Introduction to Church
The early Christian era was major characterized by various vessels of which every vessel constituted of wholly or incompletely churches which the face of many was characterized by various setbacks of the ecclesiastical plate to the mainland at the moment of social and religious woes (Old Church Plate, 1907). The Church as a social institution plays a major role in helping the members of the society to overcome several problems e.g. conflict resolution and bonding the family members together.
Positive Impact Of Church
The social correlation that has greatly emerged among aged people in modern society has been greatly contributed by the church which has created a strong belief that the single believers who have developed the attitude of going to church have actually had a greater paradigm shift. Social groups such as the sick have recently had improvements to their health situation and therefore proved that the church has had greater concern towards change in their life. However, having a Minister based social relationship is of greater importance as compared to other social group associations (Krause N).
Negative Effect Of Church Institution
Church as an institution has hindered individual goals an individual abandons his goals and responsibility on behalf of the church. Above all, our children’s future has been greatly affected by the church in that they tend to forget the social norms and follow the church. Church has also stood as a prophetic critic with a lot of effects of guilty feelings which is stressing towards negative criticism. There are several schools of thought of which using critical Autobiography to explain sociology is based on institution. Sociology of education highlights school as a community that you grew up in and gained your experiences from. Thoughts can also indicate the detained knowledge which a person has especially after applying your sociological imagination. There are several conflict theory including class and social conflict which major involve substantive analysis.
Use of symbols in the church
The symbols which are used in the church serve the purpose of showing to men Gods’ presence and unite men with the divine nature of God. Some of the symbols which are used in the church are the cross, vestments used celebrations, there are different colors used in the church with various meanings, the use of candlelight which is for showings us the way to Christ, and also the use of natural light (Orthodox Church in America, 2008). There is also the use of incense, wine, bread, water, and oil to show God’s mercy and love.
The functionality of church
The latent functions of the church are to help people be friendlier towards one another. When people go to church, the summons has the effect of making them kinder to others. The manifest functions on the other hand are to help people read the bible and become more knowledgeable of God’s word, help people rejoice as they sing, help people be more helpful to the society as it mobilizes the flock to participate in community charitable activities. The dysfunctional functions of the church are that it has contributed to the major divisions between different church denominations and even religions as they tend to give a negative perspective of those denominations and religions.
The conflicts that exist in the church are due to the negativity that comes out when the priests are carrying out their duties. In as much as the church is supposed to be a place of solace for the flock, there are numerous instances when the congregations are exposed to spiritual abuses by the preachers. This tends to have a negative impact on them. The church is supposed to unify people, but most of the time it has been more divisive to many people.
Personally, the church has had a great positive influence on my life. This has been due to the early teachings since childhood. It has been a great character builder for me as through the teachings I have developed my life’s virtues which have been most supportive to me.
References
Biomedicine. (2008). Web.
J.M. Dawson Institute of Church State Studies.
Orthodox church in America. (2008) Christian Symbols.
Old church Plate. (2002). Web.