I just read a news article written by Ken Walker on ChurchCentral.com. The title of the article is Rebellion Against Tithing: Lashing Out at Legalism? This article comes in response to the news article on Wall Street Journal - Backlash Against Tithing.
Here’s a quote from the article on Church Central:
“While there may be criticism of tithing, I have a feeling that it stems from a desire to throw the legalistic baby out with the generous bathwater.
In other words, those who teach tithing as an ironclad law reap the fruits of rebellion against something that wasn’t meant to be a barometer of our spirituality or salvation. Generous giving is a spiritual principle, not a Pharasitical law intent on binding people’s hearts.
After all, points out financial author and pastor Brian Kluth—whose materials are distributed in more than 100 nations—the idea of tithing to God’s work is accepted historically, across denominations, and around the world.”
My response is, “you bet were throwing the legalistic baby out with the bath water.” Their baby is tithing, and i’m sorry it is not adorable and not cute. Also, if my rebellion is in response to wrong, then that means i am doing what’s right. There is no rebellion my friend. If rebellion is part of proclaiming the truth then i’ll be the first claim myself guilty.
It’s so obvious how people are blinded by tithing. For instance Walker goes on to say that “generous giving is a spiritual principle not a Pharisaical law”. I say they are blinded by tithing because they can’t see that the backlash against tithing is not a backlash against generous giving. Generous giving is not about tithing. How much more plain can i say it? Just because i don’t believe in the tithing mandate does not mean that i am throwing out the generous giving baby out with the tithing bathwater. I just want to throw the tithing bath water out. I don’t want to throw the generous giving baby out.
Is tithing the bath water or is it the baby? This is another misconception in Walker’s analogy. He thinks that tithing is the baby! Is tithing the part that you are suppose to keep, while you throw out generosity with the bath water No! you are suppose to keep the baby, which analogously is the generosity, and throw out the water, which is tithing.
Why can’t people like Walker see the this picture clearly? It’s because they think my response to the tithing mandate is in rebellion against generosity. But his vision fails when he doesn’t see that my response to the tithing mandate is actually in response to what’s wrong. I am an advocate for sacrifice and generosity.
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December 8th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I believe the bible teaches us generous giving and not legalism and tithing. I will debate on this web page,
any teachers of tithing using the new covenant or old covenant chapter, verse, and precept.
February 14th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
After seeing the scandals of our great televangelists and watching them with their magic annointed prayer cloths or annoinetd oil, how can anyone donate to a church? The televangelists spread the gospel, feed and cloth and dig wells as well as sell you CDs about “how to” do everything according to the Bible as long as they are making from 200K on up to 3 mil a year. Quite frankly, they do not deserve it. Period. They are fraud. Period.