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I also jumped the church ship decades ago. As with any governing agency, churches are all about power, control and money. They use God, Jesus and the Bible (and our fears) to reel in that money.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 explains what true tithing is, but the church never preaches that passage. Tithing of old was for the poor, not for the church, not for the pastor. Today we "tithe" through our taxes and charities. And we give a whole lot more than 10% every three years.
"28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."
Thanks for the response. What a pity that you were correct ... BTW ... a pat on the back for nailing the Rabbi.
El Nox
Thanks for the rep.
The genesis (pun intended) of the meeting was the Rabbi's remarks after he and other Rabbis properly waked out of Trump's smarmy presentation to Jews at an AIPAC conference in March in Washington, DC. The Rabbi said he was upset by commentary to the effect of "what do you expect from a Reform rabbi?" I sent him a lengthy and generally complimentary email about his remarks and said that I wanted to address his concerns off the record and not in print.
The gist of it was in harmony with this thread; that people are increasingly seeing religious bodies as aiming at fundraising for the sake of fundraising. The most blatant example was the impatience of other clergy with post-death minion services and their eagerness to say "I have to go now."
This church should be stripped of their non-profit status. If they're going to demand money for services rather than be a haven of faith even for those in need, then they're nothing but a business and should be taxed as such.
AGreed.
I am a devout Christian, yet I don't attend a church (at least not right now).
People are saved by faith and not by works anyway (read the Bible) so no one is under compulsion to give. Giving won't save you.
I'm not Jewish, but isn't the word you want to use for the quorum of 10 Jewish men needed for a prayer service "minyan"?
"Minion" means something very different.
It's the phonetic spelling of a Hebrew word so while you're using the better phonetic spelling it doesn't make a difference. A Minyan is a mini-service, with a minimum of 10 people, conducted for any variety of reasons. A common one is an observance at the home of a grieving person. Rabbis and cantors don't like spending much time at them since the customary tip or gift to the Temple is small. To paraphrase H.R. "Bob" Haldemann's famous statement "how many votes are there in the Italian Lira" man probably ask themselves "how much money is there in grieving, sobbing relatives?"
When judgement day comes, no person, no church or brick, wood or mortar will change what transpires between me and God. My actions and faith are personal and no one but me will have to account for them. My church is my body and and my mind and any place I happen to be. Thus I avoid most 'religious' buildings and people.
It's the phonetic spelling of a Hebrew word so while you're using the better phonetic spelling it doesn't make a difference. A Minyan is a mini-service, with a minimum of 10 people, conducted for any variety of reasons. A common one is an observance at the home of a grieving person. Rabbis and cantors don't like spending much time at them since the customary tip or gift to the Temple is small. To paraphrase H.R. "Bob" Haldemann's famous statement "how many votes are there in the Italian Lira" man probably ask themselves "how much money is there in grieving, sobbing relatives?"
Lol!
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