“This planet has, or had, a problem, which was this. Most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small, green pieces of paper, which is odd, because on the whole, it wasn’t the small, green pieces of paper which were unhappy.” – Douglas Adams
As much as I love Douglas Adams, I was pretty annoyed by that paragraph. Very few people, if any at all, think that money will make you happy. You just need money to afford what actually makes you happy.
Answer: they don’t. At least none that I’ve seen. Spent a large part of my teenage life going to various Christian churches. Money was not begged for. No one was pressured to give. The only sleaze-bag pastors I’ve personally seen were on TV.
The pastors I’ve known genuinely cared about the poor and did not take exorbitant salaries. Sure, the plate was passed around every Sunday, but that’s because the same Bible that says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil also indicates that 10% of income should be tithed.
Enough with these simplistic platitudes. Do the atheists that relish these images ever really stop to consider whether there’s any truth to them? Bottom-line from a man well-immersed in Christendom since teenhood: Christian churches don’t beg for money or even make a big deal of money.
(An occasional sermon on the importance of giving does not qualify. Also, I’m sure there are uncommon exceptions out there.)
The love of money is the root of all evil. *facepalm*
That’s what I thought.
The answer is obvious: Because money is not evil. They just tell you that so you’ll let go of it.
(quiet, you fool!) 🙂
You drive a Ford. Your argument is invalid.
Oh, I know this one: to give it away and live in poverty, just like all Christians try to do.
“This planet has, or had, a problem, which was this. Most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small, green pieces of paper, which is odd, because on the whole, it wasn’t the small, green pieces of paper which were unhappy.” – Douglas Adams
As much as I love Douglas Adams, I was pretty annoyed by that paragraph. Very few people, if any at all, think that money will make you happy. You just need money to afford what actually makes you happy.
Hence, the movement of money.
Answer: they don’t. At least none that I’ve seen. Spent a large part of my teenage life going to various Christian churches. Money was not begged for. No one was pressured to give. The only sleaze-bag pastors I’ve personally seen were on TV.
The pastors I’ve known genuinely cared about the poor and did not take exorbitant salaries. Sure, the plate was passed around every Sunday, but that’s because the same Bible that says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil also indicates that 10% of income should be tithed.
Enough with these simplistic platitudes. Do the atheists that relish these images ever really stop to consider whether there’s any truth to them? Bottom-line from a man well-immersed in Christendom since teenhood: Christian churches don’t beg for money or even make a big deal of money.
(An occasional sermon on the importance of giving does not qualify. Also, I’m sure there are uncommon exceptions out there.)