Thread by @JoLuehmann

Let’s keep on learning so that we don’t let anybody use the Bible as a weapon against us, especially when it’s verses way out of context:

On being Christian and not going to church - A Thread:
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So yes, according to Luke 4 Jesus went to synagogue.

Before we jump in though:

Jewish synagogues are not the same as Christian churches, which should be clear to all of us. You don’t get to co-opt a faith and think it belongs to you and...
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you get to change all the things about it and appropriate. Judaism is not v. 1 and then Christianity a “better version.” Judaism is a rich faith that stands all on its own, we should be learning from Jewish ppl.
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Christians don’t get to just take things from it and claim them as theirs “but better”. That’s anti-Semitism and absolutely unacceptable.

That being said. Yes, Jesus went to the synagogue as was his custom. Like it is my custom to go out w/one of my kids on Monday evenings. (4)

This was part of his upbringing, the way in which he was raised, part of what his community did. Did he feel like he had to go to the synagogue to have a relationship w/divinity? Clearly not, that’s not at all mentioned, it’s just mentioned that this was his custom.
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Now we have to look at what synagogues are (as always Jewish people please feel free to correct me, this is from my studies but obviously not my lived experiences, your expertise trumps anything I may have read, always).
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The koine Greek word συναγωγή synagogē, simply means assembly. Synagogues were community centers where prayer, readings of the Tanakh, teaching and studying, and socializing took place (modern synagogues are
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not exactly the same, but have many similarities, also they change from community to community. There are synagogues in a lot of places in the world and of course cultural differences change the way in which synagogues operate).
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This all aligns with the other vs ppl use to speak about church attendance and it being mandatory.

Heb 10:24-25

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but...
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...exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews is a letter attributed to Paul, believed to have been written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. So Jewish ppl were being told not to give up gathering together,
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like they used to, like they were raised to do. This is all in the context of persecution, as Jewish Christians were dealing w/actual, real, persecution; the same kind that killed Jesus and most of his disciples at the hands of religious elites and the empire.

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https://twitter.com/JoLuehmann/status/1276939874210209792

The author of the letter tells them to rely on community, to care for one another, to keep coming together. That is in no way an command to go to church.

Now, let’s talk about what church is:
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The word in ancient Greek for church is ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia). Which means an assembly, a public gathering, the body of Christ.

An assembly we get, right? It’s a similar idea as the notion of synagogue. Because Jewish ppl understood that.
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But in the context of persecution it was more common for them to gather in homes that in public spaces. Depending on the church and the amount of persecution of course. Church in Rome vs. church in Corinth were different experiences.
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But what does it mean to be the body of Christ?

The metaphor of the church as the body of Christ is in Jn (2:19-22), 1 Cor (10:16-17, 12:12-31), Rom (12:6-8), Eph (1:22, 2:19-22, 4:4, 4:11-16, 4:25, 5:23, 5:29-30), Col (1:18-24, 2:19, 3:15), Gal (2:19).
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Clearly this is not a marginal idea, it’s mentioned a lot. And because I don’t have time to go through every one, the idea is that we are the church. Us walking in freedom, like the Christ, being the image of God we were created to be, that are the church in the world.
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We rely on community (assemble together), because we recognize that we need one another, not because we have to attend a building every Sunday, sing 4 songs, listen to a man say a few things, and then head home having checked off our duty.(18)

The invitation is better than that, more beautiful, more inclusive.

The idea of us as the church means that everywhere we step foot we bring w/us heaven on earth, it means we are agents of reconciliation and wholeness, it means we are safe spaces where people can rest,
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and heal, and grow. And that’s all of us, not limited to 1 of us, or the Xtian ones. As we heal, as we embrace the Christ (which doesn’t mean we embrace Christianity), as we live as the image of God we were created to be and not the boxes we were put in, we are the church.
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So you can keep going to church as a duty because of the one verse about Jesus having a custom to go to the synagogue, or the other one about not forsaking community, but I am committed to being the church. I don’t go to church, I am it.
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I am aware many churches are beautiful communities where ppl support one another and care. I love that and I’m happy to hear many of you have communities like that. For many of us church buildings are just too triggering, that doesn’t mean we are not a part of the church ❤️
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This part III that also has part II and part I in it:

https://twitter.com/JoLuehmann/status/1276665229837864960