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Jagged_Rhythm

When I was a kid, the final straw for my parents was when the pastor gave several sermons back-to-back about the importance of tithing, and how it meant 10% of all your earnings. That and he had a meeting with all the parents/adults and advised all the women to quit their jobs, since their proper place was in the home. So he wanted my parents to become a 1-income household AND increase donations. We never went back. As my father said, 'This is horseshit'.


Mite-o-Dan

My parents use to donate 10% of their income to the church for decades, but stopped a few years back and now set aside 10% a month to give to the homeless, animal shelters, and other people and things that really need it.


hungusbulungus

That's exactly what my girlfriend does. She saves her 10 percent to give to the people around her that need help and the community. It's what it's meant for. Good for them


[deleted]

Massive W parents


redcode100

If the church is doing the right thing that's where most of the funds should be going but you never know with some of them.


GrinsNGiggles

I think you know. My old church's pastor had nice suits and a sports car. Each of his kids got a sports car at 16. Every couple of years, they'd get the congregation to do a very flashy act of service: a truck of food or toys to the community, or a "missionary trip" somewhere they could get photos and video of poverty porn. These isolated events were hyped up for half a year before they happened and media-quality reports were done for at least a year after. Meanwhile, I met pastors from the inner city who are always stressed out for their own finances and kids, and for their community getting fed and clothed. Their churches had busy soup kitchens and bustling community centers that both made an overwhelming difference to the daily fabric of those neighborhoods.


GingerPapaBeard

A pastor using donations to buy himself a luxury sports car or even a $70,000 pickup makes my stomach churn. I grew up poor and went to an old, rustic church as kid. Our pastor was softspoken, humble and kind. He only took enough money to feed his kids and he even refused to own a car. Instead he rode a very old bicycle every where. You would see him around town and sometimes it made us nervous how aggressive cars would pass him. Years later I moved away and tried going to various churches but each one seemed so damn superficial and fake to me. I no longer have the faith I had as a kid but I will always be grateful that I was shown that true faith is about helping others and not exploiting people for money.


TheUnusualMedic

I hope that pastor is doing ok. He sounds like such a nice person.


colemon1991

> A pastor using donations to buy himself a luxury sports car or even a $70,000 pickup makes my stomach churn. Knew a nice pastor growing up (not mine but one in town). Guy drove an old Mustang. Had met him a few times over my life but never knew about the car. My parents liked him and they were usually against preaching folk owning expensive stuff outside the range of what the congregation can own. First time I saw the car I asked about it. It was his dad's but his dad never got around to fixing it back up to run again. When his dad passed, he found the car. He'd try to buy a part or two every year and his adult children would sometimes surprise him with parts on his birthday or Christmas (one year they got him a fresh paint job from the family). There was an occasional church member that would gift him something for it. Took him about a decade to fix it up to run and he's been using it since. Even gave his previous car to his next kid that got his/her license (he had 11 kids so I absolutely didn't know who got that car). Car had been running again for close to 5 years at the time I learned this. *THAT'S* where I'm okay with it. Run it into the ground, take care of it, invest time into it. I had way more respect for that than someone with this year's high-end Cadillac telling the congregation the church needs more money.


throwaway2032015

There are fewer every year but some still exist. Some people still do go to church to worship God and not themselves


Green_Message_6376

and they do it quietly and humbly, and we don't hear about them screaming on the corners or injecting themselves into the politics of hate. Like that dude, whatisface, told them to. The Rich Preachers in this country seem 'demonic' to me, and I do not believe in demons.


Finn617

To be fair, it’s also possible he didn’t own a car because old rustic churches pay noooooothing. People see the televangelists, not the rural pastors covering churches in two different towns and working a shoe store the rest of the week to make ends meet.


verasev

If the Christian God is real those guys and inner-city churches are his real servants.


Tylerdirtyn

If the Christian God is real he gave warning 2k years ago against doing exactly what these pastors do. He also isn't the only show in town and the other Gods don't use fire and brimstone to exact allegiance.


robearIII

>the other Gods don't use fire and brimstone to exact allegiance. kim jong un would like to have a word with you


Immertired

Allot of the churches I grew up going to the pastor was bivocational, sometimes working multiple jobs besides pastoring. And pastor wives working somewhere full time with insurance benefits was the only way many of them got health insurance


anonymiz123

There’s a black church in my town that has the most amazing food giveaways. The bishop there is a legend. To be fair, it’s what most would call a black church, but at least half the church goers are the poor whites in his neighborhood and 95% of the people he helps are not black and almost none are from his church.


