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First of all, you can say I do not support the church
because I am not really convinced that there is much need for
what it teaches. I believe that moral and ethical education is
best left to the schools. In their formative years, children are
best served by teachers with credentials who are competent to
teach them the requisite moral values of our society. Further,
with such excellent TV programs as Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, the
Simpsons, South Park, Saturday morning cartoons, and even
professional wrestling with its emphasis on fair play and the
ultimate triumph of good over evil, they are learning all they
need to know about moral and ethical behavior.
In addition, we have always had adequate models for our
youth to emulate in the ranks of professional athletes and rock
`n' roll stars - even Madonna's NAME comes from Christian
tradition. Just because some stars choose names like Smash Mouth
or Barenaked Ladies or Old Dirty Bastard should not turn us off -
the choice is an attention-getting device, not something we
should presume reflects inappropriate values. These people
represent the highest and best of current culture, sportsmanship,
business sense, and personal conduct. Our youngsters do not need
all these ancient Bible stories that are very often confusing
anyway.
I do not support my church because there is no need for any
voice calling for ethical standards in national life. I trust
our elected officials to show the way. The President, of course,
is our national role model. Granted, he has had a lapse or two,
but boys will be boys; overall, his conduct has been exemplary.
Congress, for its part, has a code that typifies the highest
standards expected of anyone, and ALL of our Senators and
Representatives adhere to it. They have even exempted themselves
from job discrimination requirements and sexual harassment
regulations because they CONSISTENTLY uphold the highest possible
standards ANYWAY. These are fine folks who are attacked
unfairly. Here in Guilford County, our Commissioners have
consistently demonstrated the highest standards for political
discourse. We can proudly hold our politicians up as paradigms
for our youth and for ourselves.
Frankly, all the professions have ethical standards that are
more than adequate. The American Bar Association, for example,
has a code to which ALL attorneys adhere, and I fully trust their
integrity. Similarly, the AMA assures me that physicians are
governed by the highest ethical standards and they ALL abide by
them. Indeed, with only the rarest exception, we all know that
the primary interest of these skilled and dedicated lawyers and
doctors is to insure that the community is served - they could
care less about making money. There is no need for the church to
stick its nose into their affairs.
I do not support my church because I think families are well
served by professional marriage counselors and public school
personnel. We do not need any more programs designed to promote
family unity than already exist. Churches just foul things up.
Young couples do not have time for church anyway.
I do not support my church because it spends inordinate
resources in taking care of people who are best left to
themselves. There is no reason for ministers to take time going
to see old folks in hospitals or nursing homes. They are no
longer of any use to themselves or society. All they are is a
drain. Just because they were worth something in years past is
no reason to think that they are worth anything now. If they are
no longer making any significant contribution to society, they
have no right to expect anything from anybody. I do not OWE them
anything for what they did in the past; I should not be expected
to support misguided attempts at worthless compassion.
I do not support my church because it is always getting
involved in controversy. Whether it has to do with migrant
workers' rights, arms talks, racial or gender discrimination or
what have you, the church has no business trying to influence our
government in these matters. We have officials who are more than
competent to do these things all by themselves, and they do a
wonderful job.
Speaking of issues, I am tired of the mainline church
continually attacking the second amendment to our Constitution
with its advocacy of more odious gun laws. As Charlton Heston
(Moses himself!) has noted in testimony before Congress, we
already have more than 22,000 gun laws on the books around this
nation, and as the bumper stickers clearly point out, "When guns
are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Granted, the
incidents this week in Seattle and Honolulu, the shootings at the
church in Ft. Worth, at Columbine High School, and so on, are
unfortunate. But, as they say, if you are going to make an
omelette, you have to break some eggs. If we occasionally lose
some folks, that is the price we have to pay for maintaining our
constitutionally-guaranteed freedom. The church should butt out
and shut up.
I do not support my church because the government does all
that is necessary to insure justice and fairness in our
community. The church should stop meddling. Leave these things
to the city council or the mayor or the police department or the
judges. We know very well that all these folks are totally
unselfish and would never cover up internal wrongdoing when it
comes to making sure everyone in our society is treated with
dignity and respect.
I do not support my church because the agencies of our
national government do all that is necessary to assist people in
Third World countries. Our foreign aid is generous. We already
send food and money. We certainly do not need agencies from the
church piddling in the affairs of places like Mexico or Kosovo or
Bangladesh.
I do not support my church because the money people give
there is wasted anyway. They pay ministers huge salaries for
working an hour a week. They spend money for choir directors and
organists who do nothing more than any willing volunteer could
handle. They pay for custodians to maintain the physical plant,
but volunteers could handle that each week. Me? No. I do not
have time. Besides my work, I have other commitments at my club,
but I know there are plenty of folks who DO have time, so this is
money that does not have to be spent!
Frankly, if I were to give to support anything religious, it
would go to those dedicated servants of God who have had the
foresight and drive to concentrate their ministries on
television. They do a better job in handling money. I could
pick any of them, but Pat Robertson is as good an example as any.
Over the course of years, Pat built a powerful empire through the
generous gifts of thousands of individuals around the nation. He
parlayed those gifts into a television outreach called the Family
Channel that became so attractive that Rupert Murdock and the Fox
network bought it in 1997 for $1.9-billion.(1) Of those proceeds,
Pat and his son Tim (who had been installed as president of the
corporation) kept, if I recall correctly, some $170-million for
themselves. As might be expected, the busy-bodies in the church
complained that this was highly unethical, but, PISH-TOSH!
Sounds to me like smart business. This Robertson knows what he
is doing when it comes to money. THERE is someone who deserves
my support.
