Is all that really necessary in order to worship a non corporeal being and his temporarily corporeal son that grew up the son of a poor carpenter? Do they think God will be impressed and grant them favor? Also how much was spent here that otherwise might have gone to charity? Hypocritical much?
I don't see Jesus anywhere in the clip... so how is that a "Christmas" production?
Not a lot of paying customers coming to a boring old Nativity play at that church. Maybe the preachers should remind the parishioners that "Jesus is the reason for the season" for Christians.
Omg how much money did they spend on this that they could’ve spent helping people?!!! I got no problem with entertainment but 1) this money could’ve been spent elsewhere in a much more helpful way and 2) this production should not be tax deductible
I’m thinking they may have sold tickets and made a profit. I'm trying to learn more, because there is something more to this and my gut says its really dark.
They're spending 10s of thousands of dollars on this nonsense. Meanwhile there are something like 50,000 homeless people in Texas. 15% of those are under 18 years old. 1.7 Million kids in that state are facing hunger. Disgusting. Unchristian.
Just imagine how many people could've been fed, had a bed for the night, or been given clothes for the cost of these obscene pageants. (Mega churches not Olympics)
Deep! You are so right. Some things do not belong in church. Santa, Easter Bunny, Halloween. God saved me when my daughter was 5 that was the last time we participated in anyway in those"holidays".
Problem is, taxation would be an inconvenience for these churches, but might easily bring about the closure of that smaller mainline church that runs a food program or houses a daycare or runs the after school program for at risk teens, or, or, or.
Don’t see that as an issue since the tax should be graduated and deductions allowed as with any taxpayer, maybe even a standard deduction for churches that might help out the smaller ones. No reason they should not be paying their fair share; especially as they have chosen to become political.
This is easy: You tax churches above X amount of income per year. You know, kind of like how we don't tax people with little or no income. Also, some of these megas have *insane* amounts of property. The three megas within 2 miles of my house have over $100 million tax free off the books.
Here is Canada, where the tax code is relatively simple, that could work. In the US, where the tax code was written by the Marquis de Sade after he’d been reading Kafka, maybe not so much. The administrative burden would be enormous.
ROTFLMFAO!!!
How many of your Priest's children were you forced to birth?
Do you LIKE kissing the bloody plaster feet of White Jesus? The Catholic Church is the ROOT of this evil.
The downfall of African Americans has been the subsidizing of the single black mother. The early childhood experience has prove that in your mind, the way you come across to others is the number 1 focus. Athletics are a main focus, a commitment, and a
Yikes…….but okay, to further my power point, and minimize your potential to habe any numbers leakied. , we read from “how the other half lives” which is fitting bc they were clawing for basic human meeds.
And as far as recognition of the governments play by play, that person drove drunk. They made a mistake.
Humans are not inherently evil or couldn’t, but when provoked or intimidated humans fight back. Notice how I didn’t bring race onto it?
I never would kill my child. Would i face obstacles? Fick ues. However, the work tou dp is so imperative just because it’s hazardous for anyone to get up on that ladder. Nike went woke, and the aftermath was me
Having surgery and
Mentally recharging.
Okay, you are a fucking racist, bigot, assbich, idiot. The nonsense you spill is stunningly anti-social and small minded. I won't let you pollute my thread anymore.
Jesus doesn't know you--you aren't on his list. He fucking hates hypocrites and whiners (did anyone inquire as to your health?). GFY
Jesus was mot white he was middle eastern, around 5’7” and spoke Aramaic. You on the other hand try to t a persons race of belief symptom based on you bias observvation. As dar as do I like kissing the feet of my Lord and savior? Yes. I do. And when I receive the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist
Of you think you are the end all and be all of this t of tome on earth, you are wrong. If you think man can lame on the moon, than you are a straight up LIAR if you purchase anything related to human survival.
Now for my case and point. Your motivation for taking a stance on this issue is based on a huge self worth it. You are desperate for acknowledgment, angry at the world for-letting you indulge on your vice, and now you pay the price.
Nobody. Unless you are suffering from some mental illness that makes you think you are the end all and be all of humanity and there is no power greater than yourself.
To make a generalize stayement over a few horrifien it even more low OW. Has the Catholic church not ostracised ir pressed criminal charge on those who did as such?