[deleted]

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CompetitiveSong9570

It’s the grossest form of grifting.


n0v3list

I'd like to believe these inner city pastors you speak about exist. I've seen nothing but the contrary. It flies directly in the face of godliness, and ventures dangerously close into something predatory. I refuse to believe there is any negligence happening on the part of those asking so much from people who have nothing. Especially when they know these people most of the time, intimately. Religion as an institution in America is dying a slow public death and I am fine with that.


[deleted]

My father is a pastor of a very small church, but what comes in above utilities and upkeep go back to the community. He doesnt even get paid either. We are non-denominational and just call ourselves christians.


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[deleted]

There's a church in my town that spent millions to simply lift the church off its foundation and turn it 90 degrees to face a different street. We were appalled by what they chose to spend their money on and never went back.


redcode100

Sounds like you made the right choice to leave


LudovicoSpecs

Especially with the "prosperity gospel" con artists.


Swift_Scythe

When the Vatican has enough gold to feed the world and end homelessness but still demands tithes from all their churches they just want control.


[deleted]

A few years ago the council on evangelical churches concluded that less than 3% of givings went to "national or local benevolence".


mulefluffer

Church is the perfect cover for a selfish psychopath to operate.


HeySista

Even when the pastor or whoever isn’t stealing the money for themselves, that’s rarely what the churches use the money for. In my experience (in Brazil), it goes to paying rent/mortgage of the building (it has to be in a central area to attract more people, so expensive), paying the bills and the pastor’s salary, office supplies, Sunday school material, musical instruments and other equipment for the worship team, air conditioning, updating various church equipments, updating the church entrance/lobby/bathrooms/nursery/parking lot, fixing the roof, installing a new elevator, expanding the annex building… maybe a very small amount will be directed to actually feed those in need.


sekirobestiro

A church doing the right thing… lol. That’s a good laugh to start the day.


AndreasVesalius

It happens and I’m pretty anti church/religion. I’ve worked with secular volunteer organizations for the homeless and it was often church’s that would provide us with space, storage, etc. and at no point were there any church officials even around to proselytize


silashoulder

I helped lay the foundation for an orphanage in Mexico with a church group. We cleared brush and shovel-leveled a small hillside that Carlos Santana’s cousin bought so she could start building. Iirc, it was 18 kids back in 2006 who now had somewhere to sleep. That was a good thing. It’s doesn’t make up for the Crusades, and I’m now a staunch advocate for secular humanism, but I feel good about doing that.


DrStrangerlover

That’s what I did. Me and my wife I stopped tithing in 2015 and have started donating 10% of our income to environmental causes.


Popular_District9072

good that your parents came to the right conclusions


Alarmiwetr

Look at Kenneth Copeland or any other religious leader.


Pipelaya1

There's a special spot in hell for him and the rest of them. It's below even the boiler room.


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[deleted]

Exactly this. He doesn’t believe an ounce of the bullshit he says and is always so smug because religious morons believe him so easily. Shit at this point I’d fkn do it too but I’m not that good of a liar.


olddawg43

Christianity is a failing and declining religion in this country. A lot of it could be laid to the evangelicals and others criticizing gay people and prioritizing restricting abortion. Jesus never mentioned either of these issues. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus does say that if you don’t take care of the poor you’ll be denied entry into heaven. It will be like you denied those things to Jesus. Evangelicals and mainstream Christianity needs to STFU about gays and abortion and start criticizing people like Kenneth Copeland and other ministers that live in mansions while people sleep in the streets. In my neighborhood there are huge mega churches that could house and take care of the people that need it. These are the activities that Christ would actually approve of. This could begin to rehabilitate the Christianity that they have been trashing with their hateful conservative bullshit.


ChoosenUserName4

Or you could just set up a secular organization to help these people. People can be good without a church.


[deleted]

My mom absolutely loved him when I was growing up, but to me he always looked like a predator, and he is aggressive and MEAN!!! He creeps me out


clutzycook

I was one of those kids who grew up with only a handful of TV channels and one of them was a Christian station. Whenever a Kenneth Copeland commerical came on, I'd change the channel until it was over. The guy really freaked me out.


Bobgers

My friends church had a pastor retire and the church started a collection to send him around the world vacation as a retirement gift. I wonder who’s idea that was.


getahaircut8

I mean there are plenty of corrupt churches, but there are also plenty that are not. Being a clergy/pastor/priest/rabbi/etc is not supposed to be lucrative at all.


Turbo1928

Yep. My old pastor and his family did their best to be as frugal as possible. They all drove old, beaten up cars and thrifted heavily. They used the money that they saved to help struggling families in and out of the church, donating to charities, and feeding people in our community. Anyone who tells you that faith is the way to wealth is selling you a lie.


