If a pastor or church leader has ever told you that the Bible commands Christians to tithe or give 10% of their income; hit you up for multiple offerings during one service; made you march up front to give; asked you to donate to a mysterious "building fund" or give a "first-fruit" offering; or even given special recognition to big givers in your congregation, Lee and other pastors have a message for you:
You are getting played.
These rituals, they say, violate New Testament teachings about how and why people should give.
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/14/us/s ... index.html
Here's a challenge for all the Bible sleuths out there: Find a New Testament passage that explicitly declares that all Christians must tithe, or give 10% of their income.
The pressure to give is enormous, Lee says. In many churches, smiling ushers beckon people to march up front to deposit their offerings. Someone who has no money to give is left to sit alone in the pew for all the church to see.
It's give or be shamed, Lee says.
"Religious leaders will find a way to use guilt somehow," he says.
Some say that using guilt isn't bad. Shouldn't people be shamed if they're not generous? But how and why someone should be generous -- perhaps that's ultimately up to the person in the pew.
So when the organist hits those celestial chords to signal offering time or a smiling usher beckons you out of your pew, ask yourself:
Am I about to freely give -- or is this a Sunday morning stickup?
Temple week is Stick-Up week....