Catholicism is the one church of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament he gave specific instructions, as well as the smallest details (ex who was allowed to touch the stone before it was carved.
The fact that you use that as your argument is beyond low IQ. People who used their own free will to leverage themselves and satisfy the desires if the 5 senses are fucked. God made thing very clear when ot comes to what i deemed irredeemable.
They sure have a lot of excess money for some reason.... I guess they forgot that part since it seems like there are still lots of unhoused hungry people....
So much for feeding and housing the poor with tithes. That's ridiculously over the top and how does any of this relate to celebrating Jesus' birth? I know, the devil is in the details. Smh
The positive regarding mega churches is that young, educated Americans see this as the nonsense it is. In the bible belt, people who were actual devoted Christians are being replaced by the people at these mega churches. Why, because they aren't asked to do anything Christian like help the poor.
If they can afford opening ceremony style entertainment, they can afford to pay taxes. Jesus, how many unhoused people could have shelter for what they spent on this??
My daughter lived in Houston and was there during hurricane Harvey. Utter devastation. Osteen Church locked its doors to keep people seeking shelter out... Tax the churches.
Fortunately everything worked out ok for my daughter. She is pretty resilient, she also spent many weeks helping neighbors clean up afterwords. I went for 2 weeks and helped pull drywall in her neighborhood. Osteen was nowhere to be found🤬
Because the walls of his church are lined with money. Ask the plumber who discovered that when he had to access a pipe inside a bathroom wall, to fix a leak. That story got buried FAST. And remember Hotwheels Abbott wanted churches open during Covid. Pandemic - Open.
Crisis - Couldn’t care less.
He would tip over the tables again. They aren’t spreading the message of service and humility. They are spreading the message of capitalism and conspicuous consumption. You can’t be a capitalist and follow Jesus. They are in opposition to each other
We grew up going to these huge church performances as well. They’d have the wise men come in on camels and then trains would follow them and shoot candy into the audience to entice us kids.
I always thought it was funny that they incorporated things that didn’t make sense, like frosty or trains. 🤣
How can they not pay taxes? This obscene display of capitalism doesn't look like it's helping to feed one poor person at all or follow Jesus in any way
This is why I stopped going to church (I know not all churches are like this). Money that could be used to help somebody unfortunate is being used for funding people flipping in crusty grinch costumes.
Baptist Churches have at the least 3,274 Boy Scouts Child Sex Abuse Survivors that are Claimants in the @BoyScouts $2.46 Billion Bankruptcy! https://SurvivingScouting.org
Churches have the most Child Sex Abuse Survivors of 82,209 in @boyscouts $2.46 Billion bankruptcy. Pastors & priests use the fear of god & hell to exploit children to where they don’t report for decades if ever! https://SurvivingScouting.org
I'm afraid that is not the meaning of "Doing the Lord's work." Jesus wasn't really into the big production so let's not pretend this has anything to do with worshiping anything other than money. I grew up in church and though I'm not religious it sucks to see what has happened these past 15 years.
This kind of spectacle, although kinda blasphemous to be coming from a church(?)
It basically reminds me of petty people who know they’re talentless but have no problem ‘up chucking’ all over a sorta obligated audience
Jesus came as a baby in a manger, not as a big king on a chariot with blinding light, the Devil speaks through loudness and showmanship, God speaks through the quiet moments, the peaceful times
Makes me laugh when folks watch a secular Christmas show, they be like “Oooooh! Sooo beautiful!!!” But when a church does a Christmas show they be like “they should had used that money to feed the poor, tax them!” C’mon folks, pick a lane!
I think most are pointing to the scripture when speaking of churches doing these things, when the same churches turned away people in need of shelter during a hurricane. Secular performers aren’t preaching love thy neighbor and then ignoring said neighbor or putting them in cages for escaping harm🤷♂️
They spend millions on attorneys to fight Child Sexual Abuse Survivors trying to silence us as these institutions keep trying to cover up their pastors sexually abusing children.
You make an excellent point. All the laser light shows and Las Vegas-esque razzmatazz is really just the natural extension of the whole scam. And it highlights just how warped and hollow the "faith" of these people actually is, that they need this nonsense to keep them hooked.
Then why portray him as a deeply flawed little man, with a retconned birth and death narrative to try to shoehorn him into the messiah role after death, instead of simply writing a more consistent story?
