Front-Row Seats in the Theater of the Absurd

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Once in a blue moon I attend a COC, usually when I visit elderly relatives who are deeply involved in it. Now that I've been away from it for so long and have had a taste of the calm beauty and reverence of a liturgical service, the COC services just seem weirdly absurd to me. It's as if they're playing at church, checking off a list as they make their way through the Five Acts of Worship (sing, pray, give, communion, and sermon) to punch their heavenly time cards. It's rushed, chaotic (I addressed the underlying chaos of the COC in an earlier post), arid, and Spirit-less. And in the end, it's all futile, because they really don't believe that anyone will get into heaven, because getting into heaven requires perfection, which is impossible. So why even bother? Why go through those motions thrice weekly just on a 1-to-million shot that god will be in a good mood when you die and NOT condemn you to the eternal flames? Why not just enjoy your life and be happy? It's all absurd, when you really think about it.

Comments

~Joseph the Worker said…
I think it is a power trip of sorts. A few men get a kick out of acting powerful as preachers and elders by controlling others. The others, especially women, are expected to smile and pretend to be happy. The sad thing is when you look deep into the eyes of so many of these men and women, you can see how hurt and sad they are deep down. Unfortunately they have already set themselves into a hard to escape trap.
July 23, 2010
~Joseph the Worker said…
PS: obviously there are exceptions to that.
July 23, 2010
Little Miss Weirdo said…
Hi, Joseph. I agree with both of your comments. Although there are exceptions to the rule, it does seem that it's all about a power trip and social control, not about grace or salvation. Sad.
July 24, 2010
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