abaldwin360:  nonplussedbyreligion:  Garfield said this in 1874 people.  The fact that it's 2011 and the bonds between church and state seem to be the platform for all good politician these days is more than a little depressing.  The church relishes in the fact that as long as 501(c)(3) exists, they will always come out on top.  Maybe if more of their congregants, instead of us non-theists, got upset over their ability to build mega mansions and live way above the means of their flock, things would change.  Unfortunately, the people who should be speaking up won't, and those of us who do are accused of trying to undermine the values of the nation.  When your pastor tells you to not stop tithing, even when faced with hunger and homelessness, while he has no financial problems  thanks to your money, you should question that.   To be fair, not all pastors are rich.  Many actually work second jobs and run small congregations.  However, the ones that don't, the runners of the mega churches may garner a little more of my respect if they lived the simple lives of their followers, and used their tax exemption status to do more for others.  This isn't about class warfare.  This isn't about people building industries and making their money through hard work an profits.  I'm talking about people who have gained their riches, tax free, from the donations, offering, financial prayer requests, and other funding from the poor people who believe the words they say.  If you want me to be less hostile about 501(c)(3), let the Joel Osteens, and Pat Robertsons of the world move into my middle class suburb and use their enormous viewer acquired wealth to feed and house the people whose money the pocket.  It will never happen though, and I will never stop being pissed off about it. I know it's easy to blame the people who keep giving up their money to them, I hold them responsible as well, but as long as our government is OK with it, things will never change. ~ Kim  Amazing post, Kim!
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