Are we far behind?

[B/W Photodude]

So, we have seen many liberal / left wing ideas penetrating into the SDA church such as women's ordination, the push for acceptance of gay people into the church, the abysmal inability and even surrender of the men of the church to do anything about it (with the accompanying disappearance of many men/boys from the church), makes one wonder if we are far behind what many concerned Catholics are experiencing as they watch is going on in their church:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w2Ji4u8ymk

 

[JoeMo]

While I agree with the premise of the video - not only in the Catholic Church but in most Christian churches as well as secular corporations - I thought it was a little off-base with its broad-brush painting of a majority of bishops and priests being gay girly-men who don't know how to relate to real men.  Just like in the SDA church; pastors and leaders keep their heads down and their mouths shut in order to keep their jobs. Not saying it's right; just stating the facts.

[Gustave]

On 9/9/2019 at 8:35 PM, B/W Photodude said:

So, we have seen many liberal / left wing ideas penetrating into the SDA church such as women's ordination, the push for acceptance of gay people into the church, the abysmal inability and even surrender of the men of the church to do anything about it (with the accompanying disappearance of many men/boys from the church), makes one wonder if we are far behind what many concerned Catholics are experiencing as they watch is going on in their church:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w2Ji4u8ymk

 

Disgusting, stomach turning, vomit inducing and unfortunately very true! 

[8thdaypriest]

I saw a couple studies that asked why young people are vacating the churches.  The #1 reason given by young people, in both study results, was their acceptance of the doctrine of evolution as taught in the public schools.   The Evil One knew, that taking over the public schools, and excluding any mention of God, or of "intelligent design creation" would decimate the churches.   The kids don't believe the Bible is true history, because the "science" they're taught says otherwise. 

The #2 reason given, was the hypocrisy of believing adults, preaching/teaching one thing, yet doing something else. 

Before focusing on gays, or women as teachers, etc., maybe focus on the #1 and #2 reasons. 

I've been buying and watching creation science videos the last several months, and posting the best ones under my "Recommended Reading and Resources" page on my website prophecyviewpoint.com. 

Buy a few yourself, and share them with your kids.   Discuss them with your kids, before sending them off to school.  Unless you give your kids some creation science, they will swallow the evolution delusion. 

 

[JoeMo]

22 hours ago, 8thdaypriest said:

The #1 reason given by young people, in both study results, was their acceptance of the doctrine of evolution as taught in the public schools. 

Unfortunately, the more secular education one has (even is religious institutions), the more likely one is accept some form of evolution as "fact".  This is especially true among those who study the sciences - like doctors, physicists, etc.  Whether one accepts evolution or creation, it is a matter of faith since no one was there to witness it and science has not been able to reproduce it in the laboratory.  It boils down to a matter of choice - what do you believe?  Did order arise out of random chaos by random chance (in violation of the second Law of Thermodynamics), or did an outside intelligence far beyond our capability to understand introduce order to the chaos?  I was brought up in a secular scientific environment, yet I choose to believe the latter.  We all have to make choices.

[8thdaypriest]

#3 reason given by young people for leaving "church", was peer pressure. 

[8thdaypriest]

Jesus turned water - a very simple H2O, to wine - a very complex molecule. 

The servants saw Him do it - instantly.  The "master of the feast", who had not seen Him do it, thought it was wine from grapes carefully trod and sieved and aged, from grapevines years old.    The principle is the same.  God made "the heavens and the earth" in six days.  Those who didn't see Him do it, think it must have reached its present state over billions of years. 

Point is.  He did it.  No one saw Him do it. 

[BlessedMan]

I am not questioning what you saw in said studies, but I would question any premise that says the number one, two, or even three reason that any people, let alone young people, leave the church, or stay away from the church because of doctrine.

I have personally visited many dozens of people who have left the church, in their homes, and it was a very rare occurrence that they left because of doctrines. In most cases I have experienced and talked to; they left because of people, not doctrine.

 

 

[B/W Photodude]

21 hours ago, BlessedMan said:

I have personally visited many dozens of people who have left the church, in their homes, and it was a very rare occurrence that they left because of doctrines. In most cases I have experienced and talked to; they left because of people, not doctrine.

Surveys have been done in the past on people who left the church. When asked what bothered them the most, a common answer was "No one came looking for me."

In my church, a large percentage of the members on the books have not been to church in many years. there are some unusual circumstances to this situation, but when I have brought it up to the pastor and the elder on why we do not go find these people and bring them back to church, it is like banging my head on the wall. Would they even want to come back to a place where they are most likely not even wanted?