Normal Is Not An Option

The title of this post comes directly from the Bible, the words of Jesus himself. I believe it's true. If you want to know about someone's character, look at that person's actions (fruit) not the person's words. The same is true of groups, including churches. So let's apply this logic to the COC. What are their fruits? In my hometown, the COC had a reputation for being an angry, contentious group. The members would get upset and split the congregation, over and over, for the most trivial of reasons. The church also had a reputation for being judgmental, small-minded, and bigoted. Why was the church's image in the community so negative? The primary reason for this was because the members of the church were arrogant and haughty, because they believed themselves to be the only true Christians and, thus, the only ones who will be saved on Judgment Day. Another reason is that the church refused to offer charity to those in need beyond its own four walls (and even the...

Awhile back I documented the COC's attitude toward charity and noted that basically it uses the money it collects each Sunday to perpetuate itself, not to help people in need. Now I want to disclose another of the COC's dirty little secrets regarding money: If you give a lot of it to your local congregation, you can (almost) get away with murder. Most COC congregations, especially the anti ones, are very small, in part because they have a habit of splitting every time someone looks at someone else cross-eyed. Thus, they skate on thin ice financially, simply because there aren't enough people to give the money that allows the church to function. Also, the core demographic of the COC is aging and dying rapidly, and the elderly folks are usually on fixed incomes and can't spare much for the Sunday collection plate. As a result, if you're one of the rare COC members who can afford to give liberally, your generosity will be rewarded by fawning preachers and elders wh...