I think I understand EXACTLY why evangelical Christianity preaches this. It's a great source of income to prop up a failing religious system. Now I don't mean by that that Jesus has failed...I mean the religion named after Him has.

Saw a Simpsons sketch the other day and Bart asked "why is God so short of money?"

Why does the modern religious community mix up a grace and mercy message with a smattering of old testament jewish law? Are they trusting the blood of Jesus? (I speak as an ex-evangelical) OR a mixture of that AND some laws rules and regulations that were not even given to the world at large in the first place.

Now did I say giving wasn't the right thing to do?...NO. In fact when you learn the art of allowing and accepting that God HAS (past tense) already made you rich and answered your prayers and desires it will be almost impossible for you not to be a giver. In fact a measly 10% won't be enough.

Give from your heart, give because of a right motivation. DON'T give because some screwed up religious leader asks you to, in order to fund his ministry. Give because you love people, give because you love God and give because giving is enjoyable and fun to do.

If a religious leader NEEDS your money then his God isn't providing him with it. If he preaches prosperity, then why in the name of God isn't he/she GIVING YOU MONEY? Why do what Benny Hinn does and spend half an hour blagging an offering from you to fund his lear jet? The reason is that he preaches a false gospel and knows that if he can't get you to stump up then he's screwed. Now not all ministers do this, but a lot do.

It's all about MOTIVE here. If there is indeed a higher power and personality in this world surely He looks upon the heart, the meaning, and what your motives are.

As part of Anthony Robbins' prescription for living an abundant life, he suggests that you give away ten percent of your income immediately to charitable causes (it doesn't have to be the church) before spending a penny on anything else. Why? Because it teaches your mind to think abundantly.

Ask any Christian who tithes, and they will tell you that, regardless of their income level, there's still always enough money left over. God always provides enough.

I can tell you that my financial world began to turn around the day I gave a little more than twenty dollars to someone when I really didn't have the twenty dollars to give. That day, I felt so good about myself that the feelings alone transformed my performance and my capacity to earn even more.

Most people say, "I'll tithe when I have more money." But which do you think would be more difficult to do: to give a dime out of a dollar or to give $100,000 out of a million? The answer is obvious, isn't it? I'm not suggesting that 10 percent is a figure that should be etched in stone, but do make a commitment to consistently take a portion of what you earn and give it in a way that gives you joy.

The beauty of tithing is that by giving away a portion of what you earn, you are teaching your brain that you have more than enough. You'll be beyond scarcity, and that belief system alone will change your life.

True wealth is an emotion: it's a sense of absolute abundance.

-- Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within.

God defined the tithe in Leviticus 27:30-33 to be a tenth of crops and animals which are assets that came from God's hand, or God's labor, NOT income from man's labor.

God commanded the tithe be taken to the Levites, forever, in Numbers 18.

Preachers who change God's definition and instructions are false teachers.

The law of tithing ended when the Levitical priesthood ended as shown in Hebrews 7:5,12,18.

Vesuvius said, "Ask any Christian who tithes, and they will tell you that, regardless of their income level, there's still always enough money left over. God always provides enough."

Since money and finances is my ministry, I deal with this problem on a daily basis, and I hear stories from people all the time that have tithed and gone broke. Just a few days ago I read the comments of a woman who said she will tithe before buying food for her children. She said she had been kicked out of her apartment for not paying her rent, but she had paid her tithes. I hear these stories all the time.

Pastors like to have tithers give their testimony about how they are never broke, etc. etc. I am sick of those testimonies because they have absolutely nothing to do with tithing. Some people are just better managers of their money than others.

There is no tithing in the Christian Church UNLESS you want to ignore God's Word and follow man's traditions. God's Word is clear on this subject.

It's a real shame how church leaders have taken God's Word and changed it to fit their pocketbook.

Islam has a similar concept called Zakat according to which it is obligatory for a person to give 2.5% of their income as well as value of gold and silver (but not if you are in debt). The best thing is to look for people close to you i.e. if you have a relative in need then first priority goes to them and so on.

I think the reason so many religions stress on this in some form or another is that the more money flows in the economy the stronger the economy grows and the better your chances of profiting from a stronger economy. It is a practical approach to reduce the divide between haves and the have nots in the society.

I guess the only thing I can add is the fact that the “Bible” was written by man to benefit man! Let me add that I am a true believer in God, our creator. Yes, the bible was written by very intelligent men with some very good words to live by; however we cannot lose sight that it was also written to control man as well. True God would not allow any of the fear and condemnation that the bible perpetuates, to ever enter into our being. The good news is he wouldn’t allow it to you either! So before I get thumped by the bible thumpers, know that God’s love for you is unconditional! Not the god of fear and judgment like the bible say. Not only do I not believe in the Jewish/Christian bible, I do not believe in any religious bible. They all have their benefits of wisdom, but when it comes to judgment, that is where I draw the line! Really, if that was a book written by the hand of god, then why aren’t all 80 known gospels in the book? Also, why are women distinctly left out? Give me a break! God loves each and every one of us equally – men- women- children- black- white- yellow- rich- poor- gay- hetero – kings and poppers! HE DOES NOT DISTINGUSH! So when someone starts to tell me God love this person or religion more than the next, this is where the red flags come into play!

