Churches proclaim that their God is all-powerful, all-loving, and endlessly generous. From pulpits and television screens, we hear the same promises: God delivers, God provides, God blesses. Yet, week after week, collection plates are passed around. Televangelists launch fundraising campaigns. Congregations are told to dig deeper into their pockets.
It raises an obvious question: if God truly provides, why is he never the one paying the bills?
1. The Constant Appeal for Money
Walk into almost any church service and you will hear a sermon about generosity and giving. The message is often wrapped in religious language: “Sow a seed of faith,” “Give and you shall receive,” “Support God’s work.” But peel back the spiritual wrapping and it is fundraising.
Televangelists are even bolder. They preach prosperity while begging viewers for “love offerings.” Some promise healing in exchange for donations. Others claim God will multiply your gift if you first hand it to them. The appeals are relentless, because divine provision never seems to cover studio costs.
2. The Contradiction
If a God who owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” truly exists, as the Bible claims, why does he rely on human bank accounts to fund his operations? Why can he create galaxies but not balance a church budget? Why are billion-dollar campaigns required for megachurches while their God remains silent?
As George Carlin joked: “God is all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow he just can’t handle money. Religion takes in billions of dollars, they always need a little more.”
3. Who Actually Provides?
The answer is obvious once the curtain is pulled back. It is not God who funds churches. It is the faithful. Salaries, buildings, broadcast equipment, all of it comes from donations. The claim that “God provides” is rhetorical cover for “members provide.”
This reveals the real power dynamic. Churches do not depend on God. They depend on people. Without the flow of money, the sermons stop and the lights go out.
4. The Prosperity Gospel Trap
The prosperity gospel takes this contradiction to its most absurd extreme. Believers are told that if they give money, God will bless them financially. Televangelists flaunt luxury jets and mansions while their viewers empty wallets hoping for a miracle.
As Hitchens once put it: “Religion takes in billions of dollars, pays no taxes, and still they beg for more. All while preaching against greed.”
The gods do not deliver. The donations do.
5. Why This Matters
Pointing out this contradiction is not about nitpicking. It highlights the emptiness of the claim that God provides. If an all-powerful being truly backed these churches, they would not need constant campaigns, debt drives, or desperate pleas. The fact that they do shows that divine provision is a slogan, not a reality.
Conclusion
Churches promise that God delivers, but it is the congregation that pays. Televangelists claim God provides, yet their appeals never stop. If their gods truly delivered, their collection plates would not need to circulate. The endless fundraising is not a sign of faith, but of dependence on human generosity dressed up as divine will.
Or as Ricky Gervais quipped: “Atheism is a belief system in the same way that not collecting stamps is a hobby. And religion is a tax-exempt business with God as a silent partner.”