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Tything/church is not charity

I sometimes pick up christian magazines that my parents have laying around the house and flip through, reading any articles that seem interesting (know your enemy, right? ha.) and December's issue of Christianity Today has a depiction of Scrooge on it, hoarding his money. The article is something like "Christian Scrooges, why people aren't tything more". Right away I said out loud, "What does Scrooge have to do with tything? That doesn't make any sense." Sister is behind me making Oreo balls for the church dinner tomorrow. "Scrooge was mean and didn't give to charity so if you don't tythe you're like scrooge." So I say "Tything isn't charity, though ... unless your church does anything for the poor. Church isn't charity. It's just an organization." My sister was indignant and my mom gave me a brief look of despair. More than once I've heard people in my family mention charity that is given to a church. These are not churches that do anything for the poor or those in need, just regular churches. They may help members in dire circumstances who ask for help but other than that, nothing. Now, you could call this a donation, financial support, whatever, but it's not charity! This also made me slowly realize that my family sees itself as living off of charity. They live off of tythes right? I don't understand how they can live this way. In my mind when I was growing up the tythe was an obligation (something you have to do when you don't want to) to God and we just happened to be doing God's work therefore God provided us with that income. It still bothered me, though.
It never ceases to amaze me that Christians think that converting people is more important than feeding mouths, providing shelter, medical needs, etc. I sometimes wonder if people would give more, tythe more, if their churches did more for those in need and they actually got some good feeling from it instead of painfully squeezing out ten percent of their hard-earned money only to never really see where it goes.

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Comment by River Otter on December 20, 2008 at 12:31pm: Hey Bill,

Thanks for the link. I have voted and sent the link to a couple of other places. :)

Comment by funk Q on December 19, 2008 at 9:35pm: Krista, as I said I've recently been thinking about charity and think philanthropy is a more proper term when anything is given from a person's surplus.

Say you give old clothing that you never wear to a charity, you are donating your excess goods and being philanthropic, more likely just clearing closet space. But if in giving clothing away you only have two pairs of jeans of your own it is an act of charity.

So I am saying to give from an excess of what is needed for survival is not charity. To give when giving results in actual going without is charity. But as I said these are new thoughts and maybe discarded if they don't fully make sense.

Comment by Krista on December 19, 2008 at 6:38pm: I would classify tithing as a tax on gullibility collected by the manipulative.

Love that.
So you are saying when people with disposable income give to the poor it is not charity? I disagree. Especially since the rich are less likely to give than those that are already struggling anyway so when someone rich does give it is reflective of their character, especially if it is done anonymously.

Comment by funk Q on December 19, 2008 at 6:33pm: Yes, tithing is not charity. It's a coincidental I been thinking recently about what charity is. I don't think it is anywhere near what the churches would like it to be.

I think real charity is to give when it does affect you. It's not giving surplus goods, money or time to a cause rather it's giving when the giving has an effect on the giver. We have the word philanthropy which covers what the churches do and we should try to limit word charity to the much more selfless act of parting with what is essential so that another can have what they lack. Anyway, that's my current thinking.

I would classify tithing as a tax on gullibility collected by the manipulative.

Comment by Kevin on December 19, 2008 at 6:14pm: RIGHTO!
Tithing is NOT charity. It's not even indirect charity.
The only thing that is even slightly good is that the leader of the Church in question stays employed and therefore contributes to the economy.
Kev :)