Tithe

Bible

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In the Christian and Jewish traditions, a tithe is a sum of money, usually 10% of a person's income, that is given to the church.

The tithe is mandated in the Old Testament (Leviticus 27:30-33) as applicable to Jews, and praised by Jesus (Matthew 23:23).

It is strongly preached within fundamentalist churches and those which hold to the Prosperity Gospel. However, there are many churches which do not believe that it applies to Christians today: among arguments against the tithe is Acts 15, where after disagreements as to what extent (if any) newly-converted Gentiles were to keep Mosaic Law, it was decided that only four specific requirements needed to be kept (v. 29; the tithe not being among them). Also I Corinthians 16:2 does not mention the tithe, though written by a Jew (the Apostle Paul) to Gentiles who would not know Mosaic Law; if the tithe were to be maintained he would have specifically pointed that out to people not having prior knowledge.