> > 1. People nowadays are jaded. TV, movies, the internet... people expect techno razzle dazzle. Mass doesn't, nor IMO, should it. Perhaps it wasn't as stuffy to people before they expected everything to come with sound effects.
> >
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> I don't agree with that. My mother went to Mass in the 40's and 50's, and she thought it was dull. Thinking that Mass is boring has nothing to do with the lack of sound affects. People think it's boring because it doesn't involve them, they can't relate.
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> > 2. Fun? Who said Mass was supposed to be fun? I've always viewed Mass as a renewal of my relationship with God... almost as a private thing. It's a communion with God, assisted by a priest... the rest of the congregation is just there to affirm you and support you. But it's still an individual thing. You get out of it what you put into it.
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> This thread is about the differences between denomoinations and churches. Mass works for you. But it doesn't work for everyone. At my Baptist church, the reverend was a master at keeping our interest for the hour that he was at the pulpit. He related anecdotes, he asked questions, he even told jokes once in a while. Anything to express his point, to relate the Bible's teachings to our everyday lives. One week he'd be talking about how Christians should handle domestic strife, the next week he'd discuss how a Christian acts in the workplace. It was fun, informal, and it worked in helping us lead a Christian life every day of the week. It was somewhat about our private spirituality, but it also about working with each other as Christians.
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> I went to Mass a few times with my grandmother, and sure it seemed like a holy ritual, but it seemed so separate from my life. It was too rigid for my own understanding of what God means.
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> But that's just me. I think church is more about what it brings out of you, how it catches you in a place you never knew about. Chanting and incense does not provoke insights, for most people.
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> --Jezzika

That's very close to what I meant. I said I had fun in there about three or four times. That wasn't because they razzle dazzled us. It was just actually interesting for a change. Mostly in mass they would preach so much about things which didn't involve me. I never felt God at all. Not once. I think maybe you understand it better than I did! :P

Melanie