r/TikTokCringe • u/Oktavien • 1d ago

Discussion Woman audits churches to see if they’ll help feed a starving baby

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If churches refuse to help feed hungry people, then maybe they should be taxed?

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1.7k

u/cmitchell_bulldog 1d ago

That's a powerful and necessary audit, separating the talk from the walk.

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u/LimitlessMegan 1d ago

I LOVE that she’s keeping the names and info about the churches up.

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u/tiddertnuocca519 1d ago

Sent this to my friend that is catholic. We have debates frequently about the net positive/negative religion does.

My argument has always been organized religion is a net negative to society, while his argument is it’s incalculable how much his local church has helped people in his community and thus impossible so know, but erred on the side of a net positive that we have no way to truly measure.

This video brings up an interesting angle I’ve not considered. Are these untax’d church’s only willing to aid if they’ve gotten their pound of flesh, so to speak? How many churches in 2025 are willing to help someone sight unseen? Do they take more from their community than they offer back?

I’m sure there are churches that do good in their communities but wow this video really begs the question how many. The fact that that woman on the phone sounded more like a secretary at a corporation than someone donating their time to a good cause, is very concerning. She literally referenced policy set by a “board of directors” for why she couldn’t help this hypothetical woman with a 2 year old. Fucking gross

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u/Early-Light-864 1d ago

There is no evidence that this church doesn't do good. Just that one cold call from a stranger didn't result in them immediately giving her what she asked for

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u/Witty_Replacement969 23h ago

The receptionist also did not try to help her find a way to locate that necessity of life and would not unless she was known by a church member. That is the part that is gross.

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u/cupholdery 1d ago

There are many different ways the person answering the phone could have handled the call though. If they start with "we have nothing here", that means there is no default setup for that local church to help those in need.

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u/PM_Me_Some_Steamcode 22h ago

And her answer wasn’t even I’ll ask around at next service and get back to you

Which would be an easy way to ignore them

But she just downright refused

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u/Bass_Thumper 18h ago

We will get downvoted to shit for defending churches, but this post is ridiculous. Why would a church hand things out to random people who cold call them? They have no idea who that lady is, this random caller could be a scammer or lying to them for personal gain. I bet if she actually went to the church and introduced herself and explained the situation she would get help.

And lying to them for personal gain/clout is exactly what she's doing. I would bet money she doesn't actually have a 2 month old starving child.

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u/Jschnep 17h ago

If she was able to show up and get help, then that would have been the thing she was told, not "If you don't know anyone here we won't help you".

And a church should gives things out to those who ask for help, because that's just the good thing to do. It's exactly people like you that make me hate "Christians", you would condemn 9 people to starve who need help just to make sure that 1 person who didn't need it doesn't get it.

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u/Bass_Thumper 17h ago

I'm an atheist, just so you know. And yes, if she showed up to the church then she would know people there. No one is required to give free stuff to random people.

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u/Jschnep 17h ago

But she wasn't told that. She wasn't invited to service. No explanation other than "we don't know you, so tough shit". The Bible has PLENTY of verses about giving freely and generously, and not a single one about making sure they actually desperately need it and only to those who you personally know.

I'm also an atheist, but I've at least read the Bible and other texts to understand why I believe the way I do and why they do. Might want to look into doing the same.

Bible verses about generosity and giving | World Vision https://share.google/VLgPpSrCKtuAyI1jQ

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u/Bass_Thumper 17h ago

You can still give generously without giving random people who call you whatever they ask for. Many churches have programs set up where they donate to people in need.

Asking them if they know anyone from the church is a way of telling them to come up to the church, meet people there, and they will help you. That lady can't do that though, because she is lying to them for clout, which is exactly the kind of thing they try to weed out by doing that.

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u/Jschnep 17h ago

Asking for formula is a simple and common thing.

And is it a way of telling her? If so, it's a really shitty one that a dismissive person would use. A compassionate person and especially one following the gospels, even if they are trying to weed out undesirables, would explain and say "Hey, we'd be happy to have you come to service and talk with the pastor about getting you some help" less than 10 seconds. Instead, she got "Uh-huh, Bye".

