...

At first this may read like I'm answering a different question, but it all ties together, I promise. ;-)

I'm pretty sure you are thinking of these verses (and keep in mind, these particular verses are Christ's words being quoted):

Matthew 6:1-8

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

...

For those who might not know, alms = donations. The first part of these verses is telling us to make our donations anonymously, if possible, and don't tell *anybody*. That way we won't be tempted to feel prideful and want to have people tell us how great we are for our donation.

Personal opinion ahead: This is one of the reasons I believe it's wrong to pass a plate in church, where everybody can see if someone donates, and sometimes even how much they donate. Not only can that lead to prideful feelings from those who put more than others in the plate, it can lead to shamed feelings for those who can't afford as much, and dirty looks for those who don't donate at all.

I think, at most, a church should have a private place with a drop-box, like a voting booth. Even that is questionable, as people will assume someone is donating if they go into the booth, and we can't be totally anonymous. Perhaps the way to donate is a money order in the mail, or something like that. Again, this part is my personal opinion, others will have different ideas.

Of course there will be times when we can't necessarily give anonymously (say, meeting someone on the street who is in need of something), and in those cases my husband and I feel the right thing to do is to not make a big production out of it. To be humble, and direct any "thanks" to God and Christ, who provided you with whatever you gave.

...

Sorry, I know that part was a bit off topic from your question, but I felt that those scriptures go along with the rest (which is why I included them), and I wanted to make sure anybody else reading this would understand what alms meant, etc.

Now, for the verses that address your question. It's the same principle, really. Sometimes people praying in front of other people, may feel prideful in a "look at how religious I am" kind of way. I think these verses are warning against that.

If you think about it, prayer is a personal conversation between you and Yahweh (God). Imagine you are wanting to have a conversation with your friend, and so you go to a building with a bunch of other people, and this guy up front tells you words to repeat to your friend... Not much of a personal conversation, is it?

Praying to Yahweh shouldn't be an event to be viewed by all, but a personal thing between the two of you.

Now, having said that, I don't think there is anything wrong with like-minded people praising Yahweh and thanking Yahweh together, if they truly mean it and aren't just going along with the crowd. Notice the part of the verse that says "that they may be seen of men". To me it sounds like *intent* is important here. Is someone praying earnestly because they would pray exactly the same if nobody was watching? Or are they just wanting people to see them?

At any rate, your personal prayers will always be personal. Someone can't pray those for you. And of course it's best to pray those in private... There would be no reason for anybody to hear your private prayers (unless you wanted to show off).

Then there is praying in "vain repetitions". "Repetitions", of course, means "the same thing over and over". The definition of this that makes the most sense to me is a prayer that's just repeated over and over and over... I'm sure that over time, people who memorize these prayers just pray them automatically. They don't even think about the words anymore. The words of the prayer have lost any meaning. Whereas, if your prayers are formed as you think them, these prayers are from your heart.

Now, as to your question about going to church. I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to give you a link to another answer I wrote on the subject of "Churchianity". Mostly because I would be saying almost the exact same thing here, and I don't want to add to this already huge post. ;-)

See this question: http://www.advicenators.com/qview.php?q=426757

...and scroll down. My answer is the one on the very bottom. The first half of my answer there addresses the church and fellowship question.

Sorry for the novel, but I hope there was at least something helpful in it. ;-)

thank you so much.

Want to know how to keep your questions from being rated down? Click Here!

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I'm DangerNerd's wife. We met on an internet personals site back in December, 1996. He flew across country to meet me for the first time in late February of 1997, and we were married a few weeks later. We've been together 9 years now. :-)

If you want to mail me, my email is DangerWench@gmail.com

Yes, I do sometimes copy and paste my own answers to answer different people's similar questions. I still personalize/edit them when necessary... but for instance, my advice about diet and exercise it going to be pretty much the same every time, and that's a very common subject for questions here... so there's no point in typing the same thing over and over and over again. ;-)

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Yes, hubby and I were both virgins on our wedding night, at the age of 26. Yes, we are both Christians, but we greatly dislike what "Christianity" (or "Churchianity") has come to represent in many people's minds these days... Hypocrisy, greed, pride... Things which the Bible says we are NOT supposed to do. We are supposed to be a good example, not a bad one. :-(

If you have a Christian acquaintance who is hitting you over the head with "Jesus will bring you peace and joy and happiness" tell them to listen to this:

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.mp3

(It's 9 megs, so it may take a bit to download)

If you can't download MP3's for some reason, you can download the zip file.

http://www.dangernerd.com/kirkcameron.zip

If they are an actual preacher/pastor, this one is geared more towards them:

http://www.dangernerd.com/raycomfort.zip

Send them the link, or burn it to CD and give it to them, whatever it takes.

If they really listen to that, they will see how the Bible itself says the way they are annoying you is wrong. :-)

If you are a Christian, please listen to it, even if you aren't beating people over the head with Jesus. I promise you, it will give you a new perspective. It's totally awesome.

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I'm also fascinated by prophesy, and I do think we are living in an age where we are seeing many things come true that were prophesied 1,000's of years ago.

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There has been a lot of hubbub lately regarding my views on the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity... Mostly due to my not making myself clear. I did have a big long explanation here, but this time I will opt for the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Yes, the following is the simplified version. ;-)

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is not the only authority. Their teachings include such documentation as Catechisms, and Papal Encyclicals (defined as "authoritative teaching instruments from the Vicar of Christ" (the Pope)) which have been written and added to throughout the years of the history of the Catholic Church.

Because of this, the Catholic Church has many teachings, beliefs, and traditions that are different from a Christian who believes the Holy Bible is the exclusive authority of Christianity.

A Catholic Christian believes in the Catholic doctrines, teachings, and traditions which include, but are *not exclusive to* the Holy Bible.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe the Holy Bible is the *exclusive* authority of Christianity... No other documents.

Much argument comes from this, as quite a few non-Catholic Christians (myself included) believe many of the man-made Catholic doctrines to be un-Christian and not corresponding with Biblical scripture. And obviously, Catholics disagree.

For more information about the differences between Catholicism and *exclusively* Bible-Based Christianity, see the following link:

Roman Catholic Doctrine vs. The Holy Bible

And a final note about that link... That e-book isn't written by Jack Chick, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Chick. Some of his tracts are great, and some of them are way "out there" if you know what I mean. I do not support Jack Chick. This e-book is written by Rick Jones, who was a Catholic for many years, not Chick.

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"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Timothy 3:1 - 7)

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring..." (Luke 21:25)

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Yahweh is my God, Yeshua is my Savior.

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