Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

Most C of C'ers I have known in my life are SO obsessed with the C of C, that it's all they talk about. Who's preaching where, who goes to what church, how their service is, etc. Never about what God has done in their lives or following Jesus. They talk about the C of C denomination. Conversations with these people are excruciating.

Many I knew always seemed to be congratulating themselves that they had possession of the "truth". And smug in the idea that they would be the only ones in heaven.
I always thought that even if they were the only ones in heaven, they would fight among themselves for the best seats...

I agree, it does often consume the conversation. Only thing else I have seen is where there is a strong college affiliation or connection, usually sports. So Ohio, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Tennessee, or Alabama...I am sure there are other pockets. But in places the population in general is nuts over some school team and so it pervades the church, and sermons, and clothing.

Struggler wrote:Most C of C'ers I have known in my life are SO obsessed with the C of C, that it's all they talk about. Who's preaching where, who goes to what church, how their service is, etc. Never about what God has done in their lives or following Jesus. They talk about the C of C denomination. Conversations with these people are excruciating.

That's true. It's as if the coc were nationally vital and important. Then I moved out of the area and discovered that the coc was its own little world and that was a very small world, and the rest of the country had never really heard of them at all. Weird. If you were in a coc, there were 'important people' and 'big names' and 'major colleges' - but if you weren't part of the in crowd, none of those were ever heard of, or if they were (like some of the colleges) the coc connection was barely recognized, and the coc 'top tier' were everyone else's 'middling level' places.

It was an odd realization.

Has anybody seen To Be or Not To Be? The coc was kind of like being 'world famous...in Poland'.

red letter man wrote:Many I knew always seemed to be congratulating themselves that they had possession of the "truth". And smug in the idea that they would be the only ones in heaven.
I always thought that even if they were the only ones in heaven, they would fight among themselves for the best seats...

Conversing with a member of the CoC is impossible because they already know everything, for starters:

They alone have the innate ability to perfectly understand EVERYTHING in the Bible.
They alone are Gods chosen people, and have the only valid ticket to Heaven.
They alone subscribe to the idea that there is only five acts of worship; one less act, or one more is unacceptable.
They alone have the exact perfect God given name for the church ... THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
They alone observe the "Lord's Supper" properly.

I so can't stand it when the only thing people think is the most important conversation is the coc. Um, no. I have a life outside of it.

candace wrote:I so can't stand it when the only thing people think is the most important conversation is the coc. Um, no. I have a life outside of it.

While I think the church is important and should be in our conversation, I don't think it's the only thing in our lives worthy of discussion.

onward wrote:

red letter man wrote:Many I knew always seemed to be congratulating themselves that they had possession of the "truth". And smug in the idea that they would be the only ones in heaven.
I always thought that even if they were the only ones in heaven, they would fight among themselves for the best seats...

Conversing with a member of the CoC is impossible because they already know everything, for starters:

They alone have the innate ability to perfectly understand EVERYTHING in the Bible.
They alone are Gods chosen people, and have the only valid ticket to Heaven.
They alone subscribe to the idea that there is only five acts of worship; one less act, or one more is unacceptable.
They alone have the exact perfect God given name for the church ... THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
They alone observe the "Lord's Supper" properly.

I find it amazing how they can't see their own arrogance. If you disagree with them on ANYTHING, you're "disagreeing with God". You could devote your life to studying and if you come to a different conclusion than them, you're "not studying with an open mind" or "You're twisting God's word to fit your personal beliefs". No matter what you say, they come back with, "Well the bible CLEARLY says..." I remember several years ago, in casual conversation at a restaurant over breakfast, my dad admitted that he didn't think instrumental music was that big of a deal. If people want to use it, he doesn't see anything wrong with it. One of the women at the table looked stunned and said, "But God didn't SAY to use instruments. Are you saying that God is WRONG?" My dad responded that it was just his belief that using a piano isn't a big deal that people make it out to be. She came back with, "So you're saying you disagree with God!" He just looked at her and said, "No, I'm disagreeing with with you, you're not God." The woman just looked away, clearly angry, and moved on. But really, how are you supposed to interact with these people and not go crazy? Every conversation I see or hear between a COCer and non-COCer, the COCer thinks they speak directly for God and if you don't agree with them on even the smallest and most trivial things, then you disagree with God and you're saying that God is wrong.

MusicMan826 wrote: But really, how are you supposed to interact with these people and not go crazy? Every conversation I see or hear between a COCer and non-COCer, the COCer thinks they speak directly for God and if you don't agree with them on even the smallest and most trivial things, then you disagree with God and you're saying that God is wrong.

Isolationism is rampant in the ultra-conservative CoC tribes, and they generally don't like to interact with anyone that challenges their warped doctrines and traditional hogwash. They have a tendency to be smug, cantankerous, and opinionated; possessing a closed mind, they make it virtually impossible to hold a civil discussion with anyone of a different persuasion.

My parents, both cofc, have passed on...may they rest in peace. With their passing, I no longer have anyone who cares whether or not have have my derriere in a cofc pew or not.

In my experience it is best not to engage with cofc people in discussions about religion. Best to distract them into other topics if possible, especially elderly parents.