Public Displays of Religion in the Bible

"Make not my father's house an house of merchandise." - John 2:16

Praying in Public

Matthew 6: 5-6
When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

We each have to decide: do we obey the Bible and be thought non-religious by others, or do we disobey the Bible so others will perceive us as religious? What's more important to you, God and the teachings, or your church?

Keep Charitable Works Private

Matthew 6: 1-4
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

For a more dire warning, read the 13th chapter of Daniel, removed from the Protestant Bible but still in the Catholic Bible, in which the people gave tithes and food "to Jehovah", which the priests and families took, then were beheaded by the King of Israel, who told the people not to support the priesthood, because they did NOT need intermediaries to God. No wonder this chapter was later removed! So if you think this is God's word, you're violating it by giving money to churches, but then we select the parts of the Bible we agree with, don't we? See below

Slavery is permitted
Leviticus 25:44-46: "Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly."