Christians may have faulty positions and beliefs but the methods by which they emotionally, mentally, and socially convey those beliefs are effective in creating a healthy community.
So we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bath water and deny what we could investigate here.
You can disagree with and not subscribe to the beliefs and ideas of believers, but let's take a deep look at the processes by which they transmit those beliefs and ideas.
-Ask yourself if your secular community successfully transmits its popularly held secular beliefs and ideas as effectively as the countless dynamic church communities that exist in the U.S. and if not,
why is that the case?
-Is there something we can learn from effective religious communities?...
And I emphasized the word communities, because I am compelled to conclude, by what I've observed over the years, that there are really no secular communities to be found, secular communities that achieve all of the following:
-are welcoming to all age groups,
-meet once a week,
-have programs for most age groups,
-have atmospheres that cultivate relationships in addition to intellectual atmospheres,
-have a relationship with the surrounding community via numerous inroads that have been made,
-have large gatherings that most of the group experiences together that reflect on certain creeds, ideas, traditions, etc.,
-have community outreaches,
-are sensitive towards and have some programs devoted to certain local social problems,
and that
-do a certain amount of charity work.
AND THIS IS THE SHORT LIST THAT WOULD QUALITY AS A REAL COMMUNITY..
But many of you might say,
"You don't need all these things for a real community. I have a small group that I belong to and feel apart of. It feels like a little community, but we have very few of the 'community' aspects you're talking about.."
Fair enough. Then I guess I need to ask myself, aside from what a community might do, what are the fundamental characteristics of a community...
I guess that can be my next post..
