Dressing Up the Tithe Lie

By Patricia Backora Watch any preacher or politician up on a podium. They wont just stand still and state plain facts, like when Detective Joe riday on the old T! show Dragnet said, "Just the facts, maam.#. Preachers and politicians are trained actors and manipulators. Theyll wave their hands at you, ja$ their fin%er, punch the air, strin% out key words, raise and lower their voice to convince you theyre mad or sad a$out thin%s that they could care less a$out. They know when to $ellow and when to whisper. Theyll choke up with just enou%h carnival emotion to convince the %ulli$le that theyre sincere and they care a$out you and the thin%s that affect you in your little world. &nce theyve %ained your confidence, theyll invade your inner space and press the '() $utton. * you dont support this project, %ive + amount of dollars, etc., all hell will $reak loose on your life. Preachers and politicians alike scare you with the end of the world to %et you to jump on their $andwa%on. &r, theyll $ury your $rain under an avalanche of misinformation, misapplied truths, half,truths, or fi$s fa$ricated out of fulminated fluff. &ne internet preacher * read wrote some %reat stuff a$out the need for holiness in the church, and how the doctrine of &nce -aved, (lways -aved is pushed to e.tremes. /e makes his stuff availa$le for free readin%. 0an, * thou%ht he was the real deal until * read the shaky case he $uilt for church tithin%. /e 1uoted not one scripture to prove tithin% was commanded to $e done on monetary wa%es. /e didnt produce one sin%le scripture commandin% "ordinary $elievers# to tithe on their wa%es to church leaders. (ll he did was fire a flood of jud%ment -criptures at 2hristians to knock them off $alance so they couldnt reflect on the issue intelli%ently. 3ike all other tithe teachers, he pushed the * 4&5 3&!' J'-5- %uilt $utton. *f you )'(334 love Jesus like you ou%ht to, you wont sweat the small stuff $y wonderin% why Paul never re$uked the 2orinthians for not payin% their tithes. 4oull just hold your nose, swallow that dod%y doctrine and pay up. This writer du% up scads of scriptures where 6od %ot mad at *-)('3 for committin% sins that had nothin% at all to do with tithin% on paychecks. -ince this man knew he had 7& scriptural proof that 2hristians 8or anyone else9 are ever told $y 6od to tithe on money, he

did what all tithin% teachers do: Bi$le,$om$ peoples $rains till they cant think strai%ht a$out the issue. *n the a$sence of &BJ'2T*!' evidence to prop up a false doctrine, preachers will $ury people under a $lindin% snowstorm of scary jud%ment stories from the Bi$le and itll work every time. Preachers act like coyotes circlin% round a chicken coop lookin% for a way to stretch the chicken wire fence to $reak in. This writer came up with do;ens of disconnected hypothetical assertions and circular lo%ic distilled from stories of 6ods wrath on diso$edient *srael $ack in the &ld Testament. Disjointed, disoriented, di;;yin%, dipstick dum$skull, draconian deception< 3ike all other tithin% teachers, this man could not appeal to )(T*&7(3, clearly,spelt,out 2&00(7D- to tithe on money (74W/')' in scripture. The &734 times Jesus 2hrist /imself ever mentioned tithin% was to re$uke self,ri%hteous Pharisees in 0att.=>:=>, 3uke ??:@=, and 3uke ?A:?=. 2hrist did 7&T teach tithin% to any of /is followers, even $efore the 2ross. (nd /e certainly didnt command 6entile $elievers to '!') tithe to (74&7' on (74T/*76 8(cts ?B:=@9. Durin% 2hrists earthly ministry, when /e commented on the tithin% of 6()D'7 /')B-, /e also plainly stated that /e was sent &734 T& *-)('3, not to any other people 80att.?B:=@9. /is teachin%s on Jewish customs 8includin% tithin% and fastin%9 applied &734 to Jews under the now,o$solete 3aw of 0oses. The apostles strictly prohi$ited ministers of the %ospel from puttin% the &ld 3aw or any part of it on 6entile $elievers, and * kinda suspect most of us fall in that cate%ory. (side from the fact most o$servant Jews dont pay any kind of tithes today $ecause theres no Temple to tithe to, so why should 6entiles copy a custom Jews dont do themselvesC Jesus 2hrist was so poor /e had nowhere to lay /is head 80att.A:=DE 3uke F:BA9. (t least once /e had to fora%e from a fi% tree to stave off hun%er pan%s 80ark ??:?=,?@9. -o why didnt Jesus, our supreme '.ample, hit people up for tithes so /e could %o out for a steak and crash at the Gin% David /otelC Jesus knew the 3aw. /e came from the tri$e of Judah, not the priestly tri$e of 3evi, the &734 tri$e 0oses ever authori;ed to collect tithes from the people 87um.?A:=?9. -o Jesus would have $roken the 0osaic 3aw if /ed collected tithes at /is services. (nd even if /e had taken them, they would have consisted of &&D-T5 - &734 83ev.=H:>D,>@9. &nly the self,ri%hteous Pharisee e.panded 6ods tithin% law to include everythin% he possessed 83uke ?A:?=9. -o that Pharisee must have tithed on his 'lvis Presley collection, not just his parsley. -peakin% of foodstuffs, the &)*6*7(3 purpose of the tithe was to eradicate hun%er amon% the poor in *srael 8see Deut.?@:=A,=F9. While it would not have $een lawful for Jesus to collect tithes from the

