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pnewton
Guest
I liked this one.
Since we are slamming on the good ones, I thought this was a good example.
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monicabay
Guest
Because its upsetting to see people use God for their own gain, Because Jesus lived a simple life, without luxury, and wants us to do the same. Because their are people in real need, and men of God should be trying to help them. Because they are so judgmental about Catholics.
Its disheartening to see such riches when they should be in the trenches really making a difference.
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Sailor_Kenshin
Guest
Sounds like jealousy and class envy. The more I see Catholics wag their fingers at those who are NOT Catholic and therefore not bound by the rules of our church, the less I want to be one.
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MissRose73
Guest
“I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists” (from a song I know)
I do not understand how so many of them can live in the lap of luxury & pay their employees extremely well yet ask for donations but yet they seem to be living so well. Perhaps, some of the donations & money raised from appearance fees etc could go into the local communities to perform some works of mercy like fixing homes, donations to schools, donations to food banks, etc.
I do not understand how so many of them can live in the lap of luxury & pay their employees extremely well yet ask for donations but yet they seem to be living so well. Perhaps, some of the donations & money raised from appearance fees etc could go into the local communities to perform some works of mercy like fixing homes, donations to schools, donations to food banks, etc.
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Hokomai
Guest
They are no better or worse than any other rich people. If people buy their products and donate money freely, then all you can say is that they are rich. Their means of acquiring it is pretty good from an environmental point of view, and they don’t seem to be exploiting a lot of workers in the third world. You can’t say the same for the investments many of us have in retirement funds etc. The other thing is that all these mega-rich pastors have much more hair than any Pope I can think of. Why is that?
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Chaplain777
Guest
Do you own anything other than the clothes on your back, and rely on the people you meet for shelter and food?
How do you know they are not helping people in need?
As far as being judgemental about Catholics…what are you doing now with your post?
Finally, how do you know they are not making a difference?
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Link0126
Guest
Hey they are making a difference, they’re done gettin’ people saved I tell ya!
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Chaplain777
Guest
Well if they ain’t, they are "fixin’ to" …Hey they are making a difference, they’re done gettin’ people saved I tell ya!
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Cat
Guest
Rick Warren IS doing a lot to bring about world peace. He and his wife have done some beautiful work in Africa.
So is Franklin Graham. He’s done a lot of work for the less-fortunate. The entire Graham family is involved with helping those less fortunate than themselves.
We shouldn’t judge people as “bad” just because they have a high income. (Likewise, we shouldn’t assume that just because someone is “poor” that they are “good.”)
We shouldn’t assume that Christians are doing nothing just because we personally don’t know what their good works are. We have no idea what people are doing anonymously, although it is easy to find out what Warren and Graham are doing from all the articles about them and their good works. God said that we shouldn’t do our good works to be noticed. Much of what Graham and Warren do is probably known only to God. We have no right to judge them.
Rick Warren makes most of his income from his best-selling books (Purpose Driven). He doesn’t shove the books down someone’s gullet–people, including many non-Christians, buy PD books and materials of their own free will.
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Cat
Guest
It seems you are assuming that the people who attack the Catholic Church over her wealth are the same people who are involved with financially-well-off megachurches.
That’s quite an assumption.
I would be willing to guess that many of the people who attack the Catholic Church over her wealth are actually Catholics who have a personal ax to grind against the Church. But I will confess that I do not know who actually attacks the Catholic Church over her wealth–I’m just guessing.
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Sojourner61
Guest
Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount that you can’t serve God and money. Seems to me that when it comes to these extremely wealthy folks, the fruits of their works will show whether they are genuine or charlatans. Are they helping the widows and orphans in their trouble? Are they giving shelter to the homeless and destitute? Are they providing medical services to folks who can’t afford them? I know the Catholic Church is, and doing a fine job of it! I don’t think it’s wrong to question the motives of those who appear to be pursuing monetary gain and using God as the means to do so. Judge them? I won’t-it ain’t my job. I can, however make the casual observation that the aforementioned ‘loaded’ preachers don’t appear to be living a simple, uncluttered life that a minister of the Gospel should be. Just my 2 cents.
