FEATURE ARTICLE

Nduwueze Godson IIITuesday, February 14, 2006
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Forwarded by: SAMUEL BAYO AROWOLAJU


TITHE SEF: CORRUPTING ENTITIES WITHIN THE CHURCH! (PART I)


"An American colleague at AAUN asked me why Nigerians are so religious and yet more dishonest than the Sudanese where he once lived." - Dr Leonard Karshima Shilgba.

since my accidental bump into this time eating vocation for the singular purpose of beaming the light on the many society ills, this essay will rank as first in religious matters of the Christian faith. It is the first time a public stroll into the Christian sphere will be seen which arose from contacts with differing views on the tithe phenomenon. To contrast what have been put out there, in Nigeriaworld.com to be exact plus give my full and open support to Dr. Samuel Adebayo Arowolaju's research is why I have embarked on this dicey "catch 22" trip. Also, for God's children to feel less guilt over the torrents of give, give, give and give some more until one drops ooze of people who are no different from con artists. Big boys whose ministering is legit will understand while charlatans may opt for arms for selfish sustenance of their devilish ways.


Between December and January Dr. Arowolaju embarked on his faith driven journey to reach God's children with some very interesting scholarships that has rekindled the debate on this aspect of Christendom. His succinct arguments were cordially received unlike ones by tainted men who rather than use the same bible to lead their readers to where unstuttering support was clearly given for the unending tithe freebies, rely on emotional weapon to make zero points. Dr. Arowolaju's - "TITHES: NEVER REQUIRED OF CHRISTIANS BY GOD, Parts I & II" not only covered all the loose flanks dirty minded men use as excuse to fleece innocent parishioners in the name of God, it delivered knockout punch that still reverberates all over town. I'll like this doctor gentleman to not worry since folks with criminal minds or insincere in most cases are the ones bound to be rattled by his scholarship. Just like Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, Jim Bakker, Jesse Jackson et cetera, all are unarguably false prophets - 1st John 4:1.

In the past, people did not really brood much about this tithe stuff until the avalanche of out of control shouts of men who are busy abusing and overstepping their authorities with calls for non-stop flow of cash became unbearable. We should be especially attentive to things like this lest we are smoothly cleaned out. Now, I do not pretend to be a theologian; I am rather a quick study with brains that allows me to apply common sense in tense situations and this I promise to also do here. Writing in this case should be about uncovering facts that will eventually lead to the truth which the doctor in my mature view has expertly demonstrated using none than the same bible. How sweet it is, how mightily pleasant! Growing up and attending Sunday churches and classes I could remember when the slogan used to be "silver and gold have I none but what I have I give thee" - Acts 3:6. As kids we sang our hearts out based on the understanding of that aspect of belief like so; ihe m weree ka m ga e'ye Nna, ma mu ewere ihe mu weree obi m ye.

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The confusion is when these fluke men of the cloth use the same Old Testament to grab as much cash from the unsuspecting congregation then quickly wave off "eye for eye" and the likes as Old Testament commands that has no use in the new yet everything about this tithe points to you guessed right, Old Testament. What a double waffle! To me, all the brouhaha about tithes points to money and greed, a combination that is deadly in any unfocused church settings. Does "silver and gold have I none but what I have I give thee," said Peter still part of the bible teachings, has the cardinal law or Christian doctrine changed that we must now forego this? The dogmatic misapplication of biblical injunctions can reasonably be attributed to selfishness and this is not to be ignored. Let challenge be their portion! As a Christian I refuse to sit idly while greedy wicked money chasers turn my religion into another gutter belief, no, I won't! Not gonna let them embezzle our knowledge of the bible and its interpretations either.

To the freaks, here is for you, do not write in jargon or you risk being blown away with more facts and some little choice words. I feel comfy like that. Folks should not be hoodwinked into believing their absurd one-way interpretations that surrendered advantage to God's kingdom to the 'rich.' What happens to the poor and homeless who nonetheless are believers? Was it not written that "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to see the kingdom of the almighty GOD!?" - Matthew 19:23-30. Hello pastor! Try asking these self perpetrating men of God questions of importance, they zonk out and start speaking in tongues (in cheek). Tell you what, they may indeed get somewhere if enough answers could be blabbered off to simple and direct questions without blustering the usual, it is beyond man. What's that? Are the brains still for thinking or chopping hard cash? Then calm down already, will you?

What would the reaction of one of these dudes be who in the end finds himself oscillating before God's presence whining how he was let down on the tithe debate and He replies thus; my dear son, the encased tissue in your skull within the outer membrane was given so thou thinketh and knoweth ye where thy God stood and not chaseth ye after women of the world and easy money from the suffering? In John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." Yet men who preach deep pocket gospel as it suits their thirst have made this world their kingdom and out goes the real deal as they swim in ocean of ill-acquired opulence. Brethren, it is perfectly cool to be Christian, attend church, without overbearing yourself with their con so long as your ability towards giving is not coaxed, it is perfectly alright to stick to giving as your purse allows.

