(why) do you tithe?

[Minimalist]

"I am surrounded by priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world, and yet they lay their hands on everything they can get"

~ Napoleon Bonaparte

[Drich]

i assume those quarterly statements explain how much the pastor's mortgage and car notes are then (in the cases where that is what's happening)? also fyi, if you could tell me how "my" church spends it's money, then YOU, may well be god.

It depended on who bought the car or house. Eitherway all salaries and expenses are posted in those statements.

[The Grand Nudger]

So, the other 90% is accounted for by a few thousand years of cosmic inflation? Sounds to me like you christian folk have run up quite the debt in the last 2000 years if you are called to give everything.

Prosperity Gospel is as "biblically based" as any other christian church. Precisely why "biblically based" is such a hilarious metric.

To your house, honestly. Why, are you inviting me?

Didn't realize you needed anything more than a bible to study, anything more than faith to worship, anything more than willingness to serve, anything more than fellows for fellowship.

Oh, I see, so, 2000 years worth of failure and you figure best practice would be to just continue the practice? So, repeating the same action hoping for a different outcome?

[Drich]

A good church puts out quartly statements detailing every cent taken in verses what is spent.

I can not say where your church spends it's money, but i can tell you where mine does.

Considering that churches are tax exempt, they don't have to account for anything. Who's to say they're not skimming money and underreporting what they take in?

Oh, that's right... priests are "men of god". They'll bugger little boys but they'll be absolutely honest when accounting for money.

There are accountability groups that can oversee all monies taken into charitable organizations, to provide financial accountability for all who claim a 501C-3 status.

[Ace Otana]

[Thor]

There are accountability groups that can oversee all monies taken into charitable organizations, to provide financial accountability for all who claim a 501C-3 status.

Except that churches aren't "charitable organizations". They're conducting the business of selling religion. I'll give my money to the Red Cross or United Way before I'd give it to a church where I have to wonder if my money is being used to pay off a molestation victim.

[The Grand Nudger]

Indeed, and the organizations which do so are perpetually overworked due to gross abuse of the classification. So much so, that preachers have begun their own preacher witchhunts to out those preachers they feel are abusing the system (hint -usually those preachers which belong to other denominations, lol). The 501c3 as far as churches are concerned is shaky to begin with, as the very moment a preacher starts talking politics they've violated the spirit (and often the letter) of the law in the first place (though we give churches a measure of respect they do not deserve and rarely take them to task for this).

[Drich]

Except that churches aren't "charitable organizations". They're conducting the business of selling religion. I'll give my money to the Red Cross or United Way before I'd give it to a church where I have to wonder if my money is being used to pay off a molestation victim.

Which if done in the Name of God is the same thing.

[Minimalist]

Churches...and the vermin called preachers which infest them....routinely violate the law. If the IRS had any balls they'd hang a few of the cocksuckers out to dry as a warning to rest of them.

http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/11_j...eller.html

[Drich]

Indeed, and the organizations which do so are perpetually overworked due to gross abuse of the classification. So much so, that preachers have begun their own preacher witchhunts to out those preachers they feel are abusing the system (hint -usually those preachers which belong to other denominations, lol). The 501c3 as far as churches are concerned is shaky to begin with, as the very moment a preacher starts talking politics they've violated the spirit (and often the letter) of the law in the first place (though we give churches a measure of respect they do not deserve and rarely take them to task for this).

Nice to see we do have a true seperation of Chruch and state, and not just one that benfits one over the other.