Conclusions With Supporting References
The Bible teaches us that:
- Christians should regard everything they have as coming from God and being owned by God. (Deuteronomy 10:14, Psalm 50:10-12, Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
- Christians should give generously, sacrificially, cheerfully, and as God leads them to give. (Second Corinthians 9:7; 1 Timothy 6:17)
- The Old Testament tithe was of agricultural products only. (Those who made a living through commerce did not tithe on the portion of their income that came from commerce.) (Deuteronomy 14:22, Deuteronomy 26:12-13)
Or see http://www.setfreetogive.com/b31.htm#moses - In Old Testament times, the largest portion of an individuals tithe was not given to the priests or the temple. Instead, the largest portion of the tithe was consumed by the person (and his family) giving the tithe and/or was given to the poor and needy. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29, Deuteronomy 26:12-13) Or see http://www.setfreetogive.com/b31.htm#moses
Historical writings teach us that:
- The Pharisees taught a form of the tithe that went far beyond the tithe set forth in the Scriptures, including tithing on all forms of income, not just agricultural income. (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus, The Messiah, Book III page 312;
http://books.google.com/books?id=EyGls9iGbSgC&pg=PA312&lpg=PA312&dq=Alfred+Edersheim+tithe+pharisee&source=bl&ots=PPdsddwYr3&sig=TK61UTGpjcvlsMnM59ieJPCYxLE&hl=en&ei=Mzn4Sd2gIqakNdv1haoP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA312,M1) - The tithe was not a practice of the early church.
See Set Free To Give page 110 http://www.setfreetogive.com/b107.htm - The tithe was ordained by the church hundreds of years after Christ to support the churchs infrastructure and building programs.
- See Set Free To Give page 110 http://www.setfreetogive.com/b107.htm
or The Catholic Encyclopedia at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Tithes or http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Tithes