Plates collection

at meetings it is often brought to attention ways in which people can donate, gift aid, property etc, etc, and at conventions and assemblies it is metioned from the microphones about donations and how you can pay by credit(or debit) card etc. Is this not the very same thing as passing round a collection plate? What do you think?

In the beginning - specifically on October 23, 4004 BC, at noon - out of quantum foam fluctuation God created the Big Bang, followed by cosmological inflation and an expanding universe. And darkness was upon the face of the deep, so He create Quarks and therefrom He created hydrogen atoms and thence He commanded the hydrogen atoms to fuse and become helium atoms and in the process to release energy in the form of light. And the light maker He called the sun, and the process He called fusion. And He saw the light was good because now He could see what he was doing, so he created Earth. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be lots of fusion light makers in the sky. Some of these fusion makers He grouped into collections He called galaxies, and these appeared to be millions and even billions of light-years from Earth, which would mean that they were created before the first creation in 4004 BC. This was confusing, so God created tired light, and the creation story was preserved. And He created many wondrous splendours such as Red GIants, White Dwarfs, Quasars, Pulsars, Supernovas, Worm Holes, and even Black Holes out of which nothing can escape. But since God cannot be constrained by nothing, He created Hawking radiation through which information can escape from Black Holes. This made God even more tired than tired light, and the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the continenets drift apart by plate tectonics. He decreed that sea floor spreading would create zones of emergence, and He caused subduction zones to build mountains and cause earthquakes. In weak points in the crust God created volcanic islands, where the next day He would place organisms that were similar to but different from their relatives on the continents, so that still later created creatures called humans would mistake them for evolved descendants created by adaptive radiation. And the evening and morning were the third day.

And God saw that the island was barren, so He created animals bearing their own kind. Thou shalt not evolve into new species, and thy equilibrium shall not be punctuated. And God placed into the rocks, fossils that appeared older than 4004 BC that were similar to but different from living creatures. And the sequence resembled descent with modification. And the evening and morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly that moving creatures that have life, the fishes. And God created great whales whose skeletal structure and physiology were homologous with the land mammals He would create later that day. God then brought forth abundantly all creatures, great and small, declaring that microevolution was permitted, but not macroevolution. And God said, “Natura non facit saltum” - Nature shall not make leaps. And the evening and morning were the fifth day.

And God created the pongids and homonids with 98 percent genetic similarity, naming two of them Adam and Eve. In the book in which God explained how He did all this, the Bible, in one chapter He said He created Adam and Eve together out of the dust at the same time, but in another chapter He said he created Adam first, then later created Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs. This caused confusion in the valley of the shadow of doubt, so God created theologians to sort it out.

And in the ground placed He in adundance teeth, jaws, skulls, and pelvises of transitional fossils from pre-Adamite creatures. One chosen as his special creation He named Lucy, who could walk upright like a human but had a small brain like an ape. And God realized this too was confusing, so he created paleoanthropologists to figure it out.

Just as He was finishing up the loose ends of creation, God realized that Adam’s immediate descendants would not understand inflationary cosmology, global general relativity, quantum mechanics, astrophysics, biochemistry, paleontology, and evolutionary bioloy, so he created creation myths. But there were so many creation stories throughout the world that God realized this too was confusing, so created He anthropologists and mythologists to explain all that.

By now the valley of the shadow of doubt was overrun with skepticism, so God became angry - so angry that God lost his temper and cursed the first humans, telling them to go forth and multiply themselves (but not in those words). But the humans took God literally and now there are over six billion of them. And the evening and the mornin were the sixth day.

