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So many people today see Church, or other religious institutions, today, as just another responsibility, one becoming increasingly irrelevant to everyday life. At least, this is the case in America, and I have had experience with the opinions of those from other "First World Nations" that agree that such attitudes are strong throughout the developed world.
For so long, religion was considered a lofty field of study, too lofty for the average person. For too long, religion was steeped in traditions and beliefs that had nothing to do with its source material that stifled the growth of its followers. The case I've come to face in my context is Christianity and the Bible. The biggest obstacles I've come across are ignorance, laziness, and prejudice.
First of all, most people don't feel like bothering with anything above or beyond their own little worlds. They like the distractions, the mazes, they've built for themselves, so they don't have to look up at the bigger pictures. The problem here is trying to get people to care about things other than those things they already busy themselves with.
Second, I've discovered that most people are miseducated about the issues. Oftentimes, I encounter people who have been told things by people they trust, people they believe put in the time and effort to make an educated opinion, and simply mimic that opinion. Due to this, I've encountered people who believe that the Bible has been long since proven to be false and contradictory. I've encountered people who seem to think there's more truth to the Da Vinci Code than to the gospels.
Finally, there are those that feel strongly about the lies they've been told. In this case, some folks can have opinions that they've formed from some of the lies they've been told or just "feel" like are right. Either way, often they can feel so strongly about these topics that when I bring up a topic of conversation, even if I'm as civil as possible, they can get very defensive, often arguing when all I'm doing is asking questions to probe how they feel about the topic.
Alright, well, now that I've covered some of the obstacles, I wanted to cover how to meet them. First of all, the way I wanted to handle this in my life was to open a coffee shop that would serve as the housing for a church to meet in, while serving as the face of the church's ministry. I wanted to use the coffee shop setting to create a certain atmosphere that would break down the obstacles that I often meet. First, I wanted to create a place where community was primary. Having worked in a coffeehouse setting for about three years now, I know that often, especially with regular customers that come in all the time, there's a kind of friendship that develops between the customer and the barista. This is the key element, I think. One of the few things that actually inspire a person to come out of his or her shell is friendship. When friendship and loyalty are strong, then the following elements come into play.
Security is important in battling ignorance and prejudice. When a person feels like they can trust you to say something without the intent to hurt them, and when they feel like you are a person who knows what you're talking about, then they're more likely to not only be willing to listen and civilly discuss with you, but be more willing to see you as someone who knows what he or she is talking about, meaning they'll give more weight to what you have to say as authoritative.
What do you all think?
An interesting topic. Personally I try to go back to the more humanistic sources of the Old Testament and read also some humanists. I think these ideas area lost and people nowadays only see institutions, which they try to avoid.
Peoples perceptions formed by their background and environment is a fascinating issue, too. We are all biased, right? Biased is the word?