How are you supposed to have educated leaders of the church without financial support?
No one should be taxed, so churches not being taxed is a perfectly fine thing in my opinion.
Discussion
What do you mean by educated leaders?
Do you want an idiot as a pastor? Or, do you want someone who has enough knowledge and wisdom to guide the church in a godly fashion?
That takes time and in this modern world, money.
So a pastor who is educated at an institution?
Yeah. Why not? They aren't all terrible. And I'd rather have someone who can at least translate Greek and Hebrew, which requires years of study, usually in the context of schooling. So yes. I do.
Ok. I believe institutional religion was created as a means of control on populations, which was not in the spirit of Christ’s message. So I don’t agree this is necessary for a church to succeed.
But again man, these are just my feelings. Not saying I am right. If you feel good with you and what you are doing then by all means keep doing it brother!
I will agree with you on the institutionalized religion, especially when it comes to the catholic church.
But that still doesn't mean I don't want an educated pastor.
I agree with you. You don’t want an idiot. But in reality no one with a brain would follow and idiot so I wouldn’t think the idiots church would be very successful.
My ideal church is meeting with a group of fellow believers at a home and being led in discussion of Christ by the “elder”, who may work as a Walmart greeter for all I care, who is the most Christ like in his actions and can help us as a “church” to spread and live christs message here on earth.
*wouldn’t be very successful
Yeah. That's definitely a good setup and more groups like that are forming, especially given how corrupt most of not all of the main stream denominations are. (which is why I still don't attend any churches in my area.)
I’m on nostr so no surprise I think it all points back to how Bitcoin fixes this, but I really believe that the degeneration of our religious “institutions” is a direct result of broken money.