Quote:
Originally Posted by Koinonia
Giving, like anything else in God's kingdom, should be a spiritual reality, not not an organizational practice, and not an obligation. If I choose to give a cash offering to someone in my community, or to a Christian worker in another area, or for a gospel campaign, etc., that is between me and God. But when pastors impose a false concept of "tithing" on members of their congregations, obligation to fork over 10% of their paychecks to them (their organization), that is a temple tax, and that has no New Testament basis.
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I hate to interrupt an on-going conversation, but I have an old ex-LC friend who took this very discussion to the Bible and looked up every verse on the subject. His conclusion: Every mention of money in the New Testament says to "
give to the poor," and the NT
never mentions giving for buildings or organizations.
I realize this is an extreme view, which I don't particularly adhere to, but I have always thought that the time will come when Uncle Sam will take away our tax deduction, and that will provide the Lord much opportunity to burn away the chaff of "institutional" church.