Why do you need religion when you can do it yourself?

Question

Can't you seek your own path? Why use a facilitator in the form of a church or pastor or whomever when you can communicate to God directly if you believe there is one? Each of the many religions was made by man, so why not cut out the middleman (pun intended) and go straight to the boss?

Answer 1

Why do I need a man when I can do it myself? :-)

A religion is a network of people with a shared theology and/or belief system. A "church" (or whatever one calls one's place of worship), is the local, hands-on community where one can be with people with the same set of beliefs.

A sense of religious community is crucial for a lot of people- to help them from feeling alone and isolated in their beliefs. It is a safety net; a support system; a place to hold you up and reinforce your theology.

Religions and their churches can be positive forces for community service and world change. They can also be used as foundations for hate and hurt.

For those who think churches are all bad, I like to compare them to computers, which are neither inherently good nor bad, but rather take on the nature of their users.

Answer 2

Is this a good fix for narcissism or arrogance? Are there not paid social workers, psychologist and psychiatrist to do this same thing. Are self-help books not a billion dollar industry? And for the rest of us there is the local help group that meets every Sunday to help us figure out life. Religion is an education system and a support group, not just some crazy belief in all knowing superbeing.

Answer 3

Exactly!!!
Your path is your own.
It helps to have communion but if the people aren't like minded and you feel uncomfortable then leave!
By communion I'm not talking about the magic ritual of wine and crackers found in church, I refer to the very real practice of communicating with someone else in an engaging and courteous manner. Jesus taught that when two or more were gathered in his name he would be there as well...but I've had the same sense of communion when speaking with people of other faiths that have similar views concerning the unity of God and man. These people came from many different faiths.

Answer 4

That's what I did. I got fed up with organized religion and decided to follow my own path. I felt much happier and more secure after making that decision.

People can mess up, no matter who they are or what religion they follow--they're still people. When I was still attending church and putting my trust in preachers, I was putting my trust and my relationship with the divine in human hands. Human hands that never failed to harm and disappoint. Then I came to the realization that I was being very unfair to those preachers. They're just human, after all. So I cut out the middleman (as you say) and began a relationship with the divine as I see fit. No disappointments, no religious authority figures to hurt me anymore. Just me and the divine.

Answer 5

You can absolutely worship on your own - but you are not learning community by doing so. We gather together to worship not because it is "better" than praying alone, but because by doing so we are engaging with our fellow man, as God intends, and the facilitator (rabbi, pastor, or whomever) is there to make sure the community is on the same page for that hour or two you are spending communing with each other and God. I pray on my own every single day, and I go to church with my family to pray with my neighbors, friends, and community members and feel supported and refreshed, as well as offer support to the other members of the church.

Answer 6

Your Father did something awesome for you in the following verse:

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Matthew 27:51

The above veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. Only the high priest was allowed to go behind that veil. He acted as an intercessor between the congregation and God. After the veil was rent, God invited all who will to communicate directly with Him. No intercessor required.

With what's being taught in some churches, you would be better off staying away from them. I hope pastors who teach false doctrine know that judgment begins at the pulpit.

Answer 7

If people did that the religious officials would have no masses to preach to.

If people actuly thought for themselves instead of being heareded around like sheep many things would be different in the world.

the truth is, most people would rather follow than forge their own path. this holds true accross everything from religion to economy to government.

Answer 8

Organised religion is not about spirituality. It's about money and power.

Finding God on ones own and worshipping in your own way is not likely to be encoraged by any religion on earth. With out bums on seats, churches crumble to nothing (unless they've invested heavily on the stock exchange and can carry on as corporations...)

Answer 9

Well, if you think you or anyone can go straight to the boss, why not? Most ppl go straight to the boss themselves. After a while, they realised they can help others and they offer their help to others for contacting the boss. They are the "middleman" you coined it and since they can contact the boss directly, they are offering their help to the people out there.

Answer 10

'''The Pope told the crowds there were dangers in people finding their own religious routes.

"If it is pushed too far, religion becomes almost a consumer product," he said.

"People choose what they like, and some are even able to make a profit from it.

"But religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said.'''

--"Pope warns against 'DIY' religion", BBC news, 21 August 2005