Tithing.....

I have had a very big problem with this issue for a very long time.. I have observed the people of God being fleeced out of their hard earned cash week in and week out for years.. But is tithing in the modern sense biblical?

During the time the scriptures were wrote, tithing itself was indeed a required law where at various times of year during the feasts, the tithe would be taken from the people of Israel and put into the storehouse.. But what was the tithes purpose? And what WAS the tithe? Well, the tithe was not money for a start! It was food... The Lord said “there shall be FOOD in MY house.”

During the various feasts when the tithe was to be presented, the people had to go to Jerusalem to do that. So instead of carrying a whole lot of food about with them that would spoil on the journey to Jerusalem, they would sell what they had and carry money which they would then in turn buy the food when they got there and present that before the Lord... No money was ever used as the tithe itself... The reason for the tithe was twofold.. One was that this was part of the Levitical inheritance.. The Levites had no land inheritance so would take part of the tithe to live.. It was also for the POOR... It was meant as a means for the poor to be fed in the house of God.... It was meant for anyone in need.... Hence why it says in Malachi 3:

“Will a man rob God?Yet you have robbed Me!But you say,‘In what way have we robbed You?’In tithes and offerings.9You are cursed with a curse,For you have robbed Me,Even this whole nation.10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,That there may be food in My house,

Taking from Gods poor people is the same as taking from God..... Poor people with nothing....

However, the same passage is used to fleece the congregation so that the various pastors can have nice cars.... The tithe then is not going to the right people... The poor..... How can they justify this is beyond me... But God repays!... I see a big fire in those peoples future....

Examples of what the “modern Tithe” buys;

Jets, several opulent homes, first class lifestyles etc.... Do your own search on the wealth and holding of the top pastors and evangelists and you will see that the God business seems to be recession proof... One pastor; the self proclaimed “prophetess” Juanita Bynam” even owns a gold plated Rolls Royce! A few on the list of shame that fleeces the people include;

CBN
TBN
Daystar
God TV
Creflo Dollar (aptly named)
Benni Hinn
T D Jakes (oh yes he does!)
Hillsong (revolving door christianity.. Even Darlene left!)
Kenneth Copeland (all about the money)
Peter Poppoff (still waiting for my magical mystery manna)
Rod Parsley

The list goes on... They twist scripture to one of prosperity where if you have no material stuff or are ill, then you haven't got God.. They even try to sell something that you could never put a price on.... Salvation... They turn you from the Word to their own word which they sell to you and treat it as the inspired word... These guys are crooks! Dont give your money to them... These guys try to sell Gods grace to make them richer

Its witchcraft..... Buying grace.... Grace is free and cannot be bought or earned..

Rant done

Your thoughts

Tithing is ridiculous, donating to your church for needed supplies is a different story. I know of churches that demand your tax returns to ensure that you are tithing the correct amount, sounds more like organized crime to me.

I agree 100%. That money should be used to help the poor not the rich. The Vatican owning its own bank? What for. Those guys are corrupt, their teachings are corrupt, and their followers are blindly following the word of the pastor over the bible.

SnF

A fool and his money are soon parted.

I say good for a church/religion if it can bilk people out of their money by simply saying that its God's wish. I wish I had a scam like that going. Its not like these people are being held at gun point and robbed.

yep, good eye op....it's a house of prayer....not merchandise....and one of those pastors has his own airstrip....is TBN the worst?...they have a property that costs a billion almost. now, when i hear a pastor on tv say he has a promise of prospeity for me...within 5 minutes i catch him saying sow a seed in his ministry....i'll sow a seed by giving to my daughter and son!!we don't have to give to their program to sow a seed

I dont belong to a church.

But every time I walk past one of those beautiful monuments to the Lord, I wonder to myself, "How many homeless people could be sheltered there?"

I would not give my money to a church, personally. I agree with the OP that tithing has become a way to enrich and aggrandize the leader of the church.

I give my tithe to the gods, the universe, the One, or whatever you want to call it, directly to those who are hungry. I feed whatever homeless animal or person that crosses my path.

I completely agree OP, and feel the same way as you.