By now God was tired, so He proclaimed, “Thank Me it’s Friday,” and He made the weekend. It was a good idea.

three priests, all traveling by train into the city for a religious convention, happened to be sitting in the same carriage. becoming familiar with one another, they began to confess their sins. I cant resist women,’ said the first priest. ‘I have succumbed to temptation time and time again.’
‘I cant keep off the booze,’ said the second. ;at least once a week I end up lying naked in a drunken stupor in the dining table.’ the third priest was quiet
’so what’s your vice?’ asked te first priest. gambling? stealing from the collection plate?’
‘no,’ replied the third priest. ‘my sin is a bad one. I gossip, and I can hardly wait to get to that convention

I heard from some people on here, that spanking a child with a belt is abuse. I do not understand this at all. I got spanked with a belt a couple of times growing up with my father’s belt. I did not think it was abuse. I was worried though. Last month my son did something wrong “big time” he took money out of the collection plate at church and tried to keep it. This was the second time he had stolen. At home, he was taken upstairs and my husband gave him three “licks” with the belt. It was on his clothed bottom. I did not consider this abuse, but some people say it is. Is it really? I do not want to do anything that would be considered abuse. I would never ever abuse my children. I do beleive in spanking though

Would you theists sacrifice all you have for your God? If an angel appeared to you right now and said God commands you to give up everything, would you do it? Your career? Your house? Your car? Your savings? Your spouse? Your children?

What if God took it a step further and commanded a blood sacrifice of your children? Would you put them on the alter and plunge the knife into their chest as your God required?

It is my opinion that your faith and belief system requires very little of you. It seems a simple task to say, “I believe” when nearly everyone around you says they also believe in something similar. What exactly do you sacrifice for your God? A few bucks in the collection plate each week? A little time once or twice a year for a charity drive? I think college students sacrifice more for their education than a theist does for their God(s).

After all it is considered where two or more are gathered…And we are all discussing Religion, or lack of(everyone has their point of view),
Only it’s just on-line…And we are not doing a
collection plate…Soo, no misappropriations of funds!!… Please no snide or mean remarks
Thank-You..
Why only on Sunday???
Thank You for your views and responses

My Great Grandmother has been volunteering at her church for over 30 years well before I was born. I use to go to Sunday school there as a child and had a chance to go back this past weekend for a surprise party in honer of my Great Grandmother. As a gift the church gave her an envelope of money and declared she is now the oldest member of the congregation she is 94. Of course she turned around and put it into the collection plate that’s just how dedicated she is.
I was shocked to she the church in such bad condition. windows were broken and covered with cardboard, the plants are either dead or dying. The playground was removed due to age and safety concerns. All the music equipment was stolen during one of the many break ins.
Basically, they need a complete remodel does anyone know of a way to raise a large amount of money so that this church can get the repairs it badly needs? I would do anything for my Great Grandmother even strap on a tool belt If I had to.

Thanks
Lenor

having their priests be called Father, when Jesus made it clear to call no man father. This is not in reference to our natural fathers either.

Also, how do they justify passing a collection plate, when it states clearly that alms are to be given in secret?

And how does the Catholic church feel about those versus where Jesus talks about those who wear robes, making prayer a form and boastful speeches as they are full of pride and dead man’s bones? So what about the Pope…he wears robes, makes prayer a form and makes boastful speeches about “his” church being the only right way to serve God. Where is the humility in that?
I do not mean to be critical of the Catholics, but these things do NOT add up. I really want to know how they justify these things.
BTW…I looked at all the references given by F.O., and have three things to say.

Refering to any written material that is published by the Catholic Church is NOT justification. The bible makes it clear to add or subtract from what is written in it is a sin.

Second, there is not justification for the questions I have, as there is nothing in your references that covers these things.

Taking bits and pieces from the bible and making it the foundation of any church does NOT make it a right way to serve God.
Dear MaphiaLu..I never said the catholics do not have the right to believe whatever they wish to. But for the pope to stand up there and state the catholic church is the only right way to live is asking the world to judge catholics.

Our belief does not have collection plates. Alms are given where no one can see you giving them to the minister but the two of you and God. The answer for the envelope does not make it secret. The only thing is how much and it did not say, don’t tell anyone how much to give but its okay to give in front of others.

No we do not have a minister standing up in front of a group of people in a church building. No they do not wear robes. The explanation for the robe was unbelievable. The pope wears white and gold so you will think of Jesus…. Please. The pope wears white and gold robes and has people kiss HIS ring because he wants to draw attention to himself. If he wanted to be humble, it would mean dressing humble. A spectical is not humble.

My church would be open every single day and I would have collection plates all over the place .