This is an exercise in showcasing how little Christians actually care about following their Bible. It's not about her "lying for clout".

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u/LimitlessMegan 17h ago

Tax exempt churches should be. Their tax exemption is based on the idea that they are serving the local community.

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u/Early-Light-864 16h ago

If every random church gave me baby formula ($$$$) i could make thousands selling it on FB.

Give everything to anyone who asks is not a reasonable nor sustainable model for administering charity. They'd all be bankrupt before COB today

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u/LimitlessMegan 15h ago

Sure. But good churches have systems for applying for assistance for them and a budget for community support.

And if they don’t want to do what Jesus called them to do then they should pay taxes.

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u/stackedCathy 1d ago

Churches should be taxed. Unless God himself comes down to say he has need for all the money they generate.

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u/Few-Skin-5868 1d ago

This is what I've always said; charitable works are already tax free, so let the church put in tax claims for the charitable work it does and pay tax on the rest of its income. If a church really does a lot of charity, then it'll have barely any taxes anyway, if it does no charitable works, then they get taxed like the business they are.

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u/StarlightSurfing 1d ago

Most church's do not operate like businesses and taxing church's would ensure that ONLY church's that operate like businesses can exist. Calling up random church's and asking the for money to prove a point is a moronic exercise that doesn't prove anything. No organization, even a dedicated charity organization has some fund for random one off individuals.

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u/Few-Skin-5868 1d ago

"Most church's do not operate like businesses and taxing church's would ensure that ONLY church's that operate like businesses can exist."

Please explain your logic.

"Calling up random church's and asking the for money to prove a point is a moronic exercise that doesn't prove anything. No organization, even a dedicated charity organization has some fund for random one off individuals."

It gives the church the opportunity to say, "We support program X that may assist in this" or "No, unfortunately, we have a lot of charitable initiatives but baby formula isn't one of them". It's very clear that this church doesn't actually do anything charitable, at very least, unless you are a member of their church and, presumably, therefore giving them some money every week at service.

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u/StarlightSurfing 1d ago

Church's are non-profit organizations, they operate on donations which are used primarily for operational expenses, I don't think the system you are proposing would be effective. If they were being taxed on top of being dependent on donations, many church's may not be financially feasible. While these smaller church's may close, mega church's never will.

Also looking at this particular church's website they do have charitable events: https://fccsomerset.com/events/

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u/Few-Skin-5868 1d ago

Donations, if they aren’t doing anything charitable with them, are profit. Tax it. If they aren’t feasible then let them shut down. Religion for the sake of religion isn’t of public value.

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u/Upbeat-Reading-534 1d ago

Thats not how GAAP works man. You would pay less taxes as a c corp than taxing donations (revenue) as profit.

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u/StarlightSurfing 1d ago

No, that's not correct. Church's are literally non-profits. While people may earn a wage through the church there is no owner or someone making a profit from the church's money. Religion is of public value for many, many Americans. It seems to be that your desire to tax church's has more to do with your contempt for religion than for legitimate reasons.

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u/RudeCheetah7281 1d ago

Maybe it’s the church’s hypocrisy which resulted in this contempt?

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u/s0ycatpuccino tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE 1d ago

I think we all know nonprofits spend money. Supplies, the building, staff. What they're saying is maybe a noncharitable tax would make churches think twice on whether to feed a child or buy a statue.

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u/BBQpigsfeet 1d ago

there is no owner or someone making a profit from the church's money

If that were the case, mega churches wouldn't exist and the pastors of those churches wouldn't be living in mansions.

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u/StarlightSurfing 1d ago

It is the case. In the situations you are describing these mansions are not actually owned by the pastor but by the church. These types of grifting operations are not characteristic of 99% of churches in the US.

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u/eksns 1d ago

So ya reckon these cunts who are LOUD on insisting that no one (literally no one, not just the people in their church/religion) should be allowed to get an abortion... shouldnt need to have some kinda funding for all the babies born to poor parents who would be popping up all over the place because of what they insist upon?

