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Cal · 08-21-2016, 06:50 AM

I see your point, Koinonia, except the part about it being a "total distortion." That's seems a bit of an overstatement. You are entitled to an opinion about New Testament tithing, but let's not overstate things.

But here's a question. If tithing is not a NT principle, then what should be the guidelines for giving? As it stands most Christians do not give anything to the churches they regularly attend nor to any ministries. Are you okay with this? There is no doubt that many churches and ministries cannot operate as well as they might because people do not give. How do you feel about this? Here's an interesting stat. American Christians gave more as a percentage of income during the Great Depression than they give now. Do we have less now? Are we poorer? No, we are the richest people in the history of the world. Yet we are giving less and less. See my point?

Let's leave out the argument that some churches/leaders are crooked. That's a dead-end argument that ties the Lord's hands if we use it as an excuse to not give. We are bound to be able to find some church/ministry we trust enough to give to, right? Why would you attend any church or follow any ministry you couldn't trust to give to?

The problem is some Christians never learn how to give. And it seems to me that arguing against tithing and arguing that Christian leaders are crooked just helps ensure that they never learn. These arguments certainly don't encourage Christians to give and they seem to encourage them not to.

You might say that it's up to each believer to decide how much to give. But that doesn't seem to be getting the job done. So where does the problem lie and how does it get addressed?

08-21-2016, 06:50 AM	#20
Cal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 4,333	Re: What It's Really All About I see your point, Koinonia, except the part about it being a "total distortion." That's seems a bit of an overstatement. You are entitled to an opinion about New Testament tithing, but let's not overstate things. But here's a question. If tithing is not a NT principle, then what should be the guidelines for giving? As it stands most Christians do not give anything to the churches they regularly attend nor to any ministries. Are you okay with this? There is no doubt that many churches and ministries cannot operate as well as they might because people do not give. How do you feel about this? Here's an interesting stat. American Christians gave more as a percentage of income during the Great Depression than they give now. Do we have less now? Are we poorer? No, we are the richest people in the history of the world. Yet we are giving less and less. See my point? Let's leave out the argument that some churches/leaders are crooked. That's a dead-end argument that ties the Lord's hands if we use it as an excuse to not give. We are bound to be able to find some church/ministry we trust enough to give to, right? Why would you attend any church or follow any ministry you couldn't trust to give to? The problem is some Christians never learn how to give. And it seems to me that arguing against tithing and arguing that Christian leaders are crooked just helps ensure that they never learn. These arguments certainly don't encourage Christians to give and they seem to encourage them not to. You might say that it's up to each believer to decide how much to give. But that doesn't seem to be getting the job done. So where does the problem lie and how does it get addressed?