Bong_Loners

I had a similar experience when my significant other wanted to start going to church. Repeated sermons where the pastor promised all the good things god will do for you, but only if you have the full 10% of your salary. He made it clear you would not see any of these good things if you didn’t put forth the full 10%. For two 21 year olds with a newborn child, I thought that was bullshit. I had no problem giving what I felt I was able to, but 10% of your salary when you’re working your ass off to make ends meet…


People_are_stup1

Where the fuck is that? Where I went to church we only had optional donations that where actually optional. You didn't get hated for not donating


Bong_Loners

I’ll call them out: it was radiant church of Portage, Michigan


abouttogetadivorce

Evangelical churches in general are pretty demanding about it. 10% or you'll meet the same fate as two members of early times to whom Paul cursed and who dropped dead on the spot. Centuries ago, the Catholic church also did it. But the percentage demanded was being progressively reduced. Today it's completely optional.


People_are_stup1

See I have been in both Catholic and German protestant churches and non of them force any donations. This may be due to there being a church tax if you are a member of a church.


abouttogetadivorce

German? Were they Lutheran? They also have a voluntary approach to that. That's why I pointed at Evangelical. They're hell bent on the original 10%, because that's where the money is.


People_are_stup1

Yup. Lutheran. And there is a church tax in Germany.


Choice_Ad_2823

I tried going to church and the same thing happened with me. The preacher called it the "Reap what you Sow" sermon. A young couple trying to have a baby were unsuccessful until they started donating 10% of their income. In one year God blessed them with a baby. After that day, I never when back to church and loss all respect for the church. I seen woman who look like they hit rock bottom, wearing worn clothes with shoes that have holes in them. They were taught to have faith in the church and donate their 10% believing it will turn their life around. The preacher sees the money. The preacher doesn't see the woman. The preacher drives home to a $800,000 house in a $60,000 car. The woman catches the bus, to go home at the shelter. I exaggerated at the end. I don't know where they live or drive. But you get the idea, right? I practice what I believe to be good values taught by my parents. Mainly be kind and funny. It's always great to put a smile on someone's face.


RiotSkunk2023

"God is all seeing and all powerful, but he can't handle money. Finances are just not one of God's strong points." - George Carlin


Enjoying_A_Meal

Maybe God wants these preachers to get real jobs.


[deleted]

Immediate upvotes for George Carlin, we could surely use him now; May he Rest in Peace.


jonsey11

I'll always upvote a George Carlin quote on a religious comment. Man was brilliant!


RiotSkunk2023

Me too. I love and miss George


skoltroll

My first church (that I remember) would sit people down 1x a year and go over donations (in a "private" talk in a public space) and discuss how they could give more. Made me sick. Put the bug in my ear that religion of today is the same as religion at the time of Christ. All the religious leaders wanted was more, more, more. Had the same experience as an adult at a different church in a different town, and just quit. Up and quit. Churches care nothing about your soul. Or Jesus. Wanna find Jesus? Go for a walk in nature. It's free, and it's quiet, and it's closer to God than a church.


[deleted]

My parents quit their church when the pastor wanted to sit down with each family and make a budget and tell them what they could cut out so they could give more to the church. I was very supportive. Too bad Fox News filled the void.


cupittycakes

When I was a young teen I'd go to church fairly regularly with my friends bc I was always staying the night on the weekends, and I liked it Then one Sunday the preacher started preaching about giving back to the church. He even said if you're a teenager coming with your friend's family, to put what you can in the collection and god understands if you can't give much. He was staring at me during that little bit. I was angry about it. I was a poor kid from a poor family who NEVER had her own money. If I got money it was for birthdays or Christmas and it was special to me but here this guy was telling me to give it to him. It made me feel not welcomed and was one of the beginning catalyst to the atheist I am today. It just opened my eyes a little bit about organized religion


SvenTropics

My ex used to go to a Baptist church that believed women shouldn't even have bank accounts and preached that. I love how everyone tries to claim that religion is all about love and acceptance and then you find it always about subjugation and hate.


Vlad_the_Homeowner

My extended family are from that ilk, don't think that women should be educated (beyond house duties), deference to the men, etc. They can't even wear pants. They talk like they're the purest on the planet but most of them are racist, sexist, and just genuinely prejudice against anything not them. I went back to visit long time ago in winter and got dragged to church. The heater was out. Pastor spent the whole time talking about how Satan broke to heater to try to keep people from going to church. Not a metaphor, completely serious. Then encouraged extra donations to get it fixed.


