Money and Religion

Here's something I thought worth discussing. What role should money play in religion? Should money matter at all? Is money a major problem with religion?

I know a lot of people that have had negative experiences with money and religion, so feel free to post about that as well (positive experiences too!).

Oh no!:cover:

:d....:d

Am I missing something here?

I pay my tithing because of the blessings that come from it.

In Islam, Zakah (i.e. charity) is one of the 5 main pillars of religion

Money is very important when used wisely, and helping others out in times of hardship or distress is a very important teaching in Islam

Wealthy Muslims, who own more than the value of 85 g. of gold in savings for more than a year, should pay 2.5% of their wealth to the poor and needy each year

It's a means to establish social justice and one of the basis of a caring society

There are two conflicting schools of thought that come up with this. Some believe that the money given to a church/ religion should be used sparingly for the material needs of the church, and majorly for charitable purposes. The other believes that the more beautiful and exquisite the place of worship is, the more it shows love and worship to the divine.

People get upset when their money is being handled for something they don't agree with. Some organizations go one way, some go another. Neither is wrong though.

I hardly ever paid tithing.... and trust me I heard about it. I agree that blessings will come from it though.

Wealth is a trust given to us from God

We will be questioned on the Day of Judgement how we earned our money, and how we spent it

That's why the poor will enter heaven 500 years before the rich: they won't be questioned

Churches need money to function. I would rather it come from tithing than any other source (e.g. the government).

Hi!

I might refer you to the Baha'i Faith for a refreshing example of how money is treated!

Specifically, Baha'is accept contributions ONLY from formally-enrolled members, and never solicit funds (or other donations) from non-members!

(And even for members, contributions are completely voluntary and strictly confidential. (The only exception that the Treasurer knows who gives what solely so a tax-deduction receipt can be written; the Treasureer may never tell anyone else who did or didn't give, let alone how much! And if a member doesn't want a receipt, he or she may contribute anonymously.)

No collection plate is ever pased!

Works great for us!

And you'll never see a Baha'i on the tube begging for money!

Best,

Bruce

So it doesn't seem like anyone thinks that, to quote a popular phrase, "money is the root of all evil". I've never agreed with this statement, because money is simply currency. If it isn't used for selfless purposes, it is instead used for selfish purposes.

However, even though most people understand that there is a lot of good that religion can do with money, there seems to be a general distrust of religion in this respect (in the popular culture). Is this simply an untruth, or maybe lately religion has not proven itself to the general public that it has the best intentions.

For example, Christian churches usually use offerings for two things: missions and themselves. The problem I see with this (while neither of those are bad things to spend money on) is that a church usually represents a particular community. Their members all live in the same basic vicinity, which includes a handful of nearby towns. If the church's purpose is to reach out to those in need and demonstrate a feeling of inclusion, shouldn't a local church make a more LOCAL effort in where its money goes? I mean, sending your money to Africa is great and all, but what about the needs of people across the street? To me, that seems like a love that is more real and observable.

I do not mean to say that money should be used by religion so that it is more easily seen, but that the church should not merely represent its members (those who choose to give them money) but the entire community as a whole.

The actual quote is: "The love of money is the root of all evil." Money is a human invention, but if you look at "the love of money" you are describing many sins including greed, covetousness, theft, murder, etc.

So if one's love of money is greater than one's love of other human beings, then that is evil.

Regards,

Scott

I think the love of anything over the love of others is evil. That's what 'idolatry' is.

Rather, I would say that the desire for power and control is the root of all evil. All sins can be traced back to this desire.

I support my local temple but it is a much different deal than most religious institution's. We have boxes marked "feed the homeless", "monks medical insurance", "building fund" and so on. The Wat or temple is the center of the village here and each village has one except for a few Muslim and Christian settlements. We have our town meetings at the Wat, parties, funerals, recreational activities and so on. The poor that can not afford education go to the Wat and the monks teach them everything from reading and writing to business and economics. In the morning the monks leave the Wat shoeless and walk the streets with their alms bowls and the people offer the daily meal to them out of compassion and kindness this practice helps us to keep life in prospective and remember humility. Everyone here shares and giving to the Wat so they can be a public service is a good thing as far as most of us are concerned.

The cost for a place of worship- $456,315

The cost for electricity to run this place-About $138 a month

Year Rounder Cassock- $232.00

Paschel Candelsticks-$725.00

Processional Crosses-$1,424.00

A personal REALationship with GOD-Priceless

In Hinduism there is allowance for Artha or the accummulation of wealth. However, since the main goal in life is Moksha or freedom from the cycle of births, we must be detached from whatever material possessions we have. Attachment keeps us in Samsara or this cycle of births. Whatever is given to us is only temporary. What we have can be taken back in the same way that it was given. We should not grieve because it was never ours to begin with. We cannot carry any material possessions with us when we die.