I just read an article (for full details, click here) at Bankrate.com about churches putting in ATMs.  Automatic Tithing Machines. 

Not so you can get money on the way out the door so everyone can go to the typical after-church lunch. No, no, this is just in case you forgot cash for the donation plate.

This isn't a red state / blue state issue.  This isn't a separation of church and state issue.  This isn't whether you like the Cowboys or the Indians, Mets or Yankees, Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden - this isn't even if you want paper or plastic.

This is the end of days for veiled capitalism.  This is full disclosure of a huge financial institution.

Case in point, (here's the real estate part).

What organization owns the most land in the world (give or take a few acres) - churches.  Last time I kept up with this (working for my local church a few years ago) it was the Catholic church as a whole.

Biggest donations - charities or churches?  Churches.

Free time on the airwaves - TV and Radio? Churches.

Daycare center's highest growth target market in their industry? Churches.

Starbucks and McDonald's under one roof? Churches.

Before I type anything else (and begin to receive nasty emails) I was born and raised a Catholic.  Elementary, junior high and high school - all Catholic.  Seminary school - yep, did that.  After school CC, got it.  And to round out my resume' I was the Catholic Lay Leader in the Marine Corps as well as a Chaplin's liaison.

(The Marine Corps doesn't have Chaplains - that's the Navy's job.  So, I was the liaison.)

Here is why this is scary; no one likes foreclose on churches.  It looks bad on your company.  (I know, I do loans for churches - I have one right now, actually.)  But it's easy to foreclose on a home.  Churches don't sell anything tangible so they have to rely on donations.  But there is no donation bucket you can draw from if you're late on your mortgage.

But if you make donating THAT easy.  Where does it stop?  Will banks offer a check box on their forms where you can debit your account every month for your church.  Too many people already are making life-changing errors with their homes and their equity - and now there's an even easier way to separate them from their money.

For a good cause?  Absolutely.  Will it help the church?  Without a doubt.  Does the church need it?  That (and some major tax breaks) is how they survive.

I just envision a scenario playing out over and over throughout the country where families are giving their money to their church when they're the ones who need it the most.