How To Get To Heaven When You Die

[Wickabee]

left it a bit out of context;

17 then peter and john placed their hands on them, and they received the holy spirit.

18 when simon saw that the spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money

19 and said, “give me also this ability so that everyone on whom i lay my hands may receive the holy spirit.”

20 peter answered: “may your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of god with money!

21 you have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before god.

22 repent of this wickedness and pray to the lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.

It's not saying money is bad, but it cannot buy your way to god

money is not evil, just the people who use it for evil purposes are sinners

preach!

[shrewsbury]

not about preaching, but people can take anything out of context of any book and make it appear what it is not.

[Paddington]

uh...yeah. So why does every religion want everyone's money?

IF a church or otherwise tries to tell you that you can pay your way into heaven, then they are lying to you. Read this first post about how to get to heaven when you die. Do you see anything about money in there? The tithing goes to help pay for expenses as well as send out missionaries and pay the salary of the ministers. I don't agree with the ones who focus the whole time on getting people to send in money. It's not about what men say. It's about what God says. The bible is God's word. Read it.

[Paddington]

left it a bit out of context;

17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money

19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.

it's not saying money is bad, but it cannot buy your way to God

money is not evil, just the people who use it for evil purposes are sinners

It wasn't really taken out of context. The point of my posting the verse was to show that the gift of God (Salvation) cannot be purchased with money. The verse certainly proves that in context.

[shrewsbury]

actually you were referring to the church being called a business

[Wickabee]

IF a church or otherwise tries to tell you that you can pay your way into heaven, then they are lying to you. Read this first post about how to get to heaven when you die. Do you see anything about money in there? The tithing goes to help pay for expenses as well as send out missionaries and pay the salary of the ministers. I don't agree with the ones who focus the whole time on getting people to send in money. It's not about what men say. It's about what God says. The bible is God's word. Read it.

What about churches who "shame" people into giving money by passing the collection plate around for all to see?

[AUTaxMan]

What about churches who "shame" people into giving money by passing the collection plate around for all to see?

Passing the collection plate does not and is not intended to "shame" people into giving, contrary to what you may believe. There is no stigma attached to those who pass the plate without putting anything in it. There is a general understanding in the church that people give by different methods and at different times. Thus, we don't assume someone is not giving to the church merely because they don't drop a few bucks in the offering plate when it is passed on Sundays.

[Wickabee]

Passing the collection plate does not and is not intended to "shame" people into giving, contrary to what you may believe. There is no stigma attached to those who pass the plate without putting anything in it. There is a general understanding in the church that people give by different methods and at different times. Thus, we don't assume someone is not giving to the church merely because they don't drop a few bucks in the offering plate when it is passed on Sundays.

Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. If that were the case, they wouldn't publicly pass the plate around for everyone to see how much you put in.

But let's say that is the (highly unlikely) case. How about churches that demand tithes?

[mrveggieman]

I know most churches in the south make you stand up walk to the front of the church to give thides. If you are sitting down everyone can see that you are not giving anything that week.

[AUTaxMan]

Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. If that were the case, they wouldn't publicly pass the plate around for everyone to see how much you put in.

But let's say that is the (highly unlikely) case. How about churches that demand tithes?

If you choose not to believe the facts, I can't help you. Every church I have ever attended or even visited (mostly of the Southern Baptist denomination) provides envelopes for you to put your money or check in so that you can keep people from seeing how much you give, if you choose to do so. The overwhelming majority of people use the envelopes. I would also state that I have never been to a church that requires you to stand up to donate to the church. That is certainly not a Southern Baptist practice.

Also, churches don't demand tithes. God does.