I think they got the wrong stereotype with the KFC
You would have to live down here to understand. There is literally a different church on every corner - all of which teach different creeds and doctrines that are somehow superior to the others. It is beat into everyone's head since they are little that you have to go to church...thankfully you can actually see a significant portion of my generation breaking free of this trend. Most churches around here have less than 100 members...most of them are over 60 years old...these will cease to exist soon enough. If you notice, the most vocal christian fundamentalists are all senior citizens...hopefully I live long enough to see a lot of this crap die out.
I'll give a perspective from the other side:
Sure there are different Protestant denominations, but saying that they
teach different creeds and doctrines that "are somehow superior to the others"
is misleading.
The core teachings of 90% of the denominations are the same, they would
all agree to the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed. The differences between
them are minor, and deal with style of worship, mode of baptism, type
of church government...
My family and I go to church not because "we have to" but because we enjoy
it, it is fulfilling and healthy for the soul. The people I go to church with are
some of the happiest and well-adjusted people I know.
You live in Texas right Zit? I can tell you that here in Alabama things are much different....Texas is quite a bit more progressive to say the least. Try telling a member of the Church of Christ, Jehovah's Witness, Baptist, etc. that the 10% difference isn't a lot. For most of them it is the difference between an eternal hell or heaven. Like you said, it is all about perspective, and the perspective in rural Alabama is totally different. There is nothing wrong with going to church, lots of people do it for different reasons and as long as it is a positive influence in your life - so be it. I am not blowing smoke out of my ass on this...I have been a part of three different denominations in my life - all of which thought the only people going to heaven were them and their kind. They were on the whole the most wretched, dastardly, back-stabbing group of individuals that I have ever encountered.
Side note - I am actually going to church this morning. My wife enjoys it so I am going to accompany her.
you got that right. i've experienced it in my youth. my mom always had somekind of church going family as our babysitters, and each always seemed to have a different faith, or a whatnot.
you can talk to someone about god that goes to so-n-so christian church, and as soon as you mention something about a baptist, or protestant , or jehovah witness, or pentecostal, or catholic, or whatever. the person will almost immediately say something like "oh , well those types are nuts".
And it can happen from any of them.
they all think that the rules they follow are the right ones and everyone else is dong it wrong.