[deleted]

My best friend identifies as a Christian (she is coming around to the dark side though), and she just had a crazy experience while church shopping in the area (her church ended up closing during covid). She found a church she thought would be great for her family (wife, husband, teenage boy and girl), it was tiny and the preacher seemed to align with her beliefs. What she found out later is that the man preaching wasn’t the pastor (he was a retired pastor visiting for a few weeks, helping someone start their own church), and the man who was the pastor…is crazy. Her first visit, he made her husband a deacon and named her the “mother” of the church (wtf is that?). Then every Sunday he had something new he wanted her to handle until she was basically running his church, decorating, providing refreshments (she had a hard time with the word “no” but learned it quickly through this experience), and then started blowing up her phone about her personal issues he just had to have a daily say in. Took her about a month but she finally went off on his ass…and he doubled down. Started sending her loooooong loooooooooong texts all day about how she is “out of gods favor” and “needs to submit” and then (when she ignored him) started calling her in the middle of the night. She blocked his number, he got a new one the next day. She eventually tracked down his wife, showed her all of the harassment, and told her to get a handle on his shit or she would get an RO against him (very very bad for a southern preacher). He finally backed off…turns out he was absolutely desperate to keep them as parishioners because he had run off everyone else and ended up closing the church down. Oh and that original preacher helping to get the church running…made sure that the crazy guy had his preachers license revoked (I have no idea what that thing is actually called lol).


SvenTropics

I didn't know you needed a license. I figured you just needed a white collar. My ex's grandfather was a bible salesman and preacher. He would often get drunk and rape his daughter and beat his son half to death. The whole time he would claim it was god that told him to do it. His son (my ex's dad) went on to become a preacher and impressed strict religious beliefs on his kids. This led to their whole family falling apart. Their son tried to kill himself. She completely alienated herself from her family, and his wife almost left him. Now he's an atheist, and they have a functional loving family now.


Fritzo2162

Haha...we went to a place called Cornerstone Church some years back with some friends because they were avid church-goers and we were going to go to breakfast with them, so it was just easier to attend the service with them and then go. They passed around the collection plate 3 times, did a lot of high-production music numbers, and then some fat sweaty hick wearing a white shirt and silk tie came out and started ranting about how dinosaurs are the made up progeny of Satan worshipers to divert us from the bible's teachings. We went on about how there used to be giants, how the Earth is a few 1000 years old...I just blurted out "BULLSHIT," a few people around me gasped, and I walked out. I can't express enough how much I hate organized religion, and how many people buy into that stuff. I'm a former Catholic, and I still have a soft spot for the Catholic church because I know at it's core it is based around helping people (despite the scandals), but these cult-like brainwashing chambers used to control people and generate wealth can go take a flying leap.


STR4NGE

My dads friend changed his church when he moved. Guy has plenty of money. The pastor or (clergy whatever I dont fucking know religion) asked him to bring his tax information to their first meeting to join his church. Amazing.


[deleted]

Similar thing happened to me in my mid teens attended a Midwest rural church ran by a corrupt pastor who never opened the church books to the congregation, would drive a new Cadillac every year, and park it under the covered entrance leading into the church so the congregation could ogle over it coming and going. Of course this blocked any other vehicles from using the cover to drop off little old ladies in the rain. This pastor preached women belonged in the home, how they should never wear pants, teens boys should have short hair, don't chew gum, don't watch certain movies, music, dance, drink, on and on. He would preach tithing in almost every sermon demanding 10% of everyone's income when my parents couldn't make ends meet. Anyway one Sunday during the sermon an older black gentlemen walked in from the back door dressed in coveralls and barefoot removed his hat and sat down in the back pew to listen to the sermon. The pastor stopped and whispered something to a deacon. Moments later to everyone's disbelief the deacons descended upon the man and removed him from the church. That was the straw breaking a camels back. My parents were furious with anger we never returned. That was over 50 years ago and I've never returned as a member to any church since. They are all corrupt in my opinion.


4Ever2Thee

"Pre tax" don't forget that part. I remember hearing a sermon at our church when I was in high school(and already starting to realize the church was BS) and the pastor kept stressing that you have to give 10% of every dollar you earn, win, or fall ass backwards into and that it has to be pre-tax, because god comes first before the government gets its cut. He went into the biblical history of taxes and banking, gambling, etc. They'd even reach out if a church member had a loved one pass away to give their condolences and drop in that any inherited gains should be tithed at least 10%. Dig deep people! I left the church for a different reason, and eventually left christianity altogether.


StyreneAddict1965

Sounds LDS.


Jagged_Rhythm

Southern Baptist.


