Tithing and fear based mind control
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/04/tithing-and-fear-based-mind-control.html
Also see
ENFORCED TITHING
Tithe collectors
The tithe on Trial: Exposing the Golden Calf of Today’s Prosperity Gospel
TITHING: A MERE PROSPERITY GOSPEL HOAX
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2010/10/tithing-mere-prosperity-gospel-hoax.html
Ronnie Floyd - the Next SBC President - Endorses Robert Morris' "First Fruits Cursings" Teaching
As I have already written about, just a few weeks ago Ronnie delivered a sermon to get his church members to believe that unless they fork over 10% of their income to their church, they are probably not real Christians. And to make his point he did not quote the Bible, instead he quoted the most abusive first-fruit-tithe-teaching pastor that is out there now: Robert Morris.
Here is what Ronnie told his church members:
"Pastor Robert Morris says 'it's a real shame that Christians don't believe the importance of writing the first check [10% of your income to your church] because God is the one we value first. God is the one we respect first....God is the one we fear first. It's not the mortgage company we fear first, it's not the U.S. government fear first, we should live our lives fearing God first."
This is Ronnie's mistake: he thinks "giving to God" means "giving to Ronnie's church". No, Ronnie, when I put my family first, and I pay my rent, and my insurance, and my kid's college tuition, and pay for my family's food and shelter FIRST, it means I place them above your 501(c)3 institution. It doesn't mean I don't fear God, or that I don't respect God. And the truth is, as Wade Burleson points out in his article today, this is what more and more church member are realizing, and it is why people are leaving church. They realize men like Ronnie Floyd are trying to manipulate them into thinking their church IS God's kingdom.
But
Ronnie wasn't done quoting the wonderful Robert Morris, who as I said
without question the worst of the mainstream evangelical first-fruit
tithing abusers. Morris says non-tithers are arrogant, thieves, and subject to demon possession. He says do not pay rent or electric bill until you first give 10% to your church. He says church members must tithe to avoid divorce, or losing their kids or jobs to the devourer.
Go to those links. Watch the video evidence of his teaching. This is
the man Ronnie is quoting to his church as the premier expert on
biblical financial principles.Back to Ronnie: Next, Ronnie put up Morris' mug on the overhead image screens (see image above), and the quotes from his book "Blessed Life":
"He writes a book called 'The Blessed Life'. You never read 'The Blessed Life"? You oughta get a copy of 'The Blessed Life'. It's one of the greatest books on financial matters that I've ever read."
Wow.
Do SBC'ers know what is in this book? Ronnie says it's the best book
he's read on finances. Only two explanations for that endorsement:
either this is the ONLY book on finances Floyd has ever read or
remembers reading, or by "best" he means "if my members will believe
this nonsense in this book I can double or triple my church's revenue".
Take your pick.But this book has a tagline at the bottom which says: "The Simple Secret of Achieving Guaranteed Financial Results."
This is health and wealth prosperity teaching. The book teaches people the concept of "first fruits" giving, that God requires the very first 10% of a Christian's income to be given to their church. This is not a recommendation - this is a requirement, for Morris teaches in this book that if you DO give 10%, God will bless you financially, "guaranteed". And God will "rebuke the devourer" - you know, like the mafia boss protecting your business if you share the profits with him. But if you do NOT give 10%, you are cursed by God, and God will not prevent "the devourer" from hurting you, your children, your spouse, your marriage and your finances. You think I'm exaggerating. No, this is what Morris teaches in the book, and what he teaches from the pulpit.
And Ronnie Floyd is pushing this nonsense on his congregation..
But Ronnie wraps things up with this quote from Robert Morris - note, he is quoting from a book written by Robert Morris, not from the bible:
"Robert Morris says these words: 'When God blesses you when you give the first fruits, being blessed means you're having supernatura power working for you'. Listen carefully, he says then 'By contrast, being cursed means having supernatural power working against you."
Now Ronnie is going to interpret what Robert Morris says. He is not interpreting scripture, he is interpreting Robert Morris:
"When we honor the Lord with the first fruits, then I've got the supernatural power of God working for everything else in that bucket. But listen: if I don't wanna honor God with my first fruits, then I've got the supernatural power of God working against me and my buckets."
Yep, don't give 10% to Ronnie's church, and God is going to work against you. You're "cursed".
When you get right down to it, this is about as anti-Christian of a message as you can get. As one writer said recently, to say you will be cursed if you do not tithe is really to publicly mock the work of Christ on the cross. Ronnie surely knows Galatians 3:13, where Paul says "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us".
So not only does Ronnie spit on the work of Christ with this teaching of the "supernatural power of God working against you" if you don't tithe, but he does it in the most arrogant and condescending way throughout the entire sermon. Watch him strut around and hoot and holler and point and bellow, here at this link. Or if you don't have 50 minutes of you life to waste, watch the 3 minute clip below.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, will likely be the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
I think that is perfect. The SBC deserves a man like Ronnie - a man whose search for revenue at his church ultimately harms the faith he professes.
And this is the man the SBC will likely get as their next president.
