to tithe or not to tithe...to the church

some stuff has recently happened in our church that i just can't agree with or support.

it has led me to thinking about how we support people and places with our money. same with the church.  sure, you can argue that you're not supporting the church, but furthering God's work when you give them money, but tithing is supporting the church. when you tithe, some of that goes to pay for the heat, water, cleaning supplies, salaries, mortgage, church programs, missionaries...it's supporting the church.

i have some major issues with the church, especially the baptist church. i've been questioning a lot lately and i'm probably closer to being a "non-christian" than i ever have been before. but i'm trying to not let this affect this post. 

the other day, i got frustrated with church and got into a fight with mum and dad. it came down to whether or not you have to give your tithe to the church.

they said you have to give tithe to the church.

i said you do not.

we went back and forth for a while, and finally being the bible quizzer that i am, i asked for proof that says you must tithe to your church. they couldn't give me a reference.

my point is: a tithe is money that you give to God. Webster's defines it as "to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church." the word "tithe" means "a tenth". in the old testament, it was 10% of the Israelites' yield. income maybe? "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.  And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always." deuteronomy 14:22-23

that tithe is money that you're giving back to God, out of gratefulness for what he has given you. 

but horrors of horrors. if you don't give to the church, how will the church pay its bills? ever notice how in the new testament, the christians met in homes? having a church building with twenty-seven outreach programs was never in the bible. 

"but listen to the radio programs and missionaries. they all say 'we count on your financial support for our ministry but make sure you give your tithe to the church first.'" there's something called tradition. can you give me any verses that say we need to tithe to church?


number one. the church is the body of believers.  it is not a building. the bible never talks about giving money to the building. {the church is totally different from what it was in the new testament. today, we consider church the building, not the people.  i get the feeling that in the new testament, you could go to a different house church and they would welcome you like family. a lot of today's churches are cliche little groups  of people who think they have it all down right. a lot of people hate going to new churches because of how closed they feel. that's a different rant for a different day.}


number two. a tithe is money you are giving to God. who says you can't give back to God through a group other than a church? what about local missionaries? or a christian organization that reaches out to hurting people? why do we have to give to the church first? why can we only give God money through the church? "One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,  for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him." hebrews 7:9-10

number three. in the new testament, a tithe is never commanded. tithes are mentioned 9 times in the new testament {matthew 23:23, luke 11:42, luke 18:12, hebrews 7:5-9}{maybe more, but i'm having trouble looking stuff up at the moment}, each time in reference to the priests or pharisees. it seems to me that after Jesus, tithes were no longer required. we are just to give to God, as we see fit. that's not to say that 10% isn't a bad idea, but it's not a requirement.


the new testament only talks about giving. not a mandatory tithe. 2 corinthians 9:7 says "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." we need to give back to God because of gratitude, but not because it is required. 




that being said, i believe that it is totally within place to not give to a church, and to instead give to someone or somewhere else. we are to give back to God. if we can do that with a clear conscience by giving to other places {such as The Door} then why not do it? if i know that my money will be put to better use by giving to a different place than a church, i will do exactly that. 






{and my apologies; this is scatterbrained. i'll try to revamp/expound/clarify on this later, when i have time.}