Money, Money, Money

I went to church again this past Sunday. (Yeah, what's up with that?!) This time, we went to a Missionary Baptist Church as opposed to a Pentecostal Church. My roots are in the Missionary Baptist church, so I was quite familiar with the scene. The visit brought back a lot of memories.

You can be sure that since I went to church, my mom was involved. But the choice of venue was my wife's influence.

While my wife maintains she doesn't agree with the Bible, she still finds comfort in the atmosphere of church. She enjoys the sense of community and belonging. A pleasant church visit can conjure nostalgia.

At least, until the misogynistic rhetoric starts up. Then, she's ready to go home

And on the way home, she puzzles over why she even bothered to darken the doorway of church once again.

We were first time visitors with this congregation; I enjoyed the anonymity very much. No sense of obligation.

Funny that the pastor decided to preach about stewardship that Sunday morning.

Overall, the sermon wasn't bad. He was very entertaining and witty. He didn't yell at us like some preachers do. But he was adamant that the congregation gave feedback-- preferably in the form of amen and that's right preacher, now ya talking!

So, I was actually enjoying everything. I wasn't even arguing against the preacher in my head. I was being a good little church mouse.

Until he said . . .

The Bible contains more versus pertaining to money than versus which pertain to salvation.

WTF?!

He made this statement in an attempt to support his teachings about tithes and offerings-- and of giving in general.

He was attempting to say that God really, really cares about money. God takes his money seriously. And you're in serious trouble if you don't pay God what you owe him.

The pastor argued that the Bible speaks so much about money because so few people worship God over their wallets. He claimed that the Bible needs to spend a lot of words warning people against transforming money into an idol god. This is why the verses about money outnumber the verses about salvation.

I haven't verified his statement about money being mentioned more than salvation. But if this is true, I personally find that fact disturbing.

No wonder people argue about how to be saved! The Biblical authors spent more words ensuring they were properly paid!

But this giving that the pastor preached about goes way beyond money. You have to give not only your money but your time. Your children. Your best.


Your soul.


"No man can server to masters", he preached. "You will either love one and hate the other. You can not serve God and mammon (money)".


When I was a believer, I would earnestly call Jesus my master. But now that I've lost my faith, I sometimes wonder if the church is simply about the business of making us all slaves.

Preach the Word!

What if you visited a church and the preacher started saying things like . . . .

Now, you men . . . you listen up! God's got a word for you -- He's got a word. Next time you have your buddies over for a few drinks and you guys are watching the game . . . keep the word of the Lord in mind! If you ever have a gang of gay men start banging on your door 'cause they want your buddies' booty, you remember God's will is for you to give over your daughter or your wife. Homosexuality is so nasty that you should let them rape your daughters and wives before letting those gays get in your buddies' booty holes!

Or, what if you heard something like . . .

God wants us to be fruitful and multiply! Multiply! This is important. If you don't obey God's commands He will be angry with you! If you can't have children, you need to get your sister-in-law, or somebody, and make sure you have yourself a man-child . . . or at least try. God wants us to fill the earth! If your daughters can't get nobody and start havin' babies . . . then daddy . . . you need to do the deed yourself!

Or, how about something like this:

You people goin' round depressed all the time . . . you just ain't praying enough. You don't fast and pray. Done just let the devil get into your homes and your lives. Can't even get a prayer up. You need to fast and pray and break the power of the devil in your home. You don't need no anti-depressants! You don't need none of that stuff. You just ain't trying enough . . . praying enough . . .

No . . . I've never heard these exact words in a sermon before. I've never heard a preacher utter words quite like the ones above. (well, I have with the depression bit)

But, I have read in the Bible on two occasions where men visited someone's home and a mob came to the house demanding to have intercourse with guests inside. And on both occasions, either daughters were offered up or a concubine. In the first story, the daughters were spared. But in the second case, the concubine was ravaged all night long and died from the punishment. This was more acceptable than the male guest being ravaged. Granted, neither the guests nor the concubine should have been threatened. But somehow, pushing the concubine into the mob was the lesser evil.

On several occasions, women felt so pressured to have children that they tricked people into having sex with them. Before you get excited at the idea, Judah was tricked into having sex with his daughter-in-law and Lot with his two daughters! And Onan was ordered to sleep with his deceased bother's wife and impregnate her so that his brother's name could live on. Onan didn't follow through and was killed by God.

If sex is so taboo, why was Onan killed for not impregnating his sister-in-law?

If continuing one's name is so important, why doesn't God strike down everyone that uses birth control?

If the rape of a woman is less heinous that homosexuality, why do we punish rapists over homosexuals?

What would your wife do if you pushed her out of the front door and into a mob that was trying to break into your home for sex?

What if God told you that you were not fit to serve him if you took time to tend to your own father's funeral before leaving home for good?

What if you have a real, legitimate biological condition that needs medical treatment, but the church made you feel guiltily for accepting it? They guilt you into believing that you simply are not praying enough and you avoid the treatment that you really need.

Before you get defensive . . . before you give into that urge and say that I'm taking these scripture passages out of their context, put yourself into the shoes of all the people in these passages.

Do you think like any of them, today?

Do you think you are worshiping the same God that they were? Are you really holding to the same ideals as the characters in the example stories above?

Do you still think that the events I've just mentioned happened for real?