“The Business of Religion: How Fear, Money, and Control Replace Truth and Freedom”
1. Tithing Was Never a Christian Requirement Pastors make it sound like you’re robbing God (Malachi 3:8), but in context, Malachi was addressing Israel’s priests under the Old Covenant. The New Testament never commands Christians to tithe; it speaks of freewill giving (2 Corinthians 9:7). Yet, pastors use fear and guilt to manipulate income.
2. Tithing Was About Food, Not Money The tithe in the Old Testament was grain, wine, and livestock to sustain Levites who owned no land (Deut. 14:22-29). Turning this into “cash for the pastor’s luxury lifestyle” is a distortion of scripture.
3. Hell as Eternal Fire Is an Illusion Most pastors preach “burning in hell forever” to scare people into obedience. But the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek Hades/Gehenna often meant “grave” or “valley of destruction,” not an eternal torture chamber. Eternal fire as popularly taught is more tradition than truth.
4. Pastors Sell Fear Because Fear Sells If hell is questioned, the system of control collapses. Fear-based theology keeps people loyal, tithing, and submissive. Without hell, their strongest weapon of manipulation is gone.
5. The ‘Man of God’ Shield Against Accountability Many pastors teach “touch not my anointed” (Psalm 105:15) as a shield against correction. In reality, that verse was about Israel as a nation, not modern church leaders. It’s a way to silence dissent and protect corrupt systems.
6. The Prosperity Gospel Is a Pyramid Scheme They promise: Sow money, reap blessings. But the only ones getting rich are the ones at the top—the pastors. The congregation keeps giving, while the leaders flaunt jets, mansions, and designer suits.
7. Selective Bible Preaching They emphasize verses that benefit their control (like Malachi 3 for tithing, Matthew 25 for hell), but skip the context that frees people. You’ll rarely hear about Acts 4, where believers shared wealth equally—because equality threatens the empire.
8. The Church Became a Business For many, church is less about Christ and more about branding, marketing, and maintaining income streams. They sell salvation like a subscription plan: tithe for blessings, give for breakthrough, sow for healing. It’s monetized spirituality.
