crucified Christ which is kind of depressing to look at on top of the the blah music.

It's about as much fun as sitting in the doctor waiting room looking at medical magazines.

Why would it depress you? You should feel absolute awe at the love and humility it took for God Himseld to die for you!