Of course you'd still pay your tithe. What a strange idea that one would think a Christian should stop tithing just when people are going to flock to the church for help.
The amount of ignorance in this thread is breathtaking. The virus poses little threat to churchgoers -- especially those in the South. You guys are just running with the bad information that the media has been propagating... just regurgitating what others told you, without checking to see if it reconciles versus the actual situation/threat on the ground. RISK: Elderly; those with major health problems; confined spaces (subways, ships, buses).
Did you have a traumatic experience with some Christians or maybe an incident with a religious leader, that makes you so motivated to post anti-Christian threads? You never criticize other religions, so I have to assume there is some bias there. By all means bash them. You have every right to and we should question them. But it's always a certain group. It's odd.
Whataboutism in the time of Corona. I have criticized non-Christian idiocy plenty, you just fail to notice it. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/death-cult-secular-edition.304726/
I'll try to salvage something useful out of this thread. Somewhere in the middle of March, my church (like many businesses and people) was hoping to be able to carry on with services with social distancing. But it quickly became obvious that wouldn't be possible and went online. Abbott says church is an essential service, and businesses will start re-opening. I'm curious to find out if the church is going to try something in person again. I suspect they won't be in an especial hurry to do so. And, they'll keep the online going regardless for the people who don't want to come out (pre-pandemic, they had less than a half-dozen watching online). They haven't discussed tithing since the pandemic. Some of it might have flagged from people who lost jobs, but I bet most people who kept jobs have kept up tithing just the same. Would not be surprised if some members pitched in extra to help field the deaconate. It's a common approach to tithe "first fruits" -- that is, from the gross revenue, pre-tax. So you'd tithe from stimulus checks too. It's not really new ground or anything. Pastors are generally paid a fixed salary. Any extra tithing, once operations are paid for, can go into a deaconal fund to help congregants down on their luck, pay for missionaries in the field, or pay for community services or other feel-good endeavors.
Churches need to follow the same health guidelines as any other business. A virus does not provide religious exemptions. If there are ways to have in-person meetings safely (with masks, distancing, etc.) without triggering a substantial jump in pandemic spread, then go for it. But watching the behavior of some of those people yelling about opening businesses, churches and schools, somehow I don't trust them to follow the rules to keep each other safe.
Corinthians 2 3:14159 And Jesus said "You have such a nice family It would be shame if anything happened to them. Now, give me my 10%."
But only to Joel Osteen. That guy is down on his luck, gonna be standing on the corner of Hillcroft and 59 holding a sign: "MUST PAY FOR WIFE'S NEW BEEMER."
so congregants who lost their jobs and down on their luck should still tithe? because they're going to get it back anyway? LOL
