Chili

Maybe in America but in Catholic Netherland the 'koster' came aound during the homily and we were required to pay for our seat, with children at half price and change would be given.

After him came a collection plate and for a special occasion in tuxido, white gloves, silver platter and all.

I have never received or used or was asked to use an envelop, as you suggest, and have been in Canada for many years where I have been a Knight and always did just what Catholics do with a family of 6.

storytime

The same method in racketeering is used today by televangelist who warn their audience that if they don't pay-up bad things will happen to them. Would they dare rob god? Donations bring blessings, not cursings.

Doug Shaver

Interesting. I never did. I heard the story used a few times in sermons, but never that way. The preacher's point was never about how much you ought to give to the church. The point was always just to warn against hypocrisy: You can give as much or as little as you think you can afford, but just don't lie about it.

Doug Shaver

Yes, with enough imagination, but even then only if you assume that all the writings and all the traditions of early Christianity are true, excepting only the supernatural parts.

However, the traditions don't say that Paul and Peter disappeared in Rome. The traditions say they were executed there.

Chili

Yes but that only means that they were in force there as first Pope and the seat of of Pope and that means that Ananias and Sapphira cannot be there.

Julio

That depends on two counts:
What church you frequented;
The type of preacher controlling the pulpit.
The Nazarene Church insists on the Tithe regularly.
I knew a district superintendent who once gave a series of sermons on the Tithe, where he made it clear that if not given it amounted to robbing God which implied perdition!
He was one of the ones I heard mentioning Acts 5 in that connection.

Doug Shaver

Right. It isn't true that they're all alike, is it?

Chili

. . . and rest assured my friends that to keep an accounting of donations is to let your right hand know what your left hand is doing and that is like breeding the devil . . . wherefore then Ananias cannot be there. This is made known by Peter's verdict: "how could you two scheme to put the angel of the Lord [read angel of light] to the test."

'That' they died just means that the gift of giving is gone and that is why they died . . . and so it is that if you ever come to Rome and do not see the manifestation of love you are looking through the eye of Ananias.

mountainman

Can anyone authoritatively advise whether or not it is a historical fact that all of these "early traditions" presenting this additional informational data (about the additional "Travels of the Apostles" including their glorious and heroic martyrdoms, etc) not contained in the NT Canon are sourced without exception in the NT "Gnostic Gospels and Acts".

Chili

Of course it is because the splendor of beauty at Vatican City speaks in evidence of that, but Rome equals Truth and therefore is Home wherever we are (Is-ra-el at large), and those are the travels of Peter and Paul executed in our affinity with Rome. Their martyrdom just solidifies them as pilars of faith and so become the stronghold of Rome on which Vatican City is built where so the streets are paved with golden.

To look in the Gnostic Gospel in evidence for anything rieks with suspect because 'gnostic' has no -ism and so no 'pulpit' either or Ananias would not have died! Ananias is 'reason' who, in that he contrived with Sapphira who 'struck the match' ("contrived with the angel of the Lord") to illuminate his faculty of reason (by what is known as the light of common day), died when his lucifer burned itself out and Sapphire died = no sin in Rome where only big fish swim that were caught in the celestial sea.

To add here that the Acts explain the metaphysics behind the Gospels, which in this case is "he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet has already received his reward" by way of 'worldly recognition' . . . that so means that if you leave your name on a gift it no longer is a gift at all (and here I can't help but think of Dostoyevsky's example of the poor woman who walked a mile to bring father Zoshima her penny because he knew poor people).