Setting my own sentiments aside, this type of traffic clearly tells me one thing – there is a growing number of believers whodoubt the validity of tithing. By using the word “tithing,” I mean the belief that all Christians are required to give a minimum of 10% of their gross income (or net income, depending on the group you talk to) as a basis to receive blessing from God.

When the question regarding church practice was brought up, there were only four requests that the Jerusalem church laid upon the Gentile believers. Of all the issues they could have addressed, they chose four that touched on diet and relationships. There was no mention of consistent tithing, church attendance, church membership, appropriate “spiritual covering,” or signed statements of faith.

By illegal, I mean that God never authorized Christian leaders to take a tithe from God’s people. One will not find the modern church tithe authorized in the Old Covenant, nor in the New Covenant.