“The light which the Lord has given me on this subject is that the means in the treasury for the support of the ministers in the different fields is not to be used for any other purpose. If an honest tithe were paid, and the money coming into the treasury were carefully guarded, the ministers would receive a just wage” (Manuscript 142, 1903).
“Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” Acts 4:34, 35.
Federal funds received by churches and other religious nonprofits have been fully disclosed by a nonpartisan oversight group. It turns out that Seventh-day Adventist entities, conferences, churches, ministries and institutions are some of the biggest beneficiaries of the taxpayer-backed program.
We have all the names. All are listed in an easy-to-use database. We will see that entities of the Adventist Church, the independent ministries, the two SDA Reform Movements and even the Shepherd’s Rod have been lining up to receive government assistance and handouts.
All of this money was given to the churches indirectly, through banks and moneylenders and not directly through the government, so no one saw the need to question whether or not churches should support their pastors with tax dollars. Our federal government is literally supporting churches financially by paying their clergy.
Q: Can no one see the problem with this?
Tragically, many real small businesses did not receive any funding because the big church organizations, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Adventist, got most of the money. Remember, the PPP tax money for small businesses was limited and did run out quickly." AdventMessenger
