Gone are the days of a beautiful religion, replaced by man, and his constant hunger for money and power.
2007-09-20 10:17:56 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
CLARIFY: I old added the "now" so people would rant that it wasn't originally intended for that, but I mean that "now" very broadly.
2007-09-20 10:23:57 · update #1
---TYPOS---
CLARIFY: I ONLY added the "now" so people wouldN'T rant that it wasn't originally intended for that, but I mean that "now" very broadly.
2007-09-20 10:25:10 · update #2
Beautiful=Before organized church.
I used it so I didn't disrespect Christianity.
2007-09-20 10:36:25 · update #3
almost every good thing someone will find a way to make a buck off of it ..
2007-09-20 10:21:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
It depends.
There are plenty of churches where that is the case. I would fit almost all televangelists and most mainstream churches in this slot.
However, many of the more conservative, fundementalist churches are very much focused on serving God and being accountable. To help you determine which is which, below is a list of things that my church does to prevent abuse, corruption, and profittering:
1- The church budget is open to review by any member.
2- We hire a CPA firm to audit our books every year.
3- The pastor's call is good for only one year. After that, he must be voted on by the congregation.
4- To prevent personality cults, the pastor's membership is not held at the church level. His membership is at the presbytery (collection of churches in a geographic area). Should there be a problem or if he begins preaching a heresy, a complaint can be filed with the presbytery which will investigate, try, and if necessary, remove the pastor.
5- The pastor is only one of a board of Elders that are elected for set terms to rule the church. The Elders do not handle money issues, that is the job of the Deacons.
6- The pastor does not have a vote on the Board of Elders, called the Session in our denomination. Nor does he have a vote with the Deacons, though he does act as an advisor.
These steps help prevent the sort of fears you have. See if your church has them and if you come up with other ideas, I would be interested in hearing about them.
2007-09-20 17:32:13 · answer #2 · answered by Tim 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A saying goes, "If you leave an open door, flies may come in, too."
As long as humans are involved, there will always be the potential for manipulators and powermongers. I know in my church, we all work hard to keep things on the "up and up".
Our pastor is not a lone ranger - he is under the authority of another, who is also under authority - each one is strong in character and Biblically grounded. This keeps people accountable. Often, problems arise when someone who is in authority is not submitted to any authority.
2007-09-20 17:27:34 · answer #3 · answered by TroothBTold 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christianity has nothing to do with the desires of man in this world. Nor does it have anything to do with what you call a beautiful religion.What you say is a matter of mans opinion.
There are those that have a label of a said Christian.
There are those that are chosen by God that have a heritage of Christianity. These are Christian.
There are many that are said to be Christian yet they are just actors in a play. (God plants his seed) The evil one plants a fabrication. They cause premeditated murder in the minds and hearts of the weak that call themselves seeking God.
2007-09-20 17:36:17 · answer #4 · answered by God is love. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that NOW, as well as many times in the past, people greedy for power, profit and corruption grab the title of Christianity in hopes to gain supporters. Not unlike dictators have grabbed the title of Marxist or Communist in hopes to gain followers. While the whole time there are those of us under the title and are saying "WTF???" to these people. Because those of us who know that these titles really mean arent in favor of how such people abuse it. When you have some powerful rich men claiming to be Christians, you have about 100,000+ other Christians saying "ummm I dont think so dude"
2007-09-20 17:29:41 · answer #5 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It always has been. Just read your history, the facts.
Religion in practice has never been a beautiful thing. The inquisition, the Crusades, all the wars fought in the name of religion, all the people who gained power, wealth and influence from religion. The list goes on for ever and shows no sign of slowing down.
2007-09-20 17:23:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Sadly, you're correct. Much of it has also been so corrupted with homophobia that it no longer resembles the love and faith espoused by Christ. You have far too many people celebrating and flaunting their homophobia and living proudly and openly in this sin. Their sin is more important to them than following Christ.
2007-09-20 18:04:48 · answer #7 · answered by Michael B - Prop. 8 Repealed! 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Now" as in "for the last 1900 years?
The gospels were written by me who had never met Jesus. Have been edited and 'corrected' to reflect desired doctrine.
Christianity has been abused for power, corruption and personal profiting for as long as there has been an organized church.
2007-09-20 17:33:18 · answer #8 · answered by Simon T 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
what "beautiful religion"? Christianity is based in the primitive and brutal belief in human blood sacrifice as a means of appeasing a cruel and monstrous god.
how is that "beautiful"?
PS. "Often, problems arise when someone who is in authority is not submitted to any authority." hehehe TroothBT ... you mean like GW Bush?
2007-09-20 17:25:13 · answer #9 · answered by nebtet 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Man has always hungered for power and riches, even in the beginning of time, this is nothing new.
2007-09-20 17:21:05 · answer #10 · answered by Mistress Woo♥ 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
In some places and areas, perhaps.
This is one reason Luther took the stance that he did.
Evil will prevail unless the Godly take a stand. It's always been this way.
2007-09-20 17:22:49 · answer #11 · answered by Jed 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