History of Tithes in the Church

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Tithesmeister

I think at this time (until further research proves otherwise) that the tithing in America was begun by Joseph Smith in the LDS church (to the extent of tithes being rendered in money or property other than agricultural goods). Earlier (in colonial America) it was actually a levy on the church members and was collected in agricultural products (specifically tobacco as an example) and was charged according to the number, gender, and racial makeup (basically the intrinsic value) of slaves possessed by the farmers.

It is my opinion, based on my own research at this point, that the Pentecostal churches adopted tithing from the Mormons and really elevated it to, in some cases, a salvation issue. Then some have declared tithes to be the sole property of the pastor. No scripture seems to be safe from the reach of pastors’ ability to twist or downright contradict in the name of the god of mammon.

Can you point us to the sources you have found that indicate "Pentecostals adopted tithing from the Mormons", and also the sources that indicate the LDS was first to adopt monetary tithing in the US?

[Esaias]

According to this ---> https://christianhistoryinstitute.or...ry-ii-timeline <--- the concept of "storehouse tithing" was first introduced in a Wesleyan church in Cincinnati in 1895 to generate revenue and rescue the church from financial troubles.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Esaias

According to this ---> https://christianhistoryinstitute.or...ry-ii-timeline <--- the concept of "storehouse tithing" was first introduced in a Wesleyan church in Cincinnati in 1895 to generate revenue and rescue the church from financial troubles.

Here is a more detailed account of the Cincinnati story: https://archive.org/stream/storehous...0hens_djvu.txt

[Esaias]

The Seventh Day Adventist (Ellen White) movement started "tithing" in the 1850s with a "systematic benevolence" concept, which was simply a systematic method of demanding money from the membership. It wasn't until the 1860s or so that it became the "tithe", 10% on every 100 dollars of property they possessed (basically a 1% tithe).

"If the brethren give a tithe, or tenth, of their income, estimating their income at ten percent on what they possess, it will amount to about two cents weekly on each $100 of property. Besides this, let all who are able so to do, give a personal donation for each week, more or less, according to their ability. This is necessary to include those who have but little or no property, yet have ability to earn, and should give a share of their earnings. While some widows, or aged and infirm, should be excused from personal, the young and active who have but little or no property, should put down a liberal weekly personal donation ....

"Those whose income is more than ten percent on their property can pay higher in proportion to the amount of their income. A tithe, or tenth of their increase is just exactly one-tenth of the increase of their property. Has a brother or sister increased his or her property during 1864 [by] the sum of $1,000, a tithe would be just $100." -Review & Herald, November 29, 1864.

https://whiteestate.org/legacy/issue...ce%20and%20the

[Esaias]

So far, the Seventh Day Adventists were developing a "tithe" doctrine in the late 1800s. A lot of it was based on their "new revelations" from the Prophetess and being given "new light" on the Scriptures and God's Plan for "the last days".

Storehouse tithing was (as far as I can find) first preached at a Methodist Episcopal church in Cincinnati in 1895.

I have no idea what the Mormons taught, but I highly doubt their doctrines would be influential on other churches in the 1800s seeing as the Mormons were involved in shootouts with federal agents and were generally viewed as a heretical cult. The SDAs however have generally maintained a slightly more mainstream reputation (not by much, but still more mainstream than the Mormons).

The Bible Students movement (an offshoot of the larger Adventist movement) spearheaded by Charles Russel (one of the Bible Student splinter groups is the one known as "Jehovah's Witnesses") do not practice tithing as far as I know. Russell did not teach it, rather he taught tithing was an Old Testament law for the Jews and thus not for Christians.

It really seems the "you must give 10% of your income/paycheck" appears to have been developed in the late 1800s, and was popularized in the 50s and 60s by the faith healers/charismatic/radio-and televangelist movements. It was also picked up by Baptists around this time.

i still have not been able to find much documentation on how all these different groups adopted "tithing" at roughly the same time. but I find that incredibly amazing and "synchronicitous", if you catch my meaning.

[Tithesmeister]

That’s good information Esaias. Thanks for sharing.

The reason I say that the Mormons were the first to come out with a tithe as money concept in the U.S. is because (so far at least in my research) I have found Joseph Smith to be the earliest to mention tithing as something other than agricultural products. I’ve posted a link below but the year is said to be 1838.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jose...&client=safari

I did say the first in the U.S.. The Tithe Commutation Act was an act that was passed in 1836 in the U.K.. What it did was basically replace (commute) the tithe of the land (also known as in kind tithing) with the monetary value of the crops or herds represented. Just to illustrate, if you had an acre of land that produced 50 bushels of wheat, the tithe in kind would be five bushels. Instead of tithing five bushels of wheat, the Tithe Commutation Act required you to pay the current fair market value of the wheat. Say the current market price for wheat is five dollars per bushel, the five bushels at the fair market value would be a monetary tithe of $25. They had records of the production of the land (tillable acres) so they would take (if I recall correctly) the seven year average and charge tithing accordingly. Of course the church was the government (or perhaps the government was the church) so the tithe was actually rendered to the government. Being as how Colonial Williamsburg was (at the time before the Revolutionary War) part of the United Kingdom, they kept records of the tithe in America. They obviously changed the rules for us (aren’t we special) and at least for some time, charged tithes according to the number and value of the slaves owned. And they (at least at some point) paid these tithes charged for slaves in tobacco, which was the currency of the New World in Virginia and other areas (not yet states).

