4truth Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 The other day I stopped to think about it and realized that over the 30 years my husband and I had been giving to the church, we had probably given over $100,000. It makes me sick. I'd rather have used it for a trip around the world or nicer cars or at least have it do some good fighting poverty. Do you think they would give me my money back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted January 13, 2008 Super Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2008 That could be an interesting (though probably fantasy) court case. You could use tax returns to get a hard figure, and then make a reasonable estimation of special cash donations over the years. If you could prove that they misrepresented or lied about the product they were selling you . . . It would be nice if the churches had to prove in court that the god and attendant doctrines they brainwashed you into had any basis in fact. Scam artists do get punished and make reparations, but you have to prove it. Of course they could have no evidence that anything they espouse is real, but unfortunately churches get a free ride and blind eye in this society. - Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-COG Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I've often thought of how, if I had all that tithe money back, I could pay off my house. The Christian church is the biggest scam there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 When I was about 12 I did an experiment. I went to a church youth group outing in a different city to hear someone speak, and while there they passed around the collection plate. I decided that I would "have faith" that if I tithed all my dinner money that Jesus would make sure I would not go hungry at dinner when we stopped on the way back. Well, when we got to the restaurant the waitress started taking our orders I was starting to get nervous.... no money fell in my lap, no stranger walked in and said god told him to pay for my dinner, and the waitress didn't tell me that I was their millionth customer and my dinner would be free. When she got to me I had no choice but to order nothing but a glass of water. When the food arrived, one of our counselors asked me why I wasn't eating and I was so embarrassed that Jesus left me high and dry that I couldn't think of anything to say other than "I'm on a diet". So he laughed and made some comment about me not needing to be on a diet and went back to stuffing his fat face. Needless to say, I realized at that minute that either tithing was a crock, or having faith in Jesus was a crock (or possibly both but at that point I decided to give Jebus the benefit of the doubt). But as far as tithing went, I was too skeptical to ever tithe again. Maybe the whole thing was worth going hungry that night after hearing how much money others have wasted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Captain Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 What kills me is that my parents are in dire straits financially ($65 in the bank with bills and taxes looming) yet they never fail to give more than that on Sundays. I wish I could say something but there is really no way to argue tithing with xians even my own parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 My church didn't tithe so I didn't lose any money in that specific way. Mike D. thanks for that story. I'd say the experiment was worth it though I'm sorry you had to go hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I've often thought of how, if I had all that tithe money back, I could pay off my house. The Christian church is the biggest scam there is. With the doctrine of Hell, it's a protection racket. Surely this is a RICO case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShackledNoMore Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 When I was about 12 I did an experiment. I went to a church youth group outing in a different city to hear someone speak, and while there they passed around the collection plate. I decided that I would "have faith" that if I tithed all my dinner money that Jesus would make sure I would not go hungry at dinner when we stopped on the way back. Well, when we got to the restaurant the waitress started taking our orders I was starting to get nervous.... no money fell in my lap, no stranger walked in and said god told him to pay for my dinner, and the waitress didn't tell me that I was their millionth customer and my dinner would be free. When she got to me I had no choice but to order nothing but a glass of water. When the food arrived, one of our counselors asked me why I wasn't eating and I was so embarrassed that Jesus left me high and dry that I couldn't think of anything to say other than "I'm on a diet". So he laughed and made some comment about me not needing to be on a diet and went back to stuffing his fat face. Needless to say, I realized at that minute that either tithing was a crock, or having faith in Jesus was a crock (or possibly both but at that point I decided to give Jebus the benefit of the doubt). But as far as tithing went, I was too skeptical to ever tithe again. Maybe the whole thing was worth going hungry that night after hearing how much money others have wasted! That's something that every xian should have done and watch the eye-opening results. The only trouble is, other xians would twist and warp such a story to find some way to make it YOUR fault. In this case, most likely, they'd chastise you for "testing god." Or, if you truly believed god would tend to your dinner and there was no element of testing about it (and you told them), they'd still either CLAIM you were testing god, or that you didn't have enough faith or come out with some other cop out. If they were ever to concede that god's claims could be tested experimentally, the scam would be exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellsybop Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 My husband's boss was talking about tax deductions today and mentioned the amount she gave to her church this year. I could've fallen out of my chair! It made me sick guys/gals! Of course, as a good girl, I bit my tongue. But I have actually done my anti-Christian harping in private today on this particular subject. My apartment walls had to cover their ears! I think it would be a nice try.. along with a bunch of publicity.. to give that case a whirl. I'd come to the courts for support if that would help. Fortunately I've always been too poor to donate more than a handful of change all my life..... hehehehehe.... or maybe just greedy...lol So, maybe someone in the church got an ice cream with it afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Captain Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Like I said before my parents are dipping below that poverty line, unable to pay taxes, barely paying utilities and yet they still tithe quite a bit. They arent idiots either both have mensa level IQ (for what IQs worth), they just put away their reason each week banking on some kind of godly lottery. I doubt the church will help them out much when they run out of money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 In this case, most likely, they'd chastise you for "testing god." You are probably right, but isn't there a verse in the Bible that says something like "test all things"? I guess at that point it would turn into Bible verse mud slinging