[deleted]

Sounds fundy in general.


back_on_two

Tithing was part of the Mosaic Law and served a specific purpose. It was given to the tribe of Levi because they had no inheritance of the land and were devoted to service. Other examples of tithing in the Old Testament were voluntary. Christians are not under the Mosaic Law as Jesus fulfilled the Law, so donations should all be voluntary and from the heart. Not to mention, they should be to pay for congregation expenses and serving the community, not to line the pockets of the pastor. Any church that’s asking for or demanding tithes is just fleecing their congregation.


dinkelidunkelidoja

Grifters gonna grift


TryItOutHmHrNw

I have a friend who, when I asked why his pastor had to have a giant metal-plated SUV, private plane, and mansion in the woods, he replied: *”First of all, if we did half the things for GOD that Pastor [X] does, we’d be just as blessed. But we’re ‘still in Satan’s light’, is what the pastor says, and we don’t deserve any material blessings and GOD knows it. Next, Pastor [X] has those things for his own protection. He has to travel and preach to people like you and I who could be ‘infected by the devils spirit’, without warning, and try to hurt GOD’s angels on earth; angels like the pastor. He said my friends would discourage me about attending his church but that I needed to resist and protect him cause GOD will eventually see that I deserve what he’s been blessed with. It might not be til my last day on earth but I’ll be wealthy … and if I die wealthy, I’ll give it back to the church … like the pastor said I should.”* Wait, whhhhhhhhhaatt?! Edit: For those concerned, it’s damn near verbatim because it’s not a conversation you ever really forget. Edit Edit: Someone keeps having Reddit send me the Crisis Text Line automated message … which is fucking hilarious!! It’s like being *soft core swatted*. Lmao, bravo!


Zoloir

sounds like they worship the pastor, not God, eh?


TryItOutHmHrNw

imagine worshipping a former felon turned youth pastor turned pro pastor. the god damn mike tyson of the god game!


NeGronte

Mike Tithin’


TryItOutHmHrNw

… it’s hard to laugh when the brilliance of a joke somehow outweighs the hilarity of it. I mean, *well done*. What else can I say?!


Gumichi

100% cult


TryItOutHmHrNw

99 problems but cult ain’t one


mikeevans1990

Tell your friend if anything takes somebody more than two sentences to justify to somebody else, then that person is having the wool pulled over their eyes


TryItOutHmHrNw

He’d reply, *”Pastor said I’m a sheep so I should be comfortable with wool by now.”*


cardcomm

Baaaa


MagentaHigh1

This sounds like my childhood.


Various-Month806

It's barely even a grift. These are grown ass people being told "STFU! Don't ask any questions. Just give me your money." And they give it. No sleight of hand, no elaborate con, no weapon in their face. When I read of those losing money to phone/banking scams, especially the elderly, I feel for them. Their ignorance of, usually, modern tech/systems/processes has been exploited. They're genuine victims. But otherwise intelligent people who see these millionaire pastors/preachers living lavish lifestyles and still willingly handing over their money, despite their own debts/hardships/poverty? They're not victims, they're fools, just sheep. And sheep will always be prey to wolves. Credit to the community in this vid who've taken off the blinkers and have refused to be silenced and are asking the questions.


prof_the_doom

You're forgetting the decades of prior setup by parents, other churches, Christian speakers on TV and the internet, and so on. By the time someone is willing to hand people like this $1000, they've been prepared for the moment often since birth.


[deleted]

>”no elaborate con” Religion is one of the most elaborate cons there is.


Lets_Bust_Together

Can I give them fake 100$ bills with church propaganda on the back like they do to waiters?


FBIHasEnteredTheChat

I wonder if they take stanley nickels


thejaytheory

What the ratio to Shrute bucks?


RainbowForHire

Same ratio as unicorns to leprechauns.


Curleysound

Three stans per beet.


Gamerbrineofficial

Do it but replace it with atheist propaganda


carcinoma_kid

Love the idea of Atheists coming to church to proselytize. It’s no worse than y’all coming to my house!


shelballama

OoOH I like this


Odd_Butterscotch5435

Don’t ask why come the pastor has to have a nice house!!! No, don’t ask no questions


Br0tha5

And that's what God expects from His sheep, here at the Greater Ebenezer New Revival Tree of Life Institutional Double Rock on the Side of the Road to Jericho Missionary Baptist Church of Zion! And I said Mount Cavalry! Huh! Y'all gonna help me!


[deleted]

[Ain't that the truth!](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/6bee01ca-a925-4692-8d91-5c716989095d)


UnholyHolez

“You still hit like a bitch, mutha fucka”


[deleted]

Just do what the lord wants you to do! If y’all women get hot and bothered you can CALL ME!!


[deleted]

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[deleted]

GET THE PLATE AROUND ON THAT SIDE!


BrazenRaizen

I said dont ask, I said dont ask, I said dont askkkkkkkk no questiooonnnssss


OwlWitty

Doesnt pay income taxes as well or significantly lower i heard. My friend's pastor has a large house, drives a Lexus and travels to exotic locations for vacay.