Of course, after the Revolutionary War and with the separation of church and state, the government of England stopped collecting tithes in the U.S. and the newly formed United States deemed it no business of the government if, when and how much the church collected tithes. This led to the sacred “custom” of passing the plate.

So, having said all that, the short answer to your question Esaias, is that what I said about Mormons being the earliest to the “tithe is money” game in the U.S. is based on my opinion. Which is based on research. Which is subject to change, if more information comes to light.

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by Esaias

So far, the Seventh Day Adventists were developing a "tithe" doctrine in the late 1800s. A lot of it was based on their "new revelations" from the Prophetess and being given "new light" on the Scriptures and God's Plan for "the last days".

Storehouse tithing was (as far as I can find) first preached at a Methodist Episcopal church in Cincinnati in 1895.

I have no idea what the Mormons taught, but I highly doubt their doctrines would be influential on other churches in the 1800s seeing as the Mormons were involved in shootouts with federal agents and were generally viewed as a heretical cult. The SDAs however have generally maintained a slightly more mainstream reputation (not by much, but still more mainstream than the Mormons).

The Bible Students movement (an offshoot of the larger Adventist movement) spearheaded by Charles Russel (one of the Bible Student splinter groups is the one known as "Jehovah's Witnesses") do not practice tithing as far as I know. Russell did not teach it, rather he taught tithing was an Old Testament law for the Jews and thus not for Christians.

It really seems the "you must give 10% of your income/paycheck" appears to have been developed in the late 1800s, and was popularized in the 50s and 60s by the faith healers/charismatic/radio-and televangelist movements. It was also picked up by Baptists around this time.

i still have not been able to find much documentation on how all these different groups adopted "tithing" at roughly the same time. but I find that incredibly amazing and "synchronicitous", if you catch my meaning.

This book is based on a PhD work by the same author. It has an excellent historical research about the topic, with a lot of names include: https://a.co/d/bJeKoJp

I got this info from his book:

Before 1873, the doctrine of tithing in America wasn't that popular. People supported their ministers the best they could, with freewill offerings. That it is in part the work of the puritans, pilgrims, quakers, and other groups in American strong rejection of the doctrine.

However, the doctrine of tithing began to be "rediscovered".

1873, Alexander Hogshead, published a book called, "The Gospel self-supporting", advocating for a minimum of 10% giving, saying it was an eternal principle. At the same time, A.W. Miller published his work also saying that the early church fathers supported tithing and we needed to practice it. Finally, in 1875, Speer also published a book saying tithing is also a progressive revelation that we all must practice.

But what really caused the fire to start in the USA was Thomas "Layman" Kane in 1876[1]. He was a Presbyterian businessman. He wrote a pamphlet about tithing, and sent it to 75% of the evangelical ministers in the USA for free. He bombarded them with the unsolicited material for years.
His pamphlets were effective enough to cause a "rediscovery" of tithing, and a movement in the clergy to impose it on the congregations.

When tithing hit the Pentecostal movement, it came from ministers already persuaded from the work of these people. And main argument to introduce it to the congregations was: "We don't really need the money, but we don't want you to miss a blessing (prosperity) that tithing brings". So it was a prosperity argument, and in America, who doesn't want to prosper and be rich?

Basically, the theological "foundation" was the work of Hogshead and Miller, and the promoting hand was Thomas.

Finally, in 1906, Henry Lansdell wrote a two volume work called "The Sacred Tenth" that does a very lengthy historical investigation trying to show that 1/10 was a common tax or expected contribution in several cultures, and coming to the conclusion that it must have been some sort of divine number from the times right after the flood. I have a better explanation: ancient time practicality, we got 10 fingers, which makes it easier to count what you are due to the King/Priest. In fact, the Bible in 1Sam 8:15-17, tithing is presented negatively, like something a King would do over Israel, demonstrating that this was just a practical number for the ancient cultures.

Interesting findings.


1. https://www.tithereview.com/blog/pic...aught-millions

The book doesn't really include the history of tithing in the Pentecostal churches, but with the findings of the book, and the findings from the other thread we discussed already, we can figure out what happened.