Can Christians offer a money-back guarantee?

[unknown soldier]

We've all heard the sales pitch in which a business offers a money-back guarantee to all unsatisfied buyers. The business will tell consumers that they're so confident that purchasers will be pleased with the product, that the business can offer that kind of guarantee. The logic is that if a seller is sure that the seller's product is worth the purchase price, then the buyers will be pleased with that product and will not ask for their money back.

I agree with that logic. If people are confident that what they have to offer will please those who accept the offer, then there is no need to fear that anything exchanged for the offer will be demanded back. They can readily guarantee satisfaction accepting the risk of loss.

Why, then, do Christians not offer a money-back guarantee to any disgruntled person who tithed and donated money to a Christian group or church? It seems reasonable to me that if Christians truly believe that their religion is actually founded on a perfect God, then they would be completely confident that all comers would be pleased.

Maybe the clergy wants to cover itself just in case.

[bjs1]

From a Christian standpoint, saying that “all comers would be pleased” is bad theology. Rather, Christianity has long taught that to be a disciple of Jesus requires denying yourself and “taking up your cross.” It involves quite a lot of discomfort and self-sacrifice.

If someone comes to the God of Christ Jesus with a selfish attitude (“I expect to be pleased with this”) or a materialistic focus (“I will give, but if I am not satisfied then I want my money back”), then I can nearly guarantee that he or she will not be satisfied.

[1213]

...Why, then, do Christians not offer a money-back guarantee to any disgruntled person who tithed and donated money to a Christian group or church? ...

I think you are in a weird Christians group, if you are buying something with money from them. What exactly are you buying?

[Tcg]

[Replying to unknown soldier in post #1]

You ask an important question. Many sales pitch guarantees include a time element. "If after 30 days..." or something similar.

That is the beauty of so many Christian promises. Consider the following:

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

If one were to ask, "When?", there would be no firm, unified answer. How could one collect on a failed promise when there is no clear date of fulfillment? If one were to try they'd be turned away with a claim that it refers to some future paradise and perhaps a reminder not to store up treasure on earth.


Tcg

[unknown soldier]

From a Christian standpoint, saying that “all comers would be pleased” is bad theology. Rather, Christianity has long taught that to be a disciple of Jesus requires denying yourself and “taking up your cross.” It involves quite a lot of discomfort and self-sacrifice.

Can you cite a church or other Christian evangelist group that tells potential converts that they won't be pleased if they convert to Christianity? That they will be uncomfortable and make costly sacrifices?

I have heard evangelists claim that converting to Christianity will be pleasing to those converts. Jerry Falwell, for example, said that "with Jesus, there is no disappointment." (Falwell made that claim in the aftermath of the PTL scandal after people had been ripped off by TV evangelists.)

But more than anything else, do Christian evangelists tell those they wish to convert that they will need to shell out their money to the group and that those donations and tithes are not refundable? Why not offer refunds to those who think they got taken?

If someone comes to the God of Christ Jesus with a selfish attitude (“I expect to be pleased with this”) or a materialistic focus (“I will give, but if I am not satisfied then I want my money back”), then I can nearly guarantee that he or she will not be satisfied.

I see no problem with anybody hoping to be pleased with their Christian faith. How often do you do anything thinking that you will be displeased for doing so? People have every right to expect to have a good experience as Christians.

Oh, and since you find "selfish attitudes" objectionable, then you should find those Christians who selfishly refuse to refund money to be wrong for doing so.

[unknown soldier]

...Why, then, do Christians not offer a money-back guarantee to any disgruntled person who tithed and donated money to a Christian group or church? ...

I think you are in a weird Christians group...

Actually, I was in a weird Christian group. They're known as "evangelicals."

...if you are buying something with money from them. What exactly are you buying?

I'm not buying anything from Christians except for some books written by Christians sold on Amazon.

Anyway, almost all Christian groups offer merchandise including Bibles and other books, magazines, statues, decorations, crosses and crucifixes, candles, greeting cards, paintings, stationary, and more. According to one source, religion in America adds $418 billion to the economy each year.

Now, when I was a Christian I tithed and made donations to faith healers. I have estimated my loss to amount to about $900.

