"This article exposes the secret methods certain pastors use to get rich off God's people. Have you ever wondered how some pastors start a church and then become wealthy living in flash houses and driving luxury cars? Well this article exposes how they do it, extracting money from their congregations to fund their lifestyles. Here are the secrets they definitely do not want you to know."

"Important Note: As you read please remember that very few pastors use the techniques you are about to discover. The great majority of Christian pastors do not earn much money even though they work hard at their jobs. Most Christian pastors would find these techniques repugnant. Please do not make the mistake of tarring the many good pastors with the brush reserved for the spiritually corrupt few."

http://www.cultwatch.com/HowPastorsGetRich.html

"A clue that you are caught up in one of these churches is if you hear things like, "This is your spiritual home, you can't go to another church. You must be loyal." They are very jealous about protecting their market, and do not want to lose one of their paying customers to another church. Some even try to prevent their patrons leaving by making them sign contracts or "covenants", like a mobile phone company locking you into a two year term."

"Their Fabricated Tithing Doctrine

This is the big daddy. This is their sacred cow. This is the beating heart of their evil empire. The crown jewel. The Death Star. The one ring to bill them all. The pot of gold. Their matrix (into which they want to plug you). Their Wizard of Oz. Their magic spell. Their special power. Their secret recipe with the eleven herbs and spices. Their Golden Goose. The very air upon which they breathe!

Question this doctrine and watch these money hungry pastors bare their fangs. This is a teaching that they will bear no compromise on. Tithing, or at least their own version of tithing, is their one true love.

Here are some bullet points about tithing that these money hungry pastors don't want you to know:

The New Testament Church did not tithe.
The New Testament does not teach tithing for Christians.
Their favorite Malachi verses cannot be used for Christians since Christians are not under the law of Moses.
Abraham's one off tithe of his war booty did not set up a precedent for Christians to regularly tithe their income.
The version of tithing they teach cannot be found in Scripture (see below).
The "Storehouse" in Malachi cannot be equated to your local church organization.
There are plenty of rich (money wise) Christians who do not tithe. This would be impossible if their version of tithing was true.
The New Testament teaching is that you decide how much to give, and there are no rules about where it goes. You cannot be compelled to give.

It may come as a surprise to learn that their tithing doctrine is a combination of twisted scriptures and wishful thinking, as opposed to solid Biblical exegesis reflecting a central thrust of New Testament teaching. Here is their tithing doctrine stated in a nutshell:

"Christians must give ten percent of their gross income only to their church organization. If they do, then God will bless them for any offerings they make to the church organization beyond this ten percent. But if they do not give ten percent gross, then they are stealing from God and God will curse them."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2012 01:04PM by Dave the Atheist.

Wow! Great article, thanks for sharing!

This is one of the reasons evangelicals hate mormons. The mormons have stolen some of their flock. I really saw this when I lived back east. Pastors would give endless sermons to keep people from jumping ship.
Mormons don't seem to be aware of the fact that they are taking $$ out of someones pocket when they convert someone from another religion.
My last ward always wanted to make nice with the church next door in an effort to get converts. They couldn't figure out why the pastor wanted nothing to do with them. My husband finally told them to knock it off, and told them how the system works.
The bishop actually listened.

Mia, I can't speak to your anecdotal evidence but my anecdotal evidence suggests more a concern for the salvation of those who join Mormonism.

Most people in Christian churches give what they want, anonymously, without being compelled.

Motivating the pastors is a desire to see souls saved, not dollar signs.

"Motivating the pastors is a desire to see souls saved, not dollar signs."

Actually this argument applies more to mormons than other churches. None of the bishops, stake presidents, etc. receive a dime. Their motivation is completely to save souls. That's exactly what they think they are doing.

I'm not sure how passing a plate publicly and having everyone else see whether or not you contribute is anonymous. Mormons have an option to send their tithing directly to Salt Lake essentially anonymously. If desired their local leaders never know if/how much they contribute. They are asked once a year in tithing settlement and when getting a temple recommend if they pay a full tithing, but it is up to the member to answer yes or no. Tithing settlement is optional.

Tithing as 10% isn't unique to the Mormon church.

Pot calling the kettle black.

Ronas, I'm not sure how your post refutes what me and Notmo said said. What I am talking about is not how money is raised, whether or not it it goes into a collection plate or straight into the hands of a ward leader is not what I commented on. I stated my experience relative to a pastor's motivation, nothing else.

Kentish,

I'm not refuting what you said.

Apologies if I misconstrued what you said.

No worries I said it poorly.

not even the person sitting next to you can tell what you put in...and that is money put in without an evelope.

Many people use an envelope and either choose to be identified by writing their name (or number on it) for tax purposes or they can leave it blank and no one knows what's in it or who gave it.

The point is you are not compelled. And certainly no one keeps of record of it so that you may be a 'card carrying member.'

But more importantly it is NOT about the money in most Christian churches.

Shame on those for whom this does not apply.

"Important Note: As you read please remember that very few pastors use the techniques you are about to discover. The great majority of Christian pastors do not earn much money even though they work hard at their jobs. Most Christian pastors would find these techniques repugnant. Please do not make the mistake of tarring the many good pastors with the brush reserved for the spiritually corrupt few."

I think that's overly generous.

ronas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that's overly generous.

Well, keep in mind that the author is some kind of christian dude with a book of his own to plug, so he's gotta create some room for himself. It's only the other peddlers of religious goods that are spiritually corrupt.

I noticed the Mormon church fits a lot of those descriptions.


Well actually, scrolling over that list again, I think they all fit.

Let me see... The Church of Matt?

Yep. Has a ring to it.

Discount tithing at 8%? Hang on, I could give people a "paid in full" certificate, if they pay in beer...

Blessings for sale? Well, now... how about a BOGOF deal? (Buy one, get one free)

Humble church. Nice facility, but no family owners.Band good, but not making records. Much of their money is donated to charity. No fancy houses or cars.Books open. People nice. Some nice groups for men, women and kids.

Here in Hawaii, we have a group called New Hope Christian Fellowship. It has grown very fast. They like to meet in high school buildings, so they can get an in to the wider community with their activities.

I have heard they work kinda like a MLM, in that, as an incentive to work hard and grow the churches, pastors get a percent cut of the donations, with a rising curve, so they build a downline, and get pretty rich from it.

You live in Hawaii..... so jealous!!

yeah, Hawaii's great--until you get stung by little fire ants. Seriously those bites hurt bad, for a long time. And the little buggahs are everywhere now, since like the last three years.

Any trees or bushes you touch outside is likely to be crawling with the little buggahs. Ah well, the weather's great! :)