Give to the Church or the Lord Might Smite You

Forgive the Schadenfreude, but today's Wall Street Journal has a satisfying piece about churches and money; it details how more congregants than ever refuse to be guilted into tithing ten percent of their incomes. They want to determine for themselves how they allocate their charitable gifts, which strikes me as an admirable wish that's very much in tune with the title and (unholy) spirit of this blog.

Some church authorities are OK with that soft revolution; unsurprisingly, many others are adamant — and plenty shameless — about keeping the money spigot wide open.

"If everyone gives 2% of their income because that's what they feel like giving, you [meaning the churches, RvB] aren't going to have money to pay the light bill and keep the doors open," says Duane Rice, an official with Evangelical Friends International, a denomination that believes that tithing is required by the Bible.

So? I see it as a pure market issue. If Mr. Rice and the clerics whose paychecks he seeks to safeguard provide a compelling enough service, people will pay what they must to keep it going. If not, they will vote with their wallets and maybe with their feet. It's called freedom of choice.

To staunch the flow of greenbacks, some churches are resorting to what amounts to religious blackmail, however pathetically executed. Consider the reasoning of this wonderfully upstanding and highly moral church authority:

Steve Sorensen, director of pastoral ministries at Cornerstone, says the church requires its paid and volunteer leaders to tithe, and teaches new members to do so, although it doesn't make them show proof of income. "When you tithe, God makes promises to us, that he ... is not going to let anything bad or destructive come about," says Mr. Sorensen. For those who don't tithe, he says the Lord "is not obligated to do those things for you."

Got that? Sorenson believes God's favors are for sale, and that they're his —€” Sorenson's — to sell! How is this any different from 16th-century religious charlatans like Pope Leo X and friar Johann Tetzel selling their infamous indulgences? Tetzel, it is known, even devised a chart that listed a pecuniary price for each sin; as long as you paid, you would be automatically forgiven.

I'd imagine that Steve Sorenson isn't quite that crass, but he's pretty damn close. In his world, you pay the church ten percent of whatever you make, and in return the gracious Almighty One won't let your kids drown in the bathtub or smite you in a car crash. And if you don't pay up, the Most Merciful Creator of the Heavens and the Earth has "no obligation" to you, and in fact has every reason to crush your legs or give you stomach cancer, or both.

Gotta love organized religion. 

A special chutzpah award goes to the pastor and elders of Hydesville Community Church in Hydesville, California. When one straying member of their flock politely questioned the church's fork-over-10-percent rule, they promptly wrote him back to point out the error of his ways, closing with...

...a verse from Hebrews 13:17: "Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls; as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you."

Comments

[Jeff The Poustman]

An omitting of the convenient but unfair 'Gotta love organized religion' comment would only strengthen the statement. Particular examples ought not to be taken as indicative of the state of all members of the general category to which they belong. That would be the same error as was made by the police and FBI who were suspicious of the photographer.

[George Arndt]

I'm thinking of starting my own religion. It's called the "First Church of Send Me All Your Money Or You're Going To Hell." I sure hope it catches on. I wont have to pay any taxes either. : ))))))