sparrow794: It's amazing to me how hateful this thread is, and how all the hate seems to be coming from the same group of people who blame religion for all the world's problems.

That's because religion masks their hate and biggotry as love.

We LOVE families, so we don't want gays to get married.

See how that works?

We LOVE babies so we blow up abortion clinics and doctors.

We LOVE Jesus and Allah so we buy guns to put down those who don't.

T.M.S.: bongmiester:


easy solution - tax churches

To dream the impossible dream.

tons of obscure stuff on Fark

Not when you're chasing windmills...

hugmup:
There comes a point where the doctor doesn't want to be negligent and the family doesn't want to be unloving, but further treatment only prolongs misery and increases pain. If that is the case, the doctor needs help admitting that the patient will die regardless of the treatment, and the family needs help letting that happen.

I pay taxes, plenty of them, just like the doctor. Of course, my income is much lower.

This happened recently in my family.

We lost someone to cancer.

It became apparent it was better to die than to keep prolonging pain.

Funny thing none of us were religious. We didn't need god even in the face of death.

hugmup: Of course, my income is much lower

yeah, but you do look cool with that totalfark tag next to your name ;-)

DaShredda: sparrow794: It's amazing to me how hateful this thread is, and how all the hate seems to be coming from the same group of people who blame religion for all the world's problems.

That's because religion masks their hate and biggotry as love.

We LOVE families, so we don't want gays to get married.

See how that works?

We LOVE babies so we blow up abortion clinics and doctors.

We LOVE Jesus and Allah so we buy guns to put down those who don't.

You missed the point during your chance to show how much you hate religion.

mtylerjr: Rorr:

Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully. If I need advice on how to post pictures of dogs, I'll be sure and come to you.

*sigh* Just because something is old doesn't mean that it's automatically right or the best that can be achieved.

This is totally justified. And it's not an anti-religious thing. It's an anti-self entitlement thing. You chose to take a job with an organization that, for tax purposes, is separate from state. Don't act all surprised when that includes receiving benefits (which were collected in the form of taxes) from the state.

Unless you believe in a magical money tree, then go right on ahead and complain.

notauniquesnowflake: *sigh* Just because something is old doesn't mean that it's automatically right or the best that can be achieved.

are you implying that prostitution, war, and smallpox are bad ?!?

notauniquesnowflake: mtylerjr: Rorr:

Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully. If I need advice on how to post pictures of dogs, I'll be sure and come to you.

*sigh* Just because something is old doesn't mean that it's automatically right or the best that can be achieved.

Thats true...look at the Bible...or, L. Ron Hubbard. Both are old and not automatically right...

/I loves me a good snark-fest

clipperbox: it sucks to be jew!

in Christmas...

sweetmelissa31: notauniquesnowflake: Actually, I know an Orthodox Jewish girl who donates 10% of her earnings to Jewish charities every year. Of course, she doesn't expect anything back from it. She sees it as her duty, kinda like kosher, only more helpful.

I hope it goes to people who need it, rather than, say, her rabbi who lives in a mansion on his congregation's money.

I actually know for a fact that she carefully selects charities that do things like provide health care and education for the poor all the way up to more mundane things like provide scholarships to Jewish kids to go to summer camp.

Work it Baby!
http://tinyurl.com/pdllae
(copy and paste)

amanogowa: jsobota: So do you go to hospitals and interupt a preacher giving someone last rites and say "You know he's just bullshiatting you"? Also where in there was someone's house on fire? It sounds to me like people needed someone to talk to and instead of paying for a shrink or otherwise burdening friends and family they turn to someone who volunteers their time to be a listener.

I'll keep it simple, since you can't seem to understand something as complex as an analogy:

How does telling people that the invisible sky wizard will make everything all better help anyone?

Ah yes, the assault on my intellect...You've wounded me so. Egad, zoinks, and shucks...

Let's say, hypothetically, that someone who is already religious is having a rough time. You'd go up to them and say what exactly? "Don't worry it'll get better as soon as you stop thinking some invisible sky wizard is gonna make it all better. Don't bother looking for a reason behind it cuz it just sucks to be you." I'd humor them myself, but then again I'm tolerant of other viewpoints and get along with people. Now from everything I read I drew the inference that he was asked to help. Non-religious people don't typically ask priests for help so I'm thinking the preaching was kind of a minimum. Unless you think telling a religious person, "God has a plan" or "God will watch over you" is preaching. So let me put the question back at you.

How does telling a believer they are wrong help anyone?

To clarify, I'm not saying donating 10% of your income to a religion that probably just uses it to continue said religion is a good thing. However, I don't have a problem with people who can afford it donating 10% of their earnings to charities. It's just unfortunate that more religious people don't take the idea of tithing that way.

