4.3 - Organized Religion
"God always seems to be short of cash and unable to do anything by himself. For an all-powerful being, that’s some serious deficiency." - Unknown
a. Rich Pastors
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"The religionists are money-grubbers themselves. They pass that collection plate every Sunday. Can't run a religion on love and sacrifice." - Unknown
"How many things need to be wrong with an organization before you leave it?" - Unknown
"3 Richest Pastors in the U.S.:
1) Kenneth Copeland: $750 Million - Eagle Mountain International Church, Ft. Worth, TX. His ministry owned at least 5 airplanes, including a Gulfstream V worth at least $9m, formerly owned by actor Tyler Perry, whose flight records are kept private. When confronted about the multiple airplanes, he remarked, 'It's a biblical thing... If I flew commercial, I'd have to stop 65% of what I'm doing.'
2) Joel Osteen: $110 Million - Lakewood Church, Houston, TX. He owns a 17,000-square-foot mansion in River Oaks with an estimated value of $10.5m. He preaches the prosperity gospel, which is a belief that material gain is the will of God for pious Christians. He was criticized for not opening his 600,000 square foot church with 16,000 seats and formerly a sports arena up as an emergency shelter after Hurricane Harvey.
3) Pat Robertson: $100 Million - 700 Club Televangelist, Regent University Chancellor, and Christian Broadcasting Network Chairman. Owner of at least 2 mansions, including a 17-acre compound. Noted for associating various natural disasters with people's abortion beliefs or people's religious practices." - Wikipedia
Some of the more noteworthy comments on this video include:
- When the devil goes to sleep, he checks under his bed for kenneth copeland.
- I’m atheist but this guy is making me question my stance on the existence of demons
- I speak for all Christians when I say we don’t claim this man.
- This is exactly the kind of guy whose table Jesus would flip over.
"Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions." - Mark 10:21–22 KJV
b. Sound Doctrine
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"The real enemy the Bible warns us of isn’t Satan. It’s false teachers." - Unknown
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." - 2 Timothy 4:3 KJV
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." - Matthew 6:5-6 KJV
"501c3 - part of world. Can’t speak out against government... Fear of violating terms - Churches may end up second-guessing their choices or feeling like they can’t say exactly what they want to out of fear of losing their 501(c)(3) status. With the strict rules in place, especially around politics and activism, a church could risk losing their exemption status." - IRS code section dealing with charitable organizations and rules concerning political speech
"Communism was actually a spiritual movement and a war against God. And it seems this war was somewhat succesful because after communism was defeated some Russian Orthodox Christians feared the church would side with the state to avoid future persecutions. However, the secular attitude is somewhat similar to America's tax exempt Protestant churches who must abide by govenment guidelines." - Nick Hinton, Let's be Friends Podcast
"Striking how well those criticisms apply to the 'Catholic' church today. Perhaps Kirk has no problem with paying indulgences. Luther rightly rejected the corrupt Medici family and their heir in Rome, Pope Leo X. I'm a confirmed Catholic, but absolutely respect what Martin Luther stood for. The modern Catholic church has been thoroughly dominated by globalist powers. Today it is almost unrecognizable. Luther noted back then, 'Cardinals should restrict the number of boys they kept for their pleasure, 'otherwise it would have been spread throughout the world how openly and shamelessly the pope and the cardinals in Rome practice sodomy.' Submission to the Papacy is not the defining characteristic of Catholicism. We have an obligation to reject the advances of corrupt men who seek to control the Church." - Unknown
"Nothing gets the Catholics charged up more than pointing out that the pulpit people raped kids while the flock turned a blind eye. Keep ‘em coming, I got all morning." - Unknown
"The 'churches' were always temporary, local, and ad hoc organizations, not permanent brand names to fight over. They were assemblies—gatherings—and not hierarchies with their own traditions and doctrines." - Unknown
"The problem is the real purpose of the clergy is to get individuals to delegate their relationship with God to them. As we have been told in so many areas, 'Let us handle God for you.' God wants US to talk to him/her/ineffable spirit. And by and large they have won. In many parts of the Christian America, religion is for Sunday and socializing. And God is an after thought. I learned my relationship with God from Jefferson, who said, 'Every man's relationship with God should begin in his closet. Just you and God.' Prayer is when I talk to God, and meditation is when I listen. I do a lot more listening than talking." - Unknown
"There's plenty of issues with the church. Anytime you walk into the church, guess who's there? People. And people are imperfect. You're kind of an ignorant child to judge God by the people in the church. Because they're people and God says we're imperfect. So stop doing that. Forgive them. And just say 'Hey God, I want to know you as you really are. You're the only living God and I am your creation and I want to know you.' And that's a great way to start your journey." - Dalton Gray
"The problem with most Christian churches is they use scissors to read the Bible." - Unknown
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