Any Better Alternatives?

In 1997, Colin Powell helped launched an ambitious national program designed to gather the support of corporate America and an army of volunteers who would work with "at risk" youth. “I don't want chairmen and CEOs to give more money. I really want them to take on the personal commitment,” Powell declared. The New Republic magazine took a dim view of this “nice sentiment.” “Powell has it backwards. CEOs have lots of money and not very much time. But there's another concept, as old as voluntarism, which would be a lot more rewarding. It's called tithing."

At first glance the concluding word seems odd. Has The New Republic, a sophisticated Washington-based journal specializing in inside-the-beltway talk about politics and coverage of the arts, gone religious? Hardly. The writer was searching for a word that suggests a high standard of giving in contemporary America. Of course – tithing. Are there better alternatives? What word would you chose? Maybe it is not necessary to suggest any one version of a high standard of giving. Your response?

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The Tithe as Protection Against Foolish Giving?

“Some say that we should give till it hurts. For those who have really given themselves, the hurt is to stop giving when there is need still to be met. A sounder rule is to stop giving when we feel before God that by giving more we should be injuring those dependent upon us or neglecting our own God-given need for a full life. A standard like the tithe is a protection of the self from foolish giving beyond what God calls for.”

Here is a different view of the tithe. Most tithing enthusiasts have thought of this rule as a minimum, a place to begin and then increase giving over the years. Nels Ferre, a Protestant theologian in the mid-twentieth century and whose words are cited above, suggested it as a possible maximum, lest we be tempted into foolish giving.

Have you established either a minimum or a maximum? What kind of giving do you think of as “foolish?” Ferre talked of “our own God-given need for a full life.” Therefore, we should be wary of loose talk about sacrifice. But what makes our life “full?”

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What Does It Mean to Claim the Tithe as “the Biblical Standard?”

“The picture of the tithe presented in the Hebrew Bible is a confusing one. Clearly there were several different sorts of tithes practiced at different periods of Israel's history. One cannot draw every mention of tithing together into a single unified picture. Actually tithing was a familiar concept throughout the Ancient Near East where assessing ten percent of one's agricultural produce or livestock for the support of king, temple, or priesthood was typical. The standard of ten percent, I believe, arose because this is the smallest fraction with a natural basis. Anyone with fingers can figure ten percent.” (Richard Nelson, seminary professor)

Why don’t these observations (fairly common among Biblical scholars) seem to make much difference to tithing enthusiasts? Does it make sense to talk about tithing as “the Biblical standard?”

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Give to Get?

The “positive thinking” pastor, Norman Vincent Peale, was fond of reminding his many followers in the 1950s of a distinctive advantage of tithing - it pays. In The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking, he told about a confused young man, who “was in all sorts of trouble” – drinking, losing his wife, job and his future. Then he came to understand “the wonderful law of abundance.” “When he began to tithe, he unleashed one of the most potent spiritual principles in the universe. He discovered a basic fact of living: that to receive the good things of this life, you must first give. “I never thought I could afford to tithe before. But now I can’t afford not to.”

What's going on here? These are not minor ideas in American teachings about giving. Why do various Americans link tithing and prosperity, giving and abundance? Give to get?