people, /e should have $een a$le to receive emer%ency help from "food $anks# as stipulated in the 3aw of 0oses. ( special third,year tithe & &&D &734 was supposed to $e laid up "in the %ates# 8GJ!9 for hun%ry orphans, widows, and stran%ers in the 3and. But it seems that social injustice had %reatly increased $y the time of 2hrist, and the doctors 8doctors,up,of9 the 3aw had done like todays tithin% teachers: twisted and reinterpreted the 0'(7*76 of the tithin% law to enrich themselves. By Jesus day, the poor were much more vulnera$le to starvation, apparently $ecause they were not $ein% fed from local tithin% storehouses. Thats why it was such a hu%e sacrifice for the widow to donate her very last mite to the Temple. 5nless 6od intervened, she was likely to %o hun%ry. (ll the %ood thin%s were %oin% to the rich and powerful, not to the needy. *n 0atthew => Jesus chewed out reli%ious leaders who valued sacrifice much more than showin% mercy. 7ow, as then, "respecta$le, conservative# reli%ious Pharisees dont %ive a hill of $eans for the welfare of the poor. &ne fat, $ellicose preacher screams from his pulpit a$out how a )'(3 2hristian doesnt $elieve in the welfare state. /eres the advice this fat preacher %ives to hun%ry jo$less people:

That sounds weird comin% out of the mouth of a man who looked like he never missed a meal< 2hances are that preacher has never had to put an onion $ack at the supermarket $ecause he was a nickel short. The $i%%est welfare recipients of all are rich preachers. They have the nerve to call themselves "spiritual 3evites#, even thou%h 3evites were for$idden to own an "inheritance in the land# 8real estate,

see 7um.?A:=>9. But those reli%ious fatcats own as much property as famous movie stars. )ich televan%elists who cry out over the air for poor folks to save their ministry own property all over the 5.-. Theyre so wealthy, they chan%e mansions as often as ordinary folks chan%e their socks< Whenever some "ordinary# $eliever pleads with such a hard, hearted pastor to help him save his family $ecause satan is attackin% them, the pastor will inevita$ly tell them it aint satan at all $ut human la;iness and the man 8and his wife9 should %o %et a second or third jo$. But that same pastor will have no compunctions a$out pleadin% with his people from the pulpit 8a visi$le sym$ol of authority9 to save his own ministry. /e wont feel one iota of shame a$out sendin% the offerin% plate around to finance that new win% to the -unday -chool $uildin%, even if half the folks in his con%re%ation have %otten laid off at the plastic plant and can $arely afford to show up at the service. (fter all, 6ods people are sheep, and they only e.ist so the pastor and his cronies can shear off their wool, then turn them into lam$ chops when theres nothin% left in their pockets. /ow many money,hun%ry preachers would show 0oses attitudeC '..>I:>: (nd they received of 0oses all the offerin%, which the children of *srael had $rou%ht for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. (nd they $rou%ht yet unto him free offerin%s every mornin%. @ (nd all the wise men, that wrou%ht all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they madeE B (nd they spake unto 0oses, sayin%, The people $rin% much more than enou%h for the service of the work, which the 3&)D commanded to make. I (nd 0oses %ave commandment, and they caused it to $e proclaimed throu%hout the camp, sayin%, 3et neither man nor woman make any more work for the offerin% of the sanctuary. -o the people were restrained from $rin%in%. H or the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. 7&T &72' have * ever heard any preacher, live or on the air, plead with 6ods people to stop $rin%in% in offerin%s $ecause theres more than enou%h already to meet the need. The day preachers $e% viewers to stop %ivin% offerin%s is the day itll rain snow$alls in Tucson, (ri;ona in the middle of summer. *f 2hristians donated to social pro%rams to %ive poor people a hand up out of their misery instead of pamperin% preachers and $uildin% %lass cathedrals, state welfare would not $e necessary. The

