"Carrot Head Church" (CHC) members - do they follow the Bible?

The Bible has made it very clear that Tithes and Offerings are meant to feed the Pastors, church workers or the poor and needy.

Malachi 3:10 says: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,"

This verse clearly shows the relationship between tithes/offerings and food.

It is therefore wrong if the offerings are used by the church to purchase commercial properties or even build nice big church buildings. The money should be used to fund the livelihood (food) of the pastor or church workers, and especially to feed the poor or needy people. It can also be used to fund "spiritual food" ie spreading the Gospel to feed the spiritually hungry, building schools to educate the people, hospitals for the sick.

I feel channeling money to promote a pop singer does not qualify. Using tithes to fund the purchase of a shopping mall is unbiblical to the max. Those who give their tithes and offerings to fund commercial projects do not know their Bible. That's why they are called "Carrot Head Church" (CHC) members.

The Church should fund the poor and needy instead, just like this unnamed Church......

[video=youtube;4IGV1l6LuZc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGV1l6LuZc[/video]

It is sad Christians do not question how their money is spent. They trust their pastors without question. This is not right. Even pastors can be wrong, hence the need for spiritual oversight and solid local governance.

They should impress upon their pastors and leaders to follow the Bible's teachings on how to spend the tithes and offerings correctly, whenever the Pastor goes on a tangent to glorify himself or his church organisation.

They'll just retort by saying that poverty is a curse from God, God does not want anyone to be poor, Jesus was a rich man, God has promised manifold returns if you give generously etc.

You simply can't argue with adherents of the Prosperity Gospel.

Due to the govt's hands-off laissez faire approach towards religions, this cancer has been allowed to fester for a long time, culminating in the CHC scandal you're seeing now. Should have nipped it in the bud back in the 1990s. And it's not just CHC, many other churches peddle the same nonsense.

The 10- 20% cut each month from members is written on books also?

Bible also say life is more than food and worry about tommorow.

God's word is more important than things or getting well fed.

Although I have my doubts about Biblical authenticity and existence of Divine entities per religious explanations, I do admire the altruistic and charitable functions of some churches (and other associations) that organize themselves to provide assistance and help to the needy. Grandeur and personal-satisfaction are not their primary goals, but they derive happiness from helping the less fortunate and providing fellowship to each other. From the looks of things, the CHC does not belong in this group.

Cheers!

JiaSAInSI said:

The 10- 20% cut each month from members is written on books also?

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Going by the books, they are giving their money to a charitable organisation. Contributors should be entitled to a tax-deductible contribution for their tithe then.

Cheers!

Agoraphobic said:

Although I have my doubts about Biblical authenticity and existence of Divine entities per religious explanations, I do admire the altruistic and charitable functions of some churches (and other associations) that organize themselves to provide assistance and help to the needy. Grandeur and personal-satisfaction are not their primary goals, but they derive happiness from helping the less fortunate and providing fellowship to each other. From the looks of things, the CHC does not belong in this group.

Cheers!

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there are motives for church to do charity ...it is to spread their church name and to recuit new members .

drifter said:

there are motives for church to do charity ...it is to spread their church name and to recuit new members .

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It is a possibility that some members of the churches (or other organizations) will have certain motives to gain recognition for charitable work, but I am not referring to these. Without an organization to carry out some of the work they are doing, it is unlikely that single individuals can attain the reach or cover the scope of some of the work these organizations have done (running schools, hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens, disaster aid) on a large scale, and sometimes to remote areas. Whether it is to spread their name or not is not my concern or care, but the fact that at least there are some people doing it is what matters. To the people who are receiving these aids, it is seen as God given. And here is where I do not see anything "wrong" with religious organizations; who cares what they believe in? What they do here on earth, with their resources they have garnered, is what counts.

Cheers!

Agoraphobic said:

It is a possibility that some members of the churches (or other organizations) will have certain motives to gain recognition for charitable work, but I am not referring to these. Without an organization to carry out some of the work they are doing, it is unlikely that single individuals can attain the reach or cover the scope of some of the work these organizations have done (running schools, hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens, disaster aid) on a large scale, and sometimes to remote areas. Whether it is to spread their name or not is not my concern or care, but the fact that at least there are some people doing it is what matters. To the people who are receiving these aids, it is seen as God given. And here is where I do not see anything "wrong" with religious organizations; who cares what they believe in? What they do here on earth, with their resources they have garnered, is what counts.

Cheers!

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we need to know whether if theres any hidden agenda for all things not only charity work . yes i understand that it is very difficult for single individual to reach out to those victim ..i have done that and i know its near impossible . but to promote their church by doing charity i think it just not right . charity work should be done unconditionally ....period .

ah long also help ppl by lending them money with a hidden agenda ...in the long run ,things will not be so good . same as religion charity ..in the long run those victim will be delusion by their religion . why cant those religion organization help ppl without using their own religion name if they are really serious about helping ppl . i have seen how religion organization works ...they will try to preach to those victims when helping them .

drifter said:

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ah long also help ppl by lending them money with a hidden agenda ...in the long run ,things will not be so good . same as religion charity ..in the long run those victim will be delusion by their religion . why cant those religion organization help ppl without using their own religion name if they are really serious about helping ppl . i have seen how religion organization works ...they will try to preach to those victims when helping them .

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Yeah, Charity should be done with the heart, and should be unconditional, But with scheming humans in our midst, we can't really do anything about that. The only thing is the law should deal with them when they're exposed.

BTW, I feel the other way for Ah Longs. They' re only helping buggers out financially and then later on some of these low lives don't want to pay what they owe, of course Ah Long will take steps to get back what is owed to them.

Cheers!

Agoraphobic said:

Yeah, Charity should be done with the heart, and should be unconditional, But with scheming humans in our midst, we can't really do anything about that. The only thing is the law should deal with them when they're exposed.

BTW, I feel the other way for Ah Longs. They' re only helping buggers out financially and then later on some of these low lives don't want to pay what they owe, of course Ah Long will take steps to get back what is owed to them.

Cheers!

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kind of agree with you with the ah long thing .

bud , i really hope we can meet up for a few joint over in tokyo when time permit . you are just like my other good christains friends who can still talk logic when comes to religion . and i really enjoy this kind of good logical conversation with them too . please remember to pm me if you are going to kanto area . looking forward for that day to come .

May I take the argument a bit further. I think Christians will not deny that there is “certain motives to gain recognition for charitable work”. Christians are saved by grace through faith, not by works i.e.good works(Eph 2:8). However, in the next breath it is says “but what good is faith without works”..i.e. their faith in God would be their motivation to do the charitable good works, done unconditionally and from the heart towards anyone regardless of race, language or creed..now would it not be natural for them to share this good motivational news with those they help with the hope that these recipients of aid would in turn use this same driving force to further help others when they are in a position to do so..while at the same time fulfilling what Christ told the apostles “go out and make disciples of all nations”. As long as there is no malice involved, what is wrong with their motive as long as it is done tactfully.

drifter said:

..............bud , i really hope we can meet up for a few joint over in tokyo when time permit . you are just like my other good christains friends who can still talk logic when comes to religion . and i really enjoy this kind of good logical conversation with them too . please remember to pm me if you are going to kanto area . looking forward for that day to come .

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Hey, thanks for the invite man! Hope I get a chance to visit Japan one day.

Cheers!