Should one be allowed to pay religious tithing when they are filing for bankruptcy?
I personally say no since charity starts at home and if your filing bankruptcy that means you don’t basically have the finances for anything extra such as 10 percent tithing. What do the rest of your think?
~FYI~ Senator Orin Hatch of Utah and Baraq Obama are in favor of this bill
So it is alright to default paying others their money but it is alright to keep giving money to whatever church you happen to belong to, interesting—-
The Salt Lake Tribune/December 7, 2006
By Thomas Burr
Washington – Congress has passed legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, that would allow a person to contribute to charity or pay religious tithing during the course of a consumer bankruptcy. The bill, also sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., passed the House on Wednesday; the Senate approved the measure in September. "Congress has a long history of protecting our religious freedom to tithe," Hatch said in a statement. "That was our intent when we enacted bankruptcy reform last year, and this bill clarifies the law so that those who tithe can continue to live their faith while in bankruptcy." A ruling by a New York bankruptcy court earlier this year prompted the legislation. The judge ordered that an upper-income couple filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy could not pay tithing to a church until all creditors were paid first.
The biblical tithe was an old covenant requirement. The old covenant was a "contract" between the two parties, God and Israel. Christians were never a party to that covenant, and that covenant ended upon the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, seeing as Jesus is identified as the God of the old covenant/testament. Covenants end upon the death of either party to a covenant, as explained by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7, where he uses a marriage covenant to explain this.
A tithe was the tenth of the increase of produce and livestock. No one was ever commanded to tithe on their wages. Only land owners who had livestock and crops tithed.
Old covenant points of law were not to come forward into the new covenant. To do so was described as being a subversion of the Christian’s soul as brought out in Acts 15.
A Christian’s giving to a ministry or church was never to be compulsory. Only through free will offerings were ministers supported. Paul, in I Corinthians 9, makes his case that those who preached the gospel were to live of the gospel. Paul did not use tithing as a means of justifying support. Rather, Paul used the example of not muzzling the ox that treads out the grain as justification.
Why then would a ministry teach compulsory tithing of wages?
Jesus warned his followers that there would come religious leaders who would declare rightly He was the Christ, then proceed to deceive people. These deceivers are also described as being deceived themselves, as well as being wolves in sheep’s clothing who do not spare the flock. Tithing serves this perfectly. Most people do not understand what a tithe really is, and most people do not understand the covenants and the difference between the old and the new. The deceivers take advantage of people’s ignorance regarding the law and a Christian’s relationship with God. The one that teaches tithing paints a picture of a God that demands they tithe. To neglect to tithe is seen as being disobedient to God; robbing God. To tithe is seen as being pleasing to God, and that God will bless those who do so. Tithing is therefore put forth as being a matter of faith when in actuality tithing has nothing to do with faith. Paul states in his writings that the law is not of faith. You don’t see these ministers who propound tithing living by faith that God will support them through the free_will offerings of their flocks.
It is not uncommon for ministers and lay people alike to offer up justifications when they alter Scripture and the application of Scripture. But there is never a justification for taking the very inspired word of God and altering it so suit one’s "needs" or the "changing times." The old covenant was designed with Israel in mind and their economy. To try and force-fit tithing into another culture and another time is unwarranted. You cannot put the new wine (new covenant) into the old wineskin (old covenant).
So what happens when one tithes, but they are not blessed financially? What is concluded if they experience further financial difficulties? It is their fault. They are lacking in faith. It is a no win situation for the poor person who was convinced by their ministry they have to tithe in order to be blessed by God.
So ingrained is tithing now in the Christian psyche that there are few who are willing to truly step out in faith and abandon old covenant points of law that bring people back under the bondage of that law. (Galatians 5:1) A Christian lives by the law of faith, also known as the law of liberty. It is a law where one is freed from the obligations of the old covenant letter of the law.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmno, you are not obligated to tithe
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmyes
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmin favor of what bill? tithing isn’t required by the Bible, it’s a matter of choice. So a person is free to use their common sense
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmNo
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmwhat bill is this?
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmUtah has the highest rate of bankruptcy of any state in the union.That can’t be related to how many Mormons give their money to their church instead of paying their bills, can it?
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmYes. Why do you want to interfere with someone worshiping God?
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmNo, help yourself so that you can help others.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmAnyone who thinks tithing is an obligation has bought into a lie.
I’ve never filed bankruptcy, so I don’t know how it works, but how would anyone know if you pay your tithes or not?
Also, can you let us know if the bill you are speaking of is saying yes are they allowed to tithe, or NOT allowed to tithe.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmI’m just curious.
So for all the hoopla about separation of church and state – the state now wants to regulate whether someone can tithe or not?
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pm***Whether a person tithe’s or not is their decision – not the governments regardless of what the state or anyone else thinks. I believe any legislation that tries to regulate people’s religious belief’s is not constitutional.
You present a very special case about
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:50 pmtithing. This specific instance does not usually happen in a person’s lifetime, except now it’s getting more prevalent.
I personally do not feel a person needs to tithe if they are in bankruptcy, however, their
desire to do so should not be hindered by
the Courts.
When any court sets itself up to over-rule
any person’s religious beliefs, it is in conflict
with the separation of church and state.
No state can dictate any rulings about
how any American citizen lives out their
sincere religious beliefs. If,however, the person is doing anything against the law, or harming another person, then the law takes precedence. I don’t think I made myself
clear, but I tried.