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Originally Posted by sunmaiden
You are lumping us all together. We're not all the same people. I give to the Church and to many other charities, and not to buy my way into heaven! And it's not like I am rich. I give charity to whomever whenever I can.
There are a lot of people who need to practice what they preach...tolerance...
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I certainly don't think everyone who contributes money to a church looks at the money they give as buying their way into heaven. However, many churches, and certainly the bulk of televangelists focus primarily on the money they can raise. It's all about lavish buildings and garish spectacle. Ever seen the Crystal Cathedral ? In my experience, the subtext of those messages about donations is definitely that you are "getting in the good graces" of the establishment by coughing up lots of cash. I don't think it's a stretch at all to say there are plenty of people who think that the more they give, the better the balance book looks on some faraway judgement day. There are many older people who are lonely and scared who fall right into this kind of thinking. Not everyone, but lots.
And by the way, I am tolerant as all get out. Even though I don't recall ever preaching about that. But I also don't pull any punches when it comes to expressing my opinions.
