Why is it that nonchurc goers believe that only perfect people can go to church

Why is it that non-church goers say that the Christians who do attend church are hypocrites? And what would be better to have the ones who are hypocrites attend church and listen to the sermon and feel guilty or not attend church and hurt people by their actions? Oh and why should only perfect people attend church?
So you can take it from there. I have a hard time asking that question or those questions myself.

There are many people that claim to be Christians when they are, in fact, not.

They stand in judgement of others and think its ok because they call themselves Christians and regularly attend a service on the Sabbath.

Non-believers can see this and simply question those that make a claim that they are Christian when they see in their words, thoughts and actions that they are not following what the Bible tell us.

Those are the types that are being targeted.

We each make our own choice,but we are all sinners. We sin almost every day and when we go to church its for a connection with others that have sinned and look for a spiritual renewal each week.

I actually don't believe that Religion and Churches are necessary, in fact they sometimes do more harm than good.

Its our own relationship with God is what matters most. We need to witness with others that think the same way we do. That doesn't necessarily have to be in a church. A church can be anywhere where Christians meet and discuss the Word.

Religions are responsible for more violence and death that all the military conflicts combined.

Religinons and Churches serve to keep their existance possible, they don't necessarily want us to become saved, they are more concerned with how much we put in the collection plate.

I think we all fall into the category you mentioned. Our words and actions sometimes are in conflict with the Word of God as stated in the Bible.

We all would like to think we are perfect Christians, but the only perfect man was Jesus.

The non-believers are just seeking to attempt to engage us in a pointless debate.
We must resist thier taunts and not engage in pointless debate. It is unwise to cast pearls amongst swine.

Sounds like a wise idea. Maybe they are trying to change us into God-haters. It will not work on the real Christian, but the Christian in name only can be easily led astray.

That's a laugh. We sin each day(!). I am not sinning. What kind of god would put someone here so they could sin? It's laughable really.

I am a spiritualist. But i see what drmario is saying when they say that some christians are hypocritical. I don't think you or drmario is, but some people who call themselves cristians are really nasty people and say offensive things to others.

Mind you can tell because they have that fake holier than thou attitude about them. And you catch them doing wrong things. Oh and you hear about it on the paper. And these people give Christianity a bad name. The devil must really love them.

Wise indeed!
In the end it's your own personal relationship with GOD that matters! Isn't it? It is this very type of discussion that causes those Religious Conflicts that you refered to in the your second comment. Isn't the hipocryt us, for judging when in fact we want not to be judged by others? GOD has the final judgement.
Jesus was a man, like every man, or woman, he was the son of GOD. I believe I am just as much the son of GOD. If GOD rules, and creates, why wouldn't I be his son? I have not been in a christion church for some time now but I don't believe that makes me sin more or less, and I try very hard to let my heart lead every action I take. Now if you consider having a beer a sin, than I sin, but I don't believe that is the case. So I say do what you know is good, what you feel in your heart is the right thing to do, and let others do as they please as well. I think that Christianity comes from pure beliefs in root but the establishment has changed the shape of the religion to politics. And we now engage in a political discussion and not one of spirtuality or religion.

Does the Church create the beliefe? Are those people in church the believers? Or do they go because they are still in need of proof?

I recently returned to a church I had attended many years. If anyone had told me a year before that I would stop going there, I would have felt they had lost it.
Nevertheless, I was hurt and judged there and left, slowly, not all at once. My heart was broken. I visited other churches from time to time, but they were not like my church. There were close family members who died during that time and recently, I became depressed, useless, sad, miserable, bad attitude, no initiative, etc. I knew the entire time what I needed to do, but we all know there's another being out there who hates God and was thrown out of heaven because he wanted God's place. Anyways to make a long story short, I prayed, returned to church and am so excited that God still had a hold of me. When you are not around bible believing, talking church people and spend less and less time in the bible,b you are going to find yourself more and more unhappy everyday. Once you live for God and witness His miracles and feelings and love, you CANNOT be happy and content without HIM. Yes there are hypocrits in the church, but sometimes when we backslide in attitude, judging, and the big one 'GOSSIPING!!' and such, the world looks at us, and to them, now we're the hypocrit. How dare us talk about God when we're not even going to church. They aren't expected to understand or behave in a manner suitable to us and God. They're not saved and transformed. We are saved, and if we aren't transformed, it's because we're not putting forth enough effort. Hey, I'm speaking from my own (me) experience. God Bless You All.
We're all human. Even Jesus said He did not trust man because he knows human nature.

P.S. Very important. The word says when you have been saved and the devil sees your house swept clean, he sees you're not filling yourself with God every day, he sends back 7 times as many demons to fill you. It's happened to me, and I'm still trying with God's strength to get back to that peace and calm I knew before., but
I CAN DO ALL THING'S THRU CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.!

It took me around a long time to find the church. The first church I went to as a child was a social gathering, if you do not like the minister even if he is telling the truth,you get rid of him. Then I went to a church where emotions ran rampart, and then a church were you had to confess your sins, the preachers were unmarried, and there was certain sins forgiven but not all and I am not talking about the unforgiveable sin. I met my husband there and he was so bitter about a friend of his not being forgven -that man was a little not right in the head - that he gave up churches altogether. Oh he said he believed in God, but he did not trust churches. He did not even want to watch the religious programs on Tv, because where we lived then there were churches but when we went to one because of a funeral, I felt they were not right. And when we moved to Manitoba, and after years, I starting going to a Bible believing church, he still would not come. It was only in this last year when he started to get what we think is Als and he could no longer move, and his muscles started to deteriorate, that he started to think well he does not have that much time left, so he had better go.
But you can see what bitterness does to a person.

I guess he is what is called a seat warmer. I go to Church because I always believed in God and I love to hear the pastor relate God's actions with men. Maybe the non-believer wants God to have a physical representation like Zeus or Thor. Well God had a physical body back in the beginning of the first century AD as Jesus Christ, and few believed on HIM.
So if a non-believer or Atheist says that he wants proof, maybe someone should show him the Four Gospels in the Bible, and point out the verses about the scribes and Pharisees.

Some people also think they are to bad to go to church,so they stay home..That is a trick of the devil.He is so afraid that GOD might touch his heart & become saved...

I knew someone like that. He did not attend church until near the end of his life.

Excellent response rev. Well said.

I go to by the idea that if you are a hypocrite and you sit listening to the sermon, if God intended you to be a Christian, HE will open up your heart, but if HE did not, sooner or later, something will offend you and you will leave. Sometimes, unfortunately, that does not come in a short time. Sometimes it takes years. And sometimes the sinner is repentant and comes back years later. Happened to this gentleman who was lured by the world, but now he is back in the fold.

nicely said!

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I think silly chick is right.Some people who go to church have a stuck up attitude that they are better than the ones who don't,and that is the wrong attitude...I go to church to hear the word of God,to sing songs and to feel Gods spirit..Its a fact that the wheat grows with the tares,simply meaning hypcrites do go to church,but just because you go does not make you a hyocrite..Both christian & non believers go to church but one may be a true christian and the other a fool...

I agree with you sillychick. There are many christians who stick their noses in the air and think they are better or know better than everyone else. Yet all the christians i've known who have done this turned out to be molesters, adulterers, and liars. This is only in my experience, i'm not saying the majority of christians are. You are right, we shouldn't judge other people just because they believe something different.

AMEN!, Slickcut!!

It all depends on your attitude. If you think that only hypocrites go to church or only stuck up people go to church, you will be judging people and making Christians out to be bad people. So rather then thinking that the church is God's house as the Roman Catholics say, or church is where you hear the word of God, as a lot of us Christians think, they think church is a building where hypocritical stuck up people are and there may be a few honest Christians among them.
And they forget that only God knows a person's heart and a person may be a hypocrite in a few things (like smokers for instance who say to a person "don't smoke" ) and yet be a true Christian. In other words, a person might be fighting a particular sin, and be praying to God to remove that "thorn from his side,"
But to sin deliberately is wrong and I do wonder if sinning deliberately is also a problem, in that some do not want to sin deliberately, but do. just curious about that fact.

We have a nursery in our church, so the small ones go there. They just bought a Cd player so the babies can have nice music so they can sleep and not cry. Yes that concern about flower arrangements would make me good. You are supposed to care for the poor and needy, not to look good.

Exactly, which is why I am guilty of having used the terminology but I think with valid cause. Ellie:D

Well you are right Ellie,they did have the wrong idea of what church was all about,however we cannot let people like that affect us,God takes care of them...I understand it aggrevates us but people will always disappoint us,thats why i do not keep my eyes on them,it might get me discouraged if i did...

When my husband's physical condition started to get worse, the church really helped us in arranging to get our house renovated, took care of my husband when I had to go out, and even took us on a picnic, arranged for a bus with powrer wheel chair access, and a whole lot of things that I cannot mention. And the most I can do right now besides write and sing, is to make cookies and cakes when someone comes over to help.

It could be. I expect to be perfect, but I fall short. Sort of like the Pharisee who said "I thank God that I am not like other men" and then listed all his good deeds and forgot that he was a sinner.

I think the people in my neighborhood who are not Christians, know that I go to Church because they see me go with my Bible bag every Sunday morning and the Church is close enough for them to see. Yes there are more hypocrites outside then inside the Church.

I think people who do not go to church because of hypocries being there is just their excuse because they don't want to go...I have a friend that stopped going to church because so many people was doing wrong...so i ask her "what does that have to do with you and your realationship with God? she had no answer..She needed to focus on her own soul & stop watching people..People cannot save you,only God can do that..

I agree with that. That is what my husband said, and it was not until he felt his need that he started to think about going to church and praise God, he did go to church this Sunday and has now expressed a desire to keep going.

It makes me sad when someone blames others for the lack of faith or the refusal to know God in his or her heart. I mean we all have to stand before God either on the right hand in glory or wait until the Second Death and stand before HIM in the final judgment.

You got that write and I would much rather be on the right side of God when that time comes. I see in my own family several members, non-church-goers, who put me down every chance they get about going to church. I really think deep down not all but many of these people are insecure themselves and the old saying, "Misery loves company" fits.

That does seem to be the point. I would think that people would be better listening to a preacher preaching the word of God, and how blessed we are, then to sit home and complain all the time.

I understand when Christians are unable because of sickness or bed ridden. And we have Christians who come late because there is a blizzard, the car is stuck, and there are those who are not fast enough on their feet or are lame, and they are able to make it, even though they might come in during the sermon. But if you are able to go to Church, you should not let anything stop you. The only thing other then being unable to go is no bible believing Church in that area.

I feel like you do.It makes me feel good to hear the word of God,hear the singing and feel the spirit Of God.It helps me to feel close to God to go to church..It makes my week and i also feel christians should attend church..It keeps you focused.It also helps to be with other christians that are believers.i think you are doing the right thing by attending church..

Those fire and brimestone sermons do work wonders. You feel that the preacher's finger is pointing to you. And they can explain so much and every time you listen to a Sermon, you get a bit more out of it. So why deny learning about God?

Gerty I've never heard this saying but I love it and you can be sure I will be using it on a few of my family members in the future.