However since I do not go to church; as I feel today's organized religions(crime rings) are all about stealing not only your life, but you hard earned money as well. I do however send my tithes to places like Feed the Children, and will gladly buy groceries for anyone that asks and wants food not money, may not be much, but is better than going towards that new mercede's payment.

Wow you only have part of this all figured out. The society in the days the Old Testament was indeed agracultural and so there was crops and live stock that was brought into the temple for tithe. In ancient societies these were used as currency...remember cash money hadnt been invented yet. Debts were paid in such ways. But you are completely ignoring the examples of offerings and tithes that were monetary in both the Old and New Testament.

Genesis 28:22
22 and [a] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
(the clear message of "all" here includes crops and money)

Nehemiah 10:38
38 A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.
(the treasury here is where gold and the spoils of war were kept including the tithe given to the temple)

Hebrews 7:4
4Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
(the tithe of the plunder was the spoils of war which included gold, silver...treasure)

You see your cynical view of the meaning of the tithe shows your disdain and clear anger toward the church. Understanding that debt can no longer be paid in "Food" and that this kind of barter system in the ancient days was common and that is why the tithe was open to donations of food or livestock...its clear to understand that in our modern time tithes need to be paid in the form of money so that the needs of the church (electric bills, water bills, etc.) can be paid. That was part of the use for the tithe it always has and always will.

Im sure that your sacrifical tithe of corn or a can of beans will really please the Lord. And Im sure that it will help advance the work of the church too.

Your generous heart is clear here, bless you for being such a bright light of the Lord in your compassionate and forgiving words which are clearly bathed in a mature understanding of scripture.

I worked in a church for four years.

Once a year, the pastor would print out a list of all the parishioners and a list of all the families that went to the school that was connected to the church.

From this list, he would see what each family gave. How would he know this? Because we were "strongly encouraged" to put our tithing in an envelope with our name, address, and a special number they assigned us.

So he would go down the list and find the parishioners who had children in school. You see he had a "deal" that if you gave the "required" amount, you got "reduced" tuition.

Now let me say, in theory, this seems like a decent enough program, but the problem is that the "reduction" did not make up for what you gave. So you would either have to pay more then normal tuition for reduced tuition, or end up paying less.

The problem is that this information was never divulged to parishioner. He simply said "you could be getting reduced tuition if you tithed your 10%"

So he duped them.

That is just the start of the problems at this church...other stemmed from this, but from what I was able to piece together when other priests and even a bishop, this is standard operating procedure.

Oh my, I was just struggling with this issue myself. I don't understand where the concept came from where clergy are paid and then put up in parsonages. I go to a small independent church where most of our tithes go to support the pastor and his family.

I started thinking, Wait a sec, I would teach or study or pray with anyone anytime for no money at all? when has this become a career? Why is this like a theatre performance where your to put on a big show once a week?

I will tell you: If people stuck to small house churches instead of state-of-the-art facilities, tithed food or clothes to the poor(as you suggested), and spent more time serving eachother instead of putting on the big SHOW; then we could get back to the way Christ wanted us to be.

Thank you for bringing up a great specific discussion instead of bashing all Christianity

Originally posted by Rockstrongo37

Im sure that your sacrifical tithe of corn or a can of beans will really please the Lord. And Im sure that it will help advance the work of the church too.

Your generous heart is clear here, bless you for being such a bright light of the Lord in your compassionate and forgiving words which are clearly bathed in a mature understanding of scripture.

Yes, such kind words brother. I am also sure that God appreciates all those who so lovingly give their money so that big grand heated and lighted Churches can sit empty more often than not while people sleep in the cold on the streets or in their cars. And I am glad they act their conscience.

Myself, I prefer to give to those who are hungry or in need directly.

Matthew 25:40

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Threads like this should enlighten many who believe that God's people are all in on this.

Organized religion has become just like government at this point. Bigger than us and doing whatever it wants.

But not with my dime. I send people out of my home with bags and boxes of things, and God refills my cupboard and drawer and closet time after time after time. All because I actually believed Proverbs 31, and tried to be that kind of woman, busy, efficient, entrepreneurial, and able to care for and help the poor.

He made it possible, and He will for each of us, too!