I've been thinking about this event lately, because most churches I've been to have a bookstore in the church foyer, and some of the large ones I've been to have things like coffee shops and even an ice cream shop on the property. I guess the question is, WHY did Jesus cleanse the Temple. Was it because there was ANY commerce going on there, or was it because it was interrupting the worship of the worshippers? I suspect the latter... seems like I've heard before that this area of the temple was as far as Gentiles were allowed to proceed, so their worship area was being violated. If that is correct (Jesus objected to the interruption of worship, not to commerce per se) then those same vendors might have been OK with their booths directly outside of the temple on the sidewalk or whatever. People do have to get their sacrificial animals somewhere!executioner wrote:Sorry, but I try to stay away from Word music. Their just in it for the money. When anyone says that to you and you think they are judgmental or wrong, just remember what Jesus did to the merchants in the Temple.
On that principle, selling bookstores in the foyer would be OK but selling popcorn in the sanctuary during the service would not. And selling lots and lots of CDs would not be violating this principle unless it was a hindrance to people's relationship with God.
So, does this whole argument really apply to Word Records?