Tithing

[Valjean]

One has to understand the complete story of taxation before blaming it for all of man's ills. I see people who see taxation as only a 'take my (hard earned) money'. The other part is what you get back. Some folks are blind to that aspect.
Roads, hospitals, social security, retirement income, country defense, policing, education, care of the small % of humanity who can't earn, utilities, trade regulations, courts ...

In the case of tithing, yes, one has to consider what they get back.

I think you've misunderstood my sympathies. Taxes are the price you pay to live in a civilized society. I'd rather be secure and comfortable in a prosperous society than a rich man in an impoverished country.

 

[dianaiad]

"But if we choose to live socially, in co-operative, mutually beneficial groups, absolute freedom/selfishness must be curbed."

You attributed the above quote to me. I didn't write it. I would never write it. This sentence gives me the willies.

The problem with it is...who 'curbs' the 'absolute freedom/selfishness?" If it is not curbed by ones self, it becomes that dictatorship you decry.

the problem here is that it is not possible to have a socialist/communist government that is NOT a dictatorship. Certainly none has managed to do so yet.

Oh, and your objection to tithing, based upon historical examples of when the 'church' WAS the government, do not apply to me or my belief system, in any way. My belief system didn't exist and wasn't responsible for any of those governments, and if there is one system that is fanatic about the separation of church and state, it's mine. Shoot, even our stories regarding the Second Coming of Christ make it pretty clear that the government and the state at THAT time will be separate. We are also absolute believers in freedom of religion; it is encoded in our 'Articles of Faith" (you can call it a creed if you want).

Irrelevant, in other words. Tithing is voluntary. Taxes are not. Don't confuse the two.

 

[MJFlores]

Is tithing a practice in your religion?

What purpose does it serve other than funding upkeep of your church or temple?

Is giving a tithe obligatory or optional? Is there a required amount? Of so, how much?

Do you agree with this practice?

Do you think the amount requested/required is fair, or would you change it if you could?

Tithing was a command of God during the time of the Israelites.
Tithing or tithe is no longer mentioned in the New Testament Bible
Hence it should no longer be a practice

The new command is:

2 Corinthians 9:7 New International Version (NIV)
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The money collected aside from the upkeep and building of new houses of worship are to help in propagation work and charity work in Africa, India and in South America.

There is no required amount in our offerings and I am happy with that because it conforms with the Bible.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Tumah did a good job of summing up Tzedakah for Jews. But I'd like to add just a little.

The way one rabbi explained it to me was like this: Everything we have belongs to Gods. He has simply allowed us to use it. A portion of what he has bestowed to us is on behalf of the poor. It is their money, and our job is to make sure it gets to them. That sermon really changed how I saw things. (Yes all you rabbis! You do make such a difference!)

 

[IndigoChild5559]

"But if we choose to live socially, in co-operative, mutually beneficial groups, absolute freedom/selfishness must be curbed."

You attributed the above quote to me. I didn't write it. I would never write it. This sentence gives me the willies.

The problem with it is...who 'curbs' the 'absolute freedom/selfishness?" If it is not curbed by ones self, it becomes that dictatorship you decry..

It doesn't have to be a dictatorship.

Most small tribes lived more communally and weren't dictatorships, but were our earliest democracies.

In ancient Israel, the Torah prescribes a community friendly, curb the extremities of individualism, sort of society. It was agrarian and everyone left the four corners of their fields for the poor. Any hungry person could walk into an orchard and eat til they were full, and it wasn't considered theft. Part of the tithe went to the poor. Every seven years debts were forgiven, and every 50 years, land was redistributed so that every family once more had enough land to farm.

But it wasn't a dictatorship. Even after Israel had kings, the power was divided between the king, the prophets, the levies and priests, and the elders (including the Sanhedrin).

As someone who values the Bible (you are LDS, yes?) I would think you would look to ancient Israel as the ideal society and try to emulate its form.