This illustrates why giving money to your church is not actually charitable giving any more than paying dues to your country club is charitable giving. You are keeping your clubhouse going for the benefit of the club.
My SiL and her husband’s family are all in a “prosperity gospel church”, which is the worst heresy imaginable, and when my SiL and her family we’re going through some hard times between jobs, that church told them that god was PUNISHING THEM for something and flat-out refused to help them AT ALL.
I can’t understand how, but even after that public shaming, they’re still going…😳
I know what you are talking about. At one of these churches, a woman was told that her husband's cancer was due to a lack of faith but make sure to keep up giving your bucks to the church.
I love that the Buddhist Temple and the Islamic Mosque were willing to help. I would bet that African American churches would be willing to help, too. White, evangelical mega-churches? Not a chance in Hades.
When the hurricane hit Houston a few years ago, Joel Osteen made sure his church remained securely locked, lest all those hurricane victims damage his new carpets.
First and foremost, organized religion is a business and giving things away is bad for the bottom line. Woody Guthrie talked about this in his dust bowl stories. Churches were the last places to go in search of help for the millions of unemployed. During the horrific Irish potato famine, no priest is known to have starved.
It is all built on a platform of misinformation and fraud and grift. The Bible is quite clear about welcoming the stranger and loving your neighbor as yourself, but that is just too woke for the modern evangelical christians. I mean, seriously - you expect us to help people? I don't believe there is a 'real' Jesus at the beginning of Christianity, but if there was, I'll bet he is at the pearly gates next to St. Peter, doing a big thumbs down to the evilgelicals as they show up.
"While some of those churches are very small, some are huge. They take in tithes by the thousands and own plenty of real estate" , while paying zero in taxes.
Churches are about two things:
Acquisition of money to enrich the church parasite-pastors
And virtue signaling to control the lives of the gullable.
The preachers can talk about their loving Jesus and the glorious afterlife from now on, but there is nothing they crave so much as power and wealth on this earthly plain. Power few groups are more ill-equipped to exercise.
neib used to belong to a local 'plentycaustical" whacko church...BUT...even he left the group, saying "sick n tired' of having to pay for pastor's new Cadi ,"Fleetwood Brougham " every 2 years...oh so typical...(most of the congregation live in single wide tin trailers)
Having lived in Somerset Kentucky for a couple years as a teenager I wasn't surprised by by the behavior of the churches you listed Somerset Kentucky and its churches are more or less a hotbed of performative Christianity
Matthew 25, where it speaks of "the least of these", doesn't have anything to say about whether or not they are supposed to be people you actually know. These assholes only care if it affects 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.
And here is one of their boogeymen setting the example they should be following. All the Abrahamics require some sort of charity, which group is most likely to perform that charity? Especially without strings attached.
If Ms Monroe had contacted a chapter of The Satanic Temple, there is no doubt they would have offered help. The same would have been true of local atheist communities, like the ACA. Hell, if she had found me randomly and asked, I would have given.
They are pro life. If you define life as either a straight white Christian man who isn't suspected of a capital crime, or a clump of cells in the process of gestating.
People are often told something is "policy" like it's carved in stone. Like policy wasn't created by people and couldn't be changed. It is incredibly dismissive. In the face of an emergency, it is inhumane. If your church is not preparing to stock the food pantries then they need to pay taxes.
Several years ago, a German or French reporter tried a similar approach. He would walk from X to Y (several days of travel) without money and ask people for food, shelter etc. I kept 2 exemples in memory.
1) Looking for a place to sleep*, he went to a monastery. They directed him to a homeless center they managed. The phone call was priceless, in a bad way. Not only he needed to call the center 24 h before at minima to get a place but ne needed to give an address of residence 🤪
2) Seeing a woman leaning on her fence, he asked for some water. She started a conversation with him, and she ended up giving him some food and a couple of bottles of water for later.
Conclusion : he was very disabused by the priests and monks hypocrisy.
I bet if she contacts more non-Xtian churches (ie, wiccan, etc.) she'll be overwhelmed with help. I left the Xtian faith during the AIDS epidemic--I just couldn't deal with the hate any more. Their mantra du jour being "Hate the sin, love the sinner." Unfortunately, they couldn't see any Love in the bible, or themselves, and Hate was so much easier for them. Since leaving the Xtians, I am both physically, and mentally, healthier. Of course, I'm also considerably older now, too /snark/
This is so unfair! I haven’t even gotten started on my 1st cup of coffee, I’m reading not even the headline, but the sub headline, and already I am forced to think. Fortunately, I can manage that.
Here’s the sub headline: Nikalie Monroe’s viral experiment reveals a devastating truth: Many houses of worship preach compassion but practice indifference.
And that simply not a fair assessment of the situation. They’re not practicing indifference. They know how to do that very well..
Aren't you the religion that has an awesome god? Aren't you the religion that has a messiah who tells its followers that all it takes is 2 or more gathering together and praying to said awesome god in its son's name and whatever they prayed for would be accomplished?