/not religious

Mayah: So if some guy works as a groundskeeper for a church instead of, say, a multinational cooperation, he definitely does not deserve the same safety net for doing the same job for the same reasons and same amount of money, right? Because we wish to punish anyone who works for a religious organization. We're petty bastards like that.

If his employer chooses not to participate in that safety net and instead chooses to keep that money for itself, then yes, he doesn't diserve the same safety net.

Why do you wish to punish everyone else who paid into this fund? Why is this religious organization special when it's time to give, but not special when it's time to take?

canadianloon: Well at least they have the best retirement anyone can have:

Heaven.

{{citation needed}}

notauniquesnowflake: mtylerjr: Rorr:

Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully. If I need advice on how to post pictures of dogs, I'll be sure and come to you.

*sigh* Just because something is old doesn't mean that it's automatically right or the best that can be achieved.

jsobota: amanogowa: jsobota: So do you go to hospitals and interupt a preacher giving someone last rites and say "You know he's just bullshiatting you"? Also where in there was someone's house on fire? It sounds to me like people needed someone to talk to and instead of paying for a shrink or otherwise burdening friends and family they turn to someone who volunteers their time to be a listener.

I'll keep it simple, since you can't seem to understand something as complex as an analogy:

How does telling people that the invisible sky wizard will make everything all better help anyone?

Ah yes, the assault on my intellect...You've wounded me so. Egad, zoinks, and shucks...

Let's say, hypothetically, that someone who is already religious is having a rough time. You'd go up to them and say what exactly? "Don't worry it'll get better as soon as you stop thinking some invisible sky wizard is gonna make it all better. Don't bother looking for a reason behind it cuz it just sucks to be you." I'd humor them myself, but then again I'm tolerant of other viewpoints and get along with people. Now from everything I read I drew the inference that he was asked to help. Non-religious people don't typically ask priests for help so I'm thinking the preaching was kind of a minimum. Unless you think telling a religious person, "God has a plan" or "God will watch over you" is preaching. So let me put the question back at you.

How does telling a believer they are wrong help anyone?

Yeah, I gotta say, when it comes to this end of life, the person is dying stuff, it really doesn't do any good to try to convince them there isn't a god. (For the record, I do believe in a god). Anyway, if all the clergy/whoever is doing is reassuring the dying person with the rhetoric s/he believes in, what on earth is the problem? It's not like the dying person is paying the clergy/whoever to say it.

/now, if the clergy followed that up with "how about leaving your inheritance to the church/Jesus," I'd have a problem with that.

mtylerjr: Rorr:

Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully. If I need advice on how to post pictures of dogs, I'll be sure and come to you.

IgG4: Right on. It is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than a rich man into heaven after all. So these people are just living the dream.

That was rather surreal of you.

/obscure?
//... and then they all got blenders

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world.

5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.

6. Former members relate similar pattern of grievances.

7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.

8. Followers feel (or are taught) they can never be "good enough".

9. The group/leader is always right.

10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

Good headline subby
+1

notauniquesnowflake: flyingmonkeysreign: moonscatter: Smarshmallow: Big_Doofus: I've got news for you numbnuts. She did pay her taxes, it's the religious organization that didn't. That's how it works. The civilian employees (non ministerial) have to pay taxes at a regular rate, just like you and I. It is the organization that gets a pass on the unemployment taxes which is a bunch of crap. It is funny that these religious organizations make such a big deal out of helping others, but won't help their own people.

Jeez, you really trashed on that argument that nobody made.

This is true. He didn't. Because no one was making an argument. Y'all were all like "hurr... hurr... religion bad... hurr... all fake..." like a bunch of sugar infused four year olds.

His point was valid and important, however. The people who have been laid off are fairly innocent in this. And not everyone who works for a religious organization IS religious. The director of programs at my children's after school program (which is at a church) is atheist, for example.

But seriously, go back to your hate fest. Its rather amusing to watch.

So we shouldn't hate nazis? Just Hitler? Or are you one of the 'holocaust didn't happen' types?

That was the most whargarbl Godwin I've ever seen.

I was thinking the exact same thing. He ran screaming for that Reductio ad Hitlerum and never looked back.

Also to everyone who decided it'd be more fun to post "Confucius says..." jokes... thank you! FarkedOver's was a new one for me.

0Icky0: amanogowa: How does telling people that the invisible sky wizard will make everything all better help anyone?

At the funeral for my retarded little brother, the preacher went on and on about how my brother is now in a magic happy place and is no longer retarded.
I'm sure this brought comfort to some in my family. That was surely some help to them.

Complete crap, of course. But some people want to be deluded.

As a retard, he was probably very happy here. In fact, one may argue that in his bliss ignorance of our darker human natures, he was happier than every farker in this thread.

That's why I don't understand why your parents drowned him.

JK.

itsfullofstars: Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group

hehehe.... good list
but the first rule of the fundamentals of society is... we dont talk about the fundamentals of society

mtylerjr: Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully.

