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Tithe Sef: Corrupting Entities Within the Church! (Parts I & II) By Nduwụeze Godson III
“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, are all 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.
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 PART II:
“The time we should devote to finding solutions to difficulties of life is often wasted in Churches listening to commercial preachers and indoctrinators who exploit poverty and ignorance for enriching their business.” - Elder Harry Nwana.
Most times people whose arguments or presentations are overwhelmingly superior to that of the self appointed men of God end up being accused of impoliteness as if that should be the criteria for discerning minds to let open their pockets. Pastor or not when an action and/ or utterance does not make any ounce of sense, this essayist will not in the name of God follow bunkum just because it oozes out of the upper of a reverend who may not be any different from a corner hustler. In Nigeria for instance, when you hear about a church building it generally is a connotation used for conglomeration of churches in one building not one physical church structure. Imagine that a building of eight flats (apts) would have eight different mushroom churches each individually owned. Madness, I say, you? These divisions as a rule do not rest on sound religious principles they are typically borne out of avarice like who gets what and how much. The first time I took notice of this my eyeballs almost popped off the sockets.
Initially I reacted by asking why this was so then came the lecture on how in most cases a fallout due to the stay of the bulk of money in the pocket of a moneybag preacher without flowing downstream (lol). It usually leads to the creation of a competing ministry next door. It is not unusual to see each group try to outdo the other with a simultaneous musical bang away. No number can be put on how many times this annoying conduct was seen during my sojourn there, be it Lagos, Port Harcourt and yes, Owerri too. One stretch leading to the new stadium in PH with uncountable churches I called Church Highway. I guess we can say scammers like the money chasing fool whose abysmal record all over the continent of Africa is that of greedy supporter for every dictator, Jesse Jackson whose reverend appellation is questionable is their true mentor. To figure, take a peek at this must read: “SHAKEDOWN, exposing the real Jesse Jackson” by Kenneth R. Timmerman, published in 2002. Some definitely wrong here, guys!
In the same Chicago where this bogus lives, a reverend James Meeks, another of his buddy pitched his tent with singer R. Kelly (where the money is) despite his revolting sexual escapade with a female minor (14 yrs). He literally urinated on this teenage girl’s face after some rough sexual marathon with her. Meek’s weird and dumb excuse was that Kelly needed spiritual guidance and I’m like excuse you, preacher man, how about the little girl whose experience in the hands of a grown man was a nightmare? I wonder what god these men worship. Pity, a young girl was abandoned at her time of need due to finance. Let us say this essay and the opinions contained therein are by no means a blanket indictment on all [wo]men who are sincere with their devotion to the true teachings of the words. We still retain the capacity to separate the chaffs from the real deals. As already said, I do feel for the sincere and decent clerics who practice their faith with assiduity without emulating the chaffs amongst them. Among their to-do-list should be the insistence for their counterparts to practice the faith in due form for a return to reverence.
Challenge these fakes to die for their faith what you get is some strange gibberish about death not being their portion. If not theirs, whose thing is it? “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but none of them, none of them wants to die,” sang Peter Tosh. Most even go as low to recommend prayers for a terminal patient but scramble to London, U.S., Germany so on for treatment for minor pain and upset stomach. Before this debate gets twisted by cynics, it needs répété that no one is saying a man of the cloth should starve or go nude, to prove his love for God, no, this is far from the point. What people are nonetheless tweaked by is the greedy one’s lust for material things of the world thereby contravening God’s direct injunction to forego things of the world. Just like the saying go that not all Moslems are terrorists and I readily agree, but why are all the terrorists Moslems; not every pastor or reverend is subsumed in avaricious pursuit to wealth but those who muddied the water for the rest seem to be many and out of control. Already!
Much as everyone would agree that pastors, reverends, preachers or who knows what some of them are called; overseers, papa, evangelist, daddy etc deserve compensatory remuneration that would not render them financially impotent, it does not give them the right to lie their way out of poverty using the name of God. No it doesn’t! Did the same bible not tell us to avoid earthly things? So what these wayo dudes call Rolls Royce, yachts, and even private jets are yet to be uncovered. It is for the same reason we bow our heads in submission to God when we pray that these men are called upon to exhibit modesty in their everyday actions. Let their preaching rub on people positively without leaving the regular quinine or castor oil taste in our mouths. They cannot duck behind God’s exalted name to bang unsuspecting worshippers out of their meager savings without a challenge to lead us to where God or Jesus pointedly enjoined the parishioners to do away with “ten percent” of their gross earnings as peddled in churches today.
We are in a new day and people are no longer susceptible to be 419ed into cowering by mere wave of the bible to part with hard earned money without justifiable reference. Even at that, let them quit whining about it, enough jo! The irony of their shenanigans is that most do not engage in much of ministering anymore, number one interest being cash with other aspects regularly delegated to ordinary members of the church. Going by the admonitions, the impression created with this is that the members would reap their reward in heaven. Alarm ought to go off here since dubious preachers’ impatient says a lot. They want theirs here and now? Excuseeeeeee me!! When confronted with their lavish earthly living, you get hit with loaded blab so; my God is not a poor God. And I’m like oh yea, whose is poor? The mother of all insults stems from the knowledge that most that swim in earthly luxuries against biblical injunctions have no discernible commerce and even at that, as true apostles, humility must be the watchword. You think they knew that Jesus himself epitomized material poorness though a spiritual billionaire?
