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Originally Posted by Koinonia
"Tithing" and "giving" are not the same. Tithing is an Old Testament practice of the law in which the Children of Israel offered 1/10 of their produce (crops) to meet the needs of the poor. Christian leaders have warped this Old Testament practice into an ordinance on believers (who are not under the law) to give 10% of their cash to 501(c)(3) corporations. If others choose to do this, it is their prerogative, but I do have a problem with this distortion being presented as Bible teaching.
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Oh how they love to quote Malachi 3. If there are any verses in the Bible which every congregant can quote it is these:
Quote:
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8 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this," says Yahweh of Armies, "if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough for. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field," says Yahweh of Armies. 12 "All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says Yahweh of Armies.
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Today many preach that tithing is our covenant with God, and all our blessings result from it. So many Christians are now convinced that all spiritual blessing must ultimately be "bought and paid for" with their tithes and offerings. Hence, tithing, in the minds of far too many, supersedes faith, love, and hope, not to mention everything else in the new testament.