world has to do the churchs jo$ of ministerin% to the poor $ecause the church is too $usy spacin% out on some head trip Jesus who ma%ically appears when the church orchestra hits a hi%h note. (ll the while, people are hurtin% and wanderin% around without answers. That fat cat T! preacher screamed a$out the need to work H= hours a week 8althou%h he alle%edly only works ?B hours a week himself9. Workin% yourself to death is counterproductive anyway. (sk any caffeine addict truck driver who stru%%les to stay awake all ni%ht on the road. (sk any e.hausted airplane pilot who %ets paid peanuts for workin% $ack,to,$ack shifts. The $oss at your ni%ht jo$ will e.pect you to $e just as fresh and ener%etic as you were at your day jo$. *f a $ur%er flipper screws up a sandwich, the $oss will yell at him as if hed $otched a heart operation. (pparently poor people dont deserve much respect. 3ike it or not, some people are way too sick 8or old9 to work at a fast,paced jo$. Politicians $ra% a$out the jo$s that have $een created since theyve $een in office. But many, if not most of those new jo$s are either minimum wa%e or part time. 4ou cant live off minimum wa%e unless you live with relatives. ( sin%le mother whose rotten hus$and ran off and left her hi%h and dry couldnt make enou%h workin% at two minimum wa%e jo$s to pay for the child care to justify %oin% out to work. 2ontrary to these preachers who think they have all the answers, real life doesnt always happen in neat predicta$le little packa%es. Preachers with %old,plated $athroom fi.tures and air, conditioned do%houses have no idea how hard it is to keep $ody and soul to%ether in a crap,shoot world like this. -hort,si%hted 2hristians are willin% to overlook the irony of a %rossly o$ese preacher screamin% a$out the evils of welfare and food stamps just $ecause that preacher is wearin% an e.pensive suit and preaches $ehind a push,$utton pulpit. /e 3&&G- like anythin% he says must $e true, so just hold your nose and swallow it all< (s for "tithe money# 6od did 7&T mention money from any source as $ein% a titha$le commodity, and seminary,educated preachers G7&W it. But theyre makin% way too much money off the tithin% lie to $e honest with 6ods people. Preachers pervert 6ods written 3aw $y collectin% tithes< While they threaten non,tithers with a curse, they $rin% T/'0-'3!'- under the curse of a $roken law thats $ein% kept the W)&76 way in the W)&76 place in the W)&76 period of history $y the W)&76 people 83ev.=H:>D,>@E (cts ?B: =@E 6al.>:?D, ?>9. 2ommon lo%ic tells you that if Jesus 2hrist /imself never took up tithes to finance /is own ministry, no other preacher who ever lived since /im has %ot the ri%ht to do that< Who in $la;es do these $i% time operators think they are, anywayC -ome ar%ue for tithin% $ecause people supported Jesus with donations. )''W*33 donations

