Yes, Perry drew a parallel between those greedy non-tithers in his church - and Judas, the greedy guy who sold Jesus for some, well, tithe money. But Perry did it in a way to offer what he called "proof" that your finances will be cursed if you don't tithe.
And you have to have the intelligence of a 5-year old who believes in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and Frosty the Snowman to even begin to believe the hogwash put forth from Perry Noble on this one.
Perry starts his hocus pocus by saying:
"When it comes to your finances, they are either blessed by God, or cursed by God, there is no middle ground..."
OK, nothing new there. But then, Perry tells his peeps about his latest trip to Israel (and gets a plug in for his NEXT trip) and says he visited a place called "Caiaphus' house". There is an achaelogical location in Jerusalem that tradition says may have been the home of the high priest Caiphus where Jesus was brought before he was crucified - as explained in Matthew 26:57. It is not fact, just tradition, no one really knows.
But then Perry says he noticed an "undeveloped" piece of land next to Caiaphus' house, and he asks his tour guide why the land is undeveloped, while houses and structures are built around it. Perry explains the answer he received from his tour guide:
"And [the tour guide] said 'That is the piece of land that was bought with the money that was given to Judas when he betrayed Jesus. It is cursed land. Christians will not build on it. Jews will not build on it. Muslims will not build on it. It...is...cursed."
Time out. Perry is pulling a fast one on his peeps. That "undeveloped land" he shows on the screen is "Potter's Field". It is NOT cursed. It is an archaeological site. Its lack of development is NOT because Jews, Christians, and Muslims think it is cursed. Perry might think it is cursed, but the lack of development is because it is an archaeological site. It was also a burial site. It was a place where clay was mined.
But Perry takes his deception even further, using it to guilt his non-tithers, comparing them with Judas.
"I started thinking about this: Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He got the money to betray Jesus from who? The High Priest. Where did the High Priest get the money? The temple treasury. How did money get into the temple treasury? The tithe. Technically, Judas betrayed Jesus for tithe money."
Oh it gets better. Forget that the story of Judas' death and his giving back the money to the priests who then maybe bought a tract of land with the "blood money" is one of the more confusing and disputed stories of the New Testament. No, Perry now says that his fable is "2000 years of proof" that non-tithers are cursed!
"And for people to believe that the tithe is an Old Testament concept that was done away with in the New Testament...this is a picture 2000 years of proof that when we betray Jesus for money the ground, what we have, is cursed."
I don't know what else to say, than to say to the people of NewSpring Church: the only "proof" that Perry's story offers is proof that your pastor has no respect for you and your intelligence, and he doesn't give a whit about the potential harm his fables will do to your kids' faith when they finally realize their pastor chose to tell fables in church to get more of their parents' money.
Actually, I do have something else to say about Judas and the tithe money. Let's follow Perry's logic on the tithe money, but in today's terms:
In Perry's church and other mega churches today: who are the only people getting "tithe money" from the "temple treasury"? Why, it is Perry himself and other professional religious men like him. Where did Perry get his six-figure salary? From the temple treasury at NewSpring. How did the money get into the temple treasury? From the tithe.
Technically, Perry, YOU are the one taking tithe money every week from the temple treasury, not the people at your church who might be giving less than 10%! They are GIVERS...you are a TAKER!
And all you do to earn your money, Perry, is stand up and tell fables in an attempt to re-fill the treasury.
Perhaps it is Perry's ground that is cursed. He is the one that is taking money from the temple treasury.
Just like Judas did.
13 comments:
Prosperity preachers will lie, cheat and steal to hawk their "gospel" to a larger purse ... errr, audience. As long as there's a monkey with a tin cup, someone's going to be the Organ Grinder.
-@ChurchJudge
I think someone said it well, these preachers of "seeker" churches prey on the weakest and those who don't know their Bible. The preacher tells them these things and they never question any of it. After all, why would a preacher lie?
Maybe it is a case of the blind leading the blind.