I don't agree with the church asking for a fixed sum to their followers. Sounds like taxing. I think they should ask for how much a person wishes or can give (if it were only spare change), and to thank the person for it.

I'll quote Jesus's words:

Matthew 22:15-22

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 1
16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?
19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,
20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

I believe that there should always be a give and take, just like in all relationships to balance things out. Why 10%? I don't know, but even in different cultures, say with native Americans, the shaman is expected to perform services for free yet those who request it, though not required to, do give back in return in all sorts of ways. So I guess the loaf of bread of old has turned into money, the only difference is that it was willingly donated instead of required and specified.............

Thank you, namaste

Do you feel good when you give away(not spend) some you earned? Do you feel like you accomplished something? Tithing is the law of reciprocity. Its doesnt have to be church, it can be any form of organization or thing. Its about doing unto others as you want done to you.

It can be found in the last page of Malachi. I am not going to quote it for you. It's very worth while looking up if you have a Bible.

I think its more a matter of keeping the flow going. Money is energy and I think giving it away as charity merely keeps the flow of this energy going so that it doesn't stagnate. And all religions are a mixture of moral codes as well as communal rights and obligations you can say in some way they are the earlier versions of economic theory as well as ethics rolled into one. – I Think Therefore I Am

Spending the money would do the same, wouldn't it? No need to give away money to keep the money flowing.

Vesuvius is correct. If you are trying to reduce the divide between haves and have nots, you are talking about Socialism.

The fact is that what is right for one person, may not be right for another person, which brings me to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong answer it is what is right for you. So you will have to decide what is right for you!

Now I do not have a problem with someone who is committed to tithing, either based upon religious beliefs, or to support their church, because in my opinion, it is a very personal decision. So who am I to tell this person he is doing the wrong thing based upon my personal biases? It is not fair to place your values on someone else; in the same token you would not like someone else to place their values upon you. We must remember to respect each other values, and beliefs!

Some people believe that if they do their do diligence in giving 10% of their earning to the Church, that they will get back much more that 10% in return. So who am I to tell them anything different, since we learn from experience, and trial and error? I know of people who were giving 10% tithes to the Church for many years, and have suddenly decided to stop the tithing for personal reasons. It is their rights’ to stop tithing, if they want too!

So my answer to tithing is to do what feels right to you, and do it with a good heart. There is a saying: freely give, and freely you shall receive. And the fact of the matter is: there is good, and evil in life, but we do have to take chances in life. Some of us may want to give tithes, and some of us may not want to give tithes, so we do have choices in life!

Lastly the Bible teaches: A man will reap what he sews; the evil that men do will live after them; we can hide from man, but we cannot hide from God etc. So nothing goes unseen by the eyes of God, therefore we will each have to answer for our self!

which brings me to the conclusion that there is no right or wrong answer

There is no right or wrong answer? The right answer is in your Bible. All you have to do is read and study God's Word and you will find the right answer. Read it, but don't change what it says.

Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18 - The Lord's Tithe, the only tithe God claimed to be His.

Deuteronomy 14:22-27 – The Festival Tithe

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 – The Three-Year Tithe aka The Poor Tithe

Does anyone follow any one of these three tithes commanded by God? Absolutely not.

Today those who "tithe" are following man's traditions, not God's commands.

I do believe in tithing 100% - it is a Universal Law, Law of Giving and Receiving. I believe that if we do not tithe, that 10% will be exhausted in any other means (you suddenly have car repair costs, illnesses to take care of, busted gadgets, etc.).

I got a very huge commission from what I do two years ago (using the LOA) of course. The first thing I did when I got my commission was to tithe the 10% to two separate charities. Five months after, I got another huge commission which I think was the amount of money I donated times four!

Now here is the tricky part, when I got that second commission, I did not tithe saying to myself that I already did with the previous one. Here is what happened. I figured in a car accident and I had to pay for a very huge amount for car repair. Very huge.

And so I had it all figured out. Wink!

From then on, every time I get money from all sources, I give. Just remember to tithe with what feels most comfortable to you with love and all your heart. Smile.

well..in Islamic point of view it is called (zakat and sadqat).Zakat ratio is fixed as 2.5% of your income and is necessary to give to poors or needy people on anual basis.and sadqat are what ever you wish to give or spend for the benefit of humanity in the name of Allah.

according to Islamic teachings zakat and sadqat purify our income and if one pays suppose one dollar,God will return him 7,70 or 700 Dollars back.

zakat and sadqat save us from many dangers,are benefical for humanity ,and maximise our income.

Yes I beleive in giving freely .Not to be put on the spot .The way some of these Pastors are living Lavishley Off their members income . God is not pleased with it .Salvation is free . All the money should be left in the Church Treasurer ,For the Church Building maintance ETC.