why are religious congregations referred to as a flock?

Question

could it be attributed to the fact that they mindlessly follow as a sheep herd does? believing what they are told, never asking questions, fearing everything outside of the flock?? and, does nascar play any part in this?? would love to hear from darwin!

Answer 1

Yes, like the American public who votes only republican or democrat, they are being led like sheep...like stepford wives who get their brains taken and exchanged for computers...sheep bahabhabah....we get what we reap and if we refuse to use our brains, acknowledge and develop our unique abilities...we get the crap we got now in our world...I can't seem to say it enough.

Answer 2

You're on the right track - sheep are "dumb" creatures. Because of that fact, they wouldn't know what to do on their own; they would probably end up in a ditch or over a cliff. Or they might graze an entire area, making it bare which would result in their own demise.

I say all this because we, God's people, can be like that, no, are like that. We'll just go anywhere, walking aimlessly in life, to our own destruction even. We need guidance, no matter how much better off we think we are. That's also why God places over the congregation a pastor, that is, a shepherd - one who is after God's own heart, charged with the responsibility to lead and feed God's people. You should take time to read these Scriptures - I hope they clarify things for you:

Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 3:15; Matthew 9:36; John 10:14; and so many more...

Answer 3

Because religious leaders have an obligation to care for their members spiritually much like a shepard had to painstakingly care for his sheep. He would carry the newborns until they could walk, he had to take them to greener pastures, he had to lead them because they had needs that could not be met on their own. It denotes the love that should exist between a shepard and his flock. A flock of sheep also grows to know it's shepard and his call. A flock of sheep can identify the call of it's shepard from the call of another one when the sheep graze together of different flocks.

The metaphore is to reflect the heavy responsibility that falls upon the one doing the leading in the congregation, that it is a loving, important job, not to be taken lightly because it can result in the life or death of the flock.

Sheep is also used to differentiate from another group, the Goats. The goats have opposite personalities than sheep, they are stubborn and independent, where sheep are not. Sheep are calm and peaceful creatures.

Stop being so negative you goat.

Answer 4

Jesus told many stories about shepherds tending to their sheep in the Bible. Back in His day, there were more shepherds than almost anything else. He could tell a story and compare it to sheep and shepherds, so that the people could understand. WE Christians call ourselves the flock, because we are like sheep, following our shepherd (Jesus Christ). He tends to us, and we follow. We follow willingly because HE takes such good care of us. I don't know what makes you think that the "sheep" fear everything outside their "flock". And I don't know what SHEEP you know, but, when I hear something from another "Christian", I do NOT take their word on it, till I check it out in God's Holy Word. You just don't know the right people, obviously. Or else you are just GUESSING at what being a member of the flock is like. You need more TRUE information.

Answer 5

I bought a bible on Monday. New King James Version. The main charachters so far in Genesis, a lot of them are shepards.

I think the idea of a flock relates to this, that the people in a church are all being led by Jesus.

Thats the good churches, not the idiotic ones where they follow their cult masters.

If I was religious and understood the Bible the right way, I'd be happy being in "jesus's flock".

Answer 6

From a Jewish POV, the uses of "sheep and shepherd" and "flocks" as as a metaphor has nothing to do with sheepish mindlessness (and I suspect that those who think so here are anti-religion anyway.) The early Jews such as Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and his 12 sons, etc. were shepherds who kept flocks of sheep, so this was a famliiar relationship. The shepherd doesn't just lead the flock, he also protects them from predators, leads them to green pastures and fresh water (see Psalm 23), helps to birth lambs that are breach, cares for sick sheep, etc.

According to Jewish tradition, Moses was chosen to be the prophet of God based on how he cared for Jethro's sheep when he (Moses) was in exile after fleeing from Egypt. The Midrash (collection of ancient Jewish commentaries), tell how a lamb wandered off and Moses went to look for it. He found the lamb near a spring on the side of the mountain trying to get at the water. When Moses realized that the lamb was thirsty, he perosnally made sure that it got water, then carried it down the mountain in his arms. When God saw how Moses cared for each individual sheep in the flock, then God said that this would be the man to shepherd the Jewish people.

So strong was this pastoral imagery to Jews in biblical times that the early Christians referred to Jesus as "The Good Shepherd" even though he was not really a shepherd (he was a carpenter.) Everyone knew that meant he was a leader who cared for each of his followers. Peter was later told in a vision to "feed my sheep" meaning to care for the Christian followers by preaching and teaching, etc. From there, it became common for Christians to call their congregations "flocks." In some denominations, the pastor even carries a shepherd's staff in processions. (However, nowadays Jews rarely refer to their congregations as "flocks.") The staff, by the way, is not used to beat the sheep. It is used to drive away predators, and to gently guide the sheep where they should go. A person who beats his sheep is NOt a good shepherd!

Answer 7

Mainly because Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd a lot, so his followers become his flock. "Lost" Christians are often referred to as lost sheep.

But, Washington Post, 7/8/2005: Shepherds eating breakfast outside the town of Gevas, Turkey, were surprised to see a lone sheep jump off of a nearby cliff and fall to its death. They were stunned, however, when the rest of the nearly 1,500 sheep in the herd followed, each leaping off of the same cliff.

Watch who you follow.

Answer 8

Because there is a metaphor in the Bible in which Christ is referred to as "The Shepherd" and his followers are called "The Flock". When one sheep wonders astray or is in trouble, Jesus will leave the flock and go after the one lost sheep....

Answer 9

It is not as much "mindless following" as it is knowing WHO you're following...

Jesus spoke of His followers hearing His voice(the voice of Truth), just as a sheep knows the voice of his shepherd.

It has to do with trust. Knowing that God is caring for us the same way a shepherd cares for his sheep.

It is said that you can mingle many flocks, and have a shepherd call out, and only his sheep will respond.

Answer 10

Mmm, interesting question. In many parables, Jesus compared the church attendees to a flock of meek sheep in charge of a shepherd. I don't know what came first, the symbolism of a group of followers or the sheep mindset.

Answer 11

They are referred to as a flock because Jesus is pictured as the sheperd of all the people of the world. Each sheep (person) has his and her beliefs and they believe what they want. Especially if you are one of the christian faith.........Just for your information you are making christian and all who believe in god sound like mindless cult zombies. You also sound like an ill informed idiot who has been influenced by too many other people and is afraid to look outside of his own FLOCK.