nortex97 said:

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Yes, their percussion and guitar sections were entirely absent, making them infinitely better by default imho.

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I love our praise band.

dermdoc said:

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We do "church"'daily at my office. Some of the best "church" I have ever had was not in a church building. In fact, the early church had no buildings. And from my reading, their "services" were much different than what we do now.

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This is what I find interesting. Theoretically, if we had a time machine and a way to remove the language barrier, I think the modern devout Catholic or Orthodox could follow along with the 1st and 2nd century "services" quite easily. May not be used to the exact prayers, but they would understand exactly what's happening.

It's not as much the building that's the issue for y'all, but rather the absence of the sacraments. Mass can be celebrated anywhere by a priest. The reason the "building" gets a lot of attention now is because the church was designated as a beautiful building with the purpose of hosting the Mass

Quote:

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We do "church"'daily at my office. Some of the best "church" I have ever had was not in a church building. In fact, the early church had no buildings. And from my reading, their "services" were much different than what we do now.

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How do you consecrate the bread at the office?

Thaddeus73 said:

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Quote:

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We do "church"'daily at my office. Some of the best "church" I have ever had was not in a church building. In fact, the early church had no buildings. And from my reading, their "services" were much different than what we do now.

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How do you consecrate the bread at the office?

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You know the answer to that

That's like asking someone how long was the priest's homily at his Methodist service last Sunday

You're trolling

dermdoc said:

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10andBOUNCE said:

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Thaddeus73 said:

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Protestants don't attend church on New Years. Heck they don't even have services on Christmas hardly

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That's a shame, I think, especially on Christmas. In Acts 2, it says that the early church met daily for the breaking of the bread, which is in accordance with the Lord's prayer about getting our daily bread, or the "hidden manna" as Revelation 2:17 calls it. If I couldn't get the Eucharist at daily Mass, I would be a wreck...

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I do agree here. I once was part of a large church in Katy where Christmas fell on a Sunday and they cancelled services, albeit Christmas Eve services were still held. That was an eye opening moment for my family and I.

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We do "church"'daily at my office. Some of the best "church" I have ever had was not in a church building. In fact, the early church had no buildings. And from my reading, their "services" were much different than what we do now.

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I'll engage a bit less romish-ly than the other replies. Because you read Acts, you know Christians still went to the temple and offered sacrifices (not condemned). Paul and others go to the synagogues, and present the gospel after the law and the prophets (what we call the liturgy of the Word in our services, in modern vernacular). Here is fulfillment of our worship! I think we probably all agree that he longed for their belief, not their enmity, and it's reasonable to assume they would have kept going since Christ is fulfillment, not absolution.

House churches were a function of persecution and exclusion (not original intent) and perhaps that should bear on what Christians do when they worship.

I still go to church. But I do "church" all the time. Early Christians called their new life in Christ "The Way". I doubt there were many committee or deacon meetings. Which seemed to be my whole church life for decades.

dermdoc said:

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I still go to church. But I do "church" all the time. Early Christians called their new life in Christ "The Way". I doubt there were many committee or deacon meetings. Which seemed to be my whole church life for decades.

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We called them councils. And certainly they met when the epistles were read to them. They are an episcopal office highlighted by Paul.

Church is a form of prayer, so it would make sense to be essentially "doing church" all the time by praying. But for you, what can get at your church that you can't just get at your own house?

AGC said:

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dermdoc said:

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I still go to church. But I do "church" all the time. Early Christians called their new life in Christ "The Way". I doubt there were many committee or deacon meetings. Which seemed to be my whole church life for decades.

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We called them councils. And certainly they met when the epistles were read to them. They are an episcopal office highlighted by Paul.

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I call them men. Influenced by money and power. Just like me.

TeddyAg0422 said:

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Church is a form of prayer, so it would make sense to be essentially "doing church" all the time by praying. But for you, what can get at your church that you can't just get at your own house?

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Fellowship and affirmation.

Nm, disregard. Probably not a super beneficial conversation for either end. My bad

FIDO95 said:

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Fr Emil Kapaun would celebrate Mass on the hood of his jeep in order to bring the Eucharist to the front line. His devotion to the troops in the Korean war would lead to his capture during the Chinese counteroffensive. He spent the remainer of his life in POW camp where he tended to the sick and dying until he became sick. He would later be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and is currently being considered for sainthood. I can't stand Obama's politics but he was a phenomenal speaker:



Fr Emil Kapaun, pray for us.

ETA: have tissue available if you watch that video.

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Had a very busy week and finally got to watching this video. Thank you for sharing this, what a uniquely powerful story-and yes I had a kleenex box nearby.
His wilkipedia page updated his story, his remains are now in Kansas at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, and looks to be on the road to sainthood. He might be the first American saint to also get our nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor.

Here is a link to what is considered one of the earliest "church" homes in the area known as Armageddon, The mosaic floor of Megiddo.

As an aside, I have spent some time researching Gothic churches throughout France, particularly the Cathedral in Chartres France. While still a young architect, a client gave me their slide carousel (remember those?) of the incredible stain glass windows that are famous for their blue color.

As in the mosaic floor and the stain glass windows, what I have understood is that people want to memorialize in some physical way their love for God. Wasn't it Peter who said how great it was to witness Moses, Elijah, and Jesus at the transfiguration and that he should erect some tents at that spot? It would only be a matter of time before the level of craftsmanship, artistry, and music would elevate beyond those simple beginnings.

I don't think that is a bad thing, but we must not lose sight of the reason behind these sacred works of art meant to elevate our spiritual experience.

Fascinating. Thanks.

And I gave many a derm talk with those slide carousel projectors.