General Discussion

applegrove

(118,665 posts) Thu Oct 9, 2014, 08:26 PM Oct 2014

"Red States Give More To Churches, Not Charities"

Red States Give More To Churches, Not Charities

by Chris Trejbal at AmericaBlog

http://americablog.com/2014/10/red-states-give-churches-charities.html

"SNIP...........................

Religious people give a lot of money to charity because churches, synagogues and mosques count as charities in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. When they drop $1 or $20 on the collection plate on Sunday, it is a charitable donation.

To the IRS, a dollar given to the Thomas Road Baptist Church used to build an even grander palace for the Falwell clan in Virginia is the same as a dollar given to Meals on Wheels, the Red Cross or any number of charities that actually do some good in the world.

People in red states, then, give a lot of money to “charities” that do not do a whole lot of charitable work, unless you count convincing people to believe in fairy tales and to vote against their self-interest as charity.

Sure, some churches put donations to good work, but a lot more of that money goes to proselytizing and keeping preachers in the sort of lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed in an age of prosperity gospel.

...........................SNIP"

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

"Red States Give More To Churches, Not Charities" (Original Post) applegrove Oct 2014 OP

and when I give to charity it's not out of fear of eternal damnation NightWatcher Oct 2014 #1

Some churches do great stuff with the money they raise. Some do not. applegrove Oct 2014 #2

Many churches are self described as... Wounded Bear Oct 2014 #3

There are two types of churches tabbycat31 Oct 2014 #4

Yeah. I love the churches and their people who walk the walk. applegrove Oct 2014 #5

I've only encountered a small few tabbycat31 Oct 2014 #6

Excellent distinction. MineralMan Oct 2014 #7

Not always tabbycat31 Oct 2014 #8

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)

1. and when I give to charity it's not out of fear of eternal damnation

Reply to applegrove (Original post)

Thu Oct 9, 2014, 08:28 PM

Oct 2014

or because a preacher promises that god will magnify the money and send it back to me.

applegrove

(118,665 posts)

2. Some churches do great stuff with the money they raise. Some do not.

Reply to NightWatcher (Reply #1)

Thu Oct 9, 2014, 09:02 PM

Oct 2014

Wounded Bear

(58,660 posts)

3. Many churches are self described as...

Reply to applegrove (Original post)

Thu Oct 9, 2014, 09:23 PM

Oct 2014

"tithing" churches, which means that 10% of their income from collections goes to charity. Now, I can see how small churches are businesses with expenses, but if you want your charitable donations to do some work, there are charities that get that share up into the 70-90% range, rather than the 10% funneled through churches.

If one chooses to support a church, fine, but it is an inefficient way to contribute to the poor IMHO.

tabbycat31

(6,336 posts)

4. There are two types of churches

Reply to applegrove (Original post)

Thu Oct 9, 2014, 10:58 PM

Oct 2014

Those who help and those who don't. One church I worked with had a food pantry one Saturday a month where they would serve a hot meal and give out nonperishables and clothing to those who need them. No questions asked, no strings attached.

There was another church in one of my old districts that had a 125 foot marble cross. Tell me how many people they could have fed for the price (and permits) for that cross.

Even though I'm far from a Christian, I have absolutely no problem with churches like the first one. They are helping people in their community. The second one I do have a problem with and IMO the expenses associated with that cross (which are not building upkeep or utilities) should be taxed.

applegrove

(118,665 posts)

5. Yeah. I love the churches and their people who walk the walk.

Reply to tabbycat31 (Reply #4)

Thu Oct 9, 2014, 11:00 PM

Oct 2014

Last edited Thu Oct 9, 2014, 11:45 PM - Edit history (1)

It is an amazing thing to see or be a part of. I grew up with that. My grandparents were all good Christian eggs.

tabbycat31

(6,336 posts)

6. I've only encountered a small few

Reply to applegrove (Reply #5)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:46 AM

Oct 2014

However, I never new Christianity without the religious right. The GOP and the Christian right married the year I was born and are showing no signs of divorce soon. Churches like that seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

MineralMan

(146,317 posts)

7. Excellent distinction.

Reply to applegrove (Original post)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 09:50 AM

Oct 2014

While some churches do some charity work, real charities do only charity work. Thanks!

tabbycat31

(6,336 posts)

8. Not always

Reply to MineralMan (Reply #7)

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 12:01 PM

Oct 2014

Some charities spend a lot on overhead and marketing. I'd say Komen is one of the worst. I haven't looked them up but I won't financially support a company that spends their donations (for a 'cure') on making everything in sight pink, including things like KFC buckets and fracking drills (which could be causing cancer). A cure my ass. They're about making everything pink and branding everything.

Reply to this discussion