Comment by hirvi74

> You're there to learn.

Other perhaps, but I am not. I would be there for the social aspects only.

Also, what is there to study? I am sincerely asking. The text in the book is, if I may use a tautology, the text in the book. Anything else other than the literal text is merely interpretation, which becomes a debate in and of itself.

I have also learned there are some questions one must never ask. Any truly deep questions that challenge certain fundamental and integral beliefs are often met with hostility. So, perhaps you are correct -- one must study the bible, but in my experiences, one must dare not question it. I'm not asking smart-ass questions like, "What's the deal with 2 Kings 2:23-24 lol?" either.

> Then get up and leave without talking to anybody if you don't want to.

But those people probably truly believe, unlike me. Thus, I might as well stay home at that point.

> Messages tend to be tailored to the idea that any given week you're going to have people who have never set foot in a church before in life.

We must have wildly different experiences, which is odd because I lived in the Southeast during much of that time too.

> Faking it is a little different though. No reason to fake it.

Perhaps faking is a little different. I will concede that point. However, there is absolutely a reason to fake it. I have read enough history and current news to understand that in-group people have been, and can be, heinous towards out-group people. Mankind feels most righteous when carrying out atrocities in the name of good. Now, I am not saying there is a high likelihood of such an event, but it only takes one time, and that is not a risk I am willing to take.