Um, not sure what you meant by that, but I was paraphrasing Jesus' rant from Matthew 21:13. Most christians are familiar with it, and mega churches infamously ignore or reinterpret it.
It's about hypocrisy, not religious labels.
They definitely don’t give AF about the scriptures about abusing children and having to be punished with millstones. The spend millions on attorneys to fight Child Sexual Abuse Survivors trying to silence us as these institutions keep trying to cover up their pastors sexually abusing children.
Baptist Churches have at the least 3,274 Boy Scouts Child Sex Abuse Survivors that are Claimants in the @BoyScouts $2.46 Billion Bankruptcy! https://SurvivingScouting.org
To those not in the know, Joel Osteen a millionaire pastor locked his church to those displaced by Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017. Real good Christians🙄
I actually didn't create a brand new account, I only just recently joined. Also I'm not defending mega churches, I'm allowed to enjoy a display by mega churches, and that's exactly what I did
For me this underlines a major problem we have in this country - too many are addicted to spectacle and just want more - they demand a show. Monster trucks, WWE wrestling, real housewives, the Kardashians, the apprentice, and all the other drivel that's consumed - chump provides that circus.
It’s distraction disguised as happiness & people are chasing that. Too many people treat happiness as the goal, but it should be contentment. Contentment is harder to chase, but easier to keep than happiness.
Happiness is kinda shallow. It’s fleeting. If it stays too long you take it for granted.
They have been drilling "Jesus is the reason for the season" in my head for all these years. I am confused. Maybe that is Patriot Santa...that bag is full of guns.
This would be better, they turned this one into a skate park. I say, turn them into libraries, computer clubs or book stores...I mean, they are huge well built building after all...
If they’re like actually good architecture sights they should be preserved as such. If they’re churches that don’t actually harm the local community they should be allowed to stay. If they’re mega churches then turn them into public places
Every video is see of these weekly shows being put on by the religious elite are the same gymic - people needlessly flying around on wires. At what point will the audience become bored with this? And what's next? Will they make gladiators fight to the death to hold people's attention?
In the life cycle of a megachurch they do become bored with it. They often then switch to fire and brimstone sermons to keep people coming with the rest of hell (for others) and the message if superiority (by scapegoating others).
I’m a recovered Cathoholic and affirmed atheist. My mother would tell us about church mass when she was a girl being 3-hours & mostly in Latin. I think it took actual faith to attend that but this abomination, just a gross spectacle of capitalism & laser-guided grift to dazzle the sheep.
Not only did I attend mass in undecipherable Latin, but if we missed the morning service, we went to a Spanish-speaking church where I could not understand it in Spanish! Good times....
I went to church in POLISH ! My dad was the organist and choir director. I don’t know more than 3 words in Polish but I do know how to bless myself in it 😂
As a musician, theatre tech, & atheist I’ve been struck at how these “churches” became the market to exploit for stage effects, lighting, & sound because they clearly have the money. So self indulgent & an egregious display of the prosperity gospel built on greed, ego, & bamboozling doe-eyed zealots
pat robertson showed how much money could be laundered through organized religion, and also how many diamonds you could take out of the congo with a fleet of "missionary planes"
NOT
“a Christ child being born”
among the festivities peace on earth, Goodwill towards all,” when it’s over these people are sad.
A hole where their Joy in the Word, should be.
But, Good News
I’ve seen Valentine’s Day
Already on the shelf.
Hallelujah 👁️🙏🏽👁️
What on earth has all that fantasy got to do with the birth of Jesus - the whole purpose of the celebration of CHRISTmas? That disgusts me and is one reason I would never worship in a 'mega church'.
