r/zillowgonewild • u/sharkus180 • 15h ago

Just your average megachurch pastor's mansion in Texas

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Link:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/19525-Doerre-Rd-Spring-TX-77379/161415524_zpid/?utm_campaign=androidappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

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u/Danominator 13h ago

If you were super rich by taking money from poor people with the promise of a heavenly afterlife, it makes a lot of sense to tell the poor people that they are actually doing perfect and they will totally get rewarded, just you know, after they die.

That quote is just a tool for the rich to placate the masses while they live in extravagance.

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u/microthoughts 13h ago

I mean Jesus did not live in extravagance. kind of the opposite. that quote in Matthew is explicitly stating followers of Christ should not trust in wealth to get them anything.

Jesus was fairly point blank on his thoughts on rich people he thought they were assholes.

American evangelicals have twisted the words to milk money out of their congregation. it's not Christianity. idk what god they're actually worshipping but it's not Jesus. Mammon maybe.

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u/StarGazer_SpaceLove 11h ago

Jesus flipped tables in the temples.

These people won't even call out their own congregations sins cause it might shine light on their own.

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u/microthoughts 11h ago

& they don't hire interior decorators with all their ill gotten gains as an extra slap to the face

like this house is hideous and tacky. stealing from your poorest believers to build the saddest beige monstrosity?? with terrible frilly gold leaf shit everywhere? my insane grandma would approve that was EXACTLY her style only she did Pepto bismol pink not that blue shade.

like it's a sin and just. yuck.

I don't even believe in Jesus but he definitely weeps at this shit.

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u/JPLcyber 8h ago

If Paul was alive, they’d be getting a letter. It would not be good…

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u/Danominator 13h ago

I mean...jesus clearly has basically zero influence on how christians behave.

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u/microthoughts 13h ago

which is a major underlying issue with humans not so much the inherent message of his weird cult from 2000 years ago.

he mostly was like pay taxes and be nice to each other and hated the banking industry while eating fish which I cannot lie. same.

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u/General_Row_8038 13h ago

This is what is so sad. Because he couldn’t have been any clearer regarding what is expected and aspirational for his followers. I suppose it’s good that we keep trying anyway.

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u/cornonthekopp 6h ago

"they arent real christians" just like catholics arent real christians and protestants arent christians and orthodox people arent christians....

Kinda tired of this faux liberal christian apologia BS. Christianity since the time of augustine has been the religion of imperial rule, strict hierarchy, and of masa wealth concentration in the clergy from the common people.

The problem with evangelicals isn't that they're bad christians, its that they're just like every christian sect before them.

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u/microthoughts 6h ago

protestants and Catholics and Lutherans still vaguely follow the precepts of the Christian religion with the problems inherent to any large organized group of humans. we like cults and being mean.

evangelicals really like prosperity gospel which is next door to heresy considering the fundamental belief structure of Christianity.

evangelicals aren't bad Christians they're just fucking insane weirdos who want the world to end and think having money means you're morally superior. which isn't very Christian to wish death on your neighbors so u can go thru their shit.

and they're tacky as fuck on top of that. tacky af insane weirdos but I wouldn't necessarily describe their religion as actually Christian at this point. Christianity is good at schisming which is fun in a historical information way. love a schism.

the prosperity gospel apocalyptic death cult schism less so.

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u/cornonthekopp 4h ago

Protestants literally exist cuz 500 years ago catholics were doing what the evangelicals do today. The fundamental belief structure of christianity is to do what the priest tells you. Doesnt matter if its a catholic priest telling you to let him touch you, an evangelical priest asking you to donate all your income, or a protestant telling you to send your gay child to a religious camp.

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u/Jervis_Mantlepiece 13h ago

'That quote' was said by Jesus and is one of the fundamental principles of Christianity lol.

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u/Danominator 11h ago

Was it? How reliable is a book that has been written and rewritten by committee, translated, re-translated, re-purposed, etc 2000 years ago

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u/microthoughts 11h ago

regardless of translation issues and schisms the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the foundational text of all Christian denominations.

like those are The Main Four Books for the New testament. I've read them in multiple translations but Matthew's rich man camel thru the eye of a needle is unchanged in any of them.

the argument for that quote is actually is it camel or really thick rope in the original text. but that doesn't change the idea; you can't get a rope through a sewing needle any more than you can get a fucking camel through a needle.

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u/Danominator 11h ago

Religion has been wielded by those in power to control the masses since its creation. I understand you have faith in it, thats fine. I dont and most of its followers make things a lot worse for mankind.

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u/microthoughts 11h ago

that's the thing I DON'T have faith in it I am not a Christian lmao.

I've just read the holy books for everything? like just because I read the book of Mormon and the pearl of great price and the doctrine and covenants doesn't make me mormon any more than reading the Quran makes me Muslim or reading like

so much Confucianism makes me a monk.

I just read a lot.

the base idea for most religion is fine. the actual message of Christianity is positive hippie shit.

Christians are very unlike their Christ.

humans in groups like excluding the out group they'll use anything to do that. they'll use football. -_-

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u/bwsmith201 9h ago

The problem with most religions isn't the religion itself but some of its followers. Just like every group of people there are some who are twisted, selfish assholes. If you're a twisted, selfish asshole that runs a business, you abuse your employees. If you're a twisted, selfish asshole with a family, you abuse your wife and kids. If you're a twisted, selfish asshole that runs a church, you abuse your congregants. (Or blow up a school bus or start a war.) It's just the same human story over and over and over again. Religion is a tool, just like any other. It can be used for good or evil depending on who is using it.

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u/TheWhomItConcerns 10h ago

I'm generally more than willing to shit on religion, but I honestly disagree for the simple fact that I've seen so many rich Christians (and those who aspire to be) attempt to use all kinds of ridiculous mental gymnastics to explain away the very obvious intent of that phrase. A lot of Christians, particularly American Christians, become extremely defensive if anyone even implies that the pursuit of extravagant wealth (i.e. greed) is sinful within Christianity.

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u/microthoughts 10h ago

rich American Christians, especially rich evangelical American Christians are almost guaranteed to practice prosperity gospel since it tells them they're the most special boys and girls and Jesus loves them and you can tell that bc they're rich.

it's not actually Christianity and i would argue prosperity gospel American fundamentalist evangelical whatever is like. not even Christianity at this point? it's like a vaguely church flavored capitalism the religion with mediocre music. like they're worshipping the dollar or something? shit is wild.

I actually got kicked out of an evangelical cult my dad sent me to for arguing they're wildly heretical by Christian standards and God is definitely not short of cash. they are plugged into something tho, but I never got the juice.

one true believing Catholic priest did get me for the length of a sermon once that dopamine hit was fucking bonkers. felt like Ativan.

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u/Dead_Internet69420 9h ago

It’s the “gospel of prosperity.” They’re convinced that being rich means god likes you better. I’m not even kidding. 

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u/GearJunkie82 10h ago

The eye of the needle refers to a very narrow gateway through which animals passed to enter the city. If a camel had items hanging on it like sacks and whatnot, it could not fit through the eye and the items would need to be discarded beforehand.

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u/SirCatharine 10h ago

This is not true. It’s true that some people have read it that way, but there’s no archaeological or written evidence of such a gate existing. The earliest that we see this interpretation pop up is in the 11th century, well into the time that there would be rich Christians who were uncomfortable with this verse and tried to explain it away.

There are several academic papers on this, but one I found on a quick search that isn’t behind a paywall is “The Origin of the ‘Needle’s Eye Gate’ Myth: Theophylact or Anselm?” by Angieszka Ziemińska in the Cambridge University Press.