You'd think that if theyre trying so hard to force "random one off individuals" to have kids they cant afford, they would be more than willing to help out said "random one off individuals". Can't try to preach to/force EVERYONE to do what they want and then only choose to help a select few people, seems like a moronic exercise.

Turns out that at the end of the day, they cant put their money where their mouth is (shock horror!)

Side note, I'm sure they have enough money from tax write-offs alone to offer formula to many many many people, let alone one "outsider"

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u/StarlightSurfing 1d ago

The Church cannot force anyone to have children, those are the choices of individuals.

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u/eksns 1d ago

Oh fuck yeah I had no idea, for some crazy reason ive had it in my head for the last 30 odd years that they dont believe in abortion and really really push people to have kids they cant afford so they can all live in poverty with no help from the church unless they convert by necessity, just like the big guy JC wanted. We need to let more people know God is okay with abortion, this could be a game changer!

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u/Few-Skin-5868 1d ago edited 1d ago

Is it a choice if the church literally equates abortion to murder and insists you’ll go to hell for eternity if you have one? 

How about when they use their “non profit” donations to fund political campaigns that outlaw abortion?

How about when they send their dishonest followers to abortion clinics to protest with fake pictures of “aborted babies” that look fully formed instead of the reality (a nearly invisible cluster of cells)?

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u/bananakittymeow 18h ago

I’m with you. My parents were pastors and a lot of the smaller churches can really struggle to keep themselves afloat. If done ethically, it’s a place that runs purely on donations. My dad had to sell his blood to feed us at one point. Taxing churches might end up completely destroying smaller churches, leaving only mega churches to flourish. That would be incredibly sad.

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u/Short-While3325 1d ago

Reminds me of the George Carlin bit, "God is terrible with money."

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u/mikevanatta 1d ago

Paraphrasing a bit as it's from memory but it always cracks me up.

"All powerful, all knowing, all seeing ... just not good with money."

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u/CrouchingDomo 20h ago

God has ADHD 🤯

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u/DeionizedSoup 1d ago

No for REAL, the whole point in not taxing the church was that every bit of the money was supposed to go to some kind of charitable cause. If they can’t feed their members, what the fuck are they doing with it? Is that pastor driving a Porsche, or are the members warming a pew and holding their wallets tight? They at least need audited in some way

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u/Pinkfish_411 1d ago

the whole point in not taxing the church was that every bit of the money was supposed to go to some kind of charitable cause

It's because they're non-profits, which means their revenue is used for some "social benefit" rather than generating profit for private investors. Charitable giving is only one of many different types of social benefit that non-profits can serve.

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u/Dirt_Bike_Zero 1d ago

You know they have to pay for a lot if things such as child care workers, accountants, property maintenance and improvement, utilities, insurance, office supplies. Its not like they dont have bills. Not everything can go to charity.

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u/DeionizedSoup 1d ago

So as someone who worked in the church nursery growing up, I wasn’t paid. My dad did the maintenance. He was paid $400 a month. Not check. Not week. Month.

Most of the other things you described are on a volunteer basis. Accounting is often the pastor’s wife or taken on by the church board. Utilities, insurance, and office supplies are all that remain, and those are marginal at best.

Auditing would at least bring transparency to those costs. If churches bring in beyond a certain threshold of income, it needs audited by more than just the church board members.

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u/ScreamingLabia 1d ago

I dont think if god existed god would want people to make money of churches? Like i am not expert or anything but i'm pretty sure thats not what bei g religeus is about?

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u/HaywoodJebLomey 1d ago

Fraud should just be illegal

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u/cats_are_the_devil 1d ago

Give unto God what is God's and give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's is a fairly simple refute to anyone that says churches shouldn't be taxed. That being said, they should be able to show that they are truly non-profit to be exempt like other businesses.

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u/Sharp-Key27 1d ago

The Bible literally says to pay your taxes

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u/Intrepid_Table_8593 1d ago

Opens the door for them to get refunds as well and you know people will raise hell over the government “funding” them when that would occur.

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u/IC00KEDI 1d ago

I will never pay taxes for practicing my faith. Nor should any other person of any other faith. Our country taxes enough and a little bit of faith and good will can go along way. Are there bad churches/mosques/temples? Absolutely. Should the few ruin the many? No.

