tithing

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> carrying on the Old Testament practice.  At most one is doing something
> only remotely analogous to the tithing practice of the Old Testament,
> which was a tax to support the Temple and the priestly system, a social
> and religious system which no longer exists.  Tithes were obligatory in
> Judaism as a tax until the destruction of the Temple in A.D. but they
> are not thus binding upon Christians.
> 
> 	This is not to discredit tithing, but it is to clarify its relationship
> to the New Testament.  It is to deny that the New Testament supports the
> coerciveness, legalism, profit motive, and the bargaining which so often
> characterize the tithing appeals today.  As a voluntary system, tithing
> offers much; but it must be redeemed by grace if it is to be Christian. 
> To plead that "it works" is only to adopt the pragmatic test of the
> world.  Much "works" that is not Christian.  Tithing, if it is to be
> congenial to New Testament theology, must be rooted in the grace and
> love of God.
> 
> The above quote, which starts with the second paragraph and ends with
> the above paragraph, is from:  Frank Stagg, "New Testament Theology'"
> Broadman Press, Nashville 1962, 292-3.  He in turn quoted Paul Stagg,
> but I was unable to reference that quote, since the quote was quoted by
> someone else.
> 
Here is another question about tithing.   Who gets the tithes?   Does the
pastor get the tithes all to himself, or do they go to the church?    Some
folks believe that the tithes go solely to the pastor to live on or to do
whatever he likes with them.   But what if the church is extremely large?  
Does the pastor get all?      		
God Bless,
Sherry