Do Christians Need To Go To Church? What Type of Church Should You Attend?

Do Christians Need To Go To Church?
This is a common question many have, sometimes the question is
an honest question, sometimes the question is posed by hostile
skeptics. St Augustine answers this question memorably in his
testimonial book, Confessions, which we will discuss.
We will reflect on some questions that are just as interesting,
such as:
Why should I attend church?
Which type of church should I attend?

My internet persona is purposely vague as to which
denomination I call home, there are many respectful
channels that compare themselves to other Christians, this
is not one of them. I am respectful of all legitimate Judaeo-
Christian traditions, seeking moral truths where I find
them, including moral and stoic philosophy.
The first question to ask is always, is the question framed
properly? Is the question itself absurd?

Let us reframe the question in another context. We know that all the
major college football teams have booster clubs. My barber many years
ago was a lady who was a rabid Seminoles fan, when you walk into her
shop you would think you had walked into a football memorabilia
museum, with the autographed posters of football players and coaches,
and the banners, and the footballs and the helmets, and she was always
enthusiastically talking about all the games she drove all the way to
Tallahassee so she could hoot and holler in the stands.
Clearly, these football boosters never ask these questions: Why should I
go the Seminole football games? Couldn’t I be a true Seminole booster
without going to the games? These questions are simply absurd.

The Florida State Seminoles won their third national title by defeating the Auburn Tigers at the Rose Bowl.

So, wouldn’t it be also absurd for Christians to ask why they
have to go to church, if they are truly Christian?
So let us ask the question in another way. You have no doubt
heard the often-told joke, What is the difference between
those who go to the beach on Sundays, and those who go to
church on Sundays?
The answer is those who go to the beach on Sundays don’t go
to church on Sundays because they don’t think they need to
change, while the people who go to church on Sundays think
they don’t need to change neither, because they go to church.

To be truthful, we really do not want a Jesus who
expects us to help Him carry His cross, we want a
Jesus who takes the cross off our back, we want a
Jesus who makes us happy. The ugly truth about
life is, if we truly try to live a godly life,
sometimes we will be happy, and sometimes, not
so much.

Christ
Falling on
the Way to
Calvary, by
Raphael,
1517
Christ
Carrying the
Cross,
Sebastiano
del Piombo,
1514

To recast the message in our joke, people generally do not want to commit to a
church, or synagogue, because they do not want a god who tells them how to
live their life. But when we commit to living a godly life, we prefer to recast our
god and his message into a god that tells us what we want to hear.
You can see this in our channel views, one of our projects is to reflect on the
teachings in Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the moral philosophers on the
Ten Commandments. By far, these videos are the least popular videos on our
channel. People always want to believe that they root for the winning football
team, and likewise, enthusiastic converts always want to argue that their
denomination are the only true Christians, and these polemic videos are the
videos that draw the views.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJVlY2bjK8li1ULMrgL23X-iA5aCENq6i

We believe in a stoic view of Christianity, that
Christ did not die on the cross to relieve us of our
sufferings, Christ died on the cross to show us how
to endure our sufferings, and Christ can give us
the strength to deal with our sufferings, if we but
ask Christ to grant us this strength.

What do the Scriptures exhort us to do? This is always a primary concern.
Hebrews, in the New Testament, has the clearest instruction:
Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good
deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the
Day approaching.
What exactly does it mean to encourage one another? We will ponder
this further.
There are other bible verses commonly cited that indirectly encourage us
to attend church, this is one good list:

https://www.fanawards.com/best-bible-verses-about-going-to-church

.
There are several psalms that very clearly
state how we should long to be close to
God. Psalm 84 explicitly pines to be in the
house of the Lord. Psalm 84 begins:
“How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.” Mary Queen of the Universe, Orlando, FL, off I4

.
The intervening verses are also
beautiful, the Psalm concludes:
“For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the
house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.”
Mary Queen of the Universe, Orlando, FL, off I4

This psalm is also named the janitor’s psalm,
proclaiming that it would be better to be a janitor in
the house of the Lord than to be a VIP amongst the
ungodly.

Also beautiful is Psalm 42:
“As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’”

This psalm was written for someone who is in exile in
a foreign land, whose captors taunt him, who longs
to return to the land of the House of the Lord.

Later the psalmist sings:
“I say to God, my rock,
‘Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?’”
We remember how Jesus cried out from the
cross, “My God, why have you forsaken
me?” The psalmist sings:
“As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.”

