Attendance at local church

[NewCreation435]

Is attendance at a local church essential to christian growth? Please use scripture to back up your statements.

 

[Josiah]

"Essential?" No. Profitable? Yes.

Consider Hebrews 10:25



.

 

[Lamb]

Is attendance at a local church essential to christian growth? Please use scripture to back up your statements.

The Lord wants us to gather with other believers. There are times when we cannot do that (such as when we're ill or there is a pandemic).

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

 

[tango]

Is attendance at a local church essential to christian growth? Please use scripture to back up your statements.

There's no reason you can't read the Bible and worship on your own. That said if you are accountable to others you will have a more stable growth, not least because you're less likely to go off the rails with weird interpretations of Scripture. If you're doing your own study the chances are you'll refer to one or more commentaries/books/podcasts/videos etc and some of what's out there is so kooky it's a wonder anyone takes it seriously.

I remember a book I had some years ago - I bought it from the local thrift shop to find out what the author was about - and having made it a few pages into the book I could only conclude that the author was using a lot of words and saying precisely nothing of any substance. One particular paragraph made no sense at all despite reading it multiple times. Some authors use variations of bait-and-switch tactics to present kooky theology as if it were sound, others make assertions with little or nothing to back it up, and so on.

I forget the Scripture reference (don't have my Bible to hand), but there is a passage that says not to forsake gatherings, or words to that effect. Whether those gatherings are supposed to look like a modern day church service is obviously subject to discussion.

 

[NathanH83]

Is attendance at a local church essential to christian growth? Please use scripture to back up your statements.

Essential

 

[Fritz Kobus]

The trick is finding one that is really biblical in all aspects. Every church out there seems to fall short in one or more ways.

 

[Josiah]

Is it essential to kiss your wife? No. But I'd have to wonder why a guy doesn't want to.

Is it essential that a person live with other people or can he live on an island with no one else? No, it's not essential. But it's a good thing to be with others, God made us to be social.

Christianity is one of two major world religions that originated in one culture but developed in a very different one (Buddhism being the other). Judaism and the Near East are very, very COMMUNITY oriented. But Greece and Rome had a strong, strong sense of individualism. And I think that individualism has impacted Christianity like a cancer. Lots of ME, ME, ME, ME, ME. Just Jesus and ME. And the Enlightenment just added to this. This seems rather foreign to the Bible. But a lot of Christians seem to come around to this, including (it seems) in the question of this thread. It's not Jesus and me, it's Jesus and we.

It seems fundamental that support/accountability/social groups are essential. God has placed us into families. AA and Weight Watchers and similar organizations know that getting together are key.


Hebrews 10:25


.

 

[NewCreation435]

Essential

thanks for all those scripture verses. that was really great

 

[NewCreation435]

The Lord wants us to gather with other believers. There are times when we cannot do that (such as when we're ill or there is a pandemic).

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

the church I am a member of is online but it is also meeting without masks inside. Last time I was there I saw only one person with a mask on and everyone else didn't have one on. I am diabetic and have sleep apnea and really don't want covid if it can be avoided.

 

[Albion]

The trick is finding one that is really biblical in all aspects. Every church out there seems to fall short in one or more ways.

Then find one that is correct when it comes to essentials.

You can suffer the incidentals for the sake of availing yourself of all that the New Testament tells us is important about participatng in the local congregation.

 

[tango]

the church I am a member of is online but it is also meeting without masks inside. Last time I was there I saw only one person with a mask on and everyone else didn't have one on. I am diabetic and have sleep apnea and really don't want covid if it can be avoided.

Would it work for you to attend wearing a high grade mask? A vented N95 would give you a lot of protection, as long as you'd fitted it well, and the vent would make it easier for you to breathe.

 

[Fritz Kobus]

Before you wear a mask to church or anywhere else, take a look at the Stanford Mask Study, which concludes,

The existing scientific evidences challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemask as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death.

Stanford Mask Study

 

[Faith]

Before you wear a mask to church or anywhere else, take a look at the Stanford Mask Study, which concludes,

Stanford Mask Study

I think that their conclusions are a bunch of hooey.

 

[tango]

I think that their conclusions are a bunch of hooey.

On what basis do you say this?

 

[Lanman87]

On what basis do you say this?

Did So-Called ‘Stanford, NIH Study’ Really Show Face Masks Are Ineffective Against Covid-19?

Stanford University Disavows Study Claiming Masks ‘Worthless’ Against COVID-19

Fact Check-Journal article questioning effectiveness of masks against COVID-19 is not a Stanford University study

Surgical masks reduce COVID-19 spread, large-scale study shows

Researchers found that surgical masks impede the spread of COVID-19 and that just a few, low-cost interventions increase mask-wearing compliance.

med.stanford.edu

Surgical masks very effective in preventing spread of COVID-19, Stanford study finds

 

[tango]

Did So-Called ‘Stanford, NIH Study’ Really Show Face Masks Are Ineffective Against Covid-19?

Stanford University Disavows Study Claiming Masks ‘Worthless’ Against COVID-19

Fact Check-Journal article questioning effectiveness of masks against COVID-19 is not a Stanford University study

Surgical masks reduce COVID-19 spread, large-scale study shows

Researchers found that surgical masks impede the spread of COVID-19 and that just a few, low-cost interventions increase mask-wearing compliance.

med.stanford.edu

Surgical masks very effective in preventing spread of COVID-19, Stanford study finds

Thanks - I'll read those and the original article later on. Good to get links from both sides - I don't dispute the downsides of wearing higher grade masks having experienced some of them myself, but always good to see it from all angles.

 

[Fritz Kobus]

New England Journal of Medicine (emphasis mine):
"We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic."

Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era | NEJM

Perspective from The New England Journal of Medicine — Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era

www.nejm.org

Also see,
The Science is Conclusive: Masks and Respirators do NOT Prevent Transmission of Viruses -- Sott.net
"There have been extensive randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies, and meta-analysis reviews of RCT studies, which all show that masks and respirators do not work to prevent respiratory influenza-like illnesses, or respiratory illnesses believed to be transmitted by droplets and aerosol particles."

 

[Faith]

On what basis do you say this?

All the other studies done.

 

[tango]

All the other studies done.

It's useful to list something specific rather than simply responding to links with "meh, not true", no?

 

[Faith]

It's useful to list something specific rather than simply responding to links with "meh, not true", no?

Sorry, don’t have the time or interest to find links to prove my point. I listen toThe experts such as Dr. Fauchi and my doctor.