Tithing and abuse

[IsthiswhoIam?]

Hi everyone,

I just read the following post from "Married to A Pentecostal" on tithing and wanted to start a new thread, as the thread was long and there seems to be alot of confusion about tithing and the church.

Pentecostal Tithing
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Im sorry I dont know where I should post this, but I have a question. Is it normal for pentecostals to require a 15% tithe? 10% for the church and 5% for the pastor. And to tell the congregation that their tithe needs to come before they pay any bills. Im not sure how to show my husband that this is wrong! Thigs are getting shut off in our house because of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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I attended an abusive church while in Seminary which would have advocated a similar view. In seminary, I studied the history of tithing and learned that while giving very generously when they had means, the early church did not "tithe" as we think of it today. Tithing started to be practiced in the church only after 312 AD. The web generally is not a very good source for information as much of it is fanatical. So I have posted an article on the history of tithing here:

www.tossingtables.com/podcasts/tithing.html

[Doug64]

Hi IsthiswhoIam:

I am not that familiar with Pentecostal beliefs, but our former group at one time required 30% before paying bills.
10% was for 'the work' - the 10% that was God's.
10% was saved for attendance at the annual holy day meetings.
10% given in years 3 and 6 out of 7 went to the needy - the widows and orphans.

My present 'philosophy' regarding the tithe is that it was something given to the OT church which applied to that time only.

It was an agricultural society where they would tithe on animals - not money.
Reading the Bible account shows that the '10th animal that passed under the rod' was the tithe. They didn't tithe on 1-9.

There is no justification for a tithe on the gross of one's income.

Nearly all churches teach tithing because they need a steady flow of money coming in to pay the bills.

My 2 cents worth.

Doug

[IsthiswhoIam?]

Hi Doug

Agree, except that 7our "philosophy" is more than just a personal take, it reflects the reality of the New Testament - tithing was something Jews did to support the temple, the early Christians did not tithe.

With the resurection of Jesus there was no more theological reason for the temple (sins were now forgiven through faith in Christ instead of through the sacrificial ministry in the Temple, so Christians stopped supporting the temple - this is the whole point of the Letter to the Hebrews).

It was the Catholic church that instituted tithing, after the church moved from homes into buildings and needed the money to support those buildings. It moved into church buildings after 312 AD when the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it no longer illegal.

The New Testament was written long before this and does not reflect any sort of "Christian tithing to the CHurch", only Jewish tithing to the temple. There is more detail on this if you follow the link in my first post.

[Willow]

After much study and soul searching, I also came to the conclusion that tithing is a false manipulation of the church. I adopted the freeing principle to give generously and from an open heart to whatever my heart directed me to give to. It's a much happier way to give and I find I give more that way than I did by exacting the tithe.

[Willow]

Consequentially, I noticed there is a thread on this topic at the forum ChurchHappens posted.

http://thegodjourney.com/forums/index.php?topic=103.new;boardseen#new

[Jerry]

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Im sorry I dont know where I should post this, but I have a question. Is it normal for pentecostals to require a 15% tithe? 10% for the church and 5% for the pastor. And to tell the congregation that their tithe needs to come before they pay any bills. Im not sure how to show my husband that this is wrong! Thigs are getting shut off in our house because of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Are Christians obligated to support the Church ???,,,,,Of course..........But God does not require the church to be supported to the extent that familys are in need. That is Biblical...........The quote above and Dougs post is not "Church Support" it is "Extortion".............
Love Jerry

[Hope 98]

I agree with Willow.

The earliest record of the church was that they had all things in common. There wasn't a specific amount of giving required, but whatever one purposed in his/her own heart. It's a kind of parallel to worshiping in spirit and truth.

[ChurchHappens]

I have come to see that if you're a member of a religious club and you receive benefits from that club then it would be only right to pay the club dues so that they can continue to provide their services to you.

Personally I canceled my membership 3 years ago. It was actually hindering my relationship with the Lord and His disciples. The CEO of the club wanted me to make him my Master. I'm sorry but the Lord Jesus is my only Master.