God is in the details for Powerball winner

re's simply no way you can be certain none of that money is ill-gotten.

are we going to play last word pissing match ? - not all pharm end users are "evil" - you sound much like the liberal kids at DU -

not all pharm end users are "evil" - you sound much like the liberal kids at DU

I never said all users were evil. I said you cannot ascertain whether some of the money you are paid has come from legitimate activities. Your own words on this thread state that the church should not take Whittaker's money; how can you take money if you're not confident of the source?

A little bit of that "cradle Catholic" stuff goes a long way with me. Try this analogy on for size. My little Cairn terrier is being raised in a Catholic household. I have no expectation that he will become either Christian or a devout Catholic. It takes a little more than accident of birth or environment.

I dont expect a dog to become anything... its a dog. What are they teaching you? ;)

And to clear things up, it wasnt about the second coming, it was regarding rapture and or regarding Revelations as nothing more than symbolic. My wife tells me how little effort was taken to teach salvation and to do the duty we are commanded to do and that is to spread His word.

A gather you use neither wages nor credit to purchase groceries?

Mammon is the root of all sorts of evil.

Mammon is more closely associated with the control of power. Many cases it might be linked to cash as a media to convey power, but it could also be other man recognized enities.

But also consider the dream, wherein the cloth was laid out with sorts of foul creatures and unclean things and the prophet was told to eat.

Indeed, if the contribution was not a tithe, but an intended payoff, then I can understand the rejection. If understood by the donator to be filthy lucre, again I can understand the rejection,...if not, then render a prayer of thanks and ask His blessing and receive what He has provided. Place it in His hands.

p*ssing match

Who's being potty mouth? :-)

Oh, did you know what the Greek word for sorcery is in the New Testament? "Pharmakia" from which we get our modern word for...

Ok, ok.

"Pharmakia" from which we get our modern word for...

charming

You are assuming that if a professing Christian derives riches from any activity then that is God's way of "blessing" that Chritian. That is not a logical assumption. If a professing Christian went out and sold heroin to some school children and made a million dollars, I would hardly call it God's blessing.

Israel coveted after meat after many days in the wilderness with nothing but manna. They cried out for meat and God granted their request. If you search scripture, you will not find that the abundance of quail they received to be a blessing.

According to your view, one can accumulate wealth from any activity and it is acceptable, I don't see how you can defend that point.

You also try to argue that everything in life is a gamble, therefore betting on the lottery is simply an extension of life. This is a facile argument. Everything in life involves some degree of risk. However, one does not place a wager with one's neighbor one whether one is going to arrive at work safely in the morning.

Second, if one assumes that every ordinary event in life involves risk, then everything that happens is a matter of mere chance. This is not true. Everything in life is order by the hand of God. Even the falling of leaf is subject to his decree. If you assume that the lottery is under God's control too, then you are suggesting that God intends to enrich one winner (or small group of winners) at the expense of millions of others who win nothing. Furthermore, this group of winners are enriched without doing anything to earn their winnings. This is a twisted and perverted view of God's rewards.

The bottom line is that you are going to have a hard time proving that gambling is an activity that carries divine approval.

I thought we covered this

1 Timothy 6

Love of Money

3If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,

4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions

5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Don't look now but that Bible you like to quote says it's a sin for you to judge this lottery winner Mr Sinner Man...

Actually, it doesn't.

Salvation Army refuses Lotto winner's $100,000 donation
Naples News ^ | 12/28/02 | Ray Parker

Posted on 12/28/2002 6:32 AM EST by Fighting Irish

Lottery winner David Rush was irked Friday to find out local Salvation Army officials rejected his $100,000 donation.

The religious charity, popularly known for its bell ringers outside shopping malls during the holidays, preaches against gambling.

"The money that Mr. Rush received was via the lottery: We preach against gambling," said spokeswoman Maribeth Shanahan, who spoke on behalf of Cleo Damon, who heads the Collier County chapter and decided not to accept the donation. "To accept it would be to talk out both sides of our mouth."

Rush, a financial adviser, doesn't see lottery money as gambling. In his view, the money reaped from Wall Street investments involves a risk-gain factor, not unlike a lottery ticket.

"Everybody has a right to be sanctimonious if they want to be," Rush said. "I respect the Salvation Army's decision. I do not agree with it, but that is their prerogative."

Instead, he will donate the money to other groups with similar missions.

The Marco Island resident donated to charities such as the Salvation Army prior to his windfall last week, which amounted to a 25 percent share of the $100 million lottery jackpot.

The 71-year-old took a lump sum payment of $14.2 million.

Earlier this week at a Rotary Club of Marco Island luncheon, he handed out checks for $100,000 to the Salvation Army, $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, and $50,000 to the Rotary Club.

Jerry Brunette, the Rotary Club's Salvation Army liaison, accepted the check, not knowing there would be a problem.

Even so, Brunette said he understands why the Salvation Army rejected the money.

"If everyone acted as strongly on their principles, we wouldn't need a Salvation Army" to help the poor and needy, Brunette said.

In addition to those three groups, Rush said he made contributions to his other favorite charities, including two churches.

Shanahan, the local Salvation Army director of community relations and development, stressed the group could have used the money.

Over the holidays, from Nov. 18 until Christmas Eve, local Salvation Army bell ringers collected more than $105,000, Shanahan said.

There's not a final figure on the total donations collected by the group, which, she said, helped more than 6,000 people with food, toys or clothing during the holiday season.

Oh please. It is obvious that this man is more than a "professing" Christian. He is following the biblical order of tithing which, btw, is a command.

I never said that God was "in control" of the lottery and that He randomly chose to bless this man above others. I said that PERHAPS, because of his obedience to God's command of tithing that God chose to allow this man to win knowing that he would continue to bless the kingdom. IOW, He knew that this man could be trusted with the riches he received.

I never said that one could derive riches from any source and that it was "of God". Never.

And nowhere does it say that you "earn" a blessing either. That is the whole purpose of something being a blessing.

Since you agree that one cannot derive their riches from any source and that it would still be a blessing of God, the only question is whether riches derived from gambling are derived in a way according to the will of God.

The Bible and church history testify to a position that gambling is not in accord with the will of God. In fact, the Church of God, the denomination that this man belongs to, has denounced gambling (including lotteries) as sinful. Why should he be lauded for tithing winnings to a denomination that considers those as ill-gotten gains?

PERHAPS, this individual, who is a member of the Church of God, and these pastors have had a change of mind? Maybe. I think I smell a piping hot dish of hypocrisy.

BTW, God can curse a person with riches as well as bless them. God has definitely given great wealth to this land. However, it is unclear whether that wealth is a blessing or a curse.