My Depressing Visit to a Baptist Church (1 Viewer)

[FreeThinker]

I went to a Sunday morning baptist service because it was translated in sign language and I needed contact hours for an ASL class I'm taking in college.

I went in with an open mind and really wanted to hear what the pastor had to say in his sermon. Add to that I was already tired from work the night before and stressed out, making me the ideal candidate to believe anything I was told.

The church itself is predominantly white and extremely affluent. Donations from this year were over 3.1 million dollars, and the service was in a brand new stadium sized auditorium, complete with full orchestra, professional singers, and camera crew. Five gigantic screens were up on each wall focused on the pastor's face as he spoke.

The money that went into that place was incredible. It made me wonder where it all came from: until the pastor gave his sermon.

What was the message?

"Be good to your neighbor?" -no
"Turn the other cheek?" -no
"Love your fellow man?" -no

The message of the sermon was this:

You should give at least 10% of everything you own to this church.

He made the statement that "tithing" (the practice of giving 10% of your income to charity mentioned in the Old Testament) was a good practice that we should be following, then implied that giving to the church was the same as giving to charity.

Falling asleep that night thinking about the sermon, a thought occurred to me: Americans pay around 20% income tax and around 10% sales tax. Where does the 30% of our income go? College tuition programs for the poor, homeless shelters, welfare, medication for the poor, housing for the poor, federal funding for disease research..... Doesn't that all sound a lot like charity?

Then it hit me:

Churches do not pay any taxes.

Here was a guy standing in a multi million dollar TAX FREE auditorium worthy of presidents and kings, paid for by charity donations, telling a group of people that ALREADY pay 30% of their income that they should be paying 10% more TO THE CHURCH.

It was a disgusting wake up call to the perversion of Christianity in America. Who the **** are these people that can look tax payers in the face and ask for 10% above and beyond what we already pay to buy extravagant buildings and property.

No wonder liberals hate religion so much. It's been hijacked by scam artists.

 

[ngdawg]

My husband goes to a Protestant church. During the passing of the collection plates, they start singing hymns, then when the plates are brought to the front, he says a prayer over them, thanking 'God' for the money. Made me physically ill. I understand the need for the donations as they support the minister and the church activities, but it's the 'worship' of it that is disgusting to me. It's something I think should be done outside the church walls, not within the services.
My father once had a conversation with a baptist minister he knew that drove a new Lincoln almost every year. His explanation for it? His 'flock' wouldn't be as devoted if he drove around in a beat up old car-that having a nice shiny new car showed that doing the lord's work had pay-offs.

 

[Southern Belle]

Wow, that's so sad... I live in a small town. The Baptist church that I grew up in was tiny (and I mean really tiny) and my grandparents actually supported it and paid the bills. We had no choir, only a piano. And I don't ever remember hearing a sermon asking for tithes. They took up offering and that was about it. That church closed because they became corrupted for a few other reasons (one being they turned away a black child, and you are never supposed to turn ANYBODY away especially a child) and when my grandparents found out, that was the last straw and they stopped support and let it close.

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

My father once had a conversation with a baptist minister he knew that drove a new Lincoln almost every year. His explanation for it? His 'flock' wouldn't be as devoted if he drove around in a beat up old car-that having a nice shiny new car showed that doing the lord's work had pay-offs.

He's right, though. Part of any public undertaking, part of getting other people to support your ideas and your causes, is cultivating an aura of authority. You have to make yourself look like a powerful and influential person in order to have the power and influence needed to make changes on a large scale-- which would include any kind of large charity undertaking.

Of course, I'd have to see a list of what actual charity their churches are doing before I'd defend either of these pastors.

 

[WI Crippler]

I belonged to a very cultish styled church while I was growing up, and tithing was a part of our church. Although it wasn't every Saturday ( we had our services on saturday ) we tithed during all our crazy church holidays. I remember working in a ginseng field during the summers for 2 dollars an hour (cash) and having to save back 10 percent of my money for tithing, in my tithe jar.
Fortunantley the church collapsed in on itself and I believe it ceases to exist now. It wasn't cultish like sex with young children or multiple marriages cultish, but its doctrine made it very hard for a kid growing up to socialize with kids in schools. I used to get beat up in elementary school, because the kids thought I was Jewish. we weren't jewish, we were just part of a stupid *** cult, why couldn't kids see that

 

[Thelost1]

I happen to be very strongly against organized religion. it tends to encourage beaurocratic-style corruption.

 

[FreeThinker]

I used to get beat up in elementary school, because the kids thought I was Jewish. we weren't jewish, we were just part of a stupid *** cult, why couldn't kids see that

ROLF I don't know why but that last sentence made me laugh really really hard.

"It's not like we were Jewish or anything, we were just a cult". LOLOLOLOL

 

[Monk-Eye]

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

"Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction"

ROLF I don't know why but that last sentence made me laugh really really hard.
"It's not like we were Jewish or anything, we were just a cult". LOLOLOLOL

It was very funny, or your laughter has become contageous.

 

[Apostle13]

Baptists are heavily involved in missions work... However, only a portion (usually 10%) of the actual tithe goes there as they have a separate donation period over and above the tithe (usually once/month) devoted entirely to missions work.
The tenth portion is biblical and does provide a base foundation for the church to operate. It is a hard preach marred by ignorants/unbelief/skepticism/greed over conviction.
Also despite popular contrary belief... Preachers are encouraged to prosper as are all other Christians.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers.

 

[Thales]

Your experience is a great example of why I dislike many parts of organized religion. Supposedly it's charity, and so it doesn't get taxed... I'd love to see some actual numbers come out of that church. As in how they can justify millions of dollars of tax-free spending.

Especially with the mega-churchs around now. I think the federal government should do some audits of religious groups and see if they deserve their tax-free status. I suspect many of them do not...

 

[Navy Seal Patriot]

He made the statement that "tithing" (the practice of giving 10% of your income to charity mentioned in the Old Testament) was a

What I find very hypocritical in Churches saying this is what about all the other OT verses they don't promote? Why the 10% tithe verse? Why not promote that lending money at interest (usury) is also a verse and isn't what the Bible promotes? In fact some Churches did just that and actually wouldn't allow a person to be a member if they promoted-worked for such a Banking institution--of course by 1900 most these Churches (in America) caved into the secular money pressures. Dozens of other verses Churches ignore and don't promote in the very same book--why the 10% verse? Money. Stay away from these wolves in sheep clothing--in fact I need to start a thread on any Church thas has tax expemtion status is more than likely mammon oriented--should be researced and posted.