It does not speak well of a man of God who goes into a non-stop writing frenzy to convince folks to continue the dash, dash culture. Haba! Did Adebayo's mind warming and penetrating expose nudge a reverend gentleman to commit his writing blunder or is there a hidden scheme beneath the surface? It is not hard to imagine that new peoples' indulgence in only giving as they could and no tithe may have propped the reverend's unending writings. Had his position been genuine one rebuttal would have been it, but he went into writing tirade that failed to deliver.

Final here is meaningless since there was a follow-up on Jan 23, 2006, as seen. When is Final it? The reverend gentleman's attempt to square off with the doctor resulted in his disastrous performance, in his restiveness, he goofed badly. The doctor was even accused of importing his personal interpretation of the bible as if the accuser's understanding of it is divine despite the brilliant use of the bible by Dr. Arowolaju to back every position up. Note should be taken here of the type of tithe referred to in the bible which only matures at a certain period; "at the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns." Deut. 14:28-29. The fraction required should only come from the third year's yield. Someone should please inform the pastor that we could read, you know. The produce is to be consumed not only by the Levites, but all - the aliens, fatherless and also widows. See also Deuteronomy 26:12.

Those who ragingly insist on this tithe thing should be aware that with regards to Abraham, what he offered to Melchizedek was a tenth of all the loot (not income) that was recovered from the invading army that eventually fled to Hobah when the tides turned. See Gen 14: 16 & 19. Are the false prophets being jittery and getting hot over the never seen before assault on their only source of meal ticket? Yup! Good instance of emotional drool and sentimental lollipop of this man of God:

"Some have argued about tithing time as well, it's all good to volunteer, but the organism called the church cannot survive on time alone, it needs finances and rather than binge on people, it makes sense to follow the tithe principle basically to ensure an orderly flow of resources into the house of God." About the tithe, it's not just important that we pay or give it whatever view you hold, as much as that there is one to receive it, the Lord Jesus Christ himself�"
The reverend gentleman (name withheld).

If Jesus himself is to receive this money, are they letting him do that? Nope! Have they turned the money into personal use? Yap! Did the reverend provide biblical citations for this garbage? Not by any stretch! Now, this is what those still clean enough must do, re-educate or sack profanes in their midst to avoid the collateral damage. This responsibility should weigh less on ordinary individuals who point out the evils of using the church as shield to reap where they never sowed by misusing the words for selfish financial benefit. Another of what the self appointed envoys could not handle, the doctor's latest bombshell on who Malachi applies to; "THOSE WHO ROB GOD: A STUDY OF TITHE IN THE BOOK MALACHI (PART I)." Excerpt:

"Let me declare loud and clear here and now that the purpose of this article is to tell all readers of the Holy Bible that it is true that some people are robbing God. Yes, the word of God is true. These robbers are NOT THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T PAY TITHES as we are made to believe every Sunday in many churches. Rather, THEY ARE THE TITHE COLLECTORS who deceive church members, using the name of God. IT IS THIS SAME PEOPLE THAT ARE CURSED. This is the biblical truth I will expose later so that readers will know that some of the so-called reverends or pastors in some of our churches are not to be trusted. It is ungodly and sinful for any church leader to interpret Malachi 3: 8-9 to mean that it is the non-tithers who are the robbers cursed of God when that is not the intention of God or the messenger of His Word. The robbers cursed in Malachi are the priests as we will see later in this article.

And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart To give glory to My name," Says the LORD of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart" (Malachi 2:2). Can we for a moment go back and read this passage and the underlined number of "you", "your" and "them" used by God. If I give this passage as a context question to my students, I will ask, to who do the words "you" and "your" and "them" refer to in the passage? Please I wish that my readers and most especially my critics can quickly take that quiz."

You hit it spot on, dude. To say that I'm happy he followed his previous up will be putting it very mildly, I am ecstatic! By the way, my answer to the ten points quiz is definitely the false priests. What I understood from browsing the passages from my street perspective is that of so many sheep in the herd, the tenth (regardless of looks) is the one fit for offering not the "ten percent" mumbo jumbo of the total herds as this would leave the shepherd in economic quagmire. "And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah." Leviticus 27:32. What parts of the, these guys refuse to grab? How does this sound; you take out a loan of say a hundred grand, make profit of fifteen thousand viola you're now indebted to the church in the tune of eleven thousand five hundred based on the gross total as they wont to? Another good source of information is: "The Destruction of Nigeria by Religious Means" by a gentleman whom I've come to know as astute in his own rights, Mr. Sabella.

I don't think God intended to wreak pain on the working men and women who sing His hosanna. I also refuse to imagine that God would succumb as low to expect a bribe before His blessings trickle down to all His children. What father would expect to be egunjed by his offspring before his well wishes flows? Now that's the lesson! No sense is there to force and cajole folks into parting with substantial amounts of their income in the name of tithe against their real desire; it will be akin to a college lecturer who overstays his lecture time, the pupils usually get fussy then loss concentration. I know these things, once, I too was one. As every honest serious religious scholar knows there was never a clear injunction to this tithe craze, which Dr. Adebayo has already told us was the invention of the bishop (manmade title not even in the bible), who hundreds of years ago was among the privileged few with access to the bible. Want to catch more of their deviant behaviors, visit: www.ffrf.org/fttoday/1996/oct96/betrayal.html