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ltwin
Guest
I don’t like it when pastors live like millionaires off of the tithes and offerings of God’s people. However, I think we should distinguish those preachers who do that from those preachers who make most or all of their money from book sales and give much to charity.
Now, one can argue that any minister of the Gospel should seek to live modestly and millionaire preachers aren’t doing that. That argument does have merit.
Now, one can argue that any minister of the Gospel should seek to live modestly and millionaire preachers aren’t doing that. That argument does have merit.
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Annabelle_Marie
Guest
That’s because it’s the health and welfare gospel…don’t you know that Jesus wants you to drive a Mercades? It should be noted that not all Protestants are like this…as someone brought up Billy Graham as a good example…
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Bezant
Guest
Staggering, unquestioned personal wealth of prosperity theology pastors is reason #14 out of 131 as to why I could not be a Protestant (no offense to Protestants).
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Cat
Guest
Everyone should live the way God calls them to live. God does not require all Christians to live simply and reject riches.
There is no Biblical or Church mandate requiring a Christian to live a simple life of relative poverty. Priests and religious have a vocation that often requires vows of poverty. But other Christians do not have this vocation. Protestant ministers are not priests and don’t claim to be. The same vows of poverty are not binding to them.
Take a look at Acts 16: 14-15, and read about Lydia, a businesswoman who sold purple fabrics. She was obviously well-off, and there is no mention that she sold all her possessions and lived the simple life when she became a Christian.
Often, only millionaires are able to reach out with the Gospel to other millionaires. No one else can get near them. Although occasionally poor religious or simple-lifestyle pastors attract the attention of the wealthy and become “darlings” of society (e.g., Blessed Mother Theresa), more often than not, millionaires communicate and RESPOND best with other millionaires. A lot of the wealthy admired Mother Theresa and gave her gifts in public, but not too many actually took her message to heart, rejected sin (e.g., abortion rights), and became outspoken Christians and abortion foes.
That’s where people like Rick Warren come in–well-educated and articulate, highly sucessful, and walking in the same circles as those who are in the upper echelons of society. While you and I would never get close to millionaires, Rick Warren is able to befriend them. God has given him the wealth and fame in order to help him minister to wealthy people, and he does so.
And this is true of “high society”, too. We have a group of people in our city who are well-heeled (not necessarily millionaires, but some are), and many of these people live and move in very different circles than people like my husband and me. Believe it or not, this is a difficult group of people to reach with the Gospel, as they have so much and don’t realize that spiritually, they are poor. Also, because of their wealth and social status, they are rather isolated from “regular” people. Their friends are other rich people, and that’s who is best at reaching them with the Gospel message. They feel comfortable in fine surroundings, and would never feel at ease sitting in my dusty old living room filled with cheap furniture, homemade bookshelves, and figure skating memoribilia.
I think we need to question our own use of the finances that God has trusted us with. But I think that we should not criticize others who happen to have been trusted with great wealth. I agree with one of the posters above who said that only God knows what they do with their money in secret, and He will reward those who use their wealth to invest in eternal matters.
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Petergee
Guest
- Avarice is aginst the natural law, not just “the rules of our Church”.
- The leaders of the Catholic Church have a sacred duty to lead **all **who claim to follow Christ.
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Petergee
Guest
And it’s a two edged sword, because also non-Christians see these guys and then they accuse** all** Christians, even Catholics, of being like that.
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JustaServant
Guest
It’s a link to an article making its way across the net. I didn;t write it myself.
If you don’t want to participate in the conversation then I have to ask why do you care?
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Cat
Guest
But you can’t make the judgement that someone is avaricious (is that a word?) just because they have a large home, nice car (s), etc. Where is the “dividing line?” How big does the house have to be before someone crosses the line from “not being avaricious” to “being avaricious?”
In some cities (St. Louis suburbs, e.g.), a very small home will sell for a million dollars. That same home in my city would sell for $60,000. So is the person living in St. Louis avaricious when they buy that small home, but they’re not sinning if they buy it in my city?
Sometimes a person who is poor is avaricious because they cling to their few possessions and treasure them above all else.
Avarice cannot be assessed based on how much we have, but on our attitude towards what we have.
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