Churches Were Never Essential

There was never a time where the local church was a necessity for developing one's theological worldview, and there has never been a better time for certain people to be told this than a pandemic where churches have been declared "nonessential."  Church meetings are either gratuitous when it comes to worldview development because knowledge of Christian theology comes from a rationalistic analysis of the Bible, which renders the "educational" role of pastors unnecessary, or because they are marked by errors.

All churches fall into at least the former category, and many fall into the latter as well.  Some churches may provide social benefits to their congregants, but church itself is not a requirement for Christian life [1].  Those who have a default, arbitrary respect for church put themselves at risk for tolerating the fallacies and heresies prized by conservative and liberal churches alike.  Moreover, they fail to exercise intellectual and spiritual autonomy, outsourcing their worldview formation and primary theological discoveries to the hearsay of their preferred pastor.

All that one needs to understand English translations of the Bible is an intentional grasp of reason (so one can see what does and does not follow from the words of the Bible), the ability to read, and at least basic familiarity with the English language.  The subjective, unverifiable "promptings of the Holy Spirit" and the illusory "authority" behind the pulpit are irrelevant to sound philosophy and theology, and these things ultimately reduce down to fallacious appeals to authority and non sequiturs as it is.

Comprehending the moral and metaphysical teachings of the Bible does not depend on social interaction with pastors or other Christians in general.  Knowledge is grounded in reason above all, and reason is available to everyone.  Moral improvement is a matter of an individual's will.  Commitment to Christianity is an individualistic choice that no one can make simply by close proximity to Christians, no matter how sincere or sound they might be.  In all cases, a person's spiritual and moral status is up to them.

Every Christian has autonomous responsibility to ensure that their own worldview, spiritual standing, and moral character are in alignment with Biblical doctrines.  Christianity is a religion that is first and foremost about individuals and their own obedience to God's moral revelation in the Bible.  No one becomes right with God or a better person by attending church, and anyone looking for theological depth will find that there are very few, if any, philosophically sound churches.  Church is not intellectually, morally, or spiritually essential.

[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/10/sunday-church-construct-of-tradition.html