Church and Money

[Tigran of Sasoun]

I am a Christian but i hate all these money hungry preachers!!. Not all Churches are after your money and a lot of Churches help others out alot with the money they get. I dont go to church for this reason, and because most of the people there are fake, gossipy bunch of idiot. Now im not saying all but the expeiriences that i have had and what my family has told me is what makes me feel this way. There is this preacher that millions of people follow, but i really dont like him. His name is Benny Hinn, and he seems like a money hungry guy, and his show and followers seem to be almost like a cult!. Everything has his picture on it, people fall to the ground and kiss his feet and hands. He also has millions of "partners" that send him money every month, and he get millions every month from those and books and letters to pray on. He sells his product like books and calls it a "gift", sells hopes!!! here is is book by him: "what god wants with your money" ???? what god wants with my money??? NOTHING!!!!! you want my money, not him!!! Now he also does not declear how much money he makes a year, unlike others like Pastor Billi Graham, who i think is a good honest guy. Now this Benny Hinn guy asked his follower to send him money, he needed 20 million, because god had told him to build a palace of worship. Now he got the money, and probebly more, than "GOD changed his mind" !!!!!!!!!!!! wtf!!!!!, that makes me sooo angry, no wonder why not many people are christian!!. Jesus said not to make his fathers house into a house of profit, and money, but now they are doing the same dam thing!!

Now this is not just in Christianity, but also in Judaism, Islam, and all th other religions.

Timothy 6:
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.


For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Malachi:
Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!

[Da Skinna]

Benny Hinn is scum, he's no Desmond Tutu. I watched this thing on the Canadian show, "the fifth estate" (freakin good show) and had a story of a kid, who DID HAVE a kidney waiting for him, but he refused, and said he wanted Benny Hinn to save him, not lifesaving kidney transplant. Thing is, Benny won't see him, ever, because he's a fraud that doesn't actually 'heal' real sick people, and the ones that do get 'healed' really aren't cured, it's all a sham. Worse thing is, Benny Hinn runs a non-taxed 'religious ministry' so he makes millions a year but doesn't have to give ANY back to the government or the people.

It's very sad when it comes to that, really shows how :wub:ed we are as people...

[Tigran of Sasoun]

Yeah fifth estate is good so is Passionate Eye. But i believe there are people healed thru faith but i do not think that he heals because he can. I also saw the same program you are talking about. He just seems to me like an actor doing a show instead of a preacher.

[Ardeur]

Reminds me of one of my favorite stories that describes the best way to see if a televangelist is honest.

"A televangelist was having a revival on TV, and he put forth this challenge to the viewers: 'God is so eager to bless you, just send me $1000 and you will be blessed ten-fold!' My friend, having heard the challenge, quickly composed a letter to the televangelist and sent it off as fast as he could. He never received a response to that letter... What did it say? It read: 'Dear (insert televangelist's name here), God has already blessed me far beyond anything I could have imagined. And I watched your program and couldn't help but notice how hard you are working, trying to get God's blessings to as many people as possible. So I think its time you get yours too. Send me $1000 and God will bless you ten-fold!'

The televangelist never responded... clearly he had so little faith in his own message, that he wouldn't practice what he preached. Or maybe, just maybe, he knew what he was doing was a lie, so he wasn't about to fall for his own trick."

So here's the challenge when dealing with preachers and churches, Do they practice what they preach? No one is perfect, everyone sins, but if a church is unwilling to take the leaps of faith it expects its congregation to take, then you have most definitely got a crooked church on your hands.

[SomeJedi]

Yes, people in positions of power are able to acquire vast amounts of wealth, which in turn leads them from their orginal path to a more profitable one.

This song and dance has been playing for ages. Constantine is a good starting point for fallacy in the church.

It's not a new concept. Shculer, Hinn, Larson etc.. are peas in a pod which have been around since the dawn of time. They feed of off the stupid and ignorant. Lucky for them, most Christians don't read their own bibles.

[Tigran of Sasoun]

Yes, some people are very ignorant. I have read the bible myself and have watched what beeny hinn and the people he brings on the show are saying. And what i hear is soo stupid. I once watched this guy talking about Iraq on the show, i forgot what he said, and really ddint want to listen to the propoganda. But his main line was: God is with the US, he wants the US to win. Sounds alot like what Bush says.

but it is also true that not all christian preachers that get money are not crooks, and many do help out alot. But why is it that they do not say to people and those crooks to not be crooks and for people not to give thier money to crooks? IF christians tell other christians that this guy is a crook they will listen.

[comcrapper1]

If you want to see a religion with money, look at the Catholics. I am a Catholic, so I am not badmouthing them. Just look at the Vatican, filled with priceless treasures and mansions. I see now where my contibutions go. You can even look at Catholic churches, not all but most, are large lofty structures filled with artworks and grand architectural designs. It has to cost money to maintain all this.

[Cluny the Scourge]

If you want to see a religion with money, look at the Catholics. I am a Catholic, so I am not badmouthing them. Just look at the Vatican, filled with priceless treasures and mansions. I see now where my contibutions go. You can even look at Catholic churches, not all but most, are large lofty structures filled with artworks and grand architectural designs. It has to cost money to maintain all this.

That has the effect of glorifying God in the minds of believers, helping to cement their faith by the crudest (but probably most effective) methods of just trying to overawe them with magnificence or beauty.

What do televangelists spend their donated-by-gullible-fools cash-moolah-spondoolicks on? Yachts? Har har!

[comcrapper1]

That has the effect of glorifying God in the minds of believers, helping to cement their faith by the crudest (but probably most effective) methods of just trying to overawe them with magnificence or beauty.

What do televangelists spend their donated-by-gullible-fools cash-moolah-spondoolicks on? Yachts? Har har!

Right, it is used to awe the people. If you look at Jesus teachings, he said to give up everything and god would provide. I guess for the Catholics, God provides pretty well. :laughing:

[Cluny the Scourge]

Right, it is used to awe the people. If you look at Jesus teachings, he said to give up everything and god would provide. I guess for the Catholics, God provides pretty well. :laughing:

Giving up everything is fine, as long as they give it up to me.

As for the God will provide everything theory - go live on the streets for a few months and see exactly how well He chooses to provide for you in His divine wisdom.