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.
If I got the proverbial nickel for every sermon on tithing you suggested earlier, in my 25+ years in evangelical churches, I might have earned a dollar. In my experience, most evangelical churches don't hold to tithing because it is a part of the Old Covenant which most likely has been abrogated by the New Covenant. Colossians 2:6-23 lays out a strong argument that the principle that undergirds tithing (legalism) doesn't apply to those in Christ. Giving to the church is strongly encouraged in the New Testament but strict, legalistic requirements such as tithing are not consistent with the New Covenant.
Don’t know why it bothers people so much that Mormons believe in tithing.
You insisted that tithing was a privilege. However, a Mormon can't be in good standing with the "church" (as evidenced by a temple recommend) without paying a full tithe which makes it a requirement. A requirement and a privilege are inconsistent terms. Do you consider paying income taxes a requirement or a privilege?
You said; “You are missing my point...the point is, what if that person doesn’t have the tithe contribution, are they then unwelcome?”
A tithe is 10% of whatever you make. If you make $10 a tithe would be $1. The tithe in most churches today simply means that you should give a portion of what you earn to the Church so that the Church can do it’s work.
You’ve gotten plenty of responses, but I’ll share with you my personal approach to the topic.
First, take a moment to review the old testament instructions regarding the tithe. Deuteronomy 14:22 points out that the tithe was supposed to be consumed at a great festival each year. On the 3rd year, it was given to the storehouse for the priests and the widows and orphans.
So two thirds of the tithe was consumed, the other third went to the ministry. The purpose was as much about setting aside your first fruits in order to honor the Lord as it was about ministry.
It was a sign of trust, that you would consume 10% at one feast of worship, trusting God to sustain you on the other 90%.
I don’t think that concept is strictly Old Testament. I feel it is alive and very practical to my life today. I tithe because I trust him and I desire to honor him.
The other aspect is the character of giving. Giving is an attribute of God. He made us in His image. I give because my God is a giver and I want to be more like him. It isn’t a legal issue. It isn’t a salvation issue. It is an issue of the heart and an issue of trust in God.
Good luck in deciding how you feel on the issue. I pray God will lead you in the proper direction.
“My church went liberal so I quit going.”
I hope you found a Bible teaching one to replace it. Otherwise it seems the devil has won a round.
“You are missing my point...the point is, what if that person doesn’t have the tithe contribution, are they then unwelcome?”
I know of no church that enforces tithing. Actually, I don’t know how they’d even know if you tithe or not. They pass the plate. Do they know how much you earn? Do they know what percentage of the cash came from your hand?
The Mormons do enforce it, I understand. I never was a Mormon, but I have heard they check pay stubs and track giving. If I am wrong I hope someone will correct me.
Old Testament.
Yep. Just posting it FYI.
All giving over 10% is considering offerings.
Tithe + special offerings
The more you give, the more favor you enjoy.
Matthew five: 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Sounds to me as if Jesus is saying that what He did not fulfill or alter, or reverse, such as food in Act 10, is still 100% in effect.
Look, you may not like tithing, but churches have to pay their bills too. And all to often it is only a handful that pick up the tab while others just sit back and reap without doing any sowing, watering, tilling, etc.
I’m a pretty smoky Christian, but, in addition to having given my life to Christ, I also tithe. I can loose my temper at times, I can go toe to toe with the best of them and I can use some pretty offensive language at times, but, Like David, I know where I am going and I’m not afraid to pay my share of the freight.
But that’s just me, I am not lecturing you, only giving my side of the logic and argument.
You must watch alot of late night tube, when they promise great prosperity if you send in your $1000 seed of properity.
“I have heard they check pay stubs and track giving. If I am wrong I hope someone will correct me.”
They DON’T do that. And if anyone ever did, they are waay off the reservation.
The new agers even understand that there is a law of the universe that you get back what you give. Many success coaches say that you should give away at least 10% of your income as part of your plan of success.
I was always heard that 10% was a tithe, anything above that was an offering.
“Tithing is a Jewish/Mormon thing. It is not a Christian thing.”
I don’t believe I recall that it was ever repealed. As such, I don’t believe that the ten commandments were repealed either. One could also say that they were a “Jewish thing”, too.
Some churches are very rich or it seems that way, Some churches are very rich and can have good teachings, and ministry. But they run their churches like our government always spending their money faster then they take it in and they've always got to have the best. Then they start begging for it. Well I've stuck around churches like this for their teaching and ministry but I certainly didn't tithe to them. I might drop something in the plate once in a awhile but I certainly wasn't going to tithe to a church that didn't need it or was going to waste it.
Some churches are very rich or it seems that way, Some churches are very rich and can have good teachings, and ministry. But they run their churches like our government always spending their money faster then they take it in and they've always got to have the best. Then they start begging for it. Well I've stuck around churches like this for their teaching and ministry but I certainly didn't tithe to them. I might drop something in the plate once in a awhile but I certainly wasn't going to tithe to a church that didn't need it or was going to waste it.
2nd Corinthians 8:1-24 talks about giving. Paul does not talk about tithing, but of giving and sharing among the churches. If one has particular abundance, share with those who do not at the moment, because circumstances could change. And those who were in need would become the abundant ones. And could then share their abundance to lesser churches. Tithing is part of the Old Testament Law. And we are not under the Law, but under Grace. Tithing is found in the OT, Matthew, Luke, and Hebrews. The dispensation of the Law.
This is not correct. First, in the story of Ananias and Sapphira, they were struck down not for withholding some but for lying (withholding some and representing it as the whole).
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Um, yeah, that’s what I said, they lied about it.
Tithing is a Jewish/Mormon thing. It is not a Christian thing.
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Why do you say that?
Jesus certainly said that tithing was important.
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