A Minnesota church hopes to seduce congregants to Easter service by raffling off $8,000 worth of 3D televisions and Nintendo 3DS’. Jesus would not approve.
According to Eric Dykstra, pastor at The Crossing Church in Elk River, Minnesota, his material goods have helped draw more people to his congregation, which ballooned from only 200 people to 3,000 over the course of six years. And, considering the results, Dykstra has no qualms using consumerism to lure new followers.
He admits, quite unabashedly, “I have no problem bribing people with crap in order to meet Christ.”
Christ, though technologically savvy, would likely not want to meet him.
For those of us who have studied, or at least read, the Bible, it’s clear that despite what prosperity churches or Dykstra may say, Jesus did not champion material consumption. On the contrary: the meek, the poor shall inherit the earth, he said, while also instructing followers to reject riches and gain.
“Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God,” Christ’s quoted as saying in Mark 10:24. He continues, “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.”
To truly be devout, Christ allegedly said, one must realize that earthly wares are impotent when compared to the vast kingdom of heaven: “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven…”
Whether or not one believes in Christ’s existence, or whether one thinks he’s a superhuman messiah, almost everyone can agree, I hope, that material consumption does not lead to true happiness, here or in hypothetical heaven. And all major religions stress the importance of escaping material distractions, as well as donating to the less fortunate.
Even if one doesn’t believe in religion, God or Jesus, it should be common sense that Nintendo and televisions are not part of salvation, real or rhetorical, and Dykstra’s actions represent nothing more than a cynical, perhaps even blasphemous, ruse to bolster his church’s numbers, rather than enrich people’s lives.
Besides, do congregations really want to be comprised of people looking for what Dykstra calls “crap,” or of people looking for religion’s true purpose: faith?
More Stories:
-
Hard-Boiled Eggs: The History Of -
Glenn Beck Sounds Totally Reasonable Dissing Donald Trump -
Will and Jaden Smith Attempt to Salvage M. Night Shyamalan’s Career -
Stephen Colbert Challenges James Franco for Title of ‘Renaissance Man’ [Video] -
Glenn Beck Leaves Fox, Teaches Lit
Article source: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/81150/what-would-jesus-do-with-a-nintendo/
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard bible story
- Published News Upcoming News Submit a New Story Groups calling card
- Powered by Article Dashboard religion in the news
- Published News Upcoming News Submit a New Story Groups sound card problems
- Published News Upcoming News Submit a New Story Groups roleplaying help
- Published News Upcoming News Submit a New Story Groups can you help me
- Powered by Article Dashboard calling card
- Powered by PHPDug video games game cube simulation
- Powered by Article Dashboard help me jesus
- Powered by Article Dashboard bible games for a group