[unknown soldier]

[Replying to unknown soldier in post #1]

You ask an important question. Many sales pitch guarantees include a time element. "If after 30 days..." or something similar.

That is the beauty of so many Christian promises. Consider the following:

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

If one were to ask, "When?", there would be no firm, unified answer. How could one collect on a failed promise when there is no clear date of fulfillment? If one were to try they'd be turned away with a claim that it refers to some future paradise and perhaps a reminder not to store up treasure on earth.

That's a good observation. Jesus reputedly made predictions yet refused to specify the times of their fulfillment. That way those prophecies cannot be falsified. If he spoke for God, then I'd expect him to be confident enough to go out on a limb making those predictions vulnerable to disproof.

Which brings us full circle. If Christians were confident they offered salvation, then they would make their offer vulnerable to being demonstrated as "nondeliverable and refundable."

Finally, what would an all-mighty God do with money anyway?

[We_Are_VENOM]

[Replying to unknown soldier in post #1]

Too funny!! So, let me see if I understand this concept; lets say you dated a woman for 10 years, and on the 11th year, you find out that maybe she isn't the right woman for you after all.

So, you take her to court, and attempt to sue her for every penny you've ever spent on her...every gift you've ever bought her over the course of the past decade...money you've spent on date nights, gifts, vacations, etc...you want it all back, huh?

LOL.

And here is a newsflash; money-back guarantees aren't lifetime stipulations. Usually, after a certain amount of time (30 days), you are invested in it....and if you should find out that you don't like it after that allotted time, you just simply have to take an L, and keep it moving.

[unknown soldier]

...lets say you dated a woman for 10 years, and on the 11th year, you find out that maybe she isn't the right woman for you after all.

So, you take her to court, and attempt to sue her for every penny you've ever spent on her...every gift you've ever bought her over the course of the past decade...money you've spent on date nights, gifts, vacations, etc...you want it all back, huh?

If she misled me, then yes she should pay the money back. For the same reason, Christian groups that mislead people (all of them, of course), should also refund tithes and donations to those they have misled (which is everybody, of course).

And here is a newsflash; money-back guarantees aren't lifetime stipulations. Usually, after a certain amount of time (30 days), you are invested in it....and if you should find out that you don't like it after that allotted time, you just simply have to take an L, and keep it moving.

If fraud is involved, then there should be no statute of limitations.

Too funny!!...LOL...

I don't think that cheating people out of money is funny...but this is.

[bjs1]

From a Christian standpoint, saying that “all comers would be pleased” is bad theology. Rather, Christianity has long taught that to be a disciple of Jesus requires denying yourself and “taking up your cross.” It involves quite a lot of discomfort and self-sacrifice.

Can you cite a church or other Christian evangelist group that tells potential converts that they won't be pleased if they convert to Christianity? That they will be uncomfortable and make costly sacrifices?

I have heard evangelists claim that converting to Christianity will be pleasing to those converts. Jerry Falwell, for example, said that "with Jesus, there is no disappointment." (Falwell made that claim in the aftermath of the PTL scandal after people had been ripped off by TV evangelists.)

I always appreciate it when non-Christians inform me about what Christians believe. Truly, I cannot imagine how Christians could ever understand our beliefs if it were not for non-Christians constantly correcting us about what we really think.

If someone comes to the God of Christ Jesus with a selfish attitude (“I expect to be pleased with this”) or a materialistic focus (“I will give, but if I am not satisfied then I want my money back”), then I can nearly guarantee that he or she will not be satisfied.

I see no problem with anybody hoping to be pleased with their Christian faith. How often do you do anything thinking that you will be displeased for doing so? People have every right to expect to have a good experience as Christians.

Oh, and since you find "selfish attitudes" objectionable, then you should find those Christians who selfishly refuse to refund money to be wrong for doing so.

All people may do as they wish with their own money. However, the attitude of wanting a money back guarantee is what would prevent a person from being pleased with Christianity. That person is, at the very best, trying to “serve two masters.”

If I might make an analogy, I would compare it to a high school student who does not pay attention in class, does not study, does no homework, and then complains about how he never learned anything useful in high school.