Granny says, "Dat's right - dem TV preachers know how much money there is in religion... Religion Worth $1.2 Trillion in U.S. Economy, More Than Google and Apple Combined September 16, 2016 A new analysis from Georgetown University that attempts to document the economic value of religion in U.S. society found that the faith sector is worth $1.2 trillion, more than the combined revenue of the top 10 technology companies in the country, including Apple, Amazon, and Google.
Moses and Aaron established the blueprint for the religious con game. They made the rules about how the local yokels had to fork over their money and the best of their food to a bunch of con artists that claimed that they spoke to God. They even set up the first retirement plan for themselves.
You guys need to read the history of the early christian church. The church fathers -- Origin, Tertullain, Justin Martyr, Augsutine, Irenaeus, John Chrysostom -- were not in it for the money. Several were born into upper class families and gave it all up for their faith, and they led a successful revolution against the Roman empire in the process. Be fair. - - - Updated - - - You're aware of the thousands of men and women over the ages who led lives in service to the poor and in poverty themselves, all on account of their faith, I hope.
In fairness to organised religions, if people are dumb enough to throw money at them, they're not dumb enough to refuse it.. Anyway they might use much of it for charitable work and stuff for all we know. But the bottom line is that no True Christian greedily rakes it in- "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them, not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:2-3)
Here's a sweet retirement plan: Numbers 8:23-26 (CEV) = "23 The Lord also told Moses, 24-25 “Levites who are between the ages of twenty-five and fifty can work at my sacred tent. But once they turn fifty, they must retire. 26 They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties.”" Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were Levites. In Numbers chapter 3 it tells of a convoluted scheme to enrich them at the expense of the rest of the Israelites. The bottom line is that they ended up with the money, the best of the food, and the retirement plan. Numbers 3:47-51 (CEV) = "47 For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 48 This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons.” 49 Moses collected the silver from the extra two hundred seventy-three first-born men and boys, 50 and it amounted to one thousand three hundred sixty-five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 51 Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded."
If any of them did then they were dummies. The big wigs lived lives of luxury. Like Jesus, they sponged off of the gullible. Jesus never gave anyone a penny. And when he hadthe opportunity he told his posse that he needed the loot more than the poor did.
So? No matter how laudable they were, how does that relate to the religious industry of today? Is an operation less accountable if it at some point in the past had other people with other ideas?
the value of religion is priceless, since it is based upon your beliefs and extends to herbs and medications you may believe are for your best health and what sex you want to screw, as opposed to the state dictating every aspect of your slave life to you.
The Levites had a duty and that was to fulfil the religious requirements, and later, when settled in Palestine, to be involved in disputes among people. To provide for them they were entitled to a tithe from the people. This was for their daily expenses. As there were more Levi's than actually required many Levi's had also to work to earn a living. Pension Fund? Where are you from? The average age for men at death was 40-45. Few Levi's would have achieved that 'pension fund'.
I thought you didn't believe the Bible. How do you know he didn't spend much of the 3 years at home - earning a living. This is what many teachers of his time did. We know little of what happened in the three years of the Rabbi's ministry. What we do know can be crammed into 6 months at the most.
The fairy tale says that Jesus sponged off of his rich friends. When he needed a bunk he just told one that he was moving in for a while. He did teach them how to be Shylocks. There's a story in the Old Testament that says that people shouldn't trust anyone who lived like Jesus. It fits him to a tee.
Moses made the pension fund law and he set it up so that his gang wouldn't have to do any hard dirty manual labor. The guy who had to work from sunup to sundown didn't get to vote on the Levite welfare program. He just had to fork over the best fruits of his labor. The clergy still follows Moses' scam.
One place is in Deuteronomy 14:22-26 (MSG) = "22-26 Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year. Bring this into the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before God, your God, as long as you live. But if the place God, your God, designates for worship is too far away and you can’t carry your tithe that far, God, your God, will still bless you: exchange your tithe for money and take the money to the place God, your God, has chosen to be worshiped. Use the money to buy anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, or beer—anything that looks good to you. You and your family can then feast in the Presence of God, your God, and have a good time."
I do not see how a decline in religion could do much damage to the economy. How many jobs does religion create? The beauty of religion is that you get so many volunteers. But whatever money the religious consumers are spending on religion, they will spent it some place else if not on religion. Religion doesnt actually produce anything - and the disposable money that is put into it would create jobs in other areas if it wasnt going into religion. That money could go to NFL or Nascar for example. The disposable income would still be spent.
Jewish custom was that if visiting a town or village and needing accomodation you stood in the 'square' and a person would offer you accomodation. There were no hotels as we know them in small places. If it's a fairy tale why are you bothered. I believe Jesus was a Jewish teacher and he lived as other Jewish teachers did in the OT. Paul was a 'missionary' and he at times worked to pay his way. You're basing your posts, not on the customs of the day, but today.
It seems to me that this tells you to take a tithe of the goods you have and bring them to God's house. If it's too much to take sell it, go to the city where Gods house is, use the money to buy goods and present that to God. No money tithe there.
You make it up as you go along. There was no pension fund. Many of the Levi's not working in the Temple had to work to make a living. According to the Bible 40+ cities were set aside for the Levi's. They had no land as they were to be the spiritual leaders, teachers, and guides to the people. The cities were also refuge to people who needed sanctuary - as in accidentally killing someone - to prevent summary justice. For their leadership and guidance they received tithes. They were learned men in the Torah. Now I'm not talking about Moses - he never existed. These things came later. A supposed Moses could not give cities that the Israelites did not have in his time.
This is my point. The tithe only applied to increase of the fields and herds. It was not on labor. Churches are falsely teaching a labor tithe.
The blueprint for the religious con game was established long before Moses and Aaron showed up. In all likelihood Moses was a member of the monotheistic cult of Akhenaten. When the Pharaoh died his cult was under siege and the members would have been under serious threat. So they left. The use of Religion as a means of social control had been around for at few thousand years prior to Moses. The Sumerian and Egyptian Pantheon's are at least that old. The religious code of Moses was mostly - if not entirely- borrowed from other mainstream religious and social beliefs that existed at the time. Even the story of Moses is a re-telling of the story of Sargon. Sargon united the city states in Sumer into the worlds first known empire around 2300 BC. Sargon was put adrift in a basket. The basket was plucked out of a river and Sargon was raised by someone other than his mother. Sargon was adopted by a patron God and rose to be the leader of a Nation. Go Figure. There is not a soul in the near east who would not have known the story of Sargon.
When the fundy mob wanted to stone an adulteress under the Old T laws, Jesus rescued her, so like I said he trashed the old harsh laws..