between conflicting verses until one person backed down and admitted defeat I did think of one thing though, it would be harder for them to use the "you didn't have enough faith" bullshit on a 12 year old, because the Bible says to come to Jesus with the trust of a child. If a 12 year old isn't a child, then who do those idiots think the Bible was talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 At church I remember sermons on tithing and that if you were not giving 10% you were ourtright robbing God. They would pull some verse out of the Old Testament that said this and hammer on it. That something terrible was going to happen to you because you were "robbing God". I guess you were supposed to feel guilty and condemned. Even then it didn't make sense, and how stupid it seems now. God, the supposed creator of everything, omniscient, omnipotent, feels robbed because I didn't give my puny 10%!! Of course you were supposed to give much more than 10%. Supposedly the more you gave, the more blessings you would receive. In the liberal church I went to for awhile they did not emphasize the "robbing god" thing, but they bought into this "blessing" theory. At a certain time of the year there would be people getting up and giving testimonies to the effect that this actually happened. It always seemed bogus to me. These folks were educated and had good jobs, that's all. I began to realize that if something terrible happened to me, the most I would get from the church for my money would be a visit at the hospital. I decided it wasn't worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kozimoto Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The thing about tithing is that they often use a scripture in Malachi 3, which claims that if you tithe, you'll get a blessing from heaven, and God says "test me in this!". I did what Mike D did - I tested! So as far as I am concerned, god can't pay his bills! It saddens me to think of all the effing terrible financial advice i heard in church, like "if you need a financial miracle, you can't afford NOT to give!" or "you can give your way out of debt!" What a crock of bullshit! My old pastor told us EXACTLY how much he wanted us to give ON TOP of our tithe (ie to the building fund). 5%. Gross. On top of 10% gross tithe. I called him on his manipulation and got treated like a leper, the beginning of the end for me.... And yet the bible says in 1 Tim 6:5 that men who use godliness as a means to financial gain are corrupt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusdafa Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 This goes overboard here in Samoa. There were outcries when families had to take out loans just to pay for something the pastor wants or to keep up appearances. Some congregations have this practice of announcing from the podium the families and the amount they tithed(donated) for the pastor. The pastors of the largest Christian sect here are one of the most highest paid professions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 At church I remember sermons on tithing and that if you were not giving 10% you were ourtright robbing God. It's true: "Will a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed me, But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." - Malachi 3:8 Failure to tithe is stealing from the Lard! Get your wallets out! Or else!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trashy Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I think my wife and I might have hit $100,000 in just ten years. We tithed 10% of our gross income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live and learn Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I've often thought of how, if I had all that tithe money back, I could pay off my house. The Christian church is the biggest scam there is. With the doctrine of Hell, it's a protection racket. Surely this is a RICO case... Instead of the gory horse's head as in the Godfather, it's a man on a cross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush country Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10, NIV So Mike, you tested and who failed? lol One thing that makes is bearable for me to continue to go to church with my wife is that she doesn't think we need to tithe. I can bear the stupid, often pointless songs, and the inane sermons, but they ain't getting my money! For a while I bought the 'test me in this' idea. About 12 years ago, post divorce, I really started getting into church attendance and seeking god. So I started tithing, no where close to 10%, but a regular small amount. Less than a year later I got a job offer from another company with a 25% pay raise! So I tithed more. Financially things got better, so I tithed more. Within three years of changing jobs my income had doubled! So coincidence reinforced the biblical message. Flash forward to five years ago....for personal reasons I took a job with more time off but a huge pay cut. With a son and daughter in college, I quit tithing so I could pay the bills. Guess what? Business conditions improved....I got a pay raise, then another, then another. In about three years, with no tithes, I was above what I was making at the previous job. So I tested and found out it really didn't make any difference. I was kind of worried about this up until deconverting last June. It feels so good to be out from under the delusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vendredie Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My parents, despite having been good churchgoing Christians (they're still Christians, they just hate going to church), never did the whole tithing thing. Then again we didn't go to church until I was about 6 or 7 and times were a bit rough financially until about last year, long after my mom had decided to let us all sleep in because the people at church were morons who believed everything theywere told, conformed to their respective gender stereotypes, and of course gave 10% to church who thought I was some sort of Satanist for reading Harry Potter. Ohwell. Sucks for them really, they're stuck waking up at 7 am on Sunday, giving up their extra money, and being told fairy tales as if they're little children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 The other day I stopped to think about it and realized that over the 30 years my husband and I had been giving to the church, we had probably given over $100,000. It makes me sick. I'd rather have used it for a trip around the world or nicer cars or at least have it do some good fighting poverty. Do you think they would give me my money back? I have had the same exact thought recently. I definitely want my money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 The other day I stopped to think about it and realized that over the 30 years my husband and I had been giving to the church, we had probably given over $100,000. It makes me sick. I'd rather have used it for a trip around the world or nicer cars or at least have it do some good fighting poverty. Do you think they would give me my money back? I have had the same exact thought recently. I definitely want my money back. Hey, let's all get together and form a class action lawsuit against xtainity in general! Denny Crane won't take the case that's a given, but Alan Shore might! That would make a great boston legal episode though, if it can't be done for real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts