Posted on 08/30/2010 3:42:03 PM PDT by SouthDixie
Okay, I'll be honest, I am not a great follower of Glenn Beck yet I am trying to understand what exactly his message is. I try to understand by listening to what others have to say and by watching his shows and rallys.
Today on his show, Glenn said, "If you don't believe in giving 10% tithe, why are you going to that church?" I about had to pick my jaw off the floor. I was not aware attending church was about a 10% tithe and if you didn't have the funds, why attend?
In my minds eye, this is NOT how to attract people to church or to the word of God. God is about Love, Compassion and Unity. In these economic times people are barely able to care for their families let alone give 10% of their income to churches that havn't exactly set a very "spiritual" example.
I am not sure I enjoy where Glenn Beck is taking us.
10% is relative. 10% of a dollar is 10 cents. 10% of $100,000 is 10,000. You can afford it. If you make the decision, if you make the conversion that makes you a regular churchgoer then you are apt to find that after that 10% off the top you have more money left for the rest of your needs. That is what happened to me. When I decided to do it there was really no way I could see that I could “afford” it but I took that Bible injunction seriously. Over the next year I realized that, though my income had not gone up and I hadn’t got anything paid off that had not been paid off before, I had a little money in my pocket and the bills got a little bit easier to handle.
The other Churches I attended taught that tithing was a Biblical principle that should be followed religiously. Don’t know why it bothers people so much that Mormons believe in tithing.
Now, I don’t know what Bible Mormons use, so I don’t know where Glenn get’s his ideas from, but this I do know, In Malachi chapter three God Himself says that you are to tithe.
From the 1611 King James Version:
7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
So, again, I don’t know where Glenn get’s his ideas, but Biblically speaking he is right, you are to tithe and Biblically 10% seems to be the amount.
I believe the tithe (which translates “tenth”) is one of the hardest forms of worship of our God as it deals with a part of our flesh that can get us in the most trouble (pride). At the same time, it can be the most beautiful and sacred things one can do (see the Widow’s mites) to show the love we have for our risen Savior Jesus Christ. We forget the complete sacrifice God made of His Son for our eternal salvation yet we argue and gnash our teeth over 10% of something He gave us in the first place.
>>I have to admit that I’m more than a little uncomfortable with a Mormon leading the charge for religious revival. <<
You and me both. I listen to everything he says through the filter of “He is coming from a Mormon perspective”. I just want to be careful that what I am hearing (and often agreeing with) does not twist or violate my Christian beliefs.
I have mormon friends. We get along great if we don’t talk religion much. And even on surface stuff we have a lot of agreement. But the devil is in the details. Literally.
So is it 10% of the gross, or 10% of the net? This is assuming that one fully intends to tithe 10% of something.
The tithe-ministers (especially the TBN types) interpret that as 10% gross, because that’s what will maximize their personal cashflow.
There are all sorts of things the old testament tells you that you are supposed to do to be a good Jew.
Christians get several of their precepts from it, but lots of things mentioned in the OT are specifically for Jews. The new covenant talks not of tithing (10%), but giving. It is mentioned one time, and even then it is Jesus talking to Jews about what they SHOULD HAVE done (past tense) and even then it is discussing the specific things they tithed and he admonished that they should NOT HAVE ignored the weightier things.
As time goes on, I think less and less of money and God in the same thought process.
We tithe. We're Baptist.
>>Don’t know why it bothers people so much that Mormons believe in tithing.<<
It is not the main thing that bothers me about Mormonism. It is just another one of those things that are Mormon but not Christian.
Mormonism and Islam actually have quite a bit in common in their pulling some of the old testament law, kicking and screaming, through the protests of the New Testament. Islam limits the virgins to 72 though. Both abhor alcohol.
>>We tithe. We’re Baptist.<<
I think that’s great! A question though: If you give eleven percent, do you still call it tithing?
BTW, by our farm in Kentucky, there must be a hundred “babdis” churches. We’ve attended a few and mostly liked what we heard. We liked all the people. Regardless of the church I go to, I am always looking out for legalism slipping through the teachings in the new testament via the vehicle of “good intentions”.
It is why I don’t like the word “tithe”. It is like the word “thee” in songs. I always replace “thee” with “you” and “tithe” with “giving”.
"It just blew!"
Seriously, I only hit the "post" button once. Honest.
Pertaining to your point about to tithe or not to tithe and about giving 10%. Our government was never set up originally to take 40% our our incomes. That is robbery and that was done throughout the 20th century, by 535 individuals wanting to turn this Great Republic into a democRATIC socialist utopia.
I also watched the show. What he actually said was, if you don’t believe that particular church is a church that deserves your tithe to find one that you believe does.
No. That's moving into donation territory.
Thank you for your post....you’re the only one who seems to get the meaning of tithe.
And, you’re right it is one of the hardest forms of worship.
As I remember from my years in Europe (Italy), there was never a request to tithe. Collections were made at sunday services and I never saw more than few lire (now euros) being put into the baskets.
I am sure if someone wanted to support their local neighborhood church, it would be between the individual and the priest.
The basis of tithing is Genesis 14:19, where Abram gave Melchizedek (Jesus?) 10% of the goods that he had recovered.
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