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"Some people are very busy, and some people get a little intimidated walking into a church, this is for them."
If you were intimidated by walking into a church, why would you want to walk around all day with a black ash mark on your forehead?
As for being very busy, anyone who has purchased fast food knows that it is often faster to park and walk in than to use the drive through.
Glad to see they're services their brothers who love God just a little less than those willing to take the extra time to go inside. /s
Doesnt really matter anyway, there's nothing scriptural about Ash Wednesday. Just another made up tradition of man, not based on any Biblical scripture at all. Glad at least makes a large number of people in the world feel a little more religious for a day.
It isn't DIRECTLY commanded, but for believers, it is a healthy reminder of our mortality. Some of us could really use that reminder, and the accompanying sacrifices and discipline of Lent, the season that follows. But I wouldn't expect a skeptic to really understand this, or the liturgical calendar in general. "Humans are too good to be tied down to natural cycles." /s Or so we think until our Rocinantes are pulled through the Black Hole....
I hope those drivers don't get any of those ashes in their eyes ....
Want fries with that??
At least it's not drive-thru Eucharist.... That'd be drinking and driving...
*shrug* In DC they just do it at the Metro stops.
I grew up with strict observance of rituals such as Ash Wednesday. Part of the reason for the ritual is giving up of yourself (personal time) as a way of honoring the Creator. How does "drive through" service equate to personal sacrifice of time? Doing it simply because it's the ritual doesn't mean anything when the heart is not submitted. Better to devote a lunch break to "thinking about it" than just drive through and keep up appearances.
Hey! This is the 21 Century. The ALL about "ME" era. Read the book<<< 101 easy ways to praise God in less then a minute. The "Drive Through" is number 42.
West, sometimes it's just not possible. Especially for working people. My church has a 7am service with Ashes today, which if I'd gone would have made me late for work. They have no daytime service until 4pm this afternoon, which means I'm leaving early to make Mass and Ashes. Their next service isn't till 7pm.
I think this is a great idea, especially for working couples juggling time for church/work/themselves.
I'm not religious but I have to agree with Westwind. What is the purpose of having a religion if all you do is go through the motions? Nothing spiritual there! If one really believes than why would someone think that their "all-knowing" God doesn't know what's really in their hearts?
@Janine-1645002 And why can't you then attend the 7 PM mass? Surely you wouldn't have to leave work early to make it...
Just one more way that man has invented to avoid the giving of themselves, their time in honoring the Creator every day....for too many that is too much to accept so men set up rituals to assuage their conscious for not truly following Scripture.
Ah yes, the religious industry at it's finest. Just swipe the credit card on your way through and your good to go.
Can I get a frequent sinners card where every tenth sin is free?
What is this really saying?
I'll exercise my faith if I'm not inconvenienced in the process?!?!?
Just gotta love those christian values...I wonder what Jesus would do?
A great idea (tongue-in-cheek) for the person on the run, who doesn't have the time. I have another idea. Why don't they put Mass or church services on the big screen at drive-ins theaters. Then the priest or minister could go car to car to dispense Holy Communion and Wine. This will bring the concept of the drive-in theater, as well (smiles). Just an idea, but it might work.
Drive through church! Now I'd seen it all.
Some religious people will set aside time to go out to dinner, or to play golf, but the weekly hour at church, or even going there, is too big a demand on their precious time. If you believe in God and belong to a church with a physical building and a formal ceremony, then honoring God once a week with others should at least merit the same attention that you would lavish on washing and waxing your car. I swear that there are folks who would be happy to have communion mailed to them in the same envelope that their DVD rentals come in. A big dimension of faith is community, not isolation in a car going thru a drive through church.
Can I supersize that ? No seriously where exactly in the Bible is ash wednesday?
Not every thing pertaining to Christian tradition and practice is found in the Bible. Jesus and the first Christians didn't even HAVE Bibles. The Church gathered books of Scripture together and authorized them AS the Bible. The Church came first.
Ash Wednesday however does have Biblical origins. A day of atonement is mentioned in Leviticus, and there are also references in the Old Testament of people dressing in sackcloth and ashes when atoning and repenting. Christians adopted this practice during lent, as a reminder of the same, and of mortality, but instead of sackcloth and ashes head to toe, a mark is made on the forehead.
Thank you! I felt it was a fair question, given the fact that I did not know the answer when someone asked me the same thing. Now I can tell them the source of the tradition.
