Why it's impossible to Tithe today - What is Biblical Tithing?

A little bit different to what we usually post about here but I  think the issue of how we use our resources to be highly important. Especially if what we're doing with it is in fact rather un-biblical. We are responsible for using our minds when answering sceptics objections, and we should  be using it when we give our money away or feel pressured into doing so. This post will briefly describe tithing as understood in the Old Testament (OT) and in my next post on tithing I will examine some arguments given in support of Christian tithing and give a short response to each of the points.


So before we can get into any debate of whether or not we should tithe its important to define our terms. This is because many Christians start from the assumption that what they practice in their churches today is actually biblical tithing. However if you start from that assumption you will always misunderstand what tithing actually is and isn't. It may come as a surprise to many Christians but what is practised in many churches today is not tithing as prescribed in the scriptures. It also often comes as a surprise to Christians when they find out that Jesus and Paul wouldn't have tithed and that the total amount tithed by individuals whom actually met the specific requirements in the OT would have resulted in a total of 23%+. In fact its actually impossible to tithe biblically today. Especially so if your outside Israel as that already rules you out, not forgetting that there is no temple (destroyed in AD 70), storehouse, and no Levitical Priesthood to receive your tithe offerings.

 OT biblical tithing worked in a 7 year agricultural cycle known as the Shmittah cycle similar to the 7 days of creation.

- The 7th day of creation was the day God rested from creation and the 7th day of the week became known as the Sabbath, a time to honour God and rest from work.

- Every 7th year was a time for the land to replenish itself known as the sabbatical year or Shmita.