Posted on 12/10/2004 8:44:32 AM PST by Alex Murphy
Yeah, the cult I was in demanded tithe based on gross income not net. I couldn't afford food, and they were insisting on every penny they thought was theirs. Plus, they demanded a monthly offering of money for the poor.
Unless their names are Ananias and Sapphira. The IRS only wishes they had that power.
Oh, thank goodness. I was reading it, saying to myself, "This is satire... this has to be satire, right... Please tell me this is satire!"
(Damn! I got roped in!)
...it may be satire...but i wonder if it is prophetic?
(airhead alert...dumb question looming...)
just curious...when they wanted your income tax or proof of income...did they want to base it on your gross or net?...
Gross. And they preferred a statement from my boss stating my hourly wage and benifit amount (any bonuses, value of insurance, etc.)
P.T. Barnum, himself, couldn't have said it better.
Oh, my, Alex. He is deceived and is deceiving his whole congregation. Better a millstone be put around his neck...
Oh, my, Alex. He is deceived and is deceiving his whole congregation. Better a millstone be put around his neck...
That’s awful. If my church did that, I’d be looking elsewhere in a hurry. Fortunately, they don’t. My pastor is my financial guy anyway. He knows how much we earn because he’s in charge of my retirement funds, LOL. Good thing he’s honest.
I got roped in, too, but it’s too realistic not to be true at some point in time.
It was my LDS (Mormon) bishop. I left the LDS less than a year after that. My current pastor often states that tithing is between the believer and God, and if God wants you to give to another ministry other than the congregation, you should do so.
That sounds so cultish to me. It IS between you and God. He tells me to tithe to where I am getting fed, which is my local church. I’ve tithed for years now and God has met my every need—even a husband! LOL. I give to other missions and Christian places as well, like 700 Club, but mostly to my church and people in the church who may need a little boost. To demand tithing and then checking out what you make is not good. It would make me very wary of the church and pastor. Glad you got out.
I usually tithe to my local congregation, and I also give to other ministries. When my husband and I we between Churches (like when we moved) then we would tithe to AWANA or another group. One church we attended briefly several years ago had poor financial stewardship so we gave elsewhere, then found another church.
Also, our current church (Calvary Chapel) has it’s books open to anyone who asks. It is difficult if not impossible to follow the money trail in the LDS church.
I am so glad that Christ delivered me out of that bondage.
So am I, reaganaut. Nothing like freedom in Christ, is there. No more having to live up to what man says, only what God says. I went to the Methodist church for years and when I learned about tithing, I couldn’t tithe to the church because I knew a lot of it went to socialist causes. I did tithe to the pastor’s home renovations however. I had no trouble tithing to my present church because we have responsible people as our leaders. It’s a blessing to tithe.
Interesting, since no where in the New Testament is a believer commanded to give 10% of anything.
The tithe in the Old Testament was actually three “tithes”, and amounted to 23% of your annual income.
I agree. There isn’t anywhere in the New Testament that I know of where we are commanded to give 10%. Zaccheus ended up promising to tithe 50%. And there are a number of scriptures that warns against borrowing. That makes one wonder what is worst, to not be tithing and remaining out of debt or to be tithing while in debt. Consumerism aside (which could be a legitimate argument), somehow I don’t believe God is pleased with us when we tithe using our MasterCard.
I would never do that. Some people feel the need to be watched, taken care of, etc. and that’s makes them feel they are on the right path. Deception comes in many forms.
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