Nik, also remember that it has pagan origins too. A christian missionary visiting nordic lands burned down an oak tree (symbolizing Oden) in a "my god is better than your god" display then put the ash on his forehead as a kind of mocking victory dance. The church picked it up later. Just about every christian tradition or idea has its origins in pagan religions. All that's really original about christianity are candy canes (a shepards crook), pretzels (the twist is a child praying), and original sin (no pagan religion had the gall to blame people for being born).
Christianity didn't evolve in a vacuum. It was shaped and influenced by the world that gave it birth. I agree that there are Pagan precedents for many Christian traditions, but that doesn't invalidate them, except for extremely Biblical oriented types who won't breath unless the Bible tells them to. Jesus and His followers didn't even have Bibles, and he and St. Paul and others often contradicted Old Testament teachings. While many early Christians saw Paganism as being the "enemy" of their faith, other Christians saw in Paganism, a foreshadowing of their faith, and believed that Christianity was, not the enemy of the Pagan world, but the logical conclusion to it, or fulfillment of it.
ah yes... another vain tradition of men... but the Bible itself speaks of such things in Colossians 2:8 - "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
Even with the benefit of the doubt concerning the above verse not applying here, people are too busy? hmmm must be the other idols in thier lives coming before God?. Now which commanment talks about that?
Golly, how convenient! Church is so cool nowadays, if it were this cool when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have told my parents "stop brainwashing me".
Today is really "Spaghetti Wednesday", as the Flying Spaghetti Monster wants us to place marinara sauce on our foreheads to remember His Noodly Goodness. But He also wants us to wipe it off right away so we don't look silly with a bunch of schidt on our faces.
RAmen!
Glad you found a god that you can understand and relate to. You've posted the same or a similar comment before. How devout you are.
If it works for you, great. If it doesn't, then don't worry about it. If you are a true believer and a practicing Catholic or christian, these rituals mean something on a personal and spiritual level. Don't knock it if you don't understand it, and please respect the freedom of choice and freedom of religion of others in this matter.
If you can't take 30 mins to do it right why do it at all. Jesus took time to do it RIGHT.
I'm sure God has upgraded to a high speed prayer network by now. What used to take 30 minutes can now be done in seconds. I bet he's already on 5G. He is god after all.
If you can not do it right why bother. Jesus did it RIGHT.
Apparently you're not much into your religion if you have to go thru a a drive-thru for a spiritual event. You go to a drive-thru for a hamburger, not something as important as this. "I don't have time", is one of the lamest excuses on earth. If something is important to you, you take the time.
Tacky. People are unwilling to take the time to actually GO to church, but want everyone to see how 'pious' they are.
Isn't there something about 'vain display' in the new testament?
Simply mistake. They thought it said Van display.
What about do it yourself kit.
No, they just have to offer coffee, burgers and dry cleaning to make it really convenient!
Ash Wednesday....just another religious hoop to jump through.
The unfortunate thing about this story is the fact that people put their religion far enough down the list of things in their life, that they need "drive thru" services.
If you are a religious person, believe in it wholely, not just kinda. Otherwise it becomes idolitry, and a sin. It does not matter if catholic, baptist, lutheran, whatever is your choice, do it right, or don't do it at all.
That's part of theproblem with this country, half-ass everything.
Is this religions god compromising now? What's next, you only have to follow 9 of the 10 commandments, you bring your lawyer to the pearly gates to negotiate entrance?? If you truly believe in your religion and claim to be a devout follower this is nothing more than cheating. If you think this is OK, you are not a devout follower. You choose.
Drive thru? Really? This is the 21st century. I'm sure there is an app for that! Leave it to the church to always be a century behind.
Just TEXT 'prayer' to 2222, charges WILL apply.
It kind of takes the "Personal relationship with Christ", and throws it out the "Window".
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that Whoever would believe in him shall have everlasting life. John 3:16
Rituals and RELIGION, will never make up for our personal relationship with Christ.
The definition of a destructive religious cult is like alcoholism-if booze controls you instead of the other way around you are an alcoholic.
The Watchtower society Jehovah's Witnesses as an example is not benevolent and won't let you leave their organization in peace.If they try to ruin your reputation and break up your family for trying to get out then they are a cult!
Whenever you surrender your logic and reason to anyone who asks you to trust them because they know better and to please donate generously, it's a cult. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck....
-Danny Haszard
http://www.dannyhaszard.com
I thought lent was about personal sacrifice for God. Its supposed to be a time for preparation for Easter. You'd think people could give up enough time to go to church!