Day Six: And Ye Shall...

My wife and I saw this outside a church in Alcoa, Tennessee a couple of years ago and it cracked us up. Thought I would lead with this since this post s of a religious nature and a little more serious than usual. Enjoy!



Last night I was watching some on demand when the program blew up and would not let me anymore. Some kind of maintenance I guess that Comcast was doing. Of course, it never worked again and from what I understand, it is still broke: Nice job people. I do not think we can handle any more upgrades or improvements around here. However, as I tried to watch Dexter, the channel I was on had a religious program going when it reverted to regular TV. Now I have been raised God fearing. I have recently been given to doubts but things I have witnessed and seen in my life have me conflicted with my belief system. So like many of the enchanted young minds of the 60’s looking for the answers, my mind wanders occasionally to the “What ifs?”

I do not think this is a bad thing to do and really, part of free will based on Christianity gives us the right and choice to ask these questions of ourselves and of others. It also lets us ask it of God himself. From what I have read, he expects us to do it in order to enhance our faith and prove his existence to the unbelieving.

That being said, stumbling upon this religious program, the usual hype of poor sinner come to repent and then the majority of the talking turned to the usual: Send me money. The person was shameless. They even have set fees established to give gifts back to the donators at different pay levels. For instance, the lowest donation amount was $58.00. Not $50.00, not $25.00 but $58.00. Maybe that is the person’s regular hotel bill for the hooker he goes to see after the show, $58.00 an hour. Either way this fee schedule went up to $10,000.00 with commensurate gifts. Astonishing.

Now when I read the Bible it does state that in prayer and giving, these are to be considered holy gifts if given in love and charity for the sole purpose of uplifting God’s kingdom and in that regard they are deemed seeds which will grow spiritual gifts for the giver. Now given that definition and guidance, one cannot give to anything thinking, “If I do this, then I’ll get this in return.” Sort of a spiritual savings account. God does not work that way. A gift has to be given, regardless of monetary value or materialistic properties in the embrace of love and kindness, not in expectation of reciprocity. Nevertheless, this person, as many others I have seen, taut how these donations “Will grow…and if you have given before,” he sleazily slurs to the screen, “just give more. For whatever reason God has not allowed that seed to germinate and grow but the more you give, the more it will grow. Say you gave $58.00 last week and it has yet to grow. Give $1000.00 this week, and I tell you God has said it will grow. It may be in some business venture you have going on that will prosper. It may be in other ways but it will grow out of God’s love.”

I was literally sick to my stomach with this vile bull sh#$t! How can anyone prey on the weak like that and do it in the name of faith and it is legal yet alone not reprehensible? These people should be put in jail! This is not a difference in doctrine that makes it okay for him and others to do this, this is the violation and exploitation of a specific principle of faith that people believe in and our being taught is okay. It is not! That is not the way tithing and gifting works.

Yes, it is true it will grow. Whatever your gift is to a ministry will in turn grow if given in love and with a clear conscience and heart and free of expectation of reciprocity. Moreover, it will and can grow in many ways dependant upon what God feels is best for you.

Now I send out to this man a little reminder of what God does to people like this. He needs to read Acts and how the man feel dead in his doorway for begrudging God his gift and giving it out of what he felt was REQUIRED of him and not because he wanted to give. In addition, how he expected return on his investment. They need to remember this is God’s in the first place. Everything you own is God’s and it is all about the mindset and what you INTEND to do, not WHAT you do that is important and either a sin or a blessing. Also, I seem to recall another TV preacher of our time, standing on his stage spouting dogma and rhetoric as old as the Bible at the camera and then giving an ultimatum to gather more rewards from his gullible audience. Oral Roberts shouted at the camera “You must help me achieve $1 million by midnight or this station won’t be able to broadcast anymore. God has set a deadline!” And as if on queue, God spoke in words of nature and said “Enough.” Lightning hit the stations antenna and took it off the air: Well before the supposed deadline set by the deity.

I do not know if that woke him up to the possible existence of God because he obviously was not a believer and neither is his son. And you may be saying to yourself, “Who are you to judge these people?” And I say I am a fence sitting Christian who understands the Bible and it says, “Try the spirits to see if they are of God.” It also says, “Be on the lookout for false prophets. You will know them by their works.” Therefore, when a man stands before spouting stupid doctrine that is perverted from the direction of the Bible for his own gain, I call it what it is and I judge it rightfully so. We all sin and do stupid things we need forgiveness for and God has only two levels of sin for man. All sin is forgivable in God’s eyes save the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. However, I feel one of the worst sins to commit is to lead a person astray in their beliefs and cause them to not hear the true word of God and benefit from his guidance.

If there is a God and I am leaning to think there is, I know these people will receive just rewards some day. Even if there is not one, I still believe in Karma and that such evil cannot go inappropriately rewarded. So dude, think about what you are doing and regardless of whether you believe or not, why make some one else’s life so miserable and prey on possibly the only thing they have giving them hope for something better? You suck and I hope you get what is coming to you because you deserve it.

Sorry for the deepness of the post today but that really made me sick.