Sir, I agree that the items you listed cannot be paid for with grain and corn. I further agree that religious facilities, etc. rely on contributions from its members. I am also one who strongly advocate that Christians should provide monetary support for these worthy causes. However, to call this type of support tithing (old law) and to require its members to pay 10% of their income is not biblical. If churches realize that monetary collections should be made for God's people, instead of from God's people. If Christians use Jesus' teaching as a guide, then that will realize that they should Love thy neighbor as thyself. Our first priority then would not be supporting a building, salary, or programs. It would be to take care of our neighbor. Thank you for your response to my question.
Is Tithing Money?
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Sir, I agree that the items you listed cannot be paid for with grain and corn. I further agree that religious facilities, etc. rely on contributions from its members. I am also one who strongly advocate that Christians should provide monetary support for these worthy causes. However, to call this type of support tithing (old law) and to require its members to pay 10% of their income is not biblical. If churches realize that monetary collections should be made for God's people, instead of from God's people. If Christians use Jesus' teaching as a guide, then that will realize that they should Love thy neighbor as thyself. Our first priority then would not be supporting a building, salary, or programs. It would be to take care of our neighbor. Thank you for your response to my question.
Thank you for your inquiry. The issue that I originally raised was why have churches converted tithes into money? In no way was I saying that people should not support their churches. I was saying that calling this support tithes was not scripture. When people believe that it is scripture, then they conclude that God requires them to give 10% of their income. However, since we cannot find anywhere in the scripture where tithes is referred to as money (except in Deu 14:25). Here the tithe is too heavy or too far to carry, so it must be turned into money. However, it must be changed back to something edible when the person arrived at the place where God chooses. This also shows us that money was being used back when bartaring was going on. But not once does the bible mention that tithes was money as practiced today. The standard for giving to the church is 2 Cor 9:7. I hope that this brings some light to your inquiry. Thanks again for your response.
I'm no Biblical scholar, but weren't grain, goats, sheep, etc, basically traded in those times just as they were money? In some places, they still are.
I think the law said they could pay a financial tithe in place of livestock or goods provided it was a bit over market value (I think this was the case, but easily could be wrong on the financing aspect). But goodness, who really cares? I pitch a check into the plate hoping to keep the lights on for another month. It seems like there are much larger fish to pursue within Christianity, pun intended
Now that is easy...we choose to give back to Him as an act of worship. Whether 1%, 5%, 10% or 90%, it doesn't matter as long as we do it cheerfully! Whether to the homeless man on the corner in ATL, to Katrina victims or the local church as long as it is done cheerfully!if God is the highest power in existance, why would God request money or grain from people? Serious question. if the gold or grain exists, wouldn't it be God's anyway, not ours?
Thank you for your response. Please know that I am not a biblical scholar either. In fact, I've started to read the bible for myself only a few months ago. Before, I pretty much followed the popular tradition of tithing just like all of the other Christians. Notice the issue that I raised was, "Is Tithing Money? Why are we calling our giving and/or supporting the church Tithes? Tithes are always referred to in the bible as something edible. During the time that the Tithe (old law) was practiced, the bible often revealed that money was is use. However, the bible never reveals that money was used as the Tithe although it was in use (We learn in Genesis that Abraham was a weathy man, with gold and silver; Jesus overturned the money changers at the temple; Judas betrayed Jesus for money; the love of money is the root of all evils; Jesus told a rich man to sell all of his earthly possession and give the money to the poor). Although we know that money was being used throughout the bible, there is not one occassion that it was being used for Tithing. The bible also states that the tithe is holy unto the Lord. Are we to believe that money is holy unto the Lord? To suggest that money has replaced the bartaring system (corn and grain) would be an interpretation, not scripture. It seems to me that this conversion of Tithes to money is manmade because there is no biblical scripture to support it. Please let me know where my thought process is off, and thank you for your response.
if God is the highest power in existance, why would God request money or grain from people? Serious question. if the gold or grain exists, wouldn't it be God's anyway, not ours?
Thank you for your response and your thoughtful question. I, like many other Christians, believe that God is a supreme being. However, I believe that for us to try to decern his purpose or plan would be foolish. Therefore, we can only rely on the teaching of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the bible to guide us in our daily endeavors. As this relates to Tithes (old law), the scripture tells us that the Tithe was meant to be eaten and that it was for the Levites because they had no inheritance. Also note that not everyone was required to Tithe, only those professions that produced product, herds, and flocks. Also please note that there is no record in the bible of Jesus ever Tithing anything. I would agree that All of the Tithes belongs to God. However, why are we still practicing the old law by tithing, instead of giving cheerfully? Thank you again for your question.
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Now that is easy...we choose to give back to Him as an act of worship. Whether 1%, 5%, 10% or 90%, it doesn't matter as long as we do it cheerfully! Whether to the homeless man on the corner in ATL, to Katrina victims or the local church as long as it is done cheerfully!
Thank you for your comment. I agree that we should give cheerfully and that type of giving is supported by biblical scripture. However, our first priority for giving should be to the needy (Love thy neighbor as thyself). Would you not agree that to put a percentage on the amount that we give would not be scriptural, but that this type of giving is manmade? Again, thank you for your insightful comment.
Good night, I hope you have pleasant dreams.
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