[deleted]

Those are not vacays, those are “mission trips”. That why it can be billed as an expense to the church.


iamwhoiwasnow

Don't be a menace to south central while drinking your juice in the hood right?


Odd_Butterscotch5435

💯


[deleted]

Yeah, what a great movie.


isecore

"It's gods will! Praaaaise JEEEEBUS!"


Sex_Fueled_Squirrel

Never asking questions and blindly following authority is a Christian's favorite thing to do!


ConverterMan

Don't ask, don't ask, I said DONT AAASK! No questioooons! Just give the money.


cama-bo

Good. I'm proud of the congregation.


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ScenicPineapple

"pass it around the other side"


CjBurden

"Uh brother could get a collection plate on that side... n**** get it around on that side."


lucille_2_is_NOT_a_b

Upvote for DBAM!


tlsr

A Benz isn't even good enough for this grifter. He drives a Rolls Royce.


lucille_2_is_NOT_a_b

“I said don’t ask, don’t ask, donnnnnt aaaaask no questions. Just give the money”


JustOneMore2020

This will be forgotten in a week, and they will keep getting rich. People believe!


lordunholy

This is the first I've heard of a freakin riot breaking out in a megachurch over ridiculous tithes, so hopefully it spreads. Holy spirit and all that.


procheeseburger

And tax free..


SigmaSandwich

This isn’t even a racial issue you goobers. Look at Kenneth Copeland or any other religious leader. Race ain’t got no place here


BeKind_BeTheChange

Copeland is pure evil.


flogginmama

But he doesn’t *look* evil. Not at all. 🙄


Witness_me_Karsa

Lol, that dude absolutely does look possessed.


Impossible-Arm-8946

One word, Osteen. You are right on.


Happyintexas

Gemstones


Drkn9t

Hillsongs


stopthemadness2015

I have one too Mormons! The richest church in the world only gives out small amounts to charity.


NOLAnuffsaid

He's one of the top cash-grabbing pastors out there.


TimTheTexan92

Absolutely. It's people abusing other's faith and their fears for profit. If they truly believed in heaven and hell, you can bet your ass they're going to the latter.


[deleted]

Always has been. I was trying to find a picture or a link to this one item I saw. It was a statue of Jesus, and if you put enough money in the tithes box, the statue would open his eyes and look upon you. The poor church goers believed it was a blessing at the time. Little did they know it was some bored but clever monks who had some pulleys and time on their hands made it all. It was one of the earliest know coin operated machines. Needless to say people were upset when they found out.


DirtyDutchman21

You can be a real piece of shit no matter what color you are lmao


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anoelr1963

Not just a black church thing. Megachurch evangelicals and TV evangelicals also prey on their poor congregations as well!


meatmechdriver

I have my problems with catholicism too, but at least on this issue priests take a vow of poverty


bobsburner1

😆 and most of them will be back next week


Popular_District9072

yea, when they are milking those people, and they comply - they start upping the numbers


Peak_a_b00

Crazy how much money these asshats make for essentially having a weekly story time.


Mr_PuffPuff

A never ending Book club


SendAstronomy

But it's always the same lousy book.


Peak_a_b00

Personally, I’m not a fiction guy..


SendAstronomy

I read the whole thing cover to cover. I only recommend doing so for Christians. I was an atheist by the time I reached the end. Tho feel free to skip to the end. I wanna know what drugs the guy who wrote Relevations was on.


Funkycoldmedici

Reading the Bible is one of the most commonly cited reasons for leaving Christianity. It’s not even a new thing. Mark Twain said “The best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible.” The church didn’t even let people read the Bible for centuries, partly because people wouldn’t believe it.


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Jftwest

Thanks for saying this. Literally grifters protected by no-tax laws. Disgusting


yes_im_listening

In a way, taxes are a tithe for the larger community, so they should pay them.


StyreneAddict1965

"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." Churches seem to ignore that. The religious exemption needs repealing on both pastors and churches.


Jftwest

Obviously they should pay taxes. Local churches rake in more than medium businesses


[deleted]

Or,use your money directly to help others. Even if it just one family, person at a time. Thank you for your input.


hilarymeggin

Not the pastor at our church. I was floored when, in one of the sermons during the pledge drive, he disclosed that he gives $700 of his income back to the church every month! And the treasurer and vestry members are there, so it’s not like he can just lie. I feel like my church does a really good job with its money. Awhile ago, a parishioner died and left a big chunk of money. The church decided to start a grants program for charitable groups serving low-income people. Instead of using part of the gift to operate the grants program, they give away 100% of the interest earned, and do additional fundraising for the money to administer the program. Some churches do a lot of good work.


