Expensive houses of well known televangelists

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Why are the religious so obsessed with mansions?

because those so obsessed tend to be poor and rather stupid.

The first time my then 80 year old father saw one no those vulgar McMansions (300 sq metres of tacky,jerry built shit) his comment;
" I wouldn't like to have to clean THAT"

[Ziploc Surprise]

Why are the religious so obsessed with mansions?

because those so obsessed tend to be poor and rather stupid.

The first time my then 80 year old father saw one no those vulgar McMansions (300 sq metres of tacky,jerry built shit) his comment;
" I wouldn't like to have to clean THAT"

Televangelist Joyce Meyer is noted for saying time and again that she's so busy she doesn't have time to clean the house so she hires a maid. She neglects to mention that her house is so huge that cleaning it would be a full time job. I say that if domestic tasks are so numerous and you are rarely home to do them then perhaps you ought to live in a condo. Space is small and someone else cares for the exterior and the grounds. Yeah I'd still hire a maid because I'm lazy but that maid wouldn't have to clean so much.

[C Rod]

So all Christians are bad or money hungry? Jesus is totally against this, I argue if you live like this, you are not Christian.
"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
"Sell everything you have and give to the poor"

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

So all Christians are bad or money hungry? Jesus is totally against this, I argue if you live like this, you are not Christian.

I didn't say that or mean to imply any such thing. I was making a reference to those who follow the fatuous,self serving 'prosperity theology' (Calvinist lite)

[C Rod]

Its cool padraic. Just this OP raises the generalization, that were Christian and we don't do what Christ says but were still Christian, now come join us.

[kılıç_mehmet]

So all Christians are bad or money hungry? Jesus is totally against this, I argue if you live like this, you are not Christian.
"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
"Sell everything you have and give to the poor"

Devotion, requires people to leave behind your current life. How better can you leave behind your old life than to sell your belongings, and give them to others who might see this act of mercy and do the same?
A vow of poverty, in my view, is a rather hard one to take. Of course, if your aims are not on this world, it's rather easy.

[genkaus]

A vow of poverty, in my view, is a rather hard one to take. Of course, if your aims are not on this world, it's rather easy.

If your aims are not of this world, then you should just die already. The vow of poverty may be easy or it may be hard, but it is definitely disgusting.

[kılıç_mehmet]

A vow of poverty, in my view, is a rather hard one to take. Of course, if your aims are not on this world, it's rather easy.

If your aims are not of this world, then you should just die already. The vow of poverty may be easy or it may be hard, but it is definitely disgusting.

Well, if your particular faith tells you that taking your own life for the pursuit of the afterlife is acceptable, yes, you can do that. Jainism, for example, recommends fasting to the death as a means to archive nirvana.

In my opinion, however, you should "forfeit" your life, not take it outright. Meaning, you should be able to lay it down when the time comes, as a testimony to your disattachment of this world.
This would be a lot more meaningful, don't you think, my shallow friend?

The vow of poverty, which has been taken by many dervishes and people of faith who were renown philosophers, poets and bards, has helped them to archive their aims of being philosophers, poets and bards, in particular. But their ultimate aim was to archive afterlife in a more exalted state than most other souls.
Philosophy, poetry and song were tools for them to spread the faith, and those they have used in very fine ways.

Taptuk'un tapusunda, kul olduk kapusunda
Yunus miskin çiğ idik, piştik Elhamdü-lillah

Translation:

At the house of Taptuk, we became a servant at his door,
Yunus was yet raw, we were hardened, praise be to God.

Here, the great dervish Yunus Emre, speaks of his journey to the dargah of Taptuk Emre. He there, carried wood to his dargah for fourty years, prayed, wrote poetry and learned the arts of tasawwuf. He became "hardened", his ultimate aim to archive his ultimate goal. He also took this vow of poverty to sever the connection of worldly things and worldly needs in favor of a higher purpose he set before himself, that he only could archive with this vow.

[genkaus]

Well, if your particular faith tells you that taking your own life for the pursuit of the afterlife is acceptable, yes, you can do that. Jainism, for example, recommends fasting to the death as a means to archive nirvana.

Since all of the Abrahamic faiths call upon you to reach heaven by self-sacrifice, you should go around busting up drug-gangs till you get killed.

