On-topic: My wife is a recovering Catholic and now a Lutheran. I think it's a good switch (I guess I'm biased, though).
Not quite on-topic: I like religious threads and I'd like to share some thoughts, for what they're worth (I've had too much coffee today and can't sleep...)
Unbelievers sometimes say, "God shouldn't need people to worship him." From my understanding as a Lutheran, he doesn't NEED us to worship him -- how could he need something like that? But he does want a close relationship with us out of love, and so he WANTS us to worship him for our sake. An analogy (albeit a poor one): I don't need my cat to love me, but I think she lives a happier life is I hear her purring on my lap every once in a while.
Unbelievers sometimes say, "God shouldn't need my money." In a nutshell, he doesn't, but oftentimes his works on earth do. I'll freely admit that I am deeply bothered by extravagent worship facilities that I often see in affluent neighborhoods (often coinciding with "mega-churches"), but giving money to a church is not in and of itself wrong. A functioning church simply needs staff, and the nature of the work negates volunteers. If you want educated people doing the work, including preaching, they must pay for that education and thus must be paid for their work. And it's not always easy.
Unbelievers sometimes say, "Thinking people can't possibly be religious." I'd say that's crazy, hurtful, close-minded, historically selective, and unthoughtful. I honestly don't think there's any correlation between religion and intelligence. History is full of examples of religious folk who were also quite intelligent, even if that intelligence went against the organized church of the day.
Unbelievers sometimes say, "God shouldn't need to be worshipped in groups." First refer to the first point, and then refer to the previous poster who said that group worship is as much about community as it is anything else. I will say that I feel closer to God worshipping with others and with a talented preacher than I do worshipping alone.
With all that said, I'm not trying to convert anybody here, just wanted to respond to a few things that have come up before. The coffee is wearing off and the nightcap is working in, so I'll stop my ramble. All these points were brushed on earlier, hence the response. Hope it doesn't come across as too unsolicited....
Oh, and:
"You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."
bobdylan.com
