Free Republic

Whether churchgoers believe that tithing — giving 10% of one’s income — is a biblical commandment varies depending on age and denomination, according to a recent study. Lifeway Research, an organization that examines ongoing church ministry trends, published a study on April 25 that found more than 3 in 4 American Protestant churchgoers (77%) view tithing as a biblical command that the faithful must abide by today. The study of 1,002 American Protestant churchgoers was conducted online from Sept. 19-29, 2022, using a national pre-recruited panel. The completed sample has a 95% confidence level and the sampling error does not...

Challenging popular Evangelical belief, controversial televangelist Creflo Dollar, one of America's most flamboyant proponents of the prosperity gospel, has renounced tithing and all his previous teachings on the subject as "not correct." He also urged his followers to "throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing" but says he will not apologize for his error. In a Sunday sermon billed "The Great Misunderstanding," the founder and senior pastor of the nearly 30,000-member World Changers Church International headquartered in College Park, Georgia, said he is aware that his declaration will cause him...

More than half of American Protestant Christians report tithing their income. But all tithes don't necessarily go to the church, with some Christians believing they can tithe to charities, including secular ones, according to recently released findings by LifeWay Research. In a report released last Thursday, LifeWay noted that 54 percent of surveyed Protestants give at least 10 percent of their income to the church. Among them, 37 percent say they tithe and 17 percent say they give more than 10 percent. One in 5 say they give regularly but they give less than 10 percent of their income. Seventeen...

On Tuesday, June 27, it will be 50 years since the first automated cash dispenser – which came to be known as an automated teller machine (ATM) – was inaugurated in London. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. I belong to the generation who stood 45 minutes to an hour to deposit or cash checks in the pre-ATM era. I remember getting yelled at for taking my bicycle through the drive-up line at the National Bank of Detroit to avoid the much longer line inside. It did not take me very long to become an early...

Well, well, well .....

Today I got to interview tithing expert Ron Robey on my online TV show. He has written over 100 articles and 3 books on the topic. And he has a appeared on several well known Christian radio shows. Ron really knew his stuff and I did a good job of just asking questions so it turned out to be my best of 5 TV shows so far. This should convince anyone that tithing 10% to the church by compulsion is not taught in scriptures. – Damon Whitsell http://thewordonthewordoffaithinfoblog.com/2016/01/13/refuting-christian-tithing-interviewing-ron-roby-how2becomeachristian-tv/ DIRECT LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xk0oeVkOd4

BAINBRIDGE, GA (WATE) – A 92-year-old woman is no longer allowed to worship at the church where she was a member for more than 50 years because she was not tithing. Josephine King said that was the reason she was kicked out of Bainbridge’s First African Baptist Church. Her family members said they hope the situation will bring change to churches across the nation. “Josephine King is no longer considered a member of the First African Baptist Church of Bainbridge, Georgia,” read Gerald Simmons, as he skimmed over the letter addressed to his aunt. The letter, signed by Senior Pastor...

When pressed for an answer to "Paying tithes was under the Law", some retort that Christians are required to pay tithes because Abraham's paying of tithes to Melchizedek preceded to Law. In reply to that, do the scriptures say in Genesis chapter 14 that Abraham was compelled to pay tithes, or was it rather a free will tithe offering, unlike the compelled tithe that was enacted under the Law? In Deuteronomy 14:26 (NIV), it says that those who attended a particular feast day that they could "...Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented...

With the in-your-face display of greed and arrogance of the so-called pastors on the reality show Preachers of L.A., I began to wonder: when will black Christians wake up and say enough is enough?  Although there are some white pastors of mega-churches who have a net worth of almost triple their congregants as well, I want to focus on the plight of the black saints who sit under the ministry of black pastors (and some white pastors) Sunday after Sunday and continue to live paycheck to paycheck.After some years of attending mega-churches pastored by both black and white men and...

This from WSJ: President Says ObamaCare Volunteers Doing ‘God’s Work’ [?!?] Barack Obama speaks to his old campaign comrades [That's the right word.] at Organizing for Action.HOLY OBAMACARELast night in Washington President Obama addressed the national meeting of Organizing for Action, the outfit formerly known as his re-election campaign. [If he can't be re-elected to the White House, why is this organization still around?  For this sort of dreck.] Young OFA volunteers have been redeployed to the task of persuading Americans to sign up for new health insurance plans created by the President’s Affordable Care Act. ["Affordable"... right.  Have you lost...