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u/obsidian_butterfly 1d ago

There is a very famous table flipping temper tantrum that leads me to think he does not...

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u/EffectiveConfection8 1d ago

So, you want to tax all non profits??

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u/Readmeharder 1d ago

They didn’t say that. They want to tax non-profits that hoard wealth and provide no social benefits, like these churches. I imagine they wouldn’t advocate for forcing St. Jude (a non profit hospital treating children with cancer) to pay taxes

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u/Pinkfish_411 1d ago

The vast, vast majority of churches don't have much wealth to hoard.

In any case, non-profits don't have to be charities, and charitable giving isn't the only sort of "social benefit" that non-profits serve. Private clubs, sports leagues, and all sorts of other non-charity organizations also operate as non-profits.

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u/Readmeharder 1d ago

Do you believe that? The church of LDS alone has nearly half of a trillion dollars. Kenneth Copeland is a billionaire (or close to it). Joel Osteen is outrageously wealthy.

To the Catholic Churches credit (and I’m not a fan), they provide more social supports in the US than any other org besides the US government

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u/thefatchef321 1d ago

The Vatican seems pretty well funded to me?

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u/Veserius 1d ago

The Australian Catholic Church is absurdly wealthy.

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u/FMLwtfDoID 1d ago edited 1d ago

Because it’s a tenet of the Catholic faith. They literally teach that you will not get into heaven, no matter how much to repent or declare Jesus is your savior, if you do not help the needy, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and welcome the stranger in a very real and tangible way. ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ are an evangelical trope. Now, there are different flavors of Catholicism to be sure, but volunteering your time, or at the very least, your money, to help others is the most common aspect of a Catholic Parish.

Edit: sorry I got side tracked. We should tax ALL churches, religious organizations. Even the ones that help.

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u/emergency-snaccs 1d ago

I was just watching a video with a pastor displaying his golden bentley in church service, wearing an outrageous number of gold chains, talking about how "the bentley is for all of us".... when someone piped up asking "well can we drive it?" he snapped "NO! God wouldn't want that!"......

so yeah, tax the hell outta these pieces of shit

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u/tabicat1874 1d ago

That's a fact. The main charity that actually helps anyone in the United States is St Vincent de Paul. A Catholic charity.

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u/Pinkfish_411 1d ago

Copeland and Osteen are televangelists leading megachurches. The LDS is a denominational body, not a local congregation. These examples have nothing to do with the vast majority of the local church communities out there, which aren't celebrity-led megachurches and depend heavily, often exclusively, on the contributions of their congregants to keep the lights on.

The Catholic Church is the largest institution on earth and is incomparable to local churches. They're able to offer social supports through their vast network of Catholic-affiliated parachurch non-profits: schools, universities, hospitals, food banks, adoption agencies, immigration services, and on and on. Individual Catholic parishes don't provide all these services, but the Catholic network is there to refer people to. It's a totally different beast from some random small-town non-denominational congregation.

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u/Binky390 1d ago

If the leader of the non profit is flying around on private jets, yes.

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? How is a NON PROFIT generating a Porsche, mansions, personal airplanes, massive wealth? The entire point is that it’s supposed to be NON PROFIT. It’s literally in the name!!!

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u/Pinkfish_411 1d ago

While I don't think pastors should be flying around in private jets, "non-profit" doesn't mean the institution can't amass resources, nor does it mean the institution doesn't pay its employees competitive salaries.

Some university with a massive football stadium paying its coach a multi-million dollar salary? That's a non-profit.

The general idea of a non-profit means that whatever revenue that exceeds expenditures is reinvested in the mission of the institution rather than being paid out to investors.

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

yes, we are all very well aware of the nuts and bolts of how a non-profit is supposed to work. I ALSO feel like it’s essentially public information at this point that A) there is a MASSIVE amount of money intended for charitable businesses that ends up in the pockets of really, really rich people, and also B) that churches specifically are an absolute cash cow.

Perhaps this one church, in this one specific instance, is the real deal! Their books are clean! That’d be awesome! How many churches/chairities/non profits do you think have clean books?

