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Well, as a religious practice, it's only really as fake as any other religion is... Which I'll leave as an exercise for the reader to debate.
by DanHulton 8y ago
Well, as a religious practice, it's only really as fake as any other religion is... Which I'll leave as an exercise for the reader to debate.
- crankylinuxuser 8y agoSo... When Christian churches tell congregants that tithing 10% saves your soul, are they engaging in fraud?
- krapp 8y agoChristian churches shouldn't be telling anyone that, because that's not how Christianity works, but if they did, yes I think they would be.
- Retric 8y agohttps://www.britannica.com/topic/indulgence https://www.britannica.com/topic/indulgence Now days it’s not mainstream, but I suspect a few preachers/televangelist has suggested such things more recently.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoSelling indulgences was never mainstream or officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church, and it was formally banned almost 500 years ago. And, in any case, many modern churches and denominations are only tenuously connected to Catholicism of any era.
- Retric 8y agoIt was Catholic doctrine at the time, and a significant portion of the protestant reformation. 'Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences. Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther Now, I am not saying the church selling indulgences from a specific menu of sins > prices was mainstream. But, the idea of good works on earth and specifically giving to the church being a good work was very much so. There are also cases of rather significant donations to the church connected to this idea. PS: Note, this is about reducing time spent in purgatory, not buying your way into heaven. Purgatory was supposed to be a very unpleasant place, but your stay was going to be temporary either way.
- Spooky23 8y agoIndulgences aren't a thing. The Catholic church today encourages giving "from the heart" without a specific tithe, and doesn't have a concept of indulgences. Mainline protestant churches fundamentally rejected the practice of indulgence. Evangelical churches are different from church to church by nature.
- joshuacc 8y agoThis is incorrect. The Catholic Church still practices the use of indulgences, just not their sale. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church which was promulgated by John Paul II in 1992 and last revised by Pope Francis this year. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM
- saiya-jin 8y agoI would put the word fraud on almost all church activities, but this is just my purely personal view.
- Waterluvian 8y agoThey have to launder it a little. The tithe helps keep the church there. The church helps you practice your faith. And practicing your faith may help save your soul.
- nfriend 8y agoAbsolutely, as this runs counter to one of core tenants of Christianity - saved by grace alone.
- _emacsomancer_ 8y agoNot all Christianity is Calvinistic/Puritanical, so no. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_gratia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_gratia
- nkrisc 8y agoIf you're going to take money for performing a service, you should be able to demonstrate that the service has been performed. Otherwise, yes, I'd call it fraud.
- pessimizer 8y agoNah, there's no way to prove that it doesn't. To prove fraud would require an examination of the soul both before and after tithing.