Faith and Money Intertwine - Zealots

Just today, our household was selected as one of the Stations of the Cross. For those not familiar with the stuff, it's like a group of church folks, usually old people, going from house to house and offering prayers.

That's okay, really. I mean, a little prayer wouldn't hurt. But if they do it for money, it's quite a different thing. After the prayers, the lady reminded us that they left an envelope, thus expecting some amount of cash in return. They even left a friggin' receipt. WTH?

Then it struck me, there was something very wrong. When one would look at what really happened objectively, one would see the wrongness of the matter. It was simple: prayers for money. This was very different from the offertory donations due to the fact that giving is forced, or that it is implied to be so.

Why? Let's put it this way. There are 12 stations of the cross as far as I know, and hundreds, if not thousands of homes that could be chosen. Every fucking year, of the thousands of homes, they choose us as one of their "sponsors". It would be okay if these people actually established a sense of community, but no. These folks were the same snobbish puritans who don't even give a shit about others if it didn't benefit them.

If being offered prayers meant that there is money involved, then screw them. I do believe in a higher power, but a church whose members have twisted values is not one I'd like to be associated with.

Personal faith, after all, isn't a group thing.