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>> People tithe and sacrifice to their church for a promise of rewards in the afterlife. > This is a fundamental misunderstanding of tithing and I’m not going

>> People tithe and sacrifice to their church for a promise of rewards in the afterlife. > This is a fundamental misunderstanding of tithing and I’m not going to get into that at the moment... I'll explain some from a fairly classic Protestant perspective. This was literally what started the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was horrified that the Church was essentially attempting to sell salvation via indulgences. He pointed out that the Bible teaches that salvation is completely free because Christ already paid for all our sins with his blood. I agree with Luther and I tithe out of pure gratitude. I think the Church belongs to Jesus and so do I because he's kind and gracious. All the money in the world can't buy my salvation, or even the smallest part of it. It's worthless to God, who made heaven and earth and all that is in them.

POPOSYS 4y ago
When you selected Martin Luther as your mental leader, have you been aware of his antisemitism? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism
- krapht 4y ago
  > When you selected Martin Luther as your mental leader That's not what I got from the post at all. Historically Martin Luther is extremely significant, and as that's as far as I can see why OP referenced him. And frankly, it's not very useful to apply modern norms to historical figures. I get the same vibe from your post as "Did you know Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? And raped Sally Heming? Clearly it was non-consensual because of their master-slave relationship."
  - POPOSYS 4y ago
    It is very important to apply modern norms to historical figures - to better understand the past and how misaligned ideas / movements / behaviors from the past can be in the present.
    - Breza 4y ago
      The ELCA has condemned his antisemitism while still lauding the brilliance of his theology. One is entirely separable from the other.
Breza 4y ago
Very well said. I think a lot of atheists would be interested in some of Luther's critiques of the church.

POPOSYS 4y ago

When you selected Martin Luther as your mental leader, have you been aware of his antisemitism? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism

krapht 4y ago
> When you selected Martin Luther as your mental leader That's not what I got from the post at all. Historically Martin Luther is extremely significant, and as that's as far as I can see why OP referenced him. And frankly, it's not very useful to apply modern norms to historical figures. I get the same vibe from your post as "Did you know Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? And raped Sally Heming? Clearly it was non-consensual because of their master-slave relationship."
- POPOSYS 4y ago
  It is very important to apply modern norms to historical figures - to better understand the past and how misaligned ideas / movements / behaviors from the past can be in the present.
  - Breza 4y ago
    The ELCA has condemned his antisemitism while still lauding the brilliance of his theology. One is entirely separable from the other.

Breza 4y ago

Very well said. I think a lot of atheists would be interested in some of Luther's critiques of the church.