Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
Question for those who teach tithing...
I have yet to receive an answer to some questions I asked previously. Here's the post,
For those who do teach the principle of tithing...
Are there any needy classes (widows, orphans, poor, fellow ministers) that are exempt from tithing within your congregation?
And, in what manner do the tithes collected into the "storehouse" go to aid needy classes?
I ask these questions because the Law as it pertained to the tithe was never a burden upon those needy classes in Israel. In fact, a portion of the tithes collected were to relieve the distress of the most needy among them (widows, orphans, etc.). Therefore, to Israel the tithe was a blessing to the people, namely the poor. The way so many preach tithing today... tithing under the New Covenant can be oppressive to the very classes the Law sought to protect and relieve. As a result, New Testament tithing becomes far more harsh and burdensome than the tithe could have ever been... even under the Law of Moses. You see... I want to know the bounds within which they teach tithing. Do they make the tithe absolutely mandatory, even for those who it would prove to burden, or do they relieve those who are in financial trouble? This question is of the utmost importance. Why? Because it will prove if one's tithe teaching is a form of oppression or if it is taught in the very spirit of biblical tithing.
Biblically speaking, if they require a tithe the burdens those under hardship... they have taken what was designed to relieve hardship and used it for extortion and oppression. |
I've heard it taught that if you are poor, you may be poor because you don't tithe. Further, if you start tithing, even if you think you can't afford it, God will bless you. "You can't afford
not to tithe!" they like to say. This teaching is usually accompanied by amazing stories. (Like a lot of teaching!
)