Wha wha wha?

Firstly, if you are a Mormon, you are not following a 3000 year old principle, you are following 180 year old spin off of a religion that was a spin off religion that is over 3000 years old, simply because you Tithe like a Jew, dose not make your religious believes as old as the Jews..... I can be pretty sure they would take issue with the whole lost tribe deal.

Peace be with you.
Warship how you want, but do not delude yourself about your ultra young religious belives.

Slartibartfaster: yeah, but you do look cool with that totalfark tag next to your name ;-)

Thank you very much. I'm greatly honored.

EvilEgg: TheBlackFlag: Yes, and that reason is that they Fark over anyone who is not.

At least in my region, when doing business with a Mormon;

1. Avoid it if you can.

2. Watch your fingers and toes.

3. Keep a firm grip on your wallet.

But hey, other than taxes, dont forget that they have to kick 10% up the pyramid to the Church. So hey, they need to squeeze all they can.

And who better to screw than someone who doesnt attend your church? They are going to hell anyway, so why not.

I won't do business with anyone advertising themselves as a Christian business. I have nothing against Christian businessmen. Just I've been screwed by companies that decide they need to advertise that fact.

exactly. and why give your money to someone who is going to support institutions that you don't support (and their political agendas).

CapitolG: you are not following a 3000 year old principle

to be fair, he did say principle - not religion
the principle is really old (and stupid)

// pretty sure the jews didnt invent the concept
/// do I get to "warship" how I want too ?
//// always wanted a warship

mtylerjr: "Prove me now" sounds like a dare.

Matthew 4:7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Dude, you're so busted.

Isfullofstars: your Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group are excellent. I told the door-to-door religion salesman, "If in your religion, the valid answer to a question is never 'I don't know,' and there is no room for a difference of opinion, then your religion is smaller than your brain." He didn't get it, but the woman who was with him did.

notquiteasnowflake: if the clergy followed that up with "how about leaving your inheritance to the church/Jesus," I'd have a problem with that. That is legally called "undue influence." If some minister did that to your relative, sue the pants off him.

DaShredda: We didn't need god even in the face of death That is actually an expression of faith; trusting that everything is okay even though it is impossible to know whether or not it is. You're good people.

Deucednuisance: Do not put the Lord your God to the test

so its still totally cool to put other people's lord and god to the test right ?

for the lord god gave his life for your sins
... then he took it back a few days later, cuz ya know... he can
... oh and about those sins - you still gotta pay for those

ajgeek: Here, let me push over, you can have a seat with the self employed who can't find work!

/except we DID have to pay taxes
//Including unemployment

Came to say this. I pay taxes on all my self employment earnings. Obama is the reason I'm not working - companies aren't sure enough they'll have employees to worry about educating them - but he also has no bailout plan for me. I've fixed him, however. Since I have no income and none anticipated through the 3rd quarter, I've stopped sending in estimated taxes.

hugmup: We didn't need god even in the face of death That is actually an expression of faith

nice try

I dont need a burger right now .... thats not an expression of faith
(it would be if the person had said anything like what you imposed/implied was contained)

Deucednuisance: Matthew 4:7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

APPROVES
http://tinyurl.com/ole4mj
(copy and paste)

gorgor: (copy and paste)



// that works too
/// hot like a hot thing

Ahhh the righteous indignation of the so called righteous. There really is no other sound like it is there?

Maybe they should pray for money. Because praying always works.....NOT!

Mr. Right: I've fixed him, however. Since I have no income and none anticipated through the 3rd quarter, I've stopped sending in estimated taxes

that'll learn im !!

Slartibartfaster: // that works too
/// hot like a hot thing

:)

What's not to love about this story?

sweetmelissa31: Congratulations, you helped build this:

I like this view better:

Now, I'm not a Christian, but why the hell are churches hiring people anyway? I'd think they'd get some good volunteer work out of their flock, being Christian and all.

If you employ anyone, you should pay unemployment taxes or have your own failsafe. Maybe there is an exemption, but I don't see it.

notauniquesnowflake: mtylerjr: Rorr:

Yeah. My life is such a joke for continuing to follow a 3000 year old principle that seems to be working wonderfully. If I need advice on how to post pictures of dogs, I'll be sure and come to you.

*sigh* Just because something is old doesn't mean that it's automatically right or the best that can be achieved.

I realize this. I let Rorr goad me into a snarky, post.

Wow, that's a messed up system. I worked in a Church for a while and had a great benefits package, but still paid taxes. I don't see how the church not paying taxes on revenue is the same as paying EI from employees paychecks. Is the money employees make taxable? Letting an employer (religious or not) not pay that, and not tell the employee explicitly seems f'ed up.

Headso: Obviously the church will step in and pay for their unemployment...

mofomisfit:
Well, why should someone who pastes things for a living get a tax exemption?

Cause its yummy.