How Much do Churches Really Spend on Charity?
The hairdresser scrapes together $600 of her own money each month to keep up the program because the Prayer Palace – one of Canada's largest evangelical churches – stopped running it five years ago. Other charitable works, like a promised orphanage in Brazil, either dried up or never materialized.
Meanwhile, the three white pastors – Paul Melnichuk and his 40-year-old twin sons, Tim and Tom – lead lavish lives in contrast to the mainly working-class black families that make up the bulk of the church.
Between them, the pastors have amassed a real estate fortune worth about $12 million. Each owns a multi-million-dollar country estate north of Toronto (Tim's is worth as much as $5.5 million), they share a Florida vacation villa, and the pastors and their wives drive luxurious cars – among them a Porsche Cayenne SUV, a Lexus RX 330 SUV and a Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 convertible.
Congregants are largely unaware of the pastors' extravagant lifestyles.
Source: Toronto Star
This is just the tip of the iceberg — the full article details just how extensive the pastors' wealth is in comparison to the poverty of the congregation. I'm not suggesting that this is typical of all churches, but I do think that the elements which helped foster this situation are present in most or all churches. The biggest problem is simply the "faith" of the adherents that their money will be used for good; instead of exercising control over what happens, they surrender their money and faith to religious leaders who may or may not deserve such trust.
You don't normally find such "faith" in secular or public charities because they recognize the importance of careful oversight. This is rather ironic because Christian groups like to proclaim the fact that they know people are sinners whereas others pretend that humans are perfectible; in reality, many Christian groups act as though sin and temptation won't happen to them, their leaders, and their organizations. Secular groups that don't incorporate the notion of "sin" into their ideology or mission do make allowances for problems and make provisions to prevent them from happening.
Comments
I go to a soup kitchen a few times a week.
The food is basically wild game and stuff from cans. I like the company more.
Charity should never be an excuse for not dealing with basic needs for food, shelter, medical care, education, jobs, etc. IT JUST DOESN’T WORK EXCEPT ON AN OCCAISIONAL BASIS. (Military benefits for all.)
I have long been suspicious of the statistics saying that religious folk give more charitable contributions.
Hmmm… how well do the rich Christians compare with Gates and Buffet?
Why do athiests always quote the pharisees and the false prophets that make a bad name for Christianity. Those that you mentioned do not walk the walk.
It is sad to see people proudly claiming to be Christian who attend church.
If you read the Bible you can see that there are no churches that follow or understand the teachings of Jesus Christ
Ah yes… the old “they’re not true Christians” argument…
… what portion of the “Christians” falls into this category?…
… on one hand you claim “Christian nation” while on the other hand, dismissing the majority as “fake” Christians because they’ve been exposed for who they really are…
… so, if the majority of Christians don’t represent Christianity, stop claiming your superior numbers…
Correction please.. America is NOT a Christian nation… Never has been.. Religious Nation well maybe. And all the other sects are wrong except mine. God told me.
Cut myself off again.
Those Pastors haven’t an exclusive in the area.
The Pope isn’t exactly housed in a hovel nor drives a donkey cart. Reverend Moon isn’t destitute. The English Lambeth Palace for the Arch Bishop is no slum. New York’s chief Rabbi? Bet he isn’t down on the Bowery.
Heck we atheists must be dumb.. Have to supply all our riches to us, ourselves. But then. Atheism isn’t a business, just an idea.
Why do atheists always ridicule religious leaders, who live in hypocricy and opulence?
Gee, I don’t know, maybe because they are the loudest voice of Christianity, and the people who the largest numbers of Christians look to for leadership, and the people that the largest number of Christians support financially, and the people who write the books and produce the telecasts that millions of Christians read and watch.
It takes a stupid person to ask such a stupid question.
Remember they’re not perfect just forgiven. No matter how many times they’re caught “speeding” they get a “Get out of jail free” card. What more could you ask for in a religion?
I guess that could be a distinguishing characteristic between nonbelievers and religionists. No free lunch, ever. But then isn’t life a little more precious that way? And understandable?
Christians often think that the best use for money is evangelizing, not fulfilling the real life needs of people. “Mother” Teresa was a prime example of this kind of thinking:
http://www.salon.com/sept97/news/news3970905.html
[Excerpt]
“What about her celebrated concern for the poor and the weak? Here the record is much murkier than her saintly image would suggest. I have been shown testimony from leading American and British physicians, expressing their concern at the extremely low standard of medicine practiced in her small Calcutta clinics. No pain killers, syringes washed in cold water, a fatalistic attitude toward death and a strict regimen for the patients. No public accounts were made available by her ‘missionaries of Charity’ but enormous sums are known to have been raised. The income from such awards as the Nobel Prize is alone enough to maintain a sizable operation. In one on-the-record interview, Mother Teresa spoke with pride of having opened more than 500 convents in 125 countries, ‘not counting India.’ It seemed more than probable that money donated by well-wishers for the relief of suffering was being employed for the purpose of religious proselytizing by the ‘missionary multinational.’ “
Why do athiests always quote the pharisees and the false prophets that make a bad name for Christianity. Those that you mentioned do not walk the walk. — Max on December 31, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Surely you are glad to see “pharisees and false prophets” exposed as the pocket-picking mountebanks that they are?
Feel free to cite come examples of Christians who do “walk the walk.” Even one such example would be illuminating and edifying. How odd that you didn’t provide this important information in your post.
Zack… The late Pastor John White of the “Church of the Nazarene.” Would qualify.
He had me as a lifelong devoted friend, along with, I would add,most of his parishioners, I a militant atheist, vouch for the sincerity and real “Saintliness” of this man who would, if alive, deny the accolade. I am still friends of his family. They and I think each other, religiously speaking, mistaken. Doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the honesty, integrity and genuineness of our positions. I daresay there are many “Johns” around. In my previous profession I met many of them
and they were from all disciplines. from Anglican and Catholic to even one man a senior member of the “Exclusive Brethren.”
An honest business man who lent a helping hand when my own business was faltering.
He never questioned my atheism and I never denigrated his beliefs. The world is full of such people. Some are even atheists.