Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Selling Indulgences: God and Gold

One of the perhaps incongruous blogs that I follow is Tithe Stewardship and Church Tithing. It is maintained by a Christian website designer and self-studied expert on the subject of tithing. He believes that instead of tithing, Christians should be stewards of the earth and engage in "spirit led giving."

"We believe that God, our Creator, claims ultimate ownership of everything on the earth. God has entrusted his people with a stewardship and expects them to invest and manage the resources and talents He’s left them, in accordance to the eteral principles of God’s word."
It has become a regular stop on my Broke is Beautiful reading list. (Check out his article on Five Reasons We Need a Recession) A few days ago Jared posted a feature on materialistic church signs. The one above (originally from The Dissident Blog) he says, "will make you think that tithing and coming to church is like joining a pyramid scheme that promises their secrets will get you rich."

If that doesn't work, apparently they are not above an old-fashioned stick up:


In case they need a weapon. I know where they might be able to get one. Here's a gun shop sign we photographed in North Carolina: