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Yeah, this journey just got longer and stranger again. Depending on your personal frame of reference, this one might seem a little odder than usual, so please allow me to clarify.

First off, I believe that humans are spiritual beings. It seems that there is a tendency planted deep within us all to worship *something*, or *someone.* Even if it is not some form of a creator or god, often we seem to worship others, ourselves, or things, like science. Perhaps we will worship a celebrity, sports team, or even a car. 

However, since many religions contradict one another, I cannot consider them all to be mutually valid. 

I know that many “religious” individuals and institutions have done many horrible things, all in the name of their god or religion. I also realize full well that oftentimes religion, just like a tyrannical government, can be a great oppressor. I have had a lot of various beliefs throughout my life, and the search for truth and inner peace can be a life-long endeavor. However, I believe that I have come to an accurate understanding of some things in my life.

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Personally, here are *some* of ***my*** spiritual beliefs:

* ### All of existence was created by a Creator, an all-powerful, eternal God.
* ### All of humanity was given a conscience by this Creator, so that His moral law was written on our souls.
* ### Each person has chosen to ignore that conscience at one point or another, and we have all sinned by lusting, lying, stealing, and such.
* ### Jesus Christ came in the flesh, lived a sin-free life, was crucified and rose again from the grave, and we all have the opportunity to find eternal forgiveness by receiving Him as our Lord and Saviour.

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Honestly, those are things that I currently believe to be 100% true, and I try to live my life accordingly. As you may be aware of from some of the stories that I have already shared, I had become a very selfish and greedy man. **Lie, cheat, and steal** became *the only laws in my life* and I dove deep into drugs, alcohol, and sexual immorality. Simply put, if I had continued on that path, it would have destroyed both my earthly body and my eternal soul. However, Jesus changed all that.

I’ll share the full story some time later, and try to stay on topic for now.

Basically, as one who believes that God made me and Jesus “bought” me with His blood, I try to obey Him as I live my life. I believe that much of what He has revealed to mankind is written down for us in the Bible. I know that many different versions have now been produced and that many different interpretations about what it means exist. I also know that many “believers” disagree with one another in the most unloving and un-Christlike ways.

I believe that in many ways, a lot of man-made traditions have replaced what the Bible actually teaches, and a faith that was meant to be based upon a relationship between man and God has now often become a ritual.

## WHY NOT GO TO A “CHURCH”?
In the Old Testament, two main meeting places existed for the people to gather together before God. First, there was a tabernacle, and second, there was the temple. Chapter after chapter is laid out recording how each and every detail of both of these buildings was to be built and assembled. It can be a difficult task just to read through all that is recorded pertaining to the construction of these buildings.

However, in the New Testament, we find no such prescriptions recorded.

Jesus and the disciples would often go to the temple or synagogues, but that was to share with the Hebrews. When the new believers met together, we frequently see them gathering in houses. 

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A lot of people are suspicious about “the church” because of the money aspect too. Somehow, they got the idea that “churches” just want their money. All too often, this can seem like the case. In the Old Testament, we do see religious laws about tithes and offerings, and how the Levites were to live off of what was given to the Lord by the people.

Interestingly enough, tithes are *only* mentioned ten times in the New Testament, and it is always in an Old Testament context. The actual giving that we see occur most commonly in the New Testament was those who had much sharing with those who had little. Basically, the Christians we supposed to take of the needs of one another when they could, and also the needs of others that they met.

Every time that Jesus talks about “laying up treasures in heaven” He mentions the term “alms.” Alms were charitable deeds to the poor. Jesus was telling His people to give to those in need, and express a tangible love to the world. He also strictly warned *against* storing up treasures upon the earth. 

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Yet, so much money is invested in constructing giant, extravagant church buildings all over the place. So much money is spent just making a building look attractive and impressive. Jesus was not attractive and He did not “dress to impress,” yet, it seems that much of “the church” has become very superficial. When I see that billions or trillions have been dumped into these buildings, I fear that people have just been laying up treasures upon the earth.

So many are sick and hungry in serious poverty out there, and “the church” is often nowhere to be found. After spending so much on making themselves comfortable and providing a nice, inviting place for themselves to gather once, or maybe twice, a week, there seems to be very little left for things like alms.

These days, the government has apparently stepped in where “the church” has stepped out. Now the government takes care of the sick and the poor, and too many “religious” people just look the other way.

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**I am not trying to condemn anyone here, but am simply sharing some of my thoughts on the matter and explaining why I have made the choices that I have.**

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Another thing to think about on this subject is church leaders. I believe that God tells us, if a man doesn’t know how to take care of his own household, he is not qualified to take care of the church. I believe that three main qualifications exist.

* ### A sanctified life
* ### The husband of one wife
* ### Obedient children

By “a sanctified life” I mean that the man should be able to control his own emotions and temper, that he should be an honest man, and not greedy or a drunkard.

“The husband of one wife” means that he should be married and faithfully committed to his wife. There is a certain denying of one’s self that occurs when you become married. You now are not free to be as selfish as you once were, and have to take another person into consideration when you make your choices. Also, since people often swear “’til death do we part,” if the husband left his wife, that would mean that he was lying about that part.

“Obedient children” means that the man could successfully raise up his children to obey him. Since children are entrusted into the care of the parents, the parents should be able to teach and train their children appropriately. If a man can not properly teach and train his own children, how can he successfully teach others? It is also worth noting that in the Greek language, this concept may have actually meant “believing” children. A man of faith, from God’s perspective, should be able to pass on that faith to his children.

