And for every $1,000 in food I ordered from the regional food bank for our assistance ministry, we saved $85.00 in sales tax.
I suppose if I was a church going type - which I'm not - and my preacher brought in a politician, I would make the reasonable assumption that he supported - and if it was election time - wanted me to vote for him/her. Since that would be the legal way to endorse a candidate without actually saying "vote for joe blow." Now there is little difference between that and preaching to your flock or herd or whatever to vote for a specific candidate. And if that difference really makes that much of difference to you, then more power to you. Now excuse me, I received the latest copy of Scientific American in the mail and I have some bible study to do. ;-)
I don't know why not. We had boatloads of JDubs. At least, that's what I gathered from their constant visits to our house. (For whatever reason, those particular JDubs were black, leading me to believe that JDubs in general tended to be black. I was surprised (and ashamed to be surprised) when, years later, I met a white one.) And how stupid is it to think that God is so petty that you have not only be Christian, but a particular flavor of Christian, in order to go to heaven?
Probably the doors slammed in their faces. Since neither one of us are home during the day, we don't get much and since everyone is carting their kids (except for us) to lacrosse, soccer, interpretive dance, ballet, band all morning, we don't see many around here. And they sure as shit know better than to go around disturbing people during OU/OSU games. Shit, for the most part, all of the Kingdom Hall's have either moved to the rural edge suburbs or small towns. I agree and believe that totally. There are a lot of my fellow Christians that are going to be surprised who gets in with them.
I don't think that. God doesn't say that. Jesus never said that. what Jesus said was: " I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father but through me." the particular religious flavor is unimportant and irrelevant.
Wouldn't that be something, Christians in heaven ask god, "hey where is Jesus", god replies, "We do not let Jewish people in heaven, so he is in hell".
yeah, I've pointed that out to many Christians. oh the irony of it. Jesus was born and died a Jewish man. Jesus did not establish Christianity. his disciples did. Antioch was the first place several years after Jesus' death that his followers were first called Christians.
For anyone seriously interested in Jesus' Jewish roots and the effect they have on his teaching, this edition of the New Testament is terrific... It's annotated with extensive commentary by Jewish scholars who connect Jesus to the rabbis of His time, and the great teachers of His past.
Fair enough, I was using the word "Subsidy" in it's general usage, not to imply that government actually writes a check to many churches. But if you want to argue that churches don't get huge financial advantages that secular charities don't get, I call bullcrap. Churches don't even have to disclose their financial activities to the IRS, so there is no accountability whatsoever. I'm sure your church takes the $20 bills out of the hat and uses it to feed the hungry. I'm also sure that the megachurch down the road funnels the millions that they get into slush funds, rent boys, and garbage bags full of cocaine. Furthermore, this amounts to a government endorsement of religion. Why should a minister be able to deduct housing expenses when a person leading a secular charity can't? Bull. Crap.
I put no limits on the mercy of God and the grace of Jesus Christ to grant everlasting life to those who have done his work and kept his commandments.
So me, the Hindus, Amerindians that follow old religions, Buddhist, Zoroastrians and Pegans are fucked. That is cool it will be cool to chill with Ghandi in Hell, shit there will probably be better people in hell with me.
Not sure there will be any actual "chilling" in hell. But it should still be fun frying with Ghandi et. al.
I'm almost certain there's a SF Giants joke in there. A pagan angel?? What's next? Jesus Satan? That's "Satan" pronounced Shatan, as in Miroslov Satan. Figure a Slovak mates with a Latin Mercan, and you could conceivably wind up with a Heysus Satan, which would beat an Angel Pagan.
Here's an idea for all of you: Church of Football. I know that there is a Maradonian Church already but ours will be more inclusive. And all of us can be Ministers! http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/...veryone-is-a-minister-no-one-pays-income-tax/ And off course since I'm THE ONE the brain that came up with the idea, I will manage your Earthly posessions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_Maradoniana Off course ours will be more inclusive... We will accept CR7 fans as well as Messi fans and even will acknowledge that Catenaccio can be a path to salvation.
I was taught that Mormonism is a cult. Some churches that I went to said that Catholics weren't Christians. My Catholic great-aunt was a better Christian than those people.