RE: Finally the TRUE answer to why we have so many religions!
February 10, 2012 at 4:10 pm
(This post was last modified: February 10, 2012 at 4:11 pm by Undeceived.)
(February 10, 2012 at 12:59 pm)Rhythm Wrote: The congregation often buys the preacher his car, his house, pays his bills and living expenses, and then....then...his salary.
Where do you live, Beverly Hills? A large percent of the churches in southern CA are run by deacons... who aren't paid; they volunteer in absence of a pastor. The congregation only gives if they know their money is going to a good cause-- just like you or anyone. This includes disaster relief, helping the AIDS epidemic in Africa, missionaries and so on. It is the church elders and president who decide the pastor's salary--if they have a true pastor--and they're not about to gift extraneous sums of money to anyone. Those numbers are skewed by a couple con-men who go around preaching in stadiums who, yes, do it for the money. But it is by nature an intellectual, high-responsibility white-collar job. Most preachers have Masters degrees and write books on the side. It all depends on how large the pastor's church is, and they don't usually choose their church. That means they could end up making 30k a year like the majority. But this whole subject is a moot point, because there are corrupt people everywhere. Christianity didn't make them corrupt. I have no problem admitting some preachers are selfish. What disturbs me about this thread is atheists all jumping on the generalization bandwagon just to attack the reputations of people they don't even know.
This is quoted from a well-known handbook telling congregations what they ought to pay their pastors:
Quote:Base Salary. A salary of $40,000 sounds reasonable for a pastor, but the take-home pay will be significantly less. In addition to tithing, 15 percent will be deducted for federal tax, 15.3 percent for Social Security and Medicare, up to 9.3 percent for state tax, and as much as 20 percent for unreimbursed business expenses.
