Your tithes were already paid.

[Pliny]

Originally Posted by Russ Kelly

Yes, I wrote my PHD dissertation on tithing. Jesus, Moses, Nehemiah and Malachi all taught that the tithe was only food. The argument that we should give above and beyond what the law required sounds good, but it has no precedent in the law. Why? The law never required non-food producers such as carpenters or tentmakers (or even fishermen) to tithe. Again, there is no precedent to build the argument upon.

Jesus gave sacrificially; Jesus is our New Covenant example. Most church members spend more on their IPOD and Internet than they give at church. That is a shame.

Russ,

I will not argue with you and of this turns ugly by you or anyone else I will bow out once again. You said you wrote a PhD dissertation on tithing. First congratulations! I know it is hard work! With that said I feel like I could easily write a PhD dissertation on tithing as well based on the research I have done.

You said that tithing was always food. You imply that tithing on monetary items sounds good but has no precedent. Then you ask why?

You followup with the observation that church members spend more on themselves than they do the church and that it is a shame.

I don't recall anyone here calling anyone who does not believe in tithing any names and I will not start. However, that cannot be said about the other side of this coin (pun intended). I do want to say I appreciate the post. I have no problem discussing any issue in an adult manner.

I agree with what you have said:
1) "Moses, Nehemiah and Malachi all taught that the tithe was only food".
2) The law never required non-food producers... to tithe.

I disagree with this:
There is no precedent to build the argument upon - speaking of monetary tithing I believe.

I would like to address your question if that is okay with you. You may disagree but hopefully we are not disagreeable in that disagreement.


I have studied tithing in ancient history. I do not have the ability at this time to document my assertions right now but will later if asked. I assume most of this will be familiar toy you anyway.

It seems to me that the biggest issue against tithing is the Law. Since Calvary we are not under the Law therefore tithing should not be part of the NT church. I disagree with this premise. I have asked when did tithing start? Truly there is no answer because we do not know exactly when. I have searched and have an opinion about this. If tithes predated the Law then how can the Law end something that existed previously? It seems to me that the premise is flawed.

A quick note on Abraham:
(Gen 14:20 KJV) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

if I understood you correctly you said there is no precedent about tithing monetarily. The verse above would indicate otherwise. Tithes were given of all the spoils. This is in keeping with secular history. Most nations, if not all, tithed to their deities. The question I ask myself is why? Why is it ALWAYS 10%. Why not some other number. IMO this is indicative of a common source. I cannot prove this but do believe it. Just as I believe ancient flood stories refer to Noah's flood. These ancient civilization gave 10% of all to their deities. This included gold and silver. So there IS a precedent.

I believe Cain and Able have more to do with tithing than anything else. The LXX seems to affirm this. FTR this is an opinion. other ancient commentators seem to agree with this assessment as well. This would certainly explain why all those other cultures practiced the same thing. IMO they would have carried the practice with them after the Tower of Babel. I cannot prove this but it makes sense to me and I tend to believe it this way. That means tithing was an essential feature since the dawn of man. It would not stop at Calvary.

Concerning the question about food stuffs. There was no such thing as currency until the very end of the OT. This is why when we read about transactions we read about the weight of silver or gold - a shekels weight for example. Currency began with coins but again this was the very end of the OT. It would not make sense to have a law about something that would not exist for another thousand years or more.

This leaves a principle and whether or not we accept the principle or reject it. I accept it but have to get back to work now so hopefully this will provide enough of an answer to provide some food (pun intended) for thought.

Take Care