Show Summary, From Chris and Nate

Chris Says:

Nate Says: Church is so "Christian". ;-) It is a good thing, but varies widely and I don't personally get a lot from it. (no surprise there).

- - Show Site: http://www.thechristianandtheatheist.org/

First of all I am a Christian and attend a local Vineyard church in Syracuse, IN and I am also a worship leader. But I just wanted to add something that I though was important.

One thing that Nate kept referring to, and mentioned he thought a church service should more often include, was the basic moral principles that the Bible teaches. For an Atheist I understand why you would prefer that sort of teaching, and as an Atheist that's the only beneficial thing you could get from a Christian church service. Now don't get me wrong I think that actions speak louder than words, and if you are a Christian you should be setting an example of Christ. But the cornerstone of the faith is God's forgiveness. Really if you want to know what sets Christianity apart from everything else it's GRACE, and everything else revolves around that. You can't do enough "good things" to earn salvation. And it works the same if you look at it from the opposite angle; you can't sin enough to loose your salvation. This is all assuming that you've chosen Christ as your saviour and have asked for forgiveness.
If the system is working correctly, our actions are a result of a changed personality. Christians are just a bunch of sinning losers just like everyone else, the only difference is we recognize that God will forgive us NO MATTER WHAT WE DO (which is true), and that he is more passionate about us than anything else, that's when we find that there's more to it than a religion; it's a relationship.

I appreciate you guys and the show. This is exactly what people are interested in, I would encourage you to continue what you're doing, it is really fun. Keep it up!

Cheerio,
Nick

I am a 15 year old conservative from Oklahoma.....oops, dang are you still reading I said I'm an Okie...anyways. I wanted to note that the correlation drawn by Nate betweeen Conservative and Liberal, and traditional and more contemporary services is not an accurate correlation for me because I go to a church that is split politically and we have a traditional service currently with a Liberal Pastor and Music Minister btw and our conservative youth group is pushing for more contemporary styles of worship. I see it more as an emerging trend in style of worship than something that you could stereotype as left or right.

I think Chris did a pretty good job representing the Christian view of church but because he is on the spot, may not have as in depth answers as he would like. So I thought, on behalf of the Christian side that I would expand on what he said.

Our culture, in my opinion, defines church as something different than what the Bible teaches. Traditionally, church is a building or institution in which Christians belong to and participate in religious activities. It may be synonymous with Synagogue or Temple, or a Mosque. Our culture may go as far as to say that you are considered a "good" person if you go to church and that looks good to God and you probably will get into Heaven. The Bible teaches something a bit different. It teaches that the church is defined as the entire group of people on this earth that have made Jesus Christ their forgiver and leader. So, the church is not a building or organization, but the worldwide family of Christians - the church is God's people. The Bible uses an analogy and describes the church as being the body of Christ and Jesus being the head. And being the body of Christ, we are to do His work here on earth.

So what is His work? The purpose of the body of Christ, as a whole, is to share God's love and His plan of salvation to every person on the planet. That is the sole purpose of a Christian. (Otherwise, when we became believers, God would just take us up to Heaven!) In light of this, we can better understand the role that "going to church" has to play. We are not commanded anywhere in the Bible to go to church. However, the Bible is clear that it is very important to walk through life together as Christians. Consider this: What if you joined the army and the first thing they did was put you in a helicopter, flew you to Iraq, told you that you are supposed to fight terrorism, gave you a gun (which you've never used before), let you out in the desert and said "Good luck!" That's what the life of a Christian would be without the church. In a similar way that the military works, with organization, training, strategy and so on, the church works - and meeting regularly helps us to accomplish that. When I was a kid, I remember thinking that I don't need to go to church; I believe in God, I can read the Bible on my own. But just like that lone soldier in Iraq, God does not mean for us to walk the walk alone. The Body of Christ is an army and we can't accomplish God's goals without working together.

Going to church isn't an end in itself. What happens at church - corporate worship of God, sharing in each other's life, becoming better equipped to serve God, each other and the world, breaking bread and praying together - is what's important. The truth is that the early church (the disciples that still existed immediately after Jesus ascended back to Heaven) began meeting in their homes. There were no church buildings. They lived in community together, sharing their possessions, eating together, and living together. Basically, they walked through life together and shared in the common task of spreading the gospel to the world around them. The truth is, wherever two or more are gathered for the purpose of accomplishing God's work, that's church.

I think many people view church as being a requirement, or obligation. In other religions that may be the case but in Biblical Christianity, what is required is faith in Jesus, His resurrection and His saving power and obedience to God’s commands (not the 10 Commandments, but all the instructions the Bible offers, and the what God leads us to do in our day-to-day existence). Since faith is the ingredient we contribute to our salvation, there is also something else to note here. The Bible teaches that faith without works is dead faith (or in other words, futile). So the good deeds of a Christian are not what gives him or her the prize to get into Heaven (as none of us deserve Heaven), but our good deeds are evidence that we have a genuine faith in God. Conversely, a Christian that doesn’t “produce fruit” may not have a living faith at all. So that’s where doing good deeds fit in – not as something to check off the “good Christian” task list, but an act of love for God that proves our devotion to Him. I may also go as far as to suggest that as a Christian, if you are not doing good deeds (or in other words, being obedient to God by loving and taking care of people’s needs on earth), you may not have a living faith, which is required for salvation. This is harsh, but again, it’s right our of the Bible.

This is my understanding of church/The Church and a little on doing good deeds based on what the Bible teaches.

Ben

Ben, I just wanted to note and say that I think you're previously post was a very good summary of what The Church is.

-Spencer