I’ve been waiting to see this for 44 years. The Republicans started in earnest, dragging God into the secular world of politics and lies. Which is a really bad idea Because God hates liars. Always has, always will. And when he gets dragged into that stuff he’s gotta leave. A long time ago, 1/12
there was a big fight up in God’s kingdom. Basically one group of the electorate over there, tried to overthrow the government of God’s kingdom. The end result of that was that all the members of the group that tried to takeover with a violent coup, were cast down along with the dude who 2/12
organized the coup attempt. He didn’t actually fight himself though, he manipulated the group to do the fighting for him. He kinda had to do that though. It wasn’t cowardice though, more like a requirement of the position he held. Whoever was in that position could not do anything 3/12
directly themselves, against the boss or the kingdom. You could try but then you’d freeze and couldn’t move. Everyone knew it, no one had ever even tried until then. They all got kicked out. And the saying is that they were cast down here, but not really thrown or falling, 4/12
more like a snapping of the fingers. One second you’re there and, snap, you’re here. And there’s no going back. You’re done. But since that guy had held such a high position, and if he didn’t have something to do, he’d just go off half-cocked and try to do 5/12
They definitely don’t give AF about the scriptures about abusing children and having to be punished with millstones. They spend millions on attorneys to fight Child Sexual Abuse Survivors trying to silence us as these institutions keep trying to cover up their pastors sexually abusing children.
Comments
Not a lot of paying customers coming to a boring old Nativity play at that church. Maybe the preachers should remind the parishioners that "Jesus is the reason for the season" for Christians.
I’m glad to be a part of a church that actually focuses on doing what Jesus told us to do, loving and helping people, and not whatever this is 😭
Messy, sexy France really got them sweaty.
Bet they also do their relatives kids too.
When the subject is miserable, terrible and unspeakable - that's when we must speak the most clearly.
Extreme from an extreme isn't extreme.
The megachurch will just hire more accountants.
In Canada, churches (and synagogues, mosques, &c) are subject to property tax for everything but the church proper - eg, parish halls &c.
I told you, you set a floor on income, say $1 million, and that cuts out everyone who can't afford to hire an accountant.
If they're pulling more than $1 million a year, they need to be AT THE VERY MINIMUM filing Form 990. As of now, churches do not file Form 990.
#taxthechurches
How many of your Priest's children were you forced to birth?
Do you LIKE kissing the bloody plaster feet of White Jesus? The Catholic Church is the ROOT of this evil.
Humans are not inherently evil or couldn’t, but when provoked or intimidated humans fight back. Notice how I didn’t bring race onto it?
Having surgery and
Mentally recharging.
Jesus doesn't know you--you aren't on his list. He fucking hates hypocrites and whiners (did anyone inquire as to your health?). GFY
We Have Santa Jesus!!
Happy for your daughter!
Crisis - Couldn’t care less.
I always thought it was funny that they incorporated things that didn’t make sense, like frosty or trains. 🤣
The rich get to ride on our labor and backs.
Do that exact thing to the Baptists out there being Child Preds.
I missed that somewhere in video. 🤷🏼♀️
nothing but boring same old same olds and college kids who can't drive
John 2:15
Pro Wrestlers would be there taking notes.
"Fuck them poors"
It basically reminds me of petty people who know they’re talentless but have no problem ‘up chucking’ all over a sorta obligated audience
Con: Absolute gang of shit bags who should be in jail.
I'd rather be Gawddamned, thanks.
"In light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country
Amnesty International calls on people worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan when traveling throughout the USA."
https://www.amnestyusa.org/blog/travel-advisory-united-states-of-america/
Distracting people with empty nonsense so they'll give you power over them and their resources.
It was probably like a David Copperfield show to his audience. But with a lot more abuse.
Would serve them right.
#TaxTheChurches
Even the circus pays taxes. How is this different?
It's about hypocrisy, not religious labels.
It's probably less than 10% of the real number
Most victims are too ashamed to ever tell, or wait years or decades to reveal what happened to them
Happiness is kinda shallow. It’s fleeting. If it stays too long you take it for granted.
Burn them all
Do a kick flip in the name of the Lord. Amen.
https://www.saintjoseph.beer/our-story
They(mega churches for maga charlatans)
Please excuse any pedantry; I may have a problem.
…A permanent baptism.
Gotta make sure it sticks.
Craziest part is conservatives would definitely crucify the commie Marxist socialist for wanting to nourish and heal the poor
I have to say that I loved it. Very ethereal.
Even firmly back to my Jewish roots, I still love Gregorian chants.
I know, I'm weird.
Catholic mass is designed to relax you. The calm, chanting, use of incense.
Biggest scam in America.
“a Christ child being born”
among the festivities peace on earth, Goodwill towards all,” when it’s over these people are sad.
A hole where their Joy in the Word, should be.
But, Good News
I’ve seen Valentine’s Day
Already on the shelf.
Hallelujah 👁️🙏🏽👁️