Here is one out of the strange column. A church in Texas has been holding drawings over the past year to give away large prizes. Furniture, cars, and now a house.

What the winners have to do is attend church on Sunday and have their name drawn and the win the prize. The house is a new home. There will be 120 names drawn. Out of those, 12 names will be drawn and given keys. One lucky person will open the door to, as the church calls it, "their mansion in heaven."

Personally, I do not call a 1200 square foot house a mansion. Plus, this is weird. Bribing people to go to church.

What do you think?

One lucky person will open the door to, as the church calls it, "their mansion in heaven."

I think they are not referring to the 1200 sq ft home as a mansion but rather the idea of opening the door to eternal life living in heaven by attending church and being saved ...

I don't really see anything wrong with this. There have been subtle ways of getting people to church forever - this one is just a little more obvious.

Sounds like a church that's motivated by profit.

Sounds like a church that's motivated by profit.

Sorry, Midtowner, I don't understand your statement. Do you mean "church" as in the people who make up the congregation are motivated by profit? Or do you mean the people who came up with the idea for the giveaways?

Sorry, Midtowner, I don't understand your statement. Do you mean "church" as in the people who make up the congregation are motivated by profit? Or do you mean the people who came up with the idea for the giveaways?
I didn't quite understand what MidTowner was saying, either. I don't see anything in the story that suggests the church is accepting money for anything, so how are they making a profit? To me, it looks like they are giving materialistic items away, that were possibly donated by church members, corporations, companies, etc., or they are just a church with many rich members.

I agree with Karried. I know that churches have done things to get people to come, however, this one is more obvious, so it is getting more attention. I say if it gets more people in the church, then go for it.

I didn't quite understand what MidTowner was saying, either. I don't see anything in the story that suggests the church is accepting money for anything, so how are they making a profit? To me, it looks like they are giving materialistic items away, that were possibly donated by church members, corporations, companies, etc., or they are just a church with many rich members.

I agree with Karried. I know that churches have done things to get people to come, however, this one is more obvious, so it is getting more attention. I say if it gets more people in the church, then go for it.

Churches are businesses. Sure, they seek to 'save' people, but they also have to pay the bills -- and for a church giving away 1200 sq ft homes, I wonder what the pastor gets paid?

Such items are done to draw membership, members tithe, donate, etc. Churches of this size are run like businesses, and businesses just don't make decisions like this without the expectation of increased membership/tithes/donations.

The church had to pay some, but the Pastor did not say how much. The rest were donations.

By the way. This is a rare time for OKC Talk... I agree with Midtowner... Go figure.

Anyone who has been here long enough should know that if the above individual and I agree on something, the likelihood of it being true increases exponentially.