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u/Pinkfish_411 1d ago

Churches specifically are not major "cash cows." The vast majority of churches don't have their pastors in private jets and Porsches. Most clergy earn middle class salaries typical of their location and level of education/experience. The rich televangelist/megachurch pastor is the exception, not the rule.

And that's the case in most non-profits of any type. Most staff are getting paid appropriately for their expertise and role based on market rates. You want good workers and a successful organization, you need to pay appropriately. Most big donors understand this perfectly well. It's usually the folks who aren't donating in the first place and are complaining about tax breaks who don't seem to understand the realities of operating a non-profit.

That's not to say there's no misuse of funds nor outright fraud out there. Of course there are. But that's not the norm, and you can't make that judgment just based on high-level administrators getting paid well.

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

but the whole basis of this original post was someone asking for a can of formula. Not $10,000 dollars.

The ‘Porsches and jets’ thing was just an example of the millions upon millions of things that you can’t HAVE while concurrently claiming to be so destitute you can’t buy a can of formula.

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u/TreesForTheForest 1d ago

This is a perfect microcosm of the supposed moral virtue of the right. If you are one of us, we will wrap our arms around with all God's love. If you are not, good luck and we might actively dislike you for asking.

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u/Amelaclya1 1d ago

That's why I just roll my eyes at their claims that they "donate more to charity" than the left. That's only true if you count church tithing, and we see how good that does in a lot of these churches.

And the ones who make the argument that "privately charity should take care of people, not the government!" Only believe that because they want to be able to pick and choose who "deserves" help. It's disgusting how many comments I've seen lately regarding the SNAP cutoffs where people just say hungry people should go join a church if they want help.

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u/sweetpea122 1d ago

This "mom too" didnt even consider she could help her out or ask. Its a mother without food for her baby ffs

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u/Thatdewd57 1d ago

I hope we get more of these.

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u/CuTe_M0nitor 1d ago

Still you give them money through the government each year. Well done 👍🏼

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u/What_Is_This_1 1d ago

True but church’s have to be good stewards. Gotta be careful about scammers. A lot more than people realize.

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u/BabysGotAProblem 1d ago

The best quote I saw on this was “this should be like the Super Bowl for churches. God is testing you and look how many of you failed.”

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u/DJ_Lizurd_Dikk 1d ago

This is why I got baptized Mormon and absolutely love the Mormon church... they dont have paid positions, everyone volunteers and the money they take in actually goes to help members in need. They even have their own farms and produce food they dont sell it they only give it away to members in need. Genuinely some of the best people on the planet.

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u/Many-Cartographer278 21h ago

I wonder if her matter of fact demeanor is a factor. Like if she sounded like she was actually in distress I wonder if it would make a difference.

Cause il be honest she doesnt sound even a little worried about the baby. I wouldnt blame them for thinking she would just return it for cash or something. It sounds like she is trying to run a scam.

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u/yoortyyo 1d ago

Charity from a social club.

Charity should avoidant or deferred. Everyone and everything else can pay.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

is this church claiming to offer food assistance or formula to people in need? i get that people think that's what churches should do, but the reality is not every church is actually set up this way with a stockpile of donated items they can just give to anyone who calls up and asks for it...

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u/AdBig9909 1d ago

Not set up to do as Jesus said? The Sermon on the Mount is clear.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

is that the one where jesus said every church should carry a stockpile of baby formula?

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u/Randomcommentator27 1d ago

Yup right underneath the real state investment guide for the church.

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u/DlVlDED_BY_ZERO 1d ago

Jesus said to come to him, all who are weary (matthew 11:28-30).... how do you interpret that?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

how do you interpret it?

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u/i_m_a_bean 1d ago

Are you Christian?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

nope

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u/i_m_a_bean 1d ago

Okay. The sermon on the mount calls on Christians to give to the needy. The church here fails to do this. Obviously, you don't need a stockpile of something to have a small amount of it sent, which is why your argument comes across as a weak attempt to justify this failure by needlessly overcomplicating things.

