While Evangelicals love to tell us that the Catholic Church is "all about money", the far greater amount of church offerings paid per capita by Evangelicals make the revenue per parishioner make the cash flow at St. Miscellaneous look look mere trickle.
Pastor Steven Furtick, whose name should be "furtive", apparently has made enough in salary from his church and book sales - the time for writing being available due the the nature of his job that is paid for by worker-members, that he was able to have a massive-sized house built.
Even with the knowledge that - in this economy, lots of people could use some help (or at least be free of being reminded how well-off some are), he still feels comfortable with going whole hog on a house that will be sufficient for his station in life.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/28/should-pastors-live-in-extravagant-homes-preachers-16000-sq-foot-house-sparks-debate/
"Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., has sparked monumental controversy over a new 16,000-square-foot home he is building with his wife, Holly.
The home’s size and cost have renewed a question that often follows large ministries and churches: Is it wrong for faith leaders to command large salaries and live in mansions?
Despite the attention, Furtick doesn’t appear to be backing down or apologizing. He spent the first 10 minutes of his Sunday sermon essentially defending the home and proclaiming that all blessings come from God, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“My wife and I made a decision, and we built a house,” he said. “It’s a big house, and it’s a beautiful house, and we thank God for it …. We understand everything we have comes from God.”
WCNC-TV reported that the home has 7 1/2 bathrooms and that the contract value of the house is $1.4 million. In addition, the land was $325,000. In sum, the home will cost about $1.7 million.
While Furtick didn’t apologize, he did tell the congregation he was sorry that they were forced to have “uncomfortable conversations” in recent days and told the congregation that he has always worked hard to protect Elevation’s reputation.
“I have always tried to make this a church where you could be proud of your church,” the preacher said, going on to pledge a renewed commitment to having a ministry that is characterized by integrity.
No church money has been used to build the home. While Furtick is spending his own money from book sales, Ole Anthony, president of the Trinity Foundation, a group that examines religious fraud, says there are still some ethics issues at play....."
Many Evangelicals shamelessly insist that Christians are obligated to tithe - a ten percent offering of one's gross income, rather than allow them to decide how much they should contribute. Tithing is a great thing, but it is no way at all a standard or required practice for Christians. They clamor about the Catholic Church and their money, then, when confronted with the reality that Evangelicals reap far more per member than any Catholic church from tithes, promptly do a volte-face accuse people who do not tithe of not being true Christians.
Talk about "Damned if you do and damned if you don't."
This attitude exists throughout Evangelical Christianity. On an Evangelical radio show Money Matters, the host was once asked by a mother about her concerns for her 13 year-old daughter who did not desire to tithe. The host offered no advice, but merely asked "Well, is she saved?". He then went on to tell the distraught mom that, if her daughter was in fact "saved" (an terms that is used by Evangelicals to mean someone who believes in Christianity to the point that he is a permanent lock for salvation), then she would "want" to tithe.
See, it's that simple. In their world, making a decision to offer what you believe you can afford is a sign that you are not "saved" and therefore not even a Christian.
Mandatory tithes are the scam of the century and the abuses of indulgences in 16th century Germany pale in comparison
Mandatory tithes are the scam of the century and the abuses of indulgences in 16th century Germany pale in comparison
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