Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

[Greatest I Am]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

Matthew 19:23
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Genesis 13:2
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Matthew 19:24
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

There seems to be a theme throughout scripture that says that wealth is not a good thing yet the Church amasses wealth for it’s own sake and glorification.

Can a Church that does not practice what it preaches lead us to heaven or is wealth actually a good thing.

What comes to mind is Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail.
In selecting the cup of Christ, the proper cup was the poor man’s cup. In contrast, if asked to select the cup of the Church, he would have selected the riches cup.

One has to wonder if the Church is right or if Jesus was.
Many say they have faith in Jesus but few follow His line of thought when their wealth is in question.

Would God reject our rich Church?
Is our Church imperfect because of it’s wealth?
Will God reject the rich man?

Your thoughts?

Regards
DL

[Guest]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

Matthew 19:23
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Genesis 13:2
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Matthew 19:24
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

There seems to be a theme throughout scripture that says that wealth is not a good thing yet the Church amasses wealth for it’s own sake and glorification.

Can a Church that does not practice what it preaches lead us to heaven or is wealth actually a good thing.

What comes to mind is Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail.
In selecting the cup of Christ, the proper cup was the poor man’s cup. In contrast, if asked to select the cup of the Church, he would have selected the riches cup.

One has to wonder if the Church is right or if Jesus was.
Many say they have faith in Jesus but few follow His line of thought when their wealth is in question.

Would God reject our rich Church?
Is our Church imperfect because of it’s wealth?
Will God reject the rich man?

Your thoughts?

Regards
DL

My personal observation is that most (not all, but most) rich people do not think about getting into heaven. They often seem to become a little more self absorbed. Most (though not all) prosperity preachers only use heaven as leverage to get people to send them more money.

[Greatest I Am]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

My personal observation is that most (not all, but most) rich people do not think about getting into heaven. They often seem to become a little more self absorbed. Most (though not all) prosperity preachers only use heaven as leverage to get people to send them more money.

So a rich man or Church is not a good one? Do you class them as evil?

Regards
DL

[OnceConvinced]

I always been in two minds about this topic. On one hand, it seems that God would want us to give up our wealth for his kingdom, but on the other hand God also supposedly blesses those who give, by returning them ten times what they gave. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean money, but it could. Whois to say that God would not bless his people with material wealth? After all, he did it for Solomon and didn't expect Solomon to give it up.

On the other hand though, I have seen wealthy churches pump a lot of money into luxuries which don't really make the church any more effective, but just make it look more appealing. That in itself may not be all the bad either, because they're trying to attract people so they can spread the message, but sometimes they seem to go overboard. It makes you wonder.

[Guest]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

My personal observation is that most (not all, but most) rich people do not think about getting into heaven. They often seem to become a little more self absorbed. Most (though not all) prosperity preachers only use heaven as leverage to get people to send them more money.

So a rich man or Church is not a good one? Do you class them as evil?

Regards
DL

I would not say good or bad...just self absorbed. Probably not someone I would be able to hang out with very long. However, the rich provide a lot of financial aid to the less fortunate even if their motive is just a tax write-off or a photo op.

I probably could not classify them as evil from my vantage point.

[Greatest I Am]

I always been in two minds about this topic. On one hand, it seems that God would want us to give up our wealth for his kingdom, but on the other hand God also supposedly blesses those who give, by returning them ten times what they gave. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean money, but it could. Whois to say that God would not bless his people with material wealth? After all, he did it for Solomon and didn't expect Solomon to give it up.

On the other hand though, I have seen wealthy churches pump a lot of money into luxuries which don't really make the church any more effective, but just make it look more appealing. That in itself may not be all the bad either, because they're trying to attract people so they can spread the message, but sometimes they seem to go overboard. It makes you wonder.

Jesus was clear about giving to the poor. He did not say give so much and retain a few million for personal needs.

Most wealth is amassed through exploitation of labor and markets.
This makes the accumulation of wealth immoral.

Are there moral ways to amass great wealth and what are they?

Regards
DL

[Greatest I Am]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

My personal observation is that most (not all, but most) rich people do not think about getting into heaven. They often seem to become a little more self absorbed. Most (though not all) prosperity preachers only use heaven as leverage to get people to send them more money.

So a rich man or Church is not a good one? Do you class them as evil?

Regards
DL

I would not say good or bad...just self absorbed. Probably not someone I would be able to hang out with very long. However, the rich provide a lot of financial aid to the less fortunate even if their motive is just a tax write-off or a photo op.

I probably could not classify them as evil from my vantage point.

Is tax evasion evil?


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 09,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 40,00.html


Regards
DL

[Guest]

Can a rich Church or man get into heaven?

My personal observation is that most (not all, but most) rich people do not think about getting into heaven. They often seem to become a little more self absorbed. Most (though not all) prosperity preachers only use heaven as leverage to get people to send them more money.

So a rich man or Church is not a good one? Do you class them as evil?

Regards
DL

I would not say good or bad...just self absorbed. Probably not someone I would be able to hang out with very long. However, the rich provide a lot of financial aid to the less fortunate even if their motive is just a tax write-off or a photo op.

I probably could not classify them as evil from my vantage point.

Is tax evasion evil?


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 09,00.html

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 40,00.html


Regards
DL

Sometimes it is just survival. When Ceasar takes more than Caesar should get, its kind of an individual judgment call.

[Greatest I Am]

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Sometimes it is just survival. When Ceasar takes more than Caesar should get, its kind of an individual judgment call.

Yes indeed and that call places the tax burden on others.

This is indeed doing onto others. A great moral position for a Church.

If you have half a brain and any morals, you will recant.


Regards
DL

[Kallikrates]

Jesus was clear about giving to the poor.

Indeed he was, but that leaves us with an interesting situation on our hands.

Suppose everyone actually did this. The rich, as one human, all hand their wealth over to the poor. What happens? The "poor" are now rich, and the "rich" are now poor. So those that were poor once now have to give the wealth back to those who were originally rich, who must then transfer it back, and so on and so forth ad infinitum.

Which would be silly. If all the wealth was doing was changing hands, there'd be no point in anyone having it. He might as well just have said "Go and dump everything you own in a lake."