IF WE DON'T PAY TITHING, HOW DO WE PAY THE CHURCH BILLS?

www.tithing-russkelly.com
russell-kelly@att.net

(1) If we do not pay tithing, we pay the church bills the same way that the early church paid them --sacrificial freewill offerings. There is no biblical or historical evidence that the early church used tithing to pay its bills until it was legalized in the late 8th century. This can be documented by almost every notable church historian from any major denomination. Cyprian's attempt in the middle of the third century was not adopted by the Church. Neither was Chrysostom's nor Augustine's attempts in the 5th century. Two local church attempts in the 6th century also failed. Study "tithe" in any major reference work for validation of this history.

(2) The early church in the first two hundred years consisted mainly of women, children, slaves and soldiers. It flourished through radical sacrificial freewill offerings.

(3) Except for state-run churches such as the Anglican Church of England, the Lutheran Church of Germany and the Catholic Church of Spain and Germany, tithing did not appear in other churches in the U. S. A. until the late 1890s. It was not even introduced until the 1870.

(4) There are many great schools and churches which have flourished without teaching tithing. Examples are: Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary, Wheaton College, Talbot Bible School and John MacArthur's Master's Seminary. The key to successful churches is not the teaching of tithing. Rather it is the successful teaching of soul-winning and personal evangelism.