The Origin of Simony

Simon Magus

First Century A.D.

Simon Magus set the precedent for the misuse of money that has plagued the Church for two millennia. His practice of sorcery ...

The Indulgence Huckster

The Indulgence Huckster

(1500s)

Johann Tetzel was a monk with a mission. He was to oversee the sale of indulgences--promises of divine forgiveness for the ...

Self-Indulgence: Enemy of Gratitude

Self-indulgence is the enemy of gratitude, and self-discipline usually its friend and generator. That is why gluttony is a deadly sin. The early desert ...

It Never Gets That Desperate

In God's order, there is never a situation so desperate that it must grind people to powder or press a financial appeal at the cost of integrity.

The Contented Fisherman

In Our Daily Bread, Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.

"Why ...

The Paradox of Giving

The more you have the less you can give, and the less you have the more you can give.

The Non-Profit Church

The purpose of the church, financially, is not to accumulate as much money as possible but to give away as much as possible.

The Essence of Life Today

The essence of life today is not having--it is having to have.

Wealth Doesn't Equal Blessing

There is no way, if you take the whole counsel of God's Word, that you can equate riches or material things as a sign of God's blessing.

The Worst Hypocrisy

What was so bad about [the Pharisees'] hypocrisy? If we think of it as consisting merely in their teaching or pretending one thing while in fact practicing ...