are perfectly okay. Thats not the same as dunnin% folks for ten per cent of their paychecks, and preachers know it. &nly Jews descended from 3evi have the ri%ht to take tithes, and &734 in the land of *srael. Tithin% teachers know they dont have a le% to stand on so they Bi$le,$om$ '() scriptures at 6ods sheeple instead of appealin% to clearly,spelt,out teachin%s %iven $y the apostles to the church. Preachers $ury $elievers under all the concentrated terror found in the Bi$le to $reak down their resistance, melt down their emotions and %et them to di% deep in their wallet. 'ver notice how an%ry and strident tithe teachers areC This $i% preacher has such a Brillo Pad voice, its a wonder the 0arines dont draft him as a drill ser%eant< *f youre that $ent out of shape, you arent restin% in the 3ord, and how can you rest if you know youre lyin%C *f you saw your %ravy train comin% to the end of the line, youd spend the ne.t few -undays scarin% folks with (nanias and -apphira too< (nanias and -apphira is the ace up every tithe,teachers sleeve. When all else fails, use that story to scare the $ank num$ers out of that noncompliant pew potato. (nanias and -apphira are introduced in (cts B, $ut the 2&7T'+T for their story starts in the last few verses of (cts @, which relates how all donations $enefited everyone who was in need. 0ost preachers skip over that part as they )5-/ to (cts B:B to $ump (nanias off as punishment for failure to pay the modern church tithe. &ne preacher 1uoted (cts B: verses ?,B, $ut skipped over verse @, which teaches that (nanias money $elon%ed to (nanias, not the church. Preachers hope you wont read verse four either, or you mi%ht find out (nanias %ot ;apped for 34*76 to 6od, not withholdin% ten per cent of his paycheck. *f you point out that the word "tithe# doesnt appear anywhere in that conte.t, that old $ulldo% preacher will %rowl at you and say, "But 6od 0'(7T it, and * 4&5 3&!'D J'-5-, 6od wouldnt even have to (-G you for ten per cent of your paycheck< *f youd read that passa%e throu%h '4'- & 3&!', youd read $etween the lines and G7&W that tithin% is what 6od meant< The preacher would ar%ue somethin% like this: "The Bi$le says: /us$ands, love your wives. *t doesnt exactly say hus$ands have to $rin% their wives flowers at least once a year. But its strongly implied, and youre in the do%house with your wife if you dont do that. The Bi$le commands us to love 6od. -o its important to -/&W your love $y $rin%in% in /is tithe each and every -unday. 4oud $etter, or youll %et ;apped $y a fallin% meteor and my ushers will carry you out on a stone sla$ just like (nanias and -apphira.# Preachers know their slaves are out there workin% for T/'0, so they dont have to< Dear me, mustnt %et my fin%ernails dirty workin% a real jo$, the tithe e.tortioner thinks. Just ima%ine mean old Pharaoh

crackin% his whip, furiously drivin% his chariot in the $ed of the mi%hty )ed -ea, yellin%: "2ome $ack here, you slaves< 4ou for%ot to clean out my honey pot<# * Thes.=:H:But we were %entle amon% you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. Paul states that he treated the Thessalonian $elievers as %ently as a nursemaid< 'ver see a nursemaid threaten a tiny $a$y with a )(-/ of curses if it doesnt di% more dou%h out of its dirty diaperC The way preachers yell and scream that 6odll J(P 4&5 W*T/ T/' (0(3'G*T' 25)-' if you dont tithe reminds me of a$usive parents screamin% at their kids that if they dont %et strai%ht (s, space aliens will pop out of their closet to eat them. *f you pound a lie into John K. Pew,warmer thousands and thousands of times, hell finally do what you want just to %ive his eardrums a rest. Just like mean old Gin% Gon% yellin% at a tiny mouse. Geep hammerin% away at meek sheeple with the same old scary lies and * %uarantee ya, $efore the month is out theyll swear up and down there really is a tooth fairy and the moon is made of %reen cheese< Why do you think the preacher is way up hi%h $ellowin% at you $ehind a tall pulpit while youre sittin% in a pew starin% up at him and "soakin% up the Word#C Just like jun%le apes screech and pound their hairy chest to show whos $oss, its all a$out (--')T*76 (5T/&)*T4 in the church and forcin% others to comply with your demands and su$mit to you< ( twisted, oppressive "su$mission# doctrine is $ein% forced down the throats of 6ods %ulli$le people. *t has nothin% at all to do with su$mittin% to the true Word of 6od delivered to the 2hurch, just $lind o$edience to %reedy sharks out for themselves. Because of this false su$mission $rainwashin%, people will $uy any lie the preacher feels like pushin% for his own a%enda. 'ven if that lie hurts them or their families, or $rin%s them $ack under the curse of the law 86al.>:?D,?>9. P')-&7(3 (PP'()(72' is a major reason 2hristians $elieve pulpit lies. The clothes make the man. 4ou could stuff a crewcut %orilla in a thousand,dollar suit and people would han% onto his every word. 4our typical tithe tyrant mi%ht fit this hypothetical e.ample: "Pastor 2rawley# is tall and commandin%. /is face is a cross $etween /erman 0unster and reddy Grue%er and man, he means $usiness. Brother 2rawley walks like hes %ot ri%or mortis, just so every$ody knows hes so$er enou%h to stand $ehind a pulpit. Pastor 2rawley is dressed in a conservative suit hes worn only once and plans to donate to the -alvation (rmy after todays service. The creases in his charcoal %rey slacks are so sharp you could cut

