Do you believe religious organizations and churches should be required to pay taxes (ie property tax)?

[u/TheTokist]

Just as stated. If you believe they shouldn’t pay taxes, please explain why.

[u/knewmenot]

This position that church is taking is directly against Christ's teaching.

[u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 → u/knewmenot]

Which teaching?

[u/Peetrrabbit → u/knewmenot]

So? That’s one god out of the 4000 humans have worshipped so far?

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/knewmenot]

It actually seems to be in line with the following story from Matthew 15, where Jesus doesn’t help a Canaanite woman until she effectively calls Him her master.

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him.“Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”And her daughter was healed at that moment.

[u/xHandelx → u/Master-Education7076]

I don’t get that from that text. She has already called him lord and master.

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/xHandelx]

No she hadn’t. Cite me the line prior to that that I’m missing.

[u/xHandelx → u/Master-Education7076]

You’re saying he changes his tune because she calls him master. How do you know that’s the reason?

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/xHandelx]

So I’ll take it you admit she had NOT already called Him her lord and master.

I didn’t say He changed His tune BECAUSE she called him master. However, He DID change His tune AFTER she effectively called Him master.

If I were to argue that it was BECAUSE she called Him master, it would be based on the context and the sequencing. Just read it. She asked Him for help. He turned her down. She then effectively calls Him master. Then He DOES help.

[u/Agile_Championship87 → u/Master-Education7076]

The sequence of events is irrelevant - god already knew what would happen. Any reaction to people or events from god shows it's all nonsense, he's supposed to be all knowing.

[u/Hot_Coconut1838 → u/Master-Education7076]

i dont think thats what you were supposed to get out of that scripture lol. She was a gentile and Jesus still helped her, think the argument goes harder for helping those who are not of the flock.

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/Hot_Coconut1838]

Or is it that anybody can gain Christ’s redemption if they simply submit to him?

[u/Hot_Coconut1838 → u/Master-Education7076]

that was not your original argument nor the reason you brought that scripture up, get real.
Then why would christ heal the servant of the centurion? If direct submission to Christ is required to receive why then would he heal the servant whose faith we are told nothing about. Could it be that we should act with grace to all we see? That our neighbor who god commands us to love is who is in front of us?

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/Hot_Coconut1838]

Honey, I was just playing Devil’s Advocate—pun not intended, but satisfyingly fitting nonetheless.

Chances are, whatever moral position one is advocating for, they can find justification somewhere in the Bible for it. Hell, even if their moral position involves killing babies (see 1 Samuel 15:3).

[u/Hot_Coconut1838 → u/Master-Education7076]

ah fair i just assumed you were an evang (ive seen them actually make this argument) it is also funny to troll as an atheist with catholic religious teachings to these people

[u/Master-Education7076 → u/Hot_Coconut1838]

Ultimately, it really is hard to truly know what writers almost 2000 years ago, writing epics about a legendary religious figure of the time, were trying to convey with some of their stories. Imagine going back in time to the time of the American Revolution and lamenting about the generation-wide anxiety epidemic from Social Media constantly grabbing your attention from your pocket. They simply wouldn’t know what in the hell you were talking about.

[u/Hot_Coconut1838 → u/Master-Education7076]

terrible analogy of course they wouldn't understand future problems. Can we understand the past? Should we also throw history out the window? There is an entire church history of interpreting these passages and finding context to them for nearly the last 2 millennia.