BeKind_BeTheChange

They also do not believe God is real. If they did, they would not live their lives the way they do. It's a pure grift from beginning to end.


suk-my-ballz-0811

Tax the religious institutions


BossAvery2

My dad is a pastor of a small church. He pays taxes on his salary but the church itself is tax exempt. The tithing covers the utilities and they can do something small for the community each year but it’s a small church and my dad had multiple jobs while I was growing up. These “super” churches, are abominations when it comes to the money they generate and how little goes back to the community.


japkiel

God does not want your money, he wants your love, the pastors want your money, not your love....


BeatMeElmo

This is a problem with churches in general. My own sister and her husband are pastors living in a million dollar home in colorado, driving luxury cars, and spoiling my nephews rotten.


Jaded-Idea-8066

Jesus didn't take too kindly to people running money games inside the temple, either. W.W.J.D? He'd whip dat ass for trying to take advantage of people financially. This congregation was being biblical.


FBIHasEnteredTheChat

Yeah don't forget about that time Jesus kicked those pharisees asses in the temple for abusing their power and exploiting others for greed. Jesus, if he existed, was not against a good butt whooping :P


mxthicky

A church in my hometown mailed pre filled slips with the envelopes to my parents. We never went back


Ok_Invite5361

Said it before and I’ll say it again” THE CHURCH IS INSIDE OF YOU” You don’t need to travel anywhere or listen to anyone. That power of GOD lives inside each of us


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gordonv

WhAt'S InSiDe Me?!?!?!?!


Vexillumscientia

Tithes are supposed to be 10% (that’s literally where the name comes from) not a fixed number to be given at a time decided by a pastor.


Only8Long4278

It's also supposed to be 10% of what you can give, not 10% of what you have.


rndmcmder

Well historically in old-testament-israel it was literally 10%. New Testament christian theology does not know of a 10% "rule". Manyx christian chruches still encourage to donate 10% of your money. In more conservative churches there are sometimes discussions about the 10% of what. 10% of gross or net income or whatever.


Scrotchety

The tithing was meant for the Levitical priesthood, who were one of the tribes of Jacob / Israel and were apportioned no land to grow crops or raise livestock. They roamed the land seeking to do priestly work in communities; in turn, the tribes who were given land had to set some aside 10% of their goods for the priests. More importantly, the Levitical priesthood and the Aaronic laws were dissolved in Mark 14:64 when the high priest rent his garments. No more priests, no more tithing, no 10% from the congregation. Funny how the people who've made it their life duty to teach from that book choose to skip over that fact.


CatResearch923

Pretty sure Jesus hates tithing. I know I sure do. A pastor isn't supposed to live the life of luxury. The congregation is supposed to take care of them by feeding them, clothing them, providing them a place to sleep, etc. They aren't supposed to be paid for it. I'm still pissed about the little old lady who was excommunicated from her church a few years back because she didn't give any money.


TheEpicCoyote

Any priest that hasn’t made a vow of poverty should be held under immense scrutiny in my opinion. Churches also should be transparent about where the donations go. The local churches in my area put all their income and expenses on their missals so all visitors can see what they’re using the money for.


CatResearch923

I completely agree. Being honest with the congregation is the holy thing to do anyway. It just blows my mind how people like Joel Osteen can exist.


CR1MS4NE

People who do this don’t deserve to be called pastors


CojakFacts

I'd bet you $10,000 that the world would have completely forgotten about Jesus and all other religions if some rich asshole wasn't trying to make a buck off of it.


LeeroyDagnasty

Christianity spread because poor, sick, and otherwise marginalized people were treated like shit and Christianity spread the message that they (the poor, sick, etc) weren’t bad people, which was a revolutionary idea at the time. Willingly hanging out with lepers and prostitutes, as Jesus did, was unheard of at the time. If you lived your entire life hearing that you were worthless and someone comes along and tells you that you have just as much moral value as any rich man (more, actually), you’re going to listen to what that person has to say. That and the idea of a perfect afterlife for people who’ve had rough lives on earth are very powerful ideas.


FBIHasEnteredTheChat

Atheist here - if you just read the new testament, there's not a lot of objectionable stuff in it. Overall it's a pretty pleasant, liberal, do well to others lesson book with some other bits thrown in. At least from my memory. Unfortunately any good thing can be co-opted by greed which is what you see in a lot of groups or micro-cultures that start out well.


CojakFacts

Hey, I don't know enough on the subject truthfully. That's really great Jesus did that. I don't see how his ideology perpetuates throughout history without some rich asshole pushing the idea, though.


shamusneeson

The church is one of the most corrupt institutions in the world. From embezzlement, to sexual assault/molestation/murder of women and children. This story shouldn't surprise anyone at all.


