Why do some people require going to church every week?

[Vilo159]

I guess it's because they want to. They may see church as a place that makes them happy and they wouldn't want to pass on the opportunity.
As for Catholics, weekly attendance is mandatory or else the person commits a mortal sin.

Is "mortal" the right word there? I hardly think you'd be eternally condemned for missing a week.

[Xeno]

It is the right word. Some people believe you're sinning by defying god if you are able to attend and don't, thus you will be punished for it. As crazy as that sounds.

[Sheenar]

It is the right word. Some people believe you're sinning by defying god if you are able to attend and don't, thus you will be punished for it. As crazy as that sounds.

The first church I was a part of had that view. I started going to church around age 13. It was expected that you would be at youth group and at the church anytime the doors were open, pretty much. I at first went because I wanted to, then sometimes out of a perceived obligation. If I missed a week, I'd be read the riot act. It was a pretty legalistic group --I'd get dressed down for not standing during worship, for instance --even if I was tired/in pain and standing was difficult.

That is part of the reason I struggled so much the past couple of years when I'd miss church due to illness. I beat myself up about it and felt guilty that I couldn't make it. A good friend, though, encouraged me by saying that you can still worship God at Bedside Baptist --and that it's not a bad thing or condemning thing if you have to stay home. So now I don't stress nearly as much if I have to miss church because I don't feel well.

[Danderson]

Hmm...a lot of the posts here seem to cast a negative light on prioritizing church.

My brothers and sisters in Christ are my family and my friends, and it's very natural for me to want to spend time with them. More than that, church is all about God. What I do there is in response to His grace, and again, it's natural to attend and worship Him, pray to Him, talk about Him, etc. My hope is that frequent church attendance is more of an organic thing, happening out of spiritual growth, than out of obligation or, in worse case, because of another forcing one to attend.

This has been my experience with my church family as well. Literally since I was 6, I've grown up in the same church and seen it grow through both the good and bad times and slowly have begun to realize that this is a family that I am apart of....No, we're not perfect, but I don't expect us to be. Yeah, we follow a perfect Savior, but we're still human...we're going to make mistakes or choose to live in selfishness...yet, we come to the realization that we're wrong and say we're sorry....

I think the problem with most of the church culture today is that there is NOT enough emphasis on the gospel and thus there are a lot of ppl thinking that they're saved when they're really not...and thus there are hypocrites within the church and believers who need a loving family of other believers don't see a need to go. Thoughts?

[Nate]

I think the problem with most of the church culture today is that there is NOT enough emphasis on the gospel and thus there are a lot of ppl thinking that they're saved when they're really not...and thus there are hypocrites within the church and believers who need a loving family of other believers don't see a need to go. Thoughts?

In the US at least, I'd say the problem with most of the church culture is that there is too much emphasis on a gospel vastly different from the one found in the Bible. I obviously won't be going into detail about it, but you did ask for my thoughts, and those are my thoughts.

I do agree that there are probably a lot of people thinking they're saved when they're not, although who those people are isn't for us to say, it's only for God to say. Ultimately though I'd say one of the biggest problems is that (again, in the US at least) many modern churches do not make themselves friendly to outsiders. Now, I should probably clarify. I don't mean churches will treat new people who haven't been in church before badly. That's usually not true, most churches will shake your hand at greeting time, welcome you and say it's good to see you, and generally be friendly. When I say they're not friendly to outsiders, I mean people who hold different beliefs than they do, or are different from them in a large way.

For example, at most churches, if I were to state that I don't think the idea of the Trinity holds water, they'd probably be colder to me, either that or try to tell me how wrong I am, to which I'd say "I've heard your arguments and don't find them particularly compelling." This would likely drastically reduce the amount of people who would be friendly towards me, and some parents might even tell their children not to talk to me lest I fill their heads with "wrong ideas."

If I came to church in jeans and a t-shirt, at some churches, I would probably be seen as some sort of no-good lowlife, who doesn't respect God or tradition and just wants to be a rebel.

Or hey, what about the post Sheenar made where she stated she was treated very rudely by members of the church for not standing during worship when there were medical reasons why she couldn't? When churches like this exist, is it any wonder why people are not particularly inclined to attend church?

Again, not all churches are bad. There are plenty of good churches with friendly and warm people who truly do love others. But it seems that, due to my previous assessment, these are few and far between and statistically you're much more likely to find one of the unpleasant churches.