Posted on 11/23/2007 4:54:21 PM PST by Cecily
Can you put a price on faith? That is the question churchgoers are asking as the tradition of tithing -- giving 10% of your income to the church -- is increasingly challenged. Opponents of tithing say it is a misreading of the Bible, a practice created by man, not God. They say they should be free to donate whatever amount they choose, and they are arguing with pastors, writing letters and quitting congregations in protest. In response, some pastors have changed their teaching and rejected what has been a favored form of fund raising for decades.
The backlash comes as some churches step up their efforts to encourage tithing. Some are setting up "giving kiosks" that allow congregants to donate using their debit cards when they attend services. Others are offering financial seminars that teach people in debt how they can continue tithing even while paying off their loans. Media-savvy pastors, such as Ed Young in Grapevine, Texas, sell sermons online about tithing. And in a shift, more Catholic parishes are asking churchgoers to tithe, says Paul Forbes, administrator of McKenna Stewardship Ministry, a nonprofit that says it has encouraged more than 500 parishes to tithe in the last decade. Popes haven't requested tithes in recent decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
As I fill out my celestial 1040 form, I always ask “Does God want 10% of my gross pay or 10% of my net?”
.....Bob
I’ve been told it is gross but I don’t know for sure.
I do believe in tithing but it doesn’t all have to be to the church and it doesn’t all have to be monetary, it can be time and talant.
I am proud to say that I know the author of this article, and she does her research well. If you happened to miss it, she also wrote a great article about the ‘purpose driven’ and ‘church growth movements’.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06248/719178-84.stm
Ahh. God is paid protection, sort of a hired bodyguard.
I'd like to see the numbers of tithers who have had no problems and never got sick or died, or had anything bad happen to them.
You know what? God doesn't need our money. Why would he?
He doesn’t need anything. Tithing just shows our obedience to Him, that’s all.
Despite all arguments to the contrary, tithing is the practice of Jesus and the Apostles.
While there is no “law” to this effect, it would be hard to go wrong if one follows Jesus’ example.
Where do we know that? Where do we know that they even attended church?
I always find it interesting that the churches that do not take many verses of the Bible literally, always come down on the side of the Biblical support for tithing.
Ed Young doesn’t preach in Grapevine. He’s in Houston with 5 locations. Second Baptist Church. Grapevine is near Dallas.
You might want to tell that to the author.
That’s Ed Young’s oldest Son, Ed Young Jr., he is in Grapevine, TX
Tithing is not a New Testament principle.
As a pastor explained to me decades ago when I was a new believer: “You can’t outgive God. How much do you want to be blessed?”
Or is it that the 10 percent in money given can go to any charity of your own choice (including your own church) in ADDITION to your time and talent given?
It may not be a New Testament law, but it was practiced by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament!
“They want you to send your money to the Lord, but they give you their address.” The American Dream - Hank Williams Jr.
Where in the NT does this information come from?
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