Another thing my daughter-in-law and I talked about were churches, the Jehovah's Witnesses in particular. She knows a couple who are Jehovah's Witnesses, and she wanted to talk to them about it, particularly since the wife had been Lutheran, as she is.
I didn't know much to help her out. I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in salvation by works, which I do not. I would bet the wife would say something like the Jehovah's Witnesses offered her a definite plan of salvation. This is something that I think Catholics and Lutherans, in my experience, are bad at. The reason I think they are so bad at it is that they, as denominations, do not make it clear that it is belief in Jesus Christ as Savior is what counts. They make it sound like it is more important to be Catholic or Lutheran. People want salvation to be understandable, and I don't think that it is. I think you have to accept Jesus's sacrifice as one of faith, and I think you have to come to the realization that, no matte how good you are, you can never, by yourself, be good enough. Jesus's blood, not your works, is what makes you good enough.
Anyway. My daughter-in-law said that the Jehovah's Witness husband had said something to her about organized churches wanting money. I have heard that complaint lots of times, and it is true, I think; all churches want money, presumably to further their own cause. I think what the believer has to sort out is whether their cause is the cause of Christ.
Then we talked about tithing and the attitude of the heart. I told her about an old girlfriend my son had. Her church asked for W-2s and told people what they owed! We talked about how it isn't how much you give that matters, but the attitude of your heart when you give it. Whether people like it or not, churches, like any other organization, have expenses, so they need income. There is a definite need there, not even counting the charitable ones. People seem to want their churches to have lots to offer; they just don't want to be the ones who pay for the offerings.
All in all, Beth and I had an interesting trip from Ohio to Virginia. I hope she got as much to think about out of it as I did.
I didn't know much to help her out. I believe the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in salvation by works, which I do not. I would bet the wife would say something like the Jehovah's Witnesses offered her a definite plan of salvation. This is something that I think Catholics and Lutherans, in my experience, are bad at. The reason I think they are so bad at it is that they, as denominations, do not make it clear that it is belief in Jesus Christ as Savior is what counts. They make it sound like it is more important to be Catholic or Lutheran. People want salvation to be understandable, and I don't think that it is. I think you have to accept Jesus's sacrifice as one of faith, and I think you have to come to the realization that, no matte how good you are, you can never, by yourself, be good enough. Jesus's blood, not your works, is what makes you good enough.
Anyway. My daughter-in-law said that the Jehovah's Witness husband had said something to her about organized churches wanting money. I have heard that complaint lots of times, and it is true, I think; all churches want money, presumably to further their own cause. I think what the believer has to sort out is whether their cause is the cause of Christ.
Then we talked about tithing and the attitude of the heart. I told her about an old girlfriend my son had. Her church asked for W-2s and told people what they owed! We talked about how it isn't how much you give that matters, but the attitude of your heart when you give it. Whether people like it or not, churches, like any other organization, have expenses, so they need income. There is a definite need there, not even counting the charitable ones. People seem to want their churches to have lots to offer; they just don't want to be the ones who pay for the offerings.
All in all, Beth and I had an interesting trip from Ohio to Virginia. I hope she got as much to think about out of it as I did.
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