I think, that's the biggest problem. When someone goes there
because they want to know God, the end up knowing a different
"God". One that is great and loving because he will give you
abundance of blessing when you tithe. Testimonies are mostly based
on money.....
Tithe becomes an investment and the more your invest, the higher
is the rate of return.
By the way, is tithe really enforceable on christians?
What about the other aspect of being a christian? It has taken a
back seat as all I know tell me to beilive in God so that I will be
saved, believe that "Daddy" wants me to reward his childeren with
a rich (in terms of money) life, trust "Daddy" and never
worry again, relax and ejoy..... The problems of other people is
not our concern, "Daddy" will take care of that - why worry or
bother? We can't do anything.....leave that to God.
Everyday, they try to evangelise by saying that God is so loving
that we will be saved if we believe in Him - if not will go hell.
When you believe and tithe, "Daddy" will reward you...... if you
don't get rewarded - your faith is not strong enough.
People with such mentality tends to leave the church when chips
are down thinking God is not with them. Most end up with a with
negative feeling about christianity because of the wrong
"impression".
Is that what christianity is about?
To reply to you, I choose not to go into detail what
Christianity is about. For one thing, even among Christians the
Christian experience is different. Not just with Christians, but
with people in general. You can have different experiences and even
different levels depending on who you meet, where you meet and even
when you meet.
I believe God has more than one side to him as well, as like how
our own fathers on earth have more than just one side to them. God
is not a tool that you summon or some hack you turn on in a game
just so that everything goes the way exactly how you want it.
God didn't promise that there won't be rainy days or hard times.
God didn't promise everything will be smooth sailing. In fact,
sometimes for his sake it gets harder. God didn't promise he'll do
exactly what you want, but if you let him he will want the best and
allow the best for you.
Believing in Christ doesn't have to be just about going to hell,
but also knowing and accepting someone was willing to sacrifice
himself for you and you are acknowledging his love and care for
you. I'm not asking you to become a believer, but personally, it
doesn't have to be all about fear of hell.
Also, the thing about doing good while on earth, I believe we
will get rewards based on our deeds. But our deeds can also be
about what we want for the other person, or that we know we do will
bring a smile to God's face. Like a child who sometimes does
something just so that the mother will smile, not in return for
something like a cookie or a sweet, but just a simple smile knowing
someone you love is pleased with you.
On the other hand, sometimes not doing wrong is because you
don't want to see the other person hurt, and not so much about
worry how the person will take action against you.
One thing I can tell you is that Christianity is more than just
about heaven and hell. And miracles don't always have to be
physical in nature.