Comments on Piercing the Membrane: The Church Should Be More Like a Street Gang

The solidarity you describe is generally more comm...

2008-12-03T00:31:00.000-06:00

The solidarity you describe is generally more common in religious minorities. When a religion becomes dominant, it becomes normative and the risk or threat becomes greater for those outside of the dominant/normative religion. The minority communities come together as communities of shared marginalization, who perceive their status as tenuous.

I think your question about religion being too easy to be real is a good one.

In the southeastern US, especially, I would argue that Christianity is like a gang: if one joins a church, one has a sense of security that one cannot have as a non-Christian. Non-Christians in the south often feel marginalized and threatened for identifying with non-Christian communities.

Gangs are popular because they offer a sense of belonging and security. Shouldn't religion offer more than that? Shouldn't religion be more about Truth, than just knowing you're part of a community of like-minded people?

I would have never made such a connection between ...

2006-05-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

I would have never made such a connection between the gangs and The Church, good eye. I hope that boy is ok. That is a scary thing to go though. I haven't heard anything about that happening, but man that's bad. Thanks for being a faithful member of the Lord's Church Brennen.

Brennan,That post was awesome. Enough said.Brad

2006-05-07T06:50:00.000-05:00

Brennan,

That post was awesome. Enough said.

Brad

In the Ancient Church, it took about three years t...

2006-05-05T12:15:00.000-05:00

In the Ancient Church, it took about three years to enter. Then you got baptised naked and got a new white robe. After all that instruction, the community was pretty tight. I don't know how that could be replicated in the modern American understanding. Do you have any ideas?