Every true prophet that wishes to
abide among you is worthy of his support. Likewise, a true teacher is himself
worthy, as the workman of his support. Every first-fruit, therefore, of the
products of the wine-press and the threshing- floor, of oxen and of sheep, you
will take and give to the prophets, for they are your high priests. But if you
have no prophet, give it to the poor. If you make a batch of dough, take the
first-fruit and give according to the commandment. So also when you open a jar
of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give it to the prophets. Didache
(c. 80-140, E), 7.381.
The wealthy among us help the
needy.... As for the persons who are prosperous and are willing, they give what
each thinks fit. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.185, 186.
Instead of the Law commanding the
giving of tithes, He taught us to share all our possessions with the poor.
Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.477.
The class of oblations in general
has not been set aside. For there were both oblations there [among the Jews]
and there are oblations here [among the Christians]. Sacrifices there were
among the [Israelite] people; sacrifices there are, too, in the church. Only
the outward form has been changed. For the offering is now made, not by slaves,
but by free men..,. [The Jews] had indeed the tithes of their goods consecrated
to Him. In contrast, those who have received liberty set aside all their
possessions for the Lord's purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely not the less
valuable portions of their property, since they have the hope of better things.
Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.484, 485.
At the beginning, God accepted
the gifts of Abel, because he offered with single-mindedness and righteousness.
However, He had no respect for the offering of Cain, because his heart was
divided with envy and malice. . . . For if anyone will endeavor to offer a
sacrifice merely for outward appearances,. . . such an oblation will not profit
him anything. . .. Sacrifices, therefore, do not sanctify a man. For God stands
in no need of sacrifice. But it is the conscience of the person offering that
sanctifies the sacrifice when it is pure. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.485.
On the monthly day, if he likes,
each puts in a small donation—but only if it is his pleasure and only if he is
able. For there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. Tertullian (c. 197, W),
3.46.
They used to sell houses and
estates so that they might lay up for themselves treasures in heaven. They
presented the proceeds from them to the apostles, to be distributed for the use
of the poor. However, now, we do not even give the tenths from our patrimony!
Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.429.
Let the bishop use as a man of
God those tithes and first-fruits that are given according to the command of
God. Let him also dispense in a right manner the free-will offerings that are
brought in for the poor. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.408
Give to the priest those things
that are due to him—the first-fruits of your [threshing] floor and of your
wine-press. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.413.
C. Early Judaism and
Christianity
In both early Jewish and early
Christian exegesis of the scriptural references to tithes the Deuteronomic
sacrificial meal is forgotten. Another characteristic common to both early Jews
and early Christians is generalizing of the tithes. Whereas in the OT tithes
apply to specific agricultural products, rabbinic and patristic exegesis tends to
include all agricultural products and eventually all forms of income as subject
to the tithe. In the Mishnaic tractate on tithes (Maʿaśerot) is the statement, “Whatsoever is used for food, and is
kept watch over, and grows from the soil, is liable to Tithes” (1:1), not just
grain, wine, and oil. Later extensive lists are drawn up of every agricultural
product subject to the tithe, including even relatively insignificant herbs
such as thyme and mustard. This generalizing tendency can already be seen in
the 2d century b.c.e. in the book of Tobit: “Of all my produce I would give a
tenth to the sons of Levi who ministered at Jerusalem; a second tenth I would
sell, and I would go and spend the proceeds each year at Jerusalem, the third
tenth I would give to those to whom it was my duty” (1:7–8). Very early in the
history of Christianity tithes are extended to include money. This occurs for
the first time in Didache 13:7 (late first or early 2d century c.e.), then in all
subsequent Christian writing on tithes. Despite this generalizing tendency
virtually all references in early Judaism and early Christianity are to tithes (plural) not to the tithe. Tithes do not become the tithe until much later in the
history of Christianity.
