u/If_Not_Now_We___

Take what you like & leave the rest.

For those who are generous and kindly, there is a certain pleasure derived from giving money. IME it slightly resembles the pleasure derived from gambling.

I have come to believe that the best Christian service is done free.

>Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received; freely give

Matthew 10:8

Now, I have a good pastor and a good church. I don't mind donating, but I would like to warn my kind and patient readers UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES give money to these organizations

- Mega Churches

- Prosperity Gospel. If God feels you serve him best by being broke in this life, pick up the cross. Keep the money these leeches would siphon and maybe you won't be as broke. Ask yourself this question - did God make St. John The Baptist rich?

- Churches that "Cast Out Demons" - there may be, literally, a couple of Churches who CAN do this, but mostly they're fake. Pray for those afflicted, but this cringe tradition is a red flag that points to a House of Satan, not of God.

- Churches that offer a date for "The End of Days". Total BS.

- Churches that "Heal" - by all means pray for the sick, but if someone is incurably sick, they have a time and a place appointed. We are ALL going to die. Rely on secular healthcare. God may choose to heal the sick, but if it happens it's not going to be a cringe public display. I have seen Nigerian Pastors "resurrect" people, and the game was given away by the blinking corpse. God has elected not to heal amputees, and I think focusing on "What God can do for me in THIS life" isn't, strictly speaking, Christianity. If I am dying of cancer, God isn't going to cure me. God may provide solace. As a Christian, I do not understand this, but perhaps in God's time, I will.

>Love is more stern & splendid than mere kindness

- Churches that "ask" for a tithe of 10%. Impudent beggars!

There is a pernicious pleasure about giving money, which, or so it seems to me, leads to sin. It it behooves us to give with Due Diligence. This means closing our wallets and zipping up our purse. Does a Church REALLY need money? Does the Church align with charity?

Lastly, NOT giving money carries a certain power with it. If the Church or the Pastor turns it's back on one who doesn't "pony up", they have been compelled to honesty. Conversely if the Church or Pastor doesn't mind that you choose not to give, they may be appropriate recipients for your donations. Don't put God to the test, but by all means put the Pastor and put the Church to the test. They're not God.

>Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Timothy 5:8

One of the main reasons I ended up back in the fold is thanks to the reasoned approach of my mentor. No threats of Hell, no condemnation, no casting out of "Demons", just reasoned argument, patience and a stellar example.

Sadly, such mentors are not easy to find. Proselytizing with threats of Hellfire and shouting at people through a megaphone is guaranteed to convert people. To Atheism.

And the absolute, utter, bedrock of cringe. "Casting out Demons".

Nope, nope, nope. The acting is so bad that the Pastor who is pretending to be a badass looks like a total bloody fool. People are just pretending (mostly). The individuals who stage these farces do so much to drive people away from Christianity. It smacks of pretense toward magicanship, and I'm glad in a way that they're NOT dealing with demons.

IF you think someone is "possessed", chances are that even if they were, almost nobody on our planet is qualified to deal with it.

If the person seems dangerous, call 911 and leave the area. Fast. Nike Defense works. Chances are the poor person may be having a mental health crisis - something which. again almost all of us simply aren't qualified to deal with. Recommend to the appropriate authorities. Get to minimum safe distance, hopefully it's a mental health crisis or a foolish person.

Matthew 7:22-23 points out that you can "cast out demons" and still go to Hell. IIRC, Jesus makes it clear that stronger demons can cast out weaker demons.

The Good News is, it's mostly fake. My personal favorite is the guy who is writhing around as the Pastor whacks him with a bible and then his cell rings and he answers

>Mummy, I got to go I'm at an anointing!

Funnier than Monty Python.

>They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

CS Lewis

So, in summary - if I thought I could cast out Imps, I would be concerned that the power granted to me to do so came not from Jesus. I'd almost certainly be mistaken, and just making a bloody fool of myself. But if I was NOT mistaken, I'd be in deep shit, and even if I was saved, I'd be allowing something into my life that has no business there, and would bring

I believe in Demons, and want nothing to do with them. I will pray for the afflicted, but am very grateful that most possessions can be chalked up to a dumb person and a dumb pastor.

These things should not be taken lightly, and even pretending may attract the real thing.

>Do not put The Lord Thy God to The Test.

>

>It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true Word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him.

>2)

>Humility isn't thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less.

>3)

>The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact.

>4)

>I am a democrat because I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others

>5)

>I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.

>6)

>I became my own only when I gave myself to Another

>7)

>For the Supernatural, entering a human soul, opens to it new possibilities both of good and evil. From that point the road branches: one way to sanctity, love, humility, the other to spiritual pride, self-righteousness, persecuting zeal. And no way back to the mere humdrum virtues and vices of the unawakened soul. If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. Of all created beings the wickedest is one who originally stood in the immediate presence of God.

(Remember - Jesus warned us to "Count The Cost".)

>8)

>The very person who has argued you down will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said.

>9)

>When they have really learned to love their neighbours as themselves, they will be allowed to love themselves as their neighbours.

>10)

>Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness.

Bonus

>There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal

Editor's Note...

In the heat of debate, I am sometimes rude. Please accept my apology. I am simply a foolish, sinful woman.