If Christ lived why did he let other Gods do so
Christ threw the money lenders out of his father's house why has he not thrown American millionaire fraudsters claiming to be his servants out of his father's house
Hillsong, its former head, father of its current one
Has Christ forgiven the infamous sexual assault we are told about
Is it ok to live so very highly on donations meant for Christ?

Mental illness is till a major problem, religion highlights that at every turn !

There's a really obvious question here that I'm surprised no one has asked so far, and that is "Why is Paul1405 so divisive"? This is an inflammatory thread, to say the least, which makes me wonder why someone would start it.

I don't see any evidence that religions in general are particularly divisive. And I see evidence that many religions are actually inclusive rather than divisive. If you want to go to a Christian church there is no threshold requirement, no membership fee required, no vetting committee, no application form, no referees, no questions asked, you don't even have to put money in the plate - just walk through the door. That's more inclusive than my local pub.

Which raises the question as to why Paul1405 decided to start this thread. And why some people make the argument that religion is divisive when there is no evidence of this.

Of course some people have used religious identity as a way of prosecuting wars and persecutions, but that's no different from the way some people use other identities, like race, or gender, to do the same thing. You won't see Paul posting "Why is race so divisive"? So why pick on religion?

Jayb,

"As I said why go to 3rd. World Countries? Why not look after the poor people living under the Bridge? Hmmm..."

Hmmm, ever heard of St Vinnies, the Salvos etc?

Is Mise: Hmmm, ever heard of St Vinnies, the Salvos etc?

My Mother worked at both places at different time for many years. She said that they are strictly money making concerns that make donations to poor people for the Publicity.

Actually, come to think of it they have been outed a few times. So have a few other similar "Charities" come to think of it again.

GrahamY: I don't see any evidence that religions in general are particularly divisive.

I think you are right Graham. Except for Islam. What I see is people being devisive. P1405 is a bit of a stirrer, as am I at times, I think you've hit the nail on the head there.

GY: you don't even have to put money in the plate - just walk through the door.

There are a few exceptions. (Tithing)

Indie: Mental illness is till a major problem, religion highlights that at every turn !

Yep, Ol' Jack Jones, Kircherian?, Planet X, Scientology & a myriad of smaller non-inclusive private Religious Sects where you hand over you're life savings. Definitely Mental Illness.

HI JayB, tithing is voluntary in any of the mainstream Christian denominations, although there may be some sects, like perhaps the Exclusive Brethren, who require it before you can belong to one of their congregations (this is speculation on my part).

I know people who tithe voluntarily (meaning they give 10% of their income to the church), and I've heard people discuss whether this should be pre- or post-tax. But again, in the mainstream churches, this is very rare. And it is voluntary, meaning no one will be denied access to anything because they don't contribute 10% of income to the church.

I can say with authority that in the plate at my church the evidence is that no one in our congregation tithes as we raise around $60,000 from collections per year and there would have to be much more than $600,000 p.a. being earned across the congregation.

FWIW I think tithing is an irrelevant hold over from Old Testament times when the synagogue was the source of social security for those who couldn't look after themselves. So in a sense it corresponds to our taxes now. With the shrinkage of the church in this respect, and the growth of the state, it's an outmoded idea.