Robert Morris Lays Down the Law: Non-Tithers are "Arrogant" and "Thieves" And Subject to Demon Possession
http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2013/10/robert-morris-lays-down-law-non-tithers.html
"Listen to me carefully, I'm going
to say something very strong: Any person that doesn't tithe is
arrogant, because you believe you can make it your way and not doing it
God's way. And you HAVE to be arrogant to steal from God. You have to be
extremely arrogant to steal from God. And please understand if you don't tithe, that's an open door to demons...and
I don't say that to make you feel condemned or to argue about tithing.
And no matter how many doors you close in your life, if you're not a
tither, you've got an open door to the 'enemy'." Robert Morris 9/30/13"
------------------------------
If it wasn't bad enough already with Robert Morris telling Christians
everywhere they must tithe to "rebuke the devourer", to avoid divorce,
to protect your kids - now Robert Morris has thrown down the gauntlet.
Now non-tithers are thieves - they're arrogant, AND they are subject to
demon possession.Yes, demon possession. You know, an "open door" to demons. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
This sort of nonsense from Morris - this abuse, really is what it is - declaring Christians at his church to be thieves, that they are arrogant (look at the video and his finger pointing - just who is the most arrogant person in his massive auditorium?) - that no matter how good they are in other areas of their Christian life if they don't fork over 10% they are still subject to little devils ruining their lives - is so laughable given that Gateway markets themselves as being "all about people":
Really? "All about people"? Robert Morris loves "people"? What sort of a man tells his congregation that the 80% of them that don't tithe (probably more) are arrogant and criminals and will have opened themselves to demons entering their lives? That isn't love. What sort of a madman tells Christian people looking for spiritual hope that because they can't give 10% of their income that their resources will be consumed by some unseen "devourer"?
And his finger-pointing, and his emphasis: "Listen to me very carefully, I'm going to say something very strong..." And his emphasis of the primacy and urgency of this single matter of tithing in a person's life by saying "No matter how many doors you close in your life, if you're not tithing..."
To Robert, there is nothing more important in a Christian's life, nothing that will determine your life's outcome, than how much money you give.
Robert, let me tell you something. Read carefully, this is very strong: You are abusing the people of your church. You should be ashamed. I wished that people just heard you and laughed it off and smiled and dismissed your claims as fairy tales. But I hear grown men on the video amen'ing your nonsense so I know many are taking you seriously.
You've turned the "good news" into very, very bad news.
Robert, that morning you were the most arrogant man in the church
building. Look in the mirror, Robert. YOU are the arrogant one.
And I dare say perhaps YOU and your family members who draw fat salaries from the offerings of these people you are abusing with your yarns are more apt to be seen as thieves.
But I will stop short of claiming your false teaching has opened a door to the devils and demons and devourers - I wouldn't ever stoop that low, Robert.
And I dare say perhaps YOU and your family members who draw fat salaries from the offerings of these people you are abusing with your yarns are more apt to be seen as thieves.
But I will stop short of claiming your false teaching has opened a door to the devils and demons and devourers - I wouldn't ever stoop that low, Robert.
Robert Morris Shakedown at LifeChurch: Don't Pay Rent or Electric Bill Until FIRST You Pay the Church - Or 100% of Your Money is Cursed
http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2013/10/robert-morris-shakedown-at-lifechurch.html
"Don't give the first portion [of
your income] to the mortgage company because the mortgage company does
not have the power to bless your finances. Only God does. Don't give the
first portion to the electric company, the electric company cannot
bless your finances, only God can. Would you rather live with 100% of
your income and all of it cursed, or 90% of your income and all of it
blessed. That's what the Bible says." Robert Morris at Life Church, October 2013
-------------------------
Above is more October tithing nonsense from Robert Morris - but to be fair, he delivers his any month of the year. Robert Morris was invited this month to preach his first-fruits, multiplication tithing gobbledygook to Craig Groeschel's Life Church - touted as the largest church in North America with 46,000 members at multiple sites. Craig's church is starting a new fund-raising drive called "Multiply" (by 0.9 apparently), and he brought the master tithing shake down artist Robert Morris to kick things off.
When Robert goes to these churches all over the country he basically gives the same message: that your income is cursed, and needs to be "redeemed" by you forking over the first 10% of it to your church. If you don't do this, God will take it anyways, and you'll be cursed, and your family, marriage, children are all at risk from a "devourer".
It is hard to believe that someone who spews such nonsense is taken
seriously, but he is. The only thing more disturbing than what he says,
is that pastors actually invite this man and expose the people they are
supposed to be helping to this man's garbage that will either hurt them
financially, or turn them against Christianity altogether. I saw it
happen here in my own home town of Jacksonville, Florida, when Stovall Weems of Celebration Church - now the largest church in Jacksonville - had Robert in to preach a few months ago.
And some advice from the Watchdog that is based on truth and not fables, that is designed to help you and not hurt you:
"Do give the first, and biggest and most generous payments to the
mortgage and to the electric company - and to your kids' college
education and to your wife and to your retirement account - BEFORE
giving large sums of money to your church. Don't ever, EVER, put the
needs of a 501(c) organization above the immediate and long-term needs
of your family and then be fool enough to say you're doing it for Jesus.
Furthermore, the church does not have the willingness or the ability to
"bless you" financially, and all of the aforementioned DO have the
ability to bless you as they will return services commensurate with the
payments you make."
And THAT, Robert, is what the bible says. Like here:
"People who don’t take care
of their relatives, and especially their own families, have given up
their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn’t have faith in the
Lord." I Tim 5:8
