I got a bad taste in my mouth (go ahead, make your jokes) when I was selling cars and we GAVE a new car to the local bishop (or whatever he is). This old man lives, for free, by himself, in a HUGE mansion in the historic part of town, AND drives a free car. It's like a 10 bedroom house. We have families living on the streets and the church is maintaining, heating, cooling, and cleaning this place for one guy.
Oh look, a few bad religious experiences so all religions must all be bad. It is just like those awful loud motorcyclists. They all ride on the street like idiots scaring and endangering everyone on the highway with them. With that said, the wealth of riches at the Vatican should be a bit embarrassing for an organized religion that seeks to follow the teachings of Christ. The library maybe could be justified, but all of the art is something else. It is also part of why Martin Luther ended up starting a new religion, even though what he had hoped to do was reform the Catholic Church away from "selling" forgiveness. If all you have experienced are big fancy Cathedrals or places where an evangelical drives a Mercedes to work at his amphitheater, take a look at your local United Methodist, Presbyterian or similar church. You will likely find something very different. Like all organizations they are not without their problems, but those problems generally do not include the Church or Pastor getting rich off the parishioners backs. What they do instead is help those in need in their community, like this example. I could give plenty more examples from my church as well. https://wjla.com/news/local/new-affordable-housing-community-opens-its-doors-in-arlington
Yup. Give locally. Small churches have little overhead and the donation is going to somebody in your community that needs it.
Religion isn`t bullshit; some people are. Like any enterprise you can name. There`s a lot more good than bad. But just like gov, when you get to the top of a big org, people F it up because some are dirtbags/dumbass.
Revealed religions are absolutely bullshit - it's in the definition. That's not to say that religion doesn't do good things at times, but threatening them with Santa withholding presents makes my kids behave far better than the threat of eternal damnation does. Santa > god
In some cases yes. Religion does far more good than bad in this country. Regardless if you believe...
I don't know what anyone's church is like, but my church and every other church I've ever been a part of has regular monthly business meetings. EVERYONE is free to attend. They cover every single penny given and how it's spent. You can know exactly what the pastor is paid, down to the janitor, along with all monies donated to any cause.
Here is my church’s message. Bible-based giving isn’t about guilt or pressure. It’s about discovering the joy of cheerful generosity in response to God’s amazing grace. All we have is a gift from God, and we’re created to give, not just consume. As followers of Jesus, we don’t give to get noticed, or to get something back. Instead, we give freely and generously to God for the mission of his church from what God has first given us. At Hope, we take seriously the responsibility to distribute offerings faithfully. Our financial books are open to church members, and we’re fast approaching our goal to become a 50/50 church – giving half of all offerings to our local and global mission partners.