St Augustine reflects on this psalm:
“Let us burn together with this thirst; let us
run together to the fountain of
understanding. Let us” “long for it as a hart
yearns for a spring,” “let us long for the
wellspring of which Scripture exhorts, ‘With
you is the fountain of life.” “Long for the
fountains of water. With God is the fountain
of life, a fountain that can never dry up.”
“God has everything that will refresh you.
He is able to fill anyone who comes to Him.
This is what I am thirsting for, to reach Him
and appear before Him. I am thirsty on my
pilgrimage, parched in my running, but I
will be totally satisfied when I arrive.” Augustine of Hippo, by Sandro Botticelli, 1490

St Augustine’s memorable reflection on our question appear in his
Confessions, which is really one of the first testimonials. St Augustine tells
us the story of Victorinus, a philosopher who studies the Gospels and the
Church Fathers but declines to attend services, asking “Do the walls of
the Church make you a Christian?” Victorinus was a learned man, an
erudite pagan Platonic philosopher, the Word of the Lord spoke directly
to him from the page, perhaps he felt intellectually superior to many
simple Christians he knew.
In the words of St Augustine, in his studies Victorinus became “resolute,
he was seized by the fear that Christ might deny him before the holy
angels if he was too faint-hearted to acknowledge Christ before men, and
he felt himself guilty of a great crime in in being ashamed of the
sacraments instituted by the Word of God in his lowly state.”

Planned for 2022/2023
St Augustine tells us the story of Victorinus, a
philosopher who studies the Gospels and the Church
Fathers but declines to attend services, asking “Do
the walls of the Church make you a Christian?”
In the words of St Augustine, in his studies
Victorinus became “resolute, he was seized by the
fear that Christ might deny him before the holy
angels if he was too faint-hearted to acknowledge
Christ before men, and he felt himself guilty of a
great crime in in being ashamed of the sacraments
instituted by the Word of God in his lowly state.”

God spoke to Victorinus in his heart, and the answer is that the walls of
the Church DO make you a Christian, your public profession of faith is
what makes you a member of the church and a Christian.
WHAT TYPE OF CHURCH SHOULD YOU SEEK?
In the fifth century St John Climacus wrote the Ladder of Divine Ascent,
and it is one of the few monastic manuals that gives advice to the young
monk on how to select the abbot and monastery whose guidance he will
follow. Ancient monasteries were like a spiritual boot camp, monks are
expected to follow the spiritual advice of their abbot without question.
Of course, you need to allegorize this advice when you apply it to your
life as a layman.

.
St John Climacus teaches us:
“If we are prudent we should test our
helmsman (i.e., priest or pastor), so as not to
mistake the sailor for the pilot, a sick man for
a doctor, a passionate for a dispassionate
man, the sea for a harbor, and so bring about
the speedy shipwreck for our soul. But when
once we have entered the arenas of piety
and obedience, we must no longer judge our
good manager in any way at all, even though
we may perhaps see in him some slight
failings, since he is only human. Otherwise,
by sitting in judgment we shall not profit
from our obedience.”

Laymen cannot be closely directed by their priests or pastors like monks
are by their spiritual fathers, or abbots, because laymen usually do not
live out their daily life with their priests or pastors. But laymen need to
be comfortable with the spirituality of their priest or pastor. If you pastor
or priest tells you truth that needs to be heard that you do not like, you
should still listen; and if they ask you to change your ways in a way you
do not like, you should be very reluctant to go against their advice. This
advice is more applicable to those Christians who see Confession as a
Sacrament, Catholic and Orthodox, but this can also be applicable when
you seek spiritual counseling for your marriage or other life problems.
When you select a church, moral teaching, and this respect for your
pastor or priest, is far more important than convenience, music
ministries, or whether you feel “spiritually fed” or entertained.

St Catherine’s monastery is located in the mountains of the Sinai desert.

Another implication is that if you wish to develop a deep
faith, study and reflection is needed. One observation of
mine is when someone wishes to convert from their
current faith tradition to another, their understanding of
the faith tradition into which they were born is
fragmentary, which makes it easier for them to bash what
they left. Those who choose to study their own tradition
often choose not to covert. Likewise, you should study
the tradition you are considering converting to.

We can also profit from reflections in Yves Congar’s book, True and False
Reform in the Church, that encouraged Pope John XXIII to call the
Second Vatican Council. Soon after World War II, there was deep
dissatisfaction in the Catholic Church, a sense that the church was on
the wrong side of history. Yves Congar reflected on the role that the
church should play in our lives, the lives of believers, his reflections are
valid regardless of whether you are Catholic or not. He reflects that like
Jesus, the church that is the bridegroom of Jesus is both human and
divine, that, that is simultaneously imperfect and infallible, how the
church is much larger than any individual clergyman, and how in ancient
times the church as a whole was far less likely to be judged by the
imperfections of one or a few individuals.

Yves Congar quotes St Augustine, “Wherever
in my books I spoke of the church having
neither spot nor wrinkle (Eph 5:27), it is
necessary to understand this not as if the
church were already like this, but in the
sense that she is preparing herself to be, on
the day when she will appear in her glory. At
present, by reason of the ignorance and
infirmity of her members, she has reason to
say every day, ‘Forgive us our debts.’”
Yves Congar quotes St Ephrem, “The whole
church is the church of penitents and the
whole church is the church of those who
are perishing.”
The triumph of Saint Augustine, Claudio
Coello, painted 1664

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