They’re increasing donations to the poor, curing the sick, turning the other cheek, reducing judging people and thinking less of money and more of the hereafter? Great! That will come in handy during the next earthquakes, hurricanes or tornados as helping others will be stressed.
Or do you mean they are “prosperity Christians” that don’t actually follow any of the tenets of the religion?
>They’re increasing donations to the poor, curing the sick, turning the other cheek, reducing judging people and thinking less of money and more of the hereafter?
Don't forget respecting foreigners and forgiving debts.
I don't understand how someone can hoard wealth and be called a Christian.
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Mark 11:24: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
Malachi 3:10: "'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.'"
Matthew 25: 29-30: "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The Bible is a pretty big book. There's something in it to justify just about anything you want to believe.
That does sometimes involve tapdancing around the plain meaning of some other parts. That's called "prooftexting", and it's frowned on by serious theologians, but the kind of people who hoard wealth usually aren't serious theologians.
I am more prone to believe the rich always play games to maximize public approval (for votes or sales) with stories they want you to believe.
Much like Trump, they are playing PR/politics due to the culture shift.
> Rich and powerful people have quite a different attitude and approach to truth and lies and games compared to ordinary people.
https://youtu.be/m6lObdE3s10?t=245
The vast majority of the rich got their money by extracting it from lots of other people (e.g. not paying staff their worth or over-pricing goods and services etc) and so they usually have a default belief that other people exist to be fleeced by them.
Probably very well.
What do you call a "Christian" who believes Jesus did some stuff but doesn't follow his teachings?
Besides "superstitious", that is.
I suspect it's performative. Going to church, praying with others, these are performances. Doing the good deeds is what counts.
I don't understand how someone can believe that Jesus was divine and the son of God etc, but then choose to discard his teachings. That seems to me be far more damning than someone who does not believe in Jesus.
Is it one of those things where it doesn't mean what it obviously means? I gave up studying the Bible because there were too many of those for me to follow.
But it seems to me like it would be crazy hard to push a camel through a needle. Also, it's one of those things where I think the translation is a bit off. Apparently the word in Aramaic is said like "gamla" which does sound rather like camel, but also meant rope, which makes a lot more sense in context, though still pretty difficult to get through a needle.
Or do you mean they are “prosperity Christians” that don’t actually follow any of the tenets of the religion?