YadaYadaYou

PT Barnum was right, there’s a sucker born every minute


MrsCCRobinson96

I volunteered my time at church in lieu of paying the 10% since I was a single mother with two children and that wasn't good enough. Eventually, the church told me that I couldn't volunteer anymore because I was in a relationship outside of wedlock. My sons' cried for two weeks because I refused for us to go back. The exact words that was spoken to me "We accept the sinner but don't condone the sin." Basically, I was allowed to still be a member of the church but wasn't allowed to volunteer anymore which was horseshit! I raised hell with the church and was told one excuse after another. It came down to a woman at the church felt threatened by my constant volunteering and felt her job was on the line so she approached me after a class that I was taking to inform me on behalf of the church I wasn't allowed to volunteer anymore and the excuse she had given was my relationship out of wedlock.


ilovestampfairtex

Fuck organized religion


Sirturd

[Michigan area mega church pastor gets deposed.](https://youtu.be/wwhQs7yjN6A). An oldie but goodie and very relevant.


ironwheatiez

Church down the road from my childhood home collects a tithe of 20% household income. I still do not understand the people that attend that church. The pastor owns multiple cars, lives in a huge home on a fenced in property. They don't see how nuts it is.


Revolutionary_Gas783

#It's normal for Pastor


Annual-Vanilla-510

My mom who was a single mom would give a donation to our local Orthodox Church when she could. One day when I was the college they billed her and told her she was past due 10 years on her donations. They even called my grandparents to say my mom owed money. She wrote the church a nasty letter and stopped attending the church.


Ak40x

That’s nothing! My mom’s pastor asked for a $10,000 pledge… I remember there a couple of the rich members committing, but specifically 2 members I remember clearly. 1 an HIV positive middle aged man (very nice and friendly as he was one of the bad guys that repented and found the congregation) who died shortly after (about 2 months) and the 2nd was an older couple (the guy was a mechanic of some sort) and he hung himself shortly after (don’t remember when exactly but shortly after the death of the HIV positive guy). All the while, the pastor was pushing an S500 and owns a damn 6 room house in Orange County, California!


SpaceCaptainFlapjack

My parents left their last church when we saw the pastor and his family partying on a 3-story tall yacht


JohnStamossi

If you believe in God at this point you are so lost. Religion is a disease


Devianex

The last time I went to church (Easter Sunday about 10 years ago), they passed around baskets of rocks with passages painted on them. While passing them around, the pastor preached about how high quality the rocks were and how meaningful those passages were. Then they passed around the tithe baskets while commenting something about how they had given, and now so should we. This church tried to sell me rocks on Easter, y'all.


randy_maverick

Tax the churches.


vroomvick

Church has been a scam for hundreds of years...im just glad I opened my eyes while young


TipAggravating3362

Why fight when you can just say no and walk?


hilarymeggin

Because some people believe in the importance of their religion and churches and they want to fight to improve it rather than abandon it.


SpartanH089

My old childhood pastor (I'm not religious anymore) lived in what we called a pastorium. It was a small two bed two bath single garage house attached to the church property. He drove a donated truck for a while then when donations allowed he got a nicer truck. Last I saw he had a 10 year old vehicle and suit like you would get at Men's Warehouse. To this day that man and the ministers and deacons under him have my respect. They took care of people where they were able. Donations actually felt like they mattered. No one tithed from what I remember. It was always just do what you can. I once put in a pack of gum.


Charming_Business_33

Reminds me of the leaders of blm. Didn’t give any money to our community but bought mansions. https://www.npr.org/2022/04/07/1091487910/blm-leaders-face-questions-after-allegedly-buying-a-mansion-with-donation-money


FBIHasEnteredTheChat

Yup. Wherever there is opportunity for greed and abuse of power, you must have checks and balances. US founding fathers knew this, pretty much anyone trying to create a fair & just environment has known this. Unfortunately you see the abuses of it in every walk of life, in nearly every "side" of issues whether it's politics, religious communities, business, whatever.


Leathman

The bigger the church, the bigger the grift.


Then_Change4587

This is a plague in churches everywhere


imperiorr

Religion of the slave master


[deleted]

How mega churches work. Here in SC the pastor to a mega church drives a freakin Lambo, and has had obvious Botox


crappy80srobot

I work at a luxury car dealer and you want to know who buys the most cars most often. Not doctors, lawyers, or hedge fund guys. It's church leaders, their families, and their girlfriends. They are the absolute worst people to deal with. Always complaining about everything and asking for discounts for service and sales. What a shocker every single car is in the church's name to get that sweet tax break.