$read with them. /is shirt collar is so starchy it almost chokes him. Theres a diamond stickpin in his crisply pressed lapel. /is necktie cost a hundred $ucks. /is hi%hly polished *talian loafers s1ueak as he stalks across the sta%e to take the mike and address the crowd. /e stares at them like a hollow,eyed hoot,owl and says in his churchiest voice: "Toni%ht were %oin% to discuss a %rave threat to you and your $eloved families: T/' 25)-' & 0(3(2/*<#

By the time Brother 2rawley spends an hour drillin% hundreds of scary scriptures into the cash cows, every head $ows and every eye closes in a hypnotic stupor, and every hand reaches for its thin wallet to pay "%od# off so he wont smite them with the %allopin% consumption. -urely this well,dressed preacher has the (5T/&)*T4 to demand this money, $ecause he 3&&G- 3*G' an am$assador for the /eavenly Gin% who 1ualifies to collect /is ta.es. (nd after $eatin% the pewsters over the head with so much Bi$le, surely there cant $e much left that 2rawley didnt cover. -o theres no need to study the Bi$le for themselves to prove all thin%s, as commanded in * Thes.B:=?. (fter the way that man 1uoted thousands of hairy 6reek nouns and (ramaic adver$ derivatives, that seals the deal. 2ommon pew potatoes like themselves will never find a le%al loophole to %et out of the tan%led tithin% spider we$ hes tan%led them up in. 7ever jud%e a $ook $y its cover. Brother Joe, a laid,$ack layman, holds a Bi$le study in his home. Joe $arely %raduated hi%h school, $ut he does know his Bi$le, and how to properly divide it 8= Tim.=:?B9.

Joe knows that if you dont have to $ar$ecue a $ull and sprinkle flour on the church altar, then you dont have to tithe either $ecause Paul never ordered 2hristians to tithe, and Joe cant find where Jesus did either. Joe seats his 2hristian visitors in foldin% chairs down in his den. /e opens with a heartfelt prayer. The others dont know what to make of hum$le Joe. This preacher wears jeans, a $ase$all cap and a -uperman T,shirt. /e wears tennies instead of shiny church shoes. What kind of "church# is this anyhowC *nstead of $lessin% every$ody out with hellfire and damnation and passin% a velvet Judas $a% around, Joe tells his visitors to just drop a few $ucks off at the local homeless shelter on rump -treet. /e reassures them of Jesus love and concern for them all. Joe reads )om.A:>= and * 2or.>:=?. /e reminds them that (33 6ods $lessin%s are (3)'(D4 )''34 provided in 2hrist to /is dear children. -o we dont need to pay for them or $ri$e 6od with tithe money, vows of faith or any other painful sacrifice. Joe cites do;ens of scriptures to prove that tithin% is 7&T for the 2hristian and any preacher who collects tithes today is a thief and a ro$$er $ecause 6od did 7&T authori;e him to do it. -ome do a dou$le, take when Joe warns them that a curse *- associated with the tithin% law, $ut it works the other way around. Geep one law, you %otta keep Lem all, all I?> laws of the Torah. *f you decide to tithe $ut dont do it the way 6od ordered it to $e done, youll fall under jud%ment for lousin% up /is law. When preachers decide to skip the third,year tithe used to feed the poor, theyre $reakin% the tithe law 8Deut.?@:=A,=F9. When they dont let people eat and drink their tithe, theyre $reakin% the tithe law 8Deut.?@:=I9. When preachers dont let people take a $reak from workin% and $rin%in% in the fruits of their so,called harvest field jo$ every seventh year, and just let people live off the land durin% that year, they $reak the tithe law 83ev.=B:@,H9. Joe made many other stron% ar%uments a%ainst church tithin%, includin% the fact tithin% was imported from the 2atholic 2hurch, which cooked it up way $ack in the si.th century, so priests could %old,plate 6ods %ara%e and eat the fat of the land without havin% to moonli%ht at 0cDonalds. (fter two solid hours Joe spent e.plainin% the T)5T/ a$out the tithe, with everyone listenin% like 1uiet churchmice, they just shook their heads and said theyd $etter take what Joe said with a %rain of salt and check it out for themselves to make sure they really did have a ri%ht to $e free in 2hrist. (fter years of $rainwashin% from Bi$le, wavin% $rutes, they were as scared of li$erty as la$ rats were afraid of leavin% their ca%es.

Believers are $lind. The man of pride *s thou%ht to $e wise -uits and ties dis%uise $i% lies. MMMMMM http:NN$anpreacher%reed.tripod.com http:NN$oo%er$ucks.tripod.com