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I went to several churches in Seattle for my 28 years as a Christian there. I then moved, 4 years ago, to the bible belt.

Here the message is much simpler and usually involves the “turn or burn’ message - and no small amount of “laughing” at the unsaved, while imploring the members to invite others to church. The preaching is mainly entertainment and short on theology.

But the part that is somewhat annoying is that there is not much room for those that disagree with them, even though they often can not tell you why they believe what they believe. It’s just something a preacher said when they were a kid and that’s good enough for them.

And a Christian can pray, love others, take communion, share the message, etc. ANYWHERE. They don’t need to go to church to do it. it’s why I see church as a place where I can bless others and be blessed by others. And that can mean excitement, good music, prayer, pot lucks, you name it.

We are not muslims. When asked how to live a Christian life, I say start with Ecclesiastes and then go on to the new testament.

I was raised Episcopalian , was an altar boy, we had a few fired up REvs , mostly from alcohol consumption, I can’t remember any sermon that left my eyebrows singed.. And I usually sat near the Rev when he gave the sermon.

When I joined the Marines, I remember coming home to see the family and my Dad and uncle , a WW2 vet.. And finding out they had a new Rev. A gay female one. He passed a few years later and did get visits from the gay Rev. During his decline.

I have no animosity against the churches as they are today,, yet I am unfortunately not content to grace their presences anytime soon either.

We all have different decoder rings, it seems.

By design? Or choice? is the question.