September 24, 2018

VIDEO: Do Tithes and Offerings Belong in Christianity?

Many churches claim that “tithing,” church members donating 10% of their income, has an obvious Old Testament foundation. Does it? Old Testament tithing was land based and no tithe was ever given in monetary form. Is there any connection to what happens today? Watch this short vlog then listen to the podcast of the same name for an eye-opening discussion!

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2 replies

Paul says:
September 4, 2019 at 21:20

If I might respectfully say, I think you have missed the mark in that you are looking at the detail and missing the principle. The principle of tithing is that we recognise God’s provision, and in that, give praise and worship to him for his providence through setting aside a portion to specifically honour Him.
You pointed out that a pastor does, unlike the priests, own property. How does a pastor acquire his property, feed his family, operate his car to go to the hospital for visitation, pay his Bible College tuition for past and ongoing studies, etc, etc, etc? Obviously through the giving of church members who provide for his wage. While there may have been a monetary currency in use in ancient times, you cannot for a minute dispute that livestock, agricultural and even labour were used as currency for barter, before some of the said goods were changed to monetary currency.
Unfortunately, as a pastor, I’ve found that many people who argue against tithing are living very well, keeping their wage and giving meagerly out of their leftovers. This is not putting God first, and honouring and trusting Him for His providential care for us. Crosswalk.com has a very good article at https://www.crosswalk.com/family/finances/is-tithing-for-the-new-testament-believer-11579309.html that deals with this in much more detail. I hope your readers will consider this article as well.
Reply
- Christian Questions says:
  September 7, 2019 at 20:33
  
  Thank you for putting together your thoughtful comments. We hope you have had a chance to listen to the entire podcast. Our main point is that New testament tithing is not mandatory and its concept has been abused by certain unscrupulous leaders to eeek money out of parishioners and used in ungodly ways. The points you have made are well taken. Thank you. – Christian Questions
  Reply