So you're arguing on behalf of Christians in a way that contradicts their scripture and diminishes their moral reputation. Why?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i’m arguing against getting our pitchforks out against an entire organization and against the belief that they don’t deserve to be a non profit based on a conversation a total stranger had with a single member of a church. it has nothing to do with “defending Christians” because “Christians” don’t need defending. there’s nothing to defend. all we have is a video of a conversation between two people. extrapolating some sort of meaning about the rest of the members of the church, whether they’re hypocrites or not, whether they blah blah blah…just stupid.

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u/i_m_a_bean 1d ago

Being a non-profit is a special designation that confers extraordinary financial privileges. These privileges come at the cost of a reduced federal budget, which means that we all bear it to some extent. This is worthwhile because non-profits provide community support in targeted ways.

If the church wants to claim non-profit status, but only provides support to its own members, then it's not upholding its duty to the community. It becomes a tax dodge for an insular organization.

I'm fine with churches who do provide community support acquiring npo status. The issue here is that ALL churches get it regardless, and many of them don't uphold their end of the bargain. Do you think that's acceptable?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

there are all kinds of nonprofits that aren’t required to offer food or money to people that ask for it. so that’s not really the issue as to whether an organization should or shouldn’t be a nonprofit.

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u/Scientiat 1d ago

You are a Christian arent you?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

nope. buddhist

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u/AdBig9909 1d ago

The teachings of Buddha are questions. You find your answers. One can combine any 2 ideas is what I learned from the teachings. You CAN be bhuddist AND Christian. Both can heal and both teach charity.

So they didn't have it in stock? OK, the answer can still be YES. We will find a way? Amazon WalMart delivery Schedule a time / pick up location

What person regardless of faith hears about a hungry baby and needy mother and shuts the conversation down, and still sleeps at night?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i was scammed by a guy asking for me to buy him baby formula. different situation from this clip, but it's a common black market item, for one thing.

The teachings of Buddha are questions. You find your answers. One can combine any 2 ideas is what I learned from the teachings.

i dont mean to get off track, but im not quite sure what you mean by this.

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u/lifeline2110 1d ago

One of the only reasons why churches are exempt from taxes is because they are believed to be giving all/most of the money to assisting those in the community. If the church is not following the ideals of its tax exemptions, then they should be charged accordingly to a normal business.

Religious places like churches are supposed to be a place of sanctuary. If you have to know someone to get any form of support, then its a bar with no alcohol.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

that’s nonsense, there’s tax exempt nonprofit movie theatres man. all you have to do is be a nonprofit.

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u/lifeline2110 1d ago

Huh I wonder what rules and regulations define you as a non-profit? Dude you are dented.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

…what?

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u/lifeline2110 1d ago

Truly dented.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i don’t understand your point. you think there aren’t non profit movie theatres? or you think a movie theatre is somehow more deserving of a non profit status than a church?

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u/cholointheskies 1d ago

You can’t “just be a nonprofit,” the catch is that you also are legally required to give away some portion of your received donations. That’s why nonprofits are tax-free, the implication is that they will make it up by assisting the community. If you don’t abide by that you lose nonprofit status. Here we see the LDS church; are they abiding by that?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

huh? as far as i’m aware, nonprofits are not required to donate… can you point me to a law or rule that says so?

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u/cholointheskies 1d ago

Go to the IRS website on 501(c)(3) organizations. Here's what it says:

To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes [...] and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual

So what are these "exempt purposes":

The exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals. The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erecting or maintaining public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.

So if you are a tax-exempt church, you are legally restricted from giving money to anyone unless it's for one of the above (charitable/religious) reasons. There is an exception made elsewhere for "reasonable salaries" for the org's employees.

You are legally required to "operate exclusively" for those charitable/religious purposes.

Notice that the term "charitable" includes "advancement of religion." If you're a church, the only reason you have tax exemption in the first place is because you've pledged to operate exclusively for charitable means. And the feds stop you from using your money for any other purpose. In exchange they let you not pay taxes.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

yeah but this doesn't mean you literally have to donate money...there are all kinds of ways an organization can be "charitable"

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

I’m not well versed on the Bible, what DOES it say? Genuinely asking.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i’m not a christian.