In contrast, the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly
mission budget last year was just under $56-million. With those
dollars, the church supported eleven seminaries, 72 colleges and
secondary schools, hundreds of fraternal workers or missionaries,
countless health or welfare related institutions (such as
hospitals, nursing and retirement homes) and projects in every
synod and presbytery. In addition, these funds provided famine
relief, resettlement of refugees, programs of self-development at
home and overseas, and resources for more effective ministry and
worship in almost 11,300 congregations across the land.(2) As the
figures clearly indicate, the church has no idea how to handle
the money it has. It obviously tries to support too many things
with the dollars available with the result that very little is
accomplished.
I do not support my local church because I do not feel it is
MINE anyway. I only really need it for the occasional baptism,
marriage, or funeral...hatching, matching, and dispatching...so
there is no real need for it to keep its doors ALWAYS open. I
realize that the phone company asks me to pay a certain amount
for a telephone each month whether I use it or not, and the cable
TV costs the same each month whether I turn the set on or not,
and the electric company and water company have me pay a minimum
charge no matter what. But the church is different. I want it
to be there when I want it. When I need it, I do not mind paying
a few dollars for those services, but for me to pay for the
services that everyone ELSE gets is absolutely unfair.
I do not support my church because it is always harping
about generosity. I am convinced that the sentimental hogwash we
get at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Pledge time, and so on has done
as much harm to this nation as anything ever. The church has
created the impression that we somehow OUGHT to help those less
fortunate than ourselves. That is absurd. Just because I had
the benefit of being born into a family that could afford to feed
and clothe and educate me does not mean I should support those
who did not have those benefits - it is not MY fault they didn't.
I am not my brother's keeper.
To be honest, I think that Soup Kitchens, Clothes Closets,
shelters for the homeless, and the like send the wrong kind of
message. If someone really wants food or clothing or a roof over
their head, they can get it the old fashioned way - EARN IT!
If they do not work, they should not eat! If a young mother
wants to stay home to take care of her babies instead of going
out and earning a living, that is her decision. If a father
loses his job and does not immediately take something else (dish
washing, day labor, or whatever), then he and his family deserve
to starve. If the kids go hungry because the parents are not
working, too bad. That is not my fault.
I do not support my church because I do not believe in
evangelism. I do not believe that we should try to influence
people concerning matters of faith. We all know that it does not
matter what people believe, as long as they are sincere. I know.
Yada, yada, yada. Yes, Hitler was surely sincere in his beliefs,
but he was an aberration and should not enter into this
discussion.
I do not support my church because it raises funds in the
wrong way. All this talk about, "The love of money is the root
of all kinds of evil" and "more blessed to give than to receive"
is foolishness. Anyone with any sense knows it is better and far
more fulfilling to GET than to GIVE. Giving NEVER makes anyone
feel good. If there is any organization that ought to be honest,
it is the church. The church is not honest, and I have trouble
supporting anything that would lie to me.
But there is more to it than that. I do not support my
church or any organization that TELLS me what I am expected to
give. I resent the church saying that a tithe, ten percent off
the top of my income, is the appropriate standard. Giving by
percentage is unfair, because that means the more I make, the
more I would have to give. I realize that the government does it
that way, and I pay my taxes on that basis, whether I like it or
not. But that should not be surprising. To be honest, the IRS
worries me more than God does.
By the way, all this talk about RETURNING to God a set
portion of what I have is tommyrot. The money I have, I EARNED -God had nothing to do with it. As far as all this about God
giving me the talent, the ability, and the health to get what I
have - well, I guess so; but that does not mean I owe God
anything for that. That was God's job. God SHOULD have done
that, just because I am a good person.
I refuse to support my church because they ask me to commit
myself ahead of time to a certain amount that I would anticipate
giving. That is absurd. NO ONE should expect me to do that. I
know that I have always expected my employers to tell me what
they would pay me so I could plan my budget. I know that the
bank expects that I tell them how much I will pay when I finance
a home or a car - after all, what kind of organization would let
me get away with saying I will pay what I can, when I can, IF I
can? But the church is different. For my church to ask me to
help them plan their finances for the coming year is ridiculous.
After all, if I actually write down what I plan to give, I might
be expected to give it, and I would rather have the freedom to
drop a few dollars in the plate or not if I feel like it. Forget
OFF THE TOP; this would ONLY be if I have anything left over.
I do not support my church because there are others here who
are in a much better position than I am to do it. Those who have
plenty of money should pay the bills. People like me ought not
be expected to give. I know that to meet the church budget my
wife and I should set aside our proportionate per member share,
but I would rather let someone else give mine and my family's. I
realize that this puts me in the position of being on religious
welfare, letting someone else pick up my tab, and I hate that in
any other area of life, but where the church is concerned, I do
not mind.
Finally, down to the nitty-gritty. I do not support my
church because I would rather spend my money in other ways. I
have so many other financial commitments that to add one more
would be the straw that broke the camel's back. I have a house
to pay for, two cars to run, clothes to buy, groceries to get,
medical expenses, insurance, club dues, vacations, and a little
bit for entertainment. If I put anything much in the offering
plate, I would hardly be able to afford the Sunday brunch after
the worship each week. I cannot afford to support the church
because I need to spend that money on me.
"Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable," eh?
Well, I HAVE felt pretty uncomfortable lately with reading and
hearing again about money and tithing. The church does not
deserve my support. Let us leave education to the educators,
government to the politicians, equal justice under law to the
courts and the police, role models for our youth to athletes and
entertainers, and matters of faith to each individual conscience.
Ultimately...I do not support my church because the world does
not need Jesus Christ.
Shocked? Lord, I hope so!
Amen!
1. http://apocalypse.berkshire.net/~ifas/fw/9809/empire.html 2. Figures from the PCUSA web site, http://www.pcusa.org
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