The finances of Christians who tithe are generally healthier than the finances of those who do not, according to a new report that takes a close look at the financial, spiritual and giving practices of people who give 10 percent or more of their income away to churches and charities each year. Researchers compared tithers to non-tithers using nine financial health indicators, and found that tithers were better off in every category. Among tithers, for example, 80 percent have no unpaid credit card bills, 74 percent don't owe anything on their cars, 48 percent own their home and 28 percent...

The Mormons take tithing very seriously. They are very well organized about it. Members are supposed to meet with their bishop for a tithing settlement. Here is a training session on what is supposed to happen in a tithing settlement. At the end the bishop will mark you as a full tithe payer – or not. If you are not a full tithe payer you cannot be admitted to the temple, much less hold offices. Mr. Thompson had a letter from his bishop explaining this to the Tax Court. The tithing rule is so strict that some have argued...

In certain passages of scripture it says that tithes are to be given to the Levites, and then the Levites were to give a tenth to the priests. In other scriptures is says to bring ye the tithe into the storehouse, that my house may be full. Deuteronomy 26:12 says that every third year, that in addition to giving to the Levites, some of the tithe must go to widows, orphans, (the down-and-out), etc. Now, if in modern times we give tithes to our local church that we attend and tithes are then used to pay for the pastors salary...

SAN FRANCISCO -- If the Mormon church were a business, wealthy adherents like Mitt Romney would count as its dominant revenue stream. Its investment strategy would be viewed as risk-averse. It would also likely attract corporate gadflies protesting a lack of transparency. They would call for less spending on real estate and more on charitable causes to improve membership growth -- the Mormons' return on investment. Those are a few of the conclusions that can be drawn from an analysis of the church's finances by Reuters and University of Tampa sociologist Ryan Cragun.Relying heavily on church records in countries that...

My wife and I have traveled back and forth across the country the past year. It has given us the opportunity to visit a number of churches. We have felt the movement of the Holy Spirit in every service we have attended. That is, until recently, when he heard a message we found quite disturbing. It actually wasn’t the main topic of the pastor’s sermon. Rather, it was a sidebar at the end of his message. It concerned the church’s finances. He told the congregation that weekly collections had not met budget all year long. And he admonished church members...

When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And...

Mitt Romney's tax returns reveal that the Republican presidential candidate does something fewer Americans do these days: He tithes. Romney's 2009 and 2010 tax returns, released Tuesday, show that he and his wife, Ann, gave 10 percent of their income, about $4.1 million, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The couple reported income of about $43 million for the two years. LDS church members must tithe to participate in temple rituals. Nearly 80 percent of Mormons tithe, a poll released this month by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows. While tithing among Mormons is...

.......... the private equity giant once run by the GOP presidential frontrunner carved his church a slice of several of its most lucrative business deals, securities records show..-SNIP-As part of just one Bain transaction in 2008, involving its investment in Burger King Holdings, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that an unnamed Bain partner donated 65,326 shares of Burger King stock to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holdings then worth nearly $1.9 million. And there were numerous others, giving the church a stake in other Bain properties, such as Domino's Pizza, the electronics manufacturer DDi,...

So, my place of employment has been pressuring us with high-profile donation campaigns for a month or so. Now, I'm getting emails from the Chairman of the Board who has pledged a one-for-one dollar donation, and wants me to be a first time donor. I have several problems with this, mainly that the United Way nationally does fund Planned Parenthood. Now, locally they say they do not. However, United Way says you can make donations to specific charities. The issue I have with that is does United Way take something of the top for handling these donations? If so, why?...

Catholic Tithing and Almsgiving “[I felt] free, the opposite of heavy.”Karl Rabeder lives an opulent lifestyle.  He has a talent for making and spending money.  He's been blessed with all the worldly possessions most people could imagine.  He has a villa overlooking the Alps, an $850,000 farmhouse, gliders, expensive cars and a fortune worth about five million dollars.But he's trying to get rid of it all.Mr. Rabeder says that while vacationing with his wife in Hawaii it hit him how soulless his five-star lifestyle was. He felt like everyone around him was acting and it prevented him from knowing real...