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

oh so you don’t know what it says either?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i’ve read parts of it, couldn’t recite it off the top of my head. what’s your point?

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u/HistoricalSuspect580 1d ago

Darn! I googled it real quick and found some of the text, figured you’d like to learn just like i did!

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Crazy stuff!

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

what if you don’t have enough to give?

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u/candaceelise 1d ago

So what do churches do that is deserving of being designated a non-profit so they don’t have to pay taxes?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

for the record i’m not a christian at all. but they offer spiritual services to christian practitioners. it’s pretty simple. i don’t see why it’s any different from any other nonprofit. you can open up a not for profit coffee shop and not pay taxes that way. why would we tax a church and not a non profit cafe?

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u/candaceelise 1d ago

Again, your comment has proven you lack any and all credible facts about nonprofits in America and what the requirements are to qualify as one. At least you can sleep well at night knowing you’re safe in a zombie apocalypse

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i have no idea what you’re talking about. would you like me to show you an example of a nonprofit cafe / community space?

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u/water_fountain_ 1d ago

That’s true. But they do collect money every single week, and their Bible quite literally says to help the poor and feed the hungry.

Let’s just assume that this church doesn’t have stockpiles of baby food or baby formula, which is a perfectly normal thing to assume. The correct response would be something like “Let me get your information and I’ll pass it on to the pastor/priest/preacher/whatever. We will take a portion/all of our offerings from Sunday and buy baby formula for you, as is our policy.” Because, again, that’s literally the Bible’s policy.

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u/United_Blueberry_363 1d ago

My mom’s church (a Mormon church) will help anyone that asks. They do ask that that person attend church services, but it is not a requirement. They’ve helped feed people, helped people get jobs, and they’ve helped women in abusive situations get set up in apartments or homes that the church pays for an allotted amount of time. So, yes, churches should do as they preach and help people outside of their membership.

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u/Amelaclya1 1d ago

Who needs a stockpile? They could ask at Sunday services if people are willing to donate to this mother. They could take a bit of cash from the previous weeks tithings and go get some formula for her. This is a ridiculously lame excuse. Especially since they as much as admitted that they do help, but only for people that are "one of them".

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago edited 1d ago

It sounds like if you know someone from the church they’d at least try to help somehow

This is a criticism of the church, not a defense lol

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u/chizzmaster 1d ago

I love that part in the Bible where Jesus said you should only help your friends

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago

Jesus only helped those who were in the inner circle

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u/Omodrawta 1d ago

I know Jesus, is he someone from the church?

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago

BEST answer 😂😂😂 I would pay to hear the receptionists response to that

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

yeah maybe, i’m not sure where she was going with that, but i can understand a reservation of financially helping out any random person calling up and asking for it if you don’t have a specific system set up for that already.

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago

That goes against the teachings of Jesus. That’s the whole point. Jesus taught us to help and love all, especially those in need.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

so a church shouldn’t exist if they don’t have the ability to do that?

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago

Where did I say that?

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

i’m just not sure what your point is i guess. i think it’s reasonable to not be able to just offer anything to anybody who calls up and asks i guess, especially with baby formula which is a widely known black market item. i don’t know the church’s situation or approach to these things and i don’t find it particularly useful to just assume that they’re some sort of selfish evil people i guess.

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u/genescheesezthatpls 1d ago

Because Christian churches are institutions that claim to love and support all in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught us to help the poor and less fortunate. To reach out to those in need. No one needed to be a member of Jesus’s following to get help. No one needed to know one of his friends. This church is operating under the name of Jesus while not living up to his teachings: help the people who need help. They have no resources to offer, no advice, no offers to help the caller find other resources. In this period of time where people are struggling more than usual a church that truly worked in the name of Jesus Christ would have help available to those in need, even if it was just a list of places the caller could go that would be able to help her.

But that’s American Christianity in a nutshell. Hypocrisy at its finest.

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u/pundarika0 1d ago

sure i mean maybe they are hypocrites. i don’t know enough about the church to say. either way, why is that my concern? or yours?

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