If you are outraged as I am, you should no longer let these jabrata preachers use God’s name and the bible to shake you down out of money that usually ends up for the upkeep of their obscene lifestyles. Where in the bible it said a man of God must roll around town in a Rolls Royce (make that Royces, sorry for the insult, whew) or any other luxury vehicles? Where, I keep asking did flying in First or Business Class cabins by religious preachers as if that alone guarantees their survival if the crap falls off the sky written? On the contrary the bible frowned upon materialistic dependence, yet they are quick to anger when confronted with this. Is it no longer on record how Jesus the Christ had to borrow a lousy tired donkey during his entrance into Jerusalem? He didn’t even own the slow toddling creature, didn’t go for a horse or camel instead was humble enough to ride the very least yet we have these confused men lying their way to the banks at the people’s expense. I got news for them, folks are wising up and reading too so I suggest these fakes get real jobs. Imagine that one tried in 1998 through someone close to me to set my parents into panic frenzy by lying on my imminent death from gunshot wound in a Lagos club.
At the time I have no clue where a club was in Nigeria. Dig? Part of the scare was to demonstrate how I did look after the shot using his native Owerri tongue, he said; “ana gbaa nagii ya, ihu rii gii kpaa” mimicking how I will look after his prediction comes to pass. How in the hell do you foresee one’s appearance after death? Right there my suspicion of this dude as full of it was confirmed and this was shared with my sweet parents who never wanted him back with a warning given to the person who introduced the jankara man to the family. What this quack whom it was too difficult to utter a line of sensible prayer tried to do was play cheap psychology on my folks with his wrong assumption that as a young and active man that has lived in the U.S., I would succumb to frequent night club patronage, how naive. His gamble on my club hopping betrayed his troubling motive enough for me to afterwards ask a now late auntie who displayed her signature brilliance by answering in the negative when asked if she believed the crazy. Here’s the deal, what people are called is more than irrelevant to me; I’m more concerned with their actions than salutation or position. And no one is exempt from this simple rule, period.
Here are concerns none of these self appointed men of God have strength to address as they constantly dodge important issues with eyes sternly set on the money plates. Is the widow’s might not based on love and dedication not necessarily giving part of stolen billions to be recognized? The little given by some may indeed be it for them yet the fly-by churches and roadside pastors/preachers turn blind eye to that fact. In giving, what the rich display is ability to give, in some cases, stolen monies while the poor show willingness got that pastor? Good boy!
”And [Jesus] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4
”We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.“ Romans 12:6-10
What you read are areas they with convenience avoid like plague while plying their bait and switch trade like tiger on the prowl for next victim to be devoured. People can show good deeds on the down and out without necessarily going through church rituals. God according to His teachings will still love and shower them with His blessings = good health, children, job, ability to finish school so on, not always about dough. God does not require bribe to love His children so why these bogus characters use His name to yank money from folks remain to be seen. It is wholly sinful for any to use the name of the anointed one, Jesus the Christ to mislead for financial gains. Shame be unto any teacher of the word who uses money as an avatar to gauge God’s love for His children. Woe unto him who uses the church and the name of the ever seeing eye to rob people. He who is guilty of this is no lower than a common criminal though a case could be made for the latter. A hungry thief may be excused for naivety, but what do you say about a preacher whose time is spent scaring and disturbing people with sermons that was taken out of context?
Readers are charged to visit referenced articles to form their own opinions as to which made human and divine sense and which is loaded with emotional ramble. I am happy for this essay and I know that God too is joyous for it and others that exposed the modus oparandi of the false teachers. Can someone please hammer in the fact that these liars’ extravagant out-of-this-world living with the much given yet recklessly spent on themselves and lack of sincere planning should not constitute emergency on our parts for the never ending call for limitless giving? We’re always told of what God said and wanted and today they have been told how proud God is for writers who remind about false teachers of the words. Thought they knew God never assents to stealing? The church as a “no go area” is now submerged in antiquity they better believe. Their heart wrenching style of preaching better be bagged before people are completely tuned off.
“Let me say from the very beginning that there is a distinct difference between giving to God and giving to "the church". Giving to God is a scriptural concept (Matt 22:21); Giving to "the church" could just be an emotional response to a well-orchestrated man-made appeal which is out of God's Will and God's Word. So it is important for us to study God's Word so that we are able to discern whether funds being solicited in a particular church are based on sound New Testament Scriptural principles.
I repeat there is no curse for ”NOT TITHING" in the New Testament church (as is often implied on sermons from Malachi 3:10-12).We should not go back to Melchizedek (where tithing was an example and may be taken as a guide-line) or the Mosaic law (where tithing was by compulsion.) Our Lord has fulfilled all the requirements of the Mosaic Law and taken the curse of (not obeying) the Law away from us (Galatians 3:13). The New Testament Christian should abide by the teachings of the Apostle Paul (which has superseded Moses' Law.)” - Dr Eddy Cheong, a born-again Christian and medical specialist by profession.
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