In my opinion, however, you should "forfeit" your life, not take it outright. Meaning, you should be able to lay it down when the time comes, as a testimony to your disattachment of this world.

And then you should work actively to bring about that time. Because if you don't, you haven't really forfeited your life.

This would be a lot more meaningful, don't you think, my shallow friend?

No, without your life, nothing can be meaningful. Therefore, forfeiting something that is the source of meaning is not meaningfull.

The vow of poverty, which has been taken by many dervishes and people of faith who were renown philosophers, poets and bards, has helped them to archive their aims of being philosophers, poets and bards, in particular. But their ultimate aim was to archive afterlife in a more exalted state than most other souls.
Philosophy, poetry and song were tools for them to spread the faith, and those they have used in very fine ways.

That is exactly what I find disgusting. Renouncing meaning and worth of the real life that you have now for an imaginary one.

Here, the great dervish Yunus Emre, speaks of his journey to the dargah of Taptuk Emre. He there, carried wood to his dargah for fourty years, prayed, wrote poetry and learned the arts of tasawwuf. He became "hardened", his ultimate aim to archive his ultimate goal. He also took this vow of poverty to sever the connection of worldly things and worldly needs in favor of a higher purpose he set before himself, that he only could archive with this vow.

Is this supposed to mean something? All I see is a lunatic whose very actions are an insult to the collective greatness of human intelligence.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Since all of the Abrahamic faiths call upon you to reach heaven by self-sacrifice, you should go around busting up drug-gangs till you get killed.

I guess busting up drug gangs is what you understand from self-sacrifice.
But self-sacrifice for whom?

And then you should work actively to bring about that time. Because if you don't, you haven't really forfeited your life.

How do you define "work actively".
I've forfeited my life for my ideals. I will give my life if I have to, in order for them to be realized. Is this so hard to comprehend?
My ideals are of political nature. Hermits, dervishes and monks, forfeit their lives to their particular religion, God or tenets. This is called devotion. If this devotion requires them to lay down their lives in an instant, they do so. But most generally abstain from worldly needs as much as they can. Things that define life. For example, women, food, wine, property and etc. Abstaining from these would mean that you did have forfeited your life already. You live only for your God.
I guess this shouldn't be so hard to understand.

No, without your life, nothing can be meaningful. Therefore, forfeiting something that is the source of meaning is not meaningfull.

But you just took their meaning away by telling them to go kill themselves.
Obviously they still live, and they live for their God and religion. Things that have higher meanings for them.

That is exactly what I find disgusting. Renouncing meaning and worth of the real life that you have now for an imaginary one.

Well, you call it imaginary, they call your life imaginary. Buddhism states that whatever you do in this life is merely illusionary. Islam states that it's merely a test. Both come to the conclusion that at the end, whatever experiences you had on this world are moot, if they are not directed towards God, or Nirvana.
They look at you, and say, "what a fool indeed". How long can you keep it up? When will you be ever satisfied? What real meaning and worth do you find in this life?
I myself find worth and meaning in that I live for my people and nation.
It still is a higher ideal beyond my selfish needs. It still is an ideal beyond my ego.
Even after I die, my nation will live. Whatever contributions I have done for it will live with it.
My ideals do not require me to give up worldly needs, but they do not require me to lose myself within them. Worldly needs are merely tools for me in order to serve my people a bit better. Money can contribute to a lot of things. Marriage and having children secure the next generation.

On the other hand, religiously motivated hermits do not aim for a worldly goal. They do not aim to aid a nation or any nation. They aim to aid any individuals they come across as best as they could, at least our dervish orders do, but from their words, "Love the people due to your love of God." principle requires them to do so.
But this too, is merely a tool on the way to their goal. Denouncing selfishness, helping the people who need help, for the sake of God.

Is this supposed to mean something? All I see is a lunatic whose very actions are an insult to the collective greatness of human intelligence.

I thought you were an individualist. As you cannot ever hope to best his archivements in the areas of poetry and literature, neither his will in archiving a particular goal, you call him mad and stupid. You on the other hand possess the intelligence of an animal, perhaps, even if your IQ is over 200, you still are like an animal. For you lack the appreciation that is needed to understand how and why he was capable of enduring any hardships, nor his devotion to his art and religion.