I wonder how many public school teachers would've turned her down? I know I and my coworkers fed lots of kids over the years. It's easy to keep a Costco box of granola bars and cup-o-noodles in your closet.
Michigan State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, a MAGA-aligned lawmaker known for his anti-trans positions and “family values” branding, has been linked to accounts on three adult websites.
The websites include Ashley Madison, a platform for people seeking extramarital affairs. The Detroit Metro Times reports that leaked user data connects Posthumus to an email address, home address, and credit card all bearing his name. The alleged accounts were active in 2012, during his marriage to his now ex-wife, and listed sexual interests including “online flirting,” “men,” “women,” and “couples.”
Posthumus’ lawyer John C. Burns called the Detroit Metro Times‘ report “categorically false” and called its article a “hit piece” and “nothing more than a thinly veiled political attack masquerading as journalism.”
Posthumus In September Posthumus voted for a bill that would force trans students to use bathrooms that don’t match their gender identity. In 2022, the Christian Coalition of Michigan gave Posthumus its “Friend of the Family Award” for his “strong defense of family values.”
This shouldn’t be surprising- but it’s truly disgusting! Good for her for proving what we already knew they believed: pro-life ends at birth.
Perfect comment. Personally I got a big bit angry, reading about her research.
This illustrates why giving money to your church is not actually charitable giving any more than paying dues to your country club is charitable giving. You are keeping your clubhouse going for the benefit of the club.
Great comparison— I think you’re exactly right
My SiL and her husband’s family are all in a “prosperity gospel church”, which is the worst heresy imaginable, and when my SiL and her family we’re going through some hard times between jobs, that church told them that god was PUNISHING THEM for something and flat-out refused to help them AT ALL.
I can’t understand how, but even after that public shaming, they’re still going…😳
The Kool-Aid was free. That’s why they’re still drinking.
It might be hard to admit that people you trusted are shitty people, but still. Weird.
I know what you are talking about. At one of these churches, a woman was told that her husband's cancer was due to a lack of faith but make sure to keep up giving your bucks to the church.
Didn't you said less than 2 weeks ago that you DON'T read others comments ? You have trouble keeping track of your lies I see.
He's sure doing a lot of not-reading on this article.
I love that the Buddhist Temple and the Islamic Mosque were willing to help. I would bet that African American churches would be willing to help, too. White, evangelical mega-churches? Not a chance in Hades.
When the hurricane hit Houston a few years ago, Joel Osteen made sure his church remained securely locked, lest all those hurricane victims damage his new carpets.
https://ibb.co/wZgx9LB3
Very apt!
Bingo!
I well remember that...oh so typical of the charlatans (sigh)
I wish she called a gay bar as well. I bet they’d offer help immediately.
First and foremost, organized religion is a business and giving things away is bad for the bottom line. Woody Guthrie talked about this in his dust bowl stories. Churches were the last places to go in search of help for the millions of unemployed. During the horrific Irish potato famine, no priest is known to have starved.
It is all built on a platform of misinformation and fraud and grift. The Bible is quite clear about welcoming the stranger and loving your neighbor as yourself, but that is just too woke for the modern evangelical christians. I mean, seriously - you expect us to help people? I don't believe there is a 'real' Jesus at the beginning of Christianity, but if there was, I'll bet he is at the pearly gates next to St. Peter, doing a big thumbs down to the evilgelicals as they show up.
"While some of those churches are very small, some are huge. They take in tithes by the thousands and own plenty of real estate" , while paying zero in taxes.
Churches are about two things:
Acquisition of money to enrich the church parasite-pastors
And virtue signaling to control the lives of the gullable.
The preachers can talk about their loving Jesus and the glorious afterlife from now on, but there is nothing they crave so much as power and wealth on this earthly plain. Power few groups are more ill-equipped to exercise.
I served some small United Methodists Churches. Everyone had a food pantry, everyone had extra money for baby formula if necessary.
neib used to belong to a local 'plentycaustical" whacko church...BUT...even he left the group, saying "sick n tired' of having to pay for pastor's new Cadi ,"Fleetwood Brougham " every 2 years...oh so typical...(most of the congregation live in single wide tin trailers)
It's like you can't tell an actual preacher man from a leech. They're both one and the same.
What did the leech do to you? Comparing it with a preacher is mean.
And ruthless efficiency...three things...
I'll come in again.
Having lived in Somerset Kentucky for a couple years as a teenager I wasn't surprised by by the behavior of the churches you listed Somerset Kentucky and its churches are more or less a hotbed of performative Christianity
SC is same....
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑, “𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ—𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒—𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜.”
Matthew 25, where it speaks of "the least of these", doesn't have anything to say about whether or not they are supposed to be people you actually know. These assholes only care if it affects 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.
𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑟𝑜𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟, “𝑊𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 𝑛𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.”
And here is one of their boogeymen setting the example they should be following. All the Abrahamics require some sort of charity, which group is most likely to perform that charity? Especially without strings attached.
If Ms Monroe had contacted a chapter of The Satanic Temple, there is no doubt they would have offered help. The same would have been true of local atheist communities, like the ACA. Hell, if she had found me randomly and asked, I would have given.
