PAY UP — OR NO SACRAMENTS FOR YOU!
Constantine is still alive and well on planet earth. Here’s a blatant example of how carnal things get in religion when State & Church are joined together. It also illustrates graphically what religion is all about — fear and control. The “laity” are told by those in power — if you don’t cough up your tithe, the vital religious rituals we provide for you (wherein salvation is found) will be withheld. Basically, it’s “pay up or perish.” These kind of shenanigans have nothing to do with Christ, but everything to do with using religious authority to bully those in the pew.
Author, speaker, editor of Searching Together, itinerant encourager of relational communities.
The religious system in Germany has fine-tuned the process of fleecing the populace in God’s name. Btw, I’m not sure if you were thinking we could read the entire article or just the headline (which probably says it all). Just wondering, because the print of the article is kind of broken up and not clear, so I’m not able to read most of it.
Catherine, if you can’t read the print, there is a link under the title you can click on & read a PDF of the article!
But because the state takes the tithes via taxation and hands it on to the churches, there is no need for the people to be manipulated with messages ala ‘if you don’t pay your tithe, then God will curse you’.
I agree the tithing system is ‘fleecing God’s people’, I guess to support the clergy/laity divide and the whole religious system you need to have money coming in somehow. I’m just sayin’ that it is just a different approach than to countries where they don’t use these kind of laws: In Germany (where I was born) the state takes the tithes out of your paycheck. In New Zealand (where I was raised) the clergy gives the message: Pay your tithe and God will bless you, don’t pay and He won’t.
Catherine’s use of the word ‘fleecing’ engaged my heart and my mind. How often are we willing to be sheep-like in our faith, let our denominational affiliations (usually chosen by our family of origin) get in the way of our true relationship with Christ?
Well done, Jon!
Rw