Should Christian CD be free, if the true goal is to spread the word?

Question

I just think that it is funny how, these christians are always looking to make a buck, whether it be passing collection baskets sveral times during a service or selling CD's at outrages prices. By outrages I mean $14. What does this mean, that christians dont want poor people to get the message? Using Jesus to make money is wrong, right?

Answer 1

You are 100% correct brother . not just logically but biblically.

Comfort yourself & strengthen your faith by Reading below.

Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan is tempting pople by offering the glories- the riches of the world.

Today’s Christians are prosperity freeks.

They have also forgoton the sacrifice of Job and attack of satan on him to test his faith. Read the book of Job about this.

Mathew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19:19 Honour thy father and [thy] mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me.
19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
19:25 When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
19:26 But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
19:30 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.

Now understand this!

When jesus went to the temple than what happened?

John 2:13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
2:18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day], many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men],
2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Now in todays time Jesus will throw all the c.d’s,dvd’s,books, all sales material out and say the same words.
Also the lesson do not give personal testimony for the testimony of Christ is above everything.

also note that the message of the Gospel of the kingdom of God is majorly for the poor.

luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of [their] infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many [that were] blind he gave sight.
7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
7:23 And blessed is [he], whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Amen.

Answer 2

First of all, I am not a Christian but I understand economics and trying to feed your family. Second of all, $14.00 is not a lot of money for a CD. Go to FYE or Camelot Music. Expect to pay upwards to $20.00 for a new CD. The people who sell their CD's have to at least recoup their costs of producing the CD, Christian or not. They also need to pay the rent and feed their kids. I believe that most Christian (and other religious people) then use the "profit" to spread their word (some are scum that line their pockets but I believe they are the minority). They have to pay the rent on the church, pay the electric bill. If you cannot afford a CD, don't buy one. There are other ways to received the message, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or otherwise. I believe that the religious people trying to spread their message have other ways that do not cost the poor people any money. They often times take the money they made selling the CD and buy food to give to the poor.
I see nothing wrong with what most of them are doing.

Answer 3

When you live in the Bible Belt, you see a whole parallel economy of "Christian" products that are promoted as such. For example, in Missouri I used to see "Christian" dashboard sun shades all the time. Some of them had a biblical verse on them, but some simply proclaimed that they were sold by a Christian business. I understand that evangelicals believe they have a duty to spread the gospel, but I could never figure out if they felt like this was an effective way to do it, or if they felt an obligation to give their money exclusively to self-identified Christians.

I have always wondered to what extent a tow-truck business or a soda distributor can really be Christian within the context of selling soda or towing cars, and to what extent evangelicals demand accountability from these businesses that promote themselves as Christian.

Answer 4

I can understand why you would think that, but everything does cost money, especially for music artists to pay for studio time, living expenses, the CDs and cases, the instruments and sound equipment, lighting, crew and staff, the graphics for the CD, organizing and expediting a tour, advertising, lawyers (for record contracts and stuff), etc. How else would they pay for that? WHO will pay the bills? One needs to take these things into consideration. I'm sure there could be a better way, like getting churches to sponsor artists, but still the money would ultimately come from the people who attend that church (I'm one of them, and I'M POOR - LOL). So what is an alternative?
One thing is for sure though, if Christian music MUST cost money, it at least should not be OVERpriced. They should be signifcantly cheaper than other CDs.

Answer 5

The gospel is free to everyone. And many Christian organization offers their services free of charge to everyone. But like everyone else, pastors, Christian musicians, and other Christian jobs require money to function. Its amazing how many people think that Pastors should preach, teach, and pay all the church bills plus his own personal bills with no money. How is that possible? What about Christian singers, some of their CD prices are no different than secular CD Prices. It all depends on where you get them. But these Christian singers have family to support, kids to put into school and bills to pay. Jesus said, pay Ceasar what is Ceasar (he was talking about taxes), he also to pay your tithes not to mention that no one should eat unless he has worked. Several times through scripture, we read that Christians should work for there money. It doesn't necessarily mention what type of work it should be. St. Paul who wrote several books of the Bible stated that we should support the work of God with our giving of money. Unfortunately the times we live where the costs of everything is going up, everyone needs money. Like I had mentioned, the Gospel message is free. All of Carman's concerts (a Christian singer) are free to everyone because he believes everyone should hear the message of God, but his videos and tapes are a bit expensive. Poor people can get free Bibles from most churches throughout the USA, also a lot of the churches have a free feeding program and a donation service to those families that cannot make ends meet. So in refuting your case against Christianity - Christians are not using Jesus to make money but Jesus is helping them make money by blessing their jobs and ministries.

Answer 6

There is a cost for producing the CD's that should be considered. ( My church doesn't sell CD's) And just so you know, I am a christian and at our church we never pass a collection plate. Our pastor believes that God will provide. Some of our members that can afford it do pay our tithes and this money is used for the church needs and to help the needy in our neighborhood. When we have a big need, such as this year we put a new roof on our church then we do fund raisers. So far our church has never went in need by not passing the plate. God Bless You.

Answer 7

Paul tells us this:

"Who would ever go to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its grapes? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink any of its milk? I am not saying this on human authority, am I? The law says the same thing, doesn't it? For in the law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not only concerned about oxen, is he? Isn't he really speaking on our behalf? Yes, this was written on our behalf, because the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing in the crop." (I Corinthians 9:7-10)

And continuing:

"You know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple and that those who serve at the altar get their share of its offerings, don't you? In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who proclaim the gospel should make their living from the gospel." (I Corinthians 9:13-14)

Besides, the materials alone cost money. There are those who do make a living spreading the Gospel, and there is nothing wrong with it. The vast majority of those who do spread the Gospel are volunteers. Ordinary folks who come to church, get their strength for the week, and then go out to the world and share their testimony with others. These are the unsung heroes in the church.

Answer 8

No - you can't produce a CD for free, so why should Christian musicians just give them away. Most of them put their heart and soul into their music and don't have much time for anything else. Therefore, their music is their way of life - their job. They need to earn money like everyone else so they can care for their families. Just because they're singing praises to God doesn't mean they should do it for free. Pastors get a salary. I also don't think most of them are "using Jesus" to make money. The songs I listen to are songs of praise and worship. Christian CDs certainly aren't among the top sellers, so if they just wanted to make money, they could choose another type of music.

Answer 9

You shouldn't use Jesus to make money...however, who says that everyone involved in the process is a good Christian?

Slimy record executives take huge cuts out of album sales. The band also has to make some money out of the deal, as well as their managers, booking agents, voice coaches, stylists, and whoever else is part of their entourage.

Also, what if all of the "extra" money they make goes back to the church or a charity, then you're not really being ripped off..however, I don't think many groups do that sort of thing.

As long as Wal-Mart carries Christian music, there be legions of people listening to it. And even "poor" people can afford a CD at Wal-Mart, if it's in the discount bin.

Answer 10

Hey even Jesus worked as a carpenter and I am sure was paid for his labor. Doesn't the Bible remind us that a workman is worthy of his hire?

The people who make these Cd's have to pay to produce them, record them, register them, pay taxes on them and also earn enough money to live on. If you don't want to buy them don't, If you think they are overpriced, send a message by Not buying the product, but don't try to justify theft by making it sound like they are being greedy and you are just wanting to spread the word.

Answer 11

Its not using jesus.
Just like the other music artist that sell their CD its not a sin to sell CD's for money .
Christian artist have to make their money back for what they spend just like anyone else does.
Just because their music is about jesus doesnt mean it should be free.