Blog Link: Faithhacker

This is a topic that I touched on in my opening post, when I talked about the reasons why I was considering conversion.  I'm concerned about the commercial endeavors of churches, the impact on the separation of church and state, and, ultimately, religious freedom.

Faithhacker posted about this very topic.  It's especially interesting to me, because I have attended the church at the heart of this discussion, and even mentioned it in that post.  The Faithhacker post brings up several of the issues which really do bother me: excessive evangelism, and the separation between church and state.

It's kind of sad, really, because I do feel that the ChangePoint people honestly think that they're trying to better the community, and a place like the Sports Dome really could have a positive effect.  I just wish that they had made it a separate entity, as opposed to an extension of the church.  I would want them to pay taxes at an appropriate rate (I don't know if it's for-profit or not).  I would want them to keep the preaching out of it, even though I agree that the code of conduct for their facility is appropriate.

Basically, if it's an athletic facility, it should be treated like one.  If it's really a church where people play indoor football, run track, and practice other sports, then it should be called one.  I don't like the idea of claiming to support religious freedom, but in the same breath talk about converting people to your religion.

If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that committing to a religion should be an act of free will.  It doesn't matter if it's a religion into which you were born, or one you chose for yourself.