So, how does believing that these things are the qualifications that God has laid out for leaders in the church lead me to not embrace our common, modern methods of making “church leaders?”

Basically these days, young, and often single, men go to a Bible College or Theological Seminary, pay for some classes, and then get certain “papers” claiming that they are now qualified. This is not according to the ways that God laid forth, and I believe it is detrimental to the church to believe that leaders can be made in this way.

Since we are told that things reproduce after their own kind right from the beginning of the Bible in Genesis, I think that we can see the error of the church. Too many head-smart and proud "leaders" reproduce after their own kind, and the humble, family-servants and leaders succeeding in their own homes have no opportunity to teach other believers how to do so.

### Often, experience will be beat ideas, and too many new "pastors" only have hearsay and ideas, and lack a lot of the experience that would come from a successful marriage and child-raising.

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Also, most churches seem to think that it is a good idea to become a 501c3 *corporation* these days. Technically, churches are already tax exempt without it, but they welcome that yoke of bondage anyways. I call it a “yoke of bondage” because in becoming a 501c3, they effectively choose to submit themselves to the reigning government and give up their freedom of speech when it comes to politics. 

### How much of a tax break would the government need to give you in order for you to agree to be silent?

Also, Christians are becoming some of the most hated people in the world. Some is brought upon themselves by their pride, arrogance, and even vicious verbal attacks on others. Such people often claim Jesus Christ as Saviour but do not walk as He would have. Still, people are dying just for being Christians, and the Bible is even an illegal book in many countries. Though these days people promote that every thought is valid and that people can believe whatever they want, it seems that many take this to mean that any thought should be accepted besides thoughts about believing in God and Jesus.

As the persecution of Christians continues to increase, it may also be wise not to be associated with the government approved churches anyways. In many countries the church is underground and meets in houses rather than official buildings. When they round up people who need to be re-educated one day, perhaps being on the list of "official members" of some 501c3 "church" will not be the best idea.

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One final thought on this matter before I wrap up this series is **church function**. Technically, when the Bible uses the term “church” it is talking about a gathering or assembly, which is a *group of people* and ***not*** a building. If we tried to look through the New Testament to see what the Bible says about how a group of believers should gather, we come upon 1 Corinthians 14. 

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In my opinion, this is “the church chapter.” Basically, it says that when the believers gather, everyone has something that they bring to the table. Each person may have a song or an interpretation or a teaching. From God’s point of view, this is how a church body should function, under the guiding of the Holy Spirit. 

The gathering together is often called the "*body*", and God says that the "body parts" should have a way to function. The common way of meeting in the American church building is to show up an do nothing. When body parts do not function, the ***body dies.*** If the pastor will be absent a replacement is found, but almost no other "member of the body" ever needs to have a substitute if it will be absent. How well would a body function without a liver, hearts, lungs, of brain?

1 Corinthians 14 even goes so far as to say if something be revealed to someone else, whoever is speaking should stop so that the other person can share.

Can you imagine someone attempting that in most church buildings these days? How offended would “the pastor” be? Yeah, these days, almost *no one* has a role to play in the gathering. One man can “preach,” a few people can lead the singing, and a few more can “pass the hat.” The rest are just supposed to show up on time and sit quietly. I could go on, but these reasons shared should suffice.

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# CONCLUSION

My family is certainly free to go to a “church” if we want to, but I cannot really whole-heartedly support the man-made institution that it has become. If true believers gather in that manner, it does not nullify the fact that they truly believe, but I think that God has more for them than they will ever be free to experience in that setting. Obviously everyone can seek out truth and choose what to do and how to live, but actions do have consequences, so we should do so carefully.

When I mention “home fellowship” or “house church” I do not mean just my family gathering together. We gather with several other families in a way that allows us to study, share, and encourage one another, and in a manner that allows and encourages body function.

So, what does this mean about @papa-pepper? It means that I will not lie to you or steal from you, and that I will try to help you when and if I can. It means that if you offend me, I’ll forgive you, and if you choose to hate me for some reason, I’ll still love you. 

I am not the Christ, nor am I those that claimed to follow Him and committed incredible atrocities in His name. This means that I will periodically fail, sin, and make mistakes, but I do not have to make the same mistakes that others have.

Much more can be shared on this matter, and a lot of verses can be cited. However, I will leave it at this for now.

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I know that by sharing such thoughts I run the risk of offending *both* Christians and non-Christians alike and may even lose some followers over it. That is not my goal, but many had suggested that I share more of my thoughts on things pertaining to other areas of life.

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## Thanks for joining me on this *long, strange journey home.*

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Here are the links to the previous posts in this series:

## [PART 1 - INTRODUCTION](https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/the-long-strange-journey-home-part-1-of-6-introduction)
## [PART 2 - THE FOOD SUPPLY](https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/the-long-strange-journey-home-part-2-of-6-the-food-supply)
## [PART 3 - EDUCATION](https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/the-long-strange-journey-home-part-3-of-6-education)
## [PART 4 - CHILD BIRTH](https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/the-long-strange-journey-home-part-4-of-6-childbirth)
## [PART 5 - HOME BUSINESS](https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/the-long-strange-journey-home-part-5-of-6-home-business)

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# *FOLLOW*
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