Yesterday being Easter meant that a large number of people ventured out to church, some for the first time since the pandemic. Most of them will not venture out to church again until Christmas. I don’t get the point of that, but if that’s what makes you happy I won’t argue with it.
I also saw an exchange on Twitter where a sports guy I followed thanked a church for being so welcoming when he attended recently. One of his followers replied to say he should attend his church if he was in the area. The sports guy, who also owns a restaurant responded with this:
Yep, this guy who was inviting him to church also tweeted hateful things to him after he announced a drag lunch at his restaurant. I looked at the Twitter feed for him and it is half “look how religious I am” and half “I hate everyone who isn’t like me”
It made me think about religion, church, etc.
A long time ago, I knew a couple who had not attended church in years but considered themselves religious. For them, religion meant following all the rules. The rules? No drinking. No dancing. No cussing. No being friends with the ‘wrong” people. There was no love in any of this. In fact, they were terribly racist and homophobic, but thought that was all part of being “good”.
I’ve worked with church people who also had all of the above rules. They were also racist and homophobic. They also thought all denominations but theirs were wrong and that you should never attend another church. They also wouldn’t do wedding ceremonies for anyone who had been divorced. Missing again? Love.
I’ve also known church/religious people who exuded love and care for others. The rules mattered less than love for others.
I’ve also known people who are not religious who also exuded this love.
When asked, Jesus said there were two commandments: Love God and Love people.
Unfortunately, too many religious people skip the second commandment and focus on their own rules instead.
Religious or not, we need more love in the world, not hate for people not like us.
The World's Common Tater 
Great post. Well said. Love people without agenda
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Well said. I don’t go to church, but I try to embody the teachings of Christianity. None of those teachings ever made me think I should only love people just like me.
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Thank you for your thoughtful post. We watched a service online for Easter. My husband’s childhood best friend is the pastor and the church is out of state. His sermon was very uplifting — all about Love.
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I’m afraid this is exactly what turned me away from the Catholic church. I don’t see myself returning to any form of church, until there’s a massive turn around in the behaviour of those professing to hold religious beliefs.
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As much as I love the music of a baptist church, when I attended a service the sermon was filled with a lot of hate. There were a few people I was following here that professed to be Christian but then feel the need to resort to name calling. I can’t understand that way of thinking. You’re absolutely right there is a strong need for more love all around. There are ways to show respect to a fellow human being even if you don’t agree with their beliefs (Life/Religious). Btw I am one of those people that went to Church on Easter primarily because my wife asked me to.
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I grew up in the baptist church and attended one here for a while until the politics and hate drove me out. Of course, the denomination I’m at now also has issues and is about to split over the decision about LGBTQ inclusion. I’m hoping my church splits the right way.
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People are people. If people want to worship in a church, the church should have open arms regardless of their sexuality. Churches close all the time because of the lack of parishioners. What denomination are you now ?
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Methodist
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In response to your posts title “We Need Love More Than Religion” my blog We Love The Oldest Parents has emotionally a similarity to that, we accept all religions together in our club, in offering love to our ancestors, whom we support in as many of the most popular beliefs. The idea is, religion, if desired to benefit from, should largely be focused on family values and emotions such as love. I hope you will give us a visit and follow, your invited.
http://www.welovetheoldestparents.com
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