Tithes And Taxes Not Equal

July 7, 2009 by EnnisP
Filed under: Giving, Philosophy, Political Issues

Some would suggest the tithe was simply a form of taxation in the Old Testament but tithes and taxes are two very different issues. I do concede at the outset that the Levites, who were supported by tithes, did a few things that are funded these days by taxes but there primary responsibilities were spiritual. Their civil responsibilities were minimal.

Tithing was not legally enforced and was used mostly to serve spiritual purposes.
Taxation was imposed and monitored by government regulation. They supported government structures only.
Tithing was practiced before the law, incorporated in the law. Taxes were introduced much later.

When the Israelites first arrived in Canaan they had no government to support. They were under the rule of God (theocracy). Later, when they requested a king, Samuel warned them that heavy taxes would be required to support their monarchy and that is when taxation began (1 Sam. 8:10-18). From this we understand that tithes and taxes were totally separate issues. Tithes supported the Levitical system and taxes supported the government.

The people might have used their tithes to pay their taxes (that still happens today) but there was no justification for doing so. The Levitical system and the priesthood operated separate to and required funding apart from the government. You can’t mix the two issues.

One way in which tithing is similar to taxes is the fact that both are required. The differences are:

We don’t have to report our tithing (God keeps the record).
With tithing there are no loopholes or exemptions.
Tithing represents a fixed amount for everyone, no brackets, which is fair and equal.

See why tithes should be calculated after taxes.

What do you THINK!AboutIt?

In Tithing, Douglas Leblanc provides much more than a narrow discussion on a traditional issue. It isn’t the same old arguments presented the same boringly technical way.

Instead, and probably because he is “no theologian or exegetical writer,” Douglas has found an intriguing way to cut to the real heart of the issue. He shares the experiences of eleven different couples and one lone Monsignor, all of whom endorse tithing for a very similar reason: selflessness.

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Comments

2 Comments on Tithes And Taxes Not Equal

Tithing Countermanded By Corruption? | NowTHINK!AboutIt on Mon, 28th Jun 2010 9:05 am

[...] Tithing was nothing more than taxation. Answered here. [...]

Dale Dyer on Fri, 29th Oct 2010 9:27 am

I can see both points of view. My girlfriend is a Seventh-day Adventist and I’m not, and I’ve had some strong discussions with her over the Tithe. She was raised to believe in it because her parents and her Church pushed it as a sacred obligation to please God. And I was raised a Baptist, but later on in my 20s joined the SDA Church. And I went initially went along with the Tithe. But then the “tithe abuse” started happening to me. The Church treasurer was a gossip and told the other church members the amount I tithed. And then at the beginning of the new year I got a letter from the Church conference itemizing my tithe and a little memo that read “THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO THE IRS.” All because I stupidly wrote my name and address on the tithe envelope and my tithe check had my name/address on it. And I remembered that Jesus said to do your alms in secret and not to be like the Pharisees who announce with a trumpet the amount they drop into the Temple coin box. And so I got mad at some busybody in Church telling everyone of the embarrassing 10 percent I tithed (I’m a poor churchmouse). I kept paying tithe but put different pseuodnyms on the tithe envelope: Superman, Batman, Mickey Mouse, Buggs Bunny. And legally, the church treasurer has to keep a record of the name of the “tither” per requirements for non-profit donations. I’m sure they did not. After dealing with this issue of “tithe abuse” and the Church finding out about and ridiculing my “two mites”, I gave it up.

For me, informing the goverment about a private, sacred trust was like breaking down the separation of Church and State. Isn’t there an option that I can choose, such as checking a box, “NO, I DO NOT WISH TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT.” They don’t give you the right to choose to be a silent partner. I need for the Tithe to be private. But the local Church blabbed it, the regional conference and the national conference counted it and put me on their mailing list for “more giving beyond your Tithe”, and now the government was involved, and everyone in Church just assumed it is their business. It just makes me think of how the money changers were counting a “tenth” of this and a “tenth” of that, and if someone like Jesus overturned the Church treasurer’s table and made her lose count, the Church would be out for blood. I know, because one time I opened the wrong door in Church and saw the treasurer counting the tithe and offerings – during Church service – and I wonder, if I had overturned her table, would the minister or head deacon have called the police? Surely.

So many people in the U.S. pay tithe and then claim the Tithe as a deduction on their income tax return. And so I asked my SDA Church friends, “So, do you pay tithe on that tax return check the govenment sends you?” And they say “No! I already paid tithe on it!” But I never did claim the deduction. Never. It made me feel like I was profitting on something that the Lord meant us to give as a sacrifice.

And so, I have a different reason for objecting to the Tithe. It’s the one Jesus gave. Do your giving to the Lord in secret. It’s between you and God. You cannot even claim it on your tax return because some IRS agent will be looking at it. Third party involvement is forbidden, according to Christ. And that’s the Lord’s command. Matthew 6.

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