Another widespread tendency of
early Christianity is the identification of the OT Levites, the principal
beneficiaries of the tithes, with Christian priests. Origen writes, “God orders
the priest-Levite who possessed no land himself, to live together with an
Israelite who possesses land. And the priest-Levite should receive those
earthly things which he does not have from the Israelite; and the Israelite
should correspondingly receive the heavenly and divine things from the
priest-Levite. The priest should be completely free to devote himself
exclusively to the service of God. He should be supported just as we provide
oil for a lamp so that it can give light” (Homilies
on Joshua 17:3, quoted in Vischer 1966: 27). The Apostolic Constitutions
carry this tendency a step further by equating the OT priestly order with
church order. The bishops are the equivalent of the high priest; the elders, of
the priests; the deacons, of the Levites (ANF 7:410).
Two different lines of
interpretation of the OT commandments on tithing may be discerned in the
writings of the Church Fathers. Many of the earlier fathers and especially the
early monastic writers regarded the OT commandments on tithing as superseded by
the teachings of Jesus. The Hebrews were to give a tenth, but Jesus told the
rich young ruler to sell all that he had to give to the poor (Matt 19:21 = Mark
10:21 = Luke 18:22). Irenaeus writes that the Jews “had indeed the tithes of
their goods consecrated to Him, but those who have received liberty set aside
all their possessions for the Lord’s purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely” (haer. 4:18 in ANF 1:485). Nonetheless
Christians did not give all that they had; most did not even give a tithe. The
sermons of fathers such as Cyprian and Chrysostom occasionally rebuke
Christians by implying that those who do not tithe are inferior to the Jews.
Chrysostom writes, “Someone told me with great amazement that so-and-so gives a
tithe. How shameful it is that what was taken for granted among the Jews has
now become an amazing thing among Christians. And if non-payment of the tithe
puts a man in jeopardy with God then, consider how many are in such danger
today” (Homilies on the Epistle to the
Ephesians, chap. 2; quoted in Vischer 1966: 16). A second line of patristic
interpretation, more characteristic of the post-Nicene period, sees the OT
tithes as an acceptable, though minimal, standard of giving for Christians.
Augustine was the chief spokesperson for this viewpoint. (J. Christian
Wilson, “Tithe,” in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel
Freedman, 6 vols. [New York: Doubleday, 1992], 6:580)
Tithing in the Early Church. In the writings of the Apostolic
Fathers and the Apologists the common words for tithing do not appear.
Nevertheless, giving still continued to be an important part of early Christian
worship. Justin Martyr observes that every Sunday “those who prosper and so
wish, contribute, each one as much as he chooses. What is collected is
deposited with the president, and he takes care of orphans and widows and those
who are in want … and those who are in bonds and the strangers who are
sojourners among us” (I Apol. 67; cf.
also Apost. Const. 2, 27). Irenaeus
considered tithing to be a Jewish law not required of Christians for Christians
had received “liberty” and should consequently give without external constraint
(Haer. 4, 18, 2). Origen viewed
tithes as something to be far exceeded by Christians in their giving (In Num. hom. 11). Hence, for the early
Fathers of the Church, as for the writers of the NT, the tithe was a thing of
the past; a new principle for giving was guiding them now and propelling them
to share—the goodness of God and the inward compulsion of the Holy Spirit.
Note that in this primitive
period of the church’s history, giving was still voluntary, was directly
related to whether God had prospered a person or not and was chiefly for the
aiding of the poor. Little or nothing is said about how the clergy and the church
were sustained. Presumably they were kept going by the free will gifts of the
people to whom they ministered. Later, however, tithing was reintroduced as a
means of supporting the church. It was reintroduced first by instruction with
the aid of such NT passages as Matt. 10:10; Lk. 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:3f., etc., and
on a voluntary basis. Eventually, however, the power of civil law was required
to effect what instruction failed to accomplish. The renowned decree of
Charlemagne (A.D. 785) no longer gave the people an option—they were taxed for
the support of the church whether they liked it or not. (G. F.
Hawthrone, “Tithe,” in New Dictionary of the New Testament Theology, ed.
Colin Brown, 4 vols. [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986],
3:854-55)
