Its been quite a while since my last post but in the interim Ive finished my Bible study of tithing and giving. Ive decided not to go into the details of the study because I found several good resources on the Web that do a much better job than I ever could in covering the Bibles teaching on tithing and giving. In this post, Im going to list the Web resources and in my next post I’ll tell you what I’ve concluded as a result of my study. If you want to study tithing in detail, I encourage you to check out the listed resources for yourself.
Note: this article is in response to the common belief among Christians that the Bible teaches that Christians should give 10 percent of their gross income to the local church (a practice commonly referred to as tithing). For many years I thought the Bible taught the tithe. It was only recently, after studying the issue in depth, that I became convinced otherwise.
Resources on Tithing and Giving
1. Will a Man Rob God
Andreas J. Kostenberger and David Croteau, Southeastern Baptist Seminary
http://www.biblicalfoundations.org/pdf/pdfarticles/bbrtithing1.pdf
2. Reconstructing a Biblical Model for Giving
Andreas J. Kostenberger and David Croteau, Southeastern Baptist Seminary
http://biblicalfoundations.org/pdf/pdfarticles/bbrtithing2.pdf
These two articles by Southern Baptists Andreas Kostenberger and David Croteau are the most scholarly, yet readable material I could find. Highly recommended.
3. Tithing: Is It New Testament
Elliot Miller, Christian Research Institute
This article by the editor-in-chief of the Christian Research Journal was on the CRI web site when I began my research, but seems to have been removed from the CRI website since then. A copy of the article is here: http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=36937
4. Set Free To Give (Online Book)
Brent J. MacDonald
http://www.setfreetogive.com/bindex.htm
This is a fairly complete treatment of the Bibles teaching on tithing and giving with excellent historical information included.
5. Should the Church Teach Tithing
http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/index.html
Russ Kellys web site is the most complete compendium of information on tithing I could find. Unfortunately, Russ can be very strident on the topic of the tithe. (I suspect Russ is extremely frustrated with the South Baptist Convention’s refusal to re-examine the case against tithing.) Sadly, Russ can be so strident that you may be tempted to dismiss what he has to say. There’s a lot of good information here if you can filter out the emotional heat.
6. Toward the Tithe and Beyond
John Piper
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1995/923_Toward_the_Tithe_and_Beyond/
A respected pastor and Christian author explains why he believes Christians should tithe.
In my next post, Ill summarize my conclusions on giving and tithing.