Excellent !
"All the Abrahamics require some sort of charity, which group is most likely to perform that charity?"
Go into a Sikh temple with a Langar, cover your head and take off your shoes on entry and food will be provided.
Guess all those churches who couldn't help can now disabuse themselves of the laughable notion that they are somehow "pro-life."
They are pro life. If you define life as either a straight white Christian man who isn't suspected of a capital crime, or a clump of cells in the process of gestating.
In this case it appears that the straight white man would also need to attend their church. That’s an even higher bar to hurdle.
That's why they get the bagpipes, erm define Christian.
People are often told something is "policy" like it's carved in stone. Like policy wasn't created by people and couldn't be changed. It is incredibly dismissive. In the face of an emergency, it is inhumane. If your church is not preparing to stock the food pantries then they need to pay taxes.
Several years ago, a German or French reporter tried a similar approach. He would walk from X to Y (several days of travel) without money and ask people for food, shelter etc. I kept 2 exemples in memory.
1) Looking for a place to sleep*, he went to a monastery. They directed him to a homeless center they managed. The phone call was priceless, in a bad way. Not only he needed to call the center 24 h before at minima to get a place but ne needed to give an address of residence 🤪
2) Seeing a woman leaning on her fence, he asked for some water. She started a conversation with him, and she ended up giving him some food and a couple of bottles of water for later.
Conclusion : he was very disabused by the priests and monks hypocrisy.
I bet if she contacts more non-Xtian churches (ie, wiccan, etc.) she'll be overwhelmed with help. I left the Xtian faith during the AIDS epidemic--I just couldn't deal with the hate any more. Their mantra du jour being "Hate the sin, love the sinner." Unfortunately, they couldn't see any Love in the bible, or themselves, and Hate was so much easier for them. Since leaving the Xtians, I am both physically, and mentally, healthier. Of course, I'm also considerably older now, too /snark/
This is so unfair! I haven’t even gotten started on my 1st cup of coffee, I’m reading not even the headline, but the sub headline, and already I am forced to think. Fortunately, I can manage that.
Here’s the sub headline: Nikalie Monroe’s viral experiment reveals a devastating truth: Many houses of worship preach compassion but practice indifference.
And that simply not a fair assessment of the situation. They’re not practicing indifference. They know how to do that very well..
THEY’VE GOT IT DOWN TO AN ART FORM.
Now, back to my coffee.
And they hardly had to work at it. In fact, they didn't work AT ALL!
All they had to do was simply give the churches enough rope. The inevitable always happens.
They tie themselves into knots trying not to do what they said that they’re supposed to do? Help me out here!
And in so doing, hung themselves out to dry!
Practice makes pervert, I always say.
"...there's nothing we can do."
Aren't you the religion that has an awesome god? Aren't you the religion that has a messiah who tells its followers that all it takes is 2 or more gathering together and praying to said awesome god in its son's name and whatever they prayed for would be accomplished?
Puny god.
"There's nothing we can do" = "We don't want to help the 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴. Eww."
We might get our megachurch's carpets all wet and dirty.
Osteen should be nailed with that stupidity every day of the week.
Puny god, all right ... and stingy, uncaring followers.
This is brilliant.
I wonder how many public school teachers would've turned her down? I know I and my coworkers fed lots of kids over the years. It's easy to keep a Costco box of granola bars and cup-o-noodles in your closet.
In the NOT A DRAG QUEEN dept.
Michigan State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, a MAGA-aligned lawmaker known for his anti-trans positions and “family values” branding, has been linked to accounts on three adult websites.
The websites include Ashley Madison, a platform for people seeking extramarital affairs. The Detroit Metro Times reports that leaked user data connects Posthumus to an email address, home address, and credit card all bearing his name. The alleged accounts were active in 2012, during his marriage to his now ex-wife, and listed sexual interests including “online flirting,” “men,” “women,” and “couples.”
Posthumus’ lawyer John C. Burns called the Detroit Metro Times‘ report “categorically false” and called its article a “hit piece” and “nothing more than a thinly veiled political attack masquerading as journalism.”
Posthumus In September Posthumus voted for a bill that would force trans students to use bathrooms that don’t match their gender identity. In 2022, the Christian Coalition of Michigan gave Posthumus its “Friend of the Family Award” for his “strong defense of family values.”
https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/577036405_1256138313224554_8097535062162571694_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=EUoOJu9iW_gQ7kNvwEb4dBH&_nc_oc=AdniTm2MFp7J3CnBxMBxQfImH_WrUHlKbgvnp0NCR1HpCDdOPyYt_yWnISOiVrR9zbE&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&_nc_gid=k92IVceU4jxPrJvtvF0WQg&oh=00_AfhOmPYVtdD_OPTu41ZtGdJATotNonV_y2RVg1f5HhcU4w&oe=691557C3
It’s too bad he’s posthumous in name only.
Davy Davy Davy, what part of Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery did you fail to learn?
Xtians are so quick to try and post the Ten Commandments on public property yet can't be bothered to follow those commandments themselves.