Yup! Mum’s maiden name for me, dad’s mum’s maiden name for my brothers. Then they accidentally gave us all first names starting with M and second names starting with J, so we came out MJTC, MJTC and MJBC.

Ikr? I hadn’t heard of these till now. If only I had, all that time and money wasted on doctor’s visits and medication!

I make this joke every year, it’s my favourite dad joke! And it’s just perfect for pic messaging.

Depends on what we’re voting for (fed v state v local gov). Usually, you get one ballot paper for the senate, with six to ten names, and one ballot paper for the house of reps, which can be huge, and you either vote above the line (by party) or below the line (by individual). It’s preference voting, which is…

You turn it into a request, that they can decline, giving them the controls. ‘Okay, time to go, can I have a goodbye kiss?’ I actually get more cuddles that way, from my babysitting kids, than if I forced it.

Yes! I have had entire conversations with my mum, who is two states away, by text (and before that, email) that took days or weeks in realtime, as we each replied when we had a moment. Esp when we were both working and commuting.

Oh hell yes. i remember feeling very wtf? at that. Iirc, Jazz is the only Autobot to die - the others all survive.

:) Good for you.

I’m happy to agree to disagree, since your argument does essentially boil down to “nuh-uh!”.

Hooray! Always nice to meet someone who walks the walk. (There are so few.) Apologies if I bugged you. Shutting up now.

Do you give money to the Church, because you are part of that Church, for its upkeep, (and not as a contribution meant for others, with the Church as middleman). Then it’s a tithe. Literal meaning notwithstanding - since others have pointed out that OT laws do not literally apply.

Who’s making shit up? Do you pay money to the Church or don’t you?

So none of that offering goes to the Church, it all goes to orphans and widows, etc? And you’ve never been influenced, (overt or otherwise) to give to that offering? (The very act of having the plate go around in front of everyone is coercive, btw.) Every single dollar a gift inspired by Christ?

Update - Pell has released a statement, saying he denies all allegations, and will come to Australia to face the charges. The Vatican backs him up, on both statements, he won’t be able to hide behind the Vatican, or say he can’t leave his duties there. He mentioned getting advice from his doctors, though, so he still…

Exactly. Pay what you owe, to God/religious authorities and to secular authorities. Taxes, tithes, same diff.

If you give money directly to a person, or a organisation on behalf of that person, that’s a voluntary offering. If you are giving money to a church, for the upkeep of the church itself, because you are part of that church’s congregation, that’s a tithe. You can quibble about percentages, cash vs goods, ‘required’ vs…

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

The very fact that you still have an offertory means that giving (whether monetary or otherwise) is part of your doctrine. It doesn’t have to be required, in the sense of cash on the barrel head or you’re out, but in the sense that you are required to love your neighbour as yourself, it’s still part of your doctrine.

So who pays the bills? God? Does he use Visa or MasterCard?

And since when is the Old Testament not part of the Catholic faith? It’s reinterpreted by the New Testament and the Crucifixion, but it’s still part of the Bible.