Good logical article, WD. It is amazing that professional, career "religious" men take hundreds of thousands in salaries FROM THE OFFERING PLATE, and then tear into the givers about not putting enough INTO THE OFFERING PLATE... How gullible are we? Don't answer that. We believe in talking donkeys, the sun standing still (earth stopped spinning on its axis you know) and other yarns, so why not believe the Creator wants our money. Oh yeah, its God's money. That makes it even worse for these professional men of gawd. They are taking God's money, from the "temple treasury" and using it for selfish purposes for themselves and their family. Some even use it to cruise the Danube with their holy man leader. Disgusting.
WD - People ask why you harp on the tithe so much. Well, you make it clear with this sad, but true statement that really captures why false teaching on tithing is so important "...and he doesn't give a whit about the potential harm his fables will do to your kids' faith when they finally realize their pastor chose to tell fables in church to get more of their parents' money."
Young people today know when they are being exploited. They will leave in droves once they get the chance to consider what they were being taught in the church. These paid clergy don't care what they do to the faith of the next generation as long as they are getting richer and richer now.
There is a HUGE flaw in Perry's case for tithing. How could Judas have been paid with "tithe money" when the tithe was only paid in food?
The temple storehouse held crops and flocks for the Levite priests who weren't allowed to own anything.
Any coins collected from the temple would have been gifts not tithes.
Well, what do you expect from a man who couldn't even calculate 10% correctly for an illustration?
Martin Luther on the tithe:
Luther. Martin (Sermon; August 27, 1525): (tithing) [P139]
“But the other commandments of Moses, which are not [implanted in all men] by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe..."
John MacArthur on the tithe:
MacArthur, John [p54], (tithing) , pp53-54] God's Plan for Giving, Moody Press, 1985 Mega-successful church builder, college founder, author, TV ministry.
"So when someone says the Jew gave ten percent, that isn't true. The Jew gave twenty-three percent to begin with. It was for the poor people, the widows, and people who didn't have anything to eat. So they were funding the people who ran the government, which were the Levites; they were providing for national feasts through the festival tithe; and they gave for the welfare program. All this was funding for the national entity. All three of these were taxation, not freewill giving to God. Tithing was always taxation so that the programs of the government could run: the priestly program, the national religious program, and the welfare program" 76.
Commentary on the Book of Romans 9-16 (p.233)
Someone needs to tell Dr. John McArthur (or yell at him) to "take it up with 'da book!"
Martin Luther on tithing:
Luther. Martin (Sermon; August 27, 1525): (tithing) [P139]
“But the other commandments of Moses, which are not [implanted in all men] by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe..."
Again Christians think about Jews that really knows specifics about tithing
....oh no wonder 80 vote for social left programs of the state over this Balaamerror.
I am assuming Noble will defend himself claiming he also tithes.
Perry tried to "prove" during that sermon that he wasn't preaching for personal enrichment, by telling his congregation they could just tithe their money to ANY church they wanted to (because "Newspring doesn't need your money") and then sit back and reap God's blessings. If you closely follow the "Blessed/Cursed Life" teachings of Robert Morris (which Perry does) any congregants who obeyed Perry's offer have now automatically been CURSED by God because the full 10.0% of their GROSS income (substantially more than net income)MUST go to their local HOME church and no one else. Period. No exceptions. If you want to give to missions or other churches you may do that only after your FIRST 10% goes to your home church. Tithing to a non-home church is categorized as offerings or "extravagant giving." So Perry CURSED his congregation TWICE in one day. Once by only requiring a 9.1% tithe (from the dimebag) and a second time by telling them they can tithe to a different church/store house and omit the 10.0% to Newspring.
HATERS GONNA HATE PROVERBS 9:8! all of you that are being hateful are so jealous of all the incredible things happening in Newspring Church. and instead of realizing that you are more than welcome to come worship, you stand outside and HATE ON IT. you all sound like a bunch of Pharisees. LETS GET HIM BECAUSE HES LEADING PEOPLE TO CHRIST AND THATS A BAD THING! get outta here.
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