Monday, September 24, 2007

Tithing

There is so much I could say about tithing. Like all those times as a child that I put 10 cents in an envelope because I'd received $1.00 pocket money that week and would think what a good little girl am I!
Then there's the stacks of money I put in when I was a struggling student. At least later in life I discovered I could claim it back on my tax (I'm surprised they don't ask for your tax refun too!) but there was still plenty of other things i could have done with it.
How about the useless rhetoric they would spoon feed us whenever we dared question tithing..."think of it as fire insurance!" or "well think of the money you're saving because thanks to the church you don't smoke" (like putting toxic shit in my lungs was ever going to be an option!)
And now for why I'm thinking about tithing. The other day my BF and I were watching part of the concert for Diana - for some reason my atheist man loves Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat - so we're watching that bit and I happened to mention that Johnny Osmond was a mormon but I think he got out. He of course refuses to believe me because how could someone Aaron liked as a kid possibly be a mormon??? So that evening when visiting my still faithful mum Aaron asks her is Johnny Osmond a mormon. She gets a bit defensive but then says "think of all the tithing!!" like that's what it means to be a mormon and rich.
I'd like to think she's missed the point - but actually she hasn't.