Tithe

The term tithe, centering, tithe, tithing, tithing (even church tenth; Latin: decenia, mittelniederdt: teghede. ) Refers to a ten percent traditional control in the form of money or in kind to a religious (eg: temple, church ) or secular ( king, lord ) institution.

Such a duty was already known in antiquity in different cultures not only of the East and was common through the Middle Ages to the early modern period.

Tithing in the Old Testament

Even before the law of Moses (Gen 14,20 EU), the king and high priest Melchizedek by Abraham receives the tithes of the spoils of war as a voluntary and situational one-time tax.

The later Mosaic law prescribes then, that the Israelites should give a tithe to the Lord " from the produce of the land and the fruit of the trees " and of the cattle and sheep ( Lev 27,30 EU). This tithe was in thanks for the thought that God has a " gift " of the year and for the upkeep of the tribe of Levi, which was assigned to the temple service and therefore had no land ownership. The natural means could also be replaced by a cash gift, only the amount needed by a fifth higher. Basically, the amount was to bring to the sanctuary, but every third year the tithe was provided to the Levites and the poor is available on site.

The Aaronic priests (temple servants ) received nothing directly from the tithes of the people. For this they received according to ( Num 18:26 NIV ) the tithe of the tithes from the hands of the Levites. It ties in with the criticism in (Mal 3:10 NIV ). The priests had failed to bring the following tithes into God's house (probably by corruption ) severely reprimanded, and they were sure of God through the prophet Malachi. Already in ( Neh 13,10 ELB ) ff the lack of implementation of the Tithes - use and the tithe - administration was criticized. At that time, the Levites and singers have returned to their rural property, because they had not received their wages.

In the fifth book of Moses ( Deuteronomy) are summarized ff the statutes around the tithes of the people of Israel in (Dt 12.6 ELB ), ( Deuteronomy 14:22 NIV ) ff and (Deut 26:12 NIV ). In 5 Moses 14, 22 ff is mentioned, of which the tithe is to be paid: From the yield of grain, wine and oil, and the firstborn of the cattle and sheep. The receiver according to Moses 5 26,12 are the Levites, foreigners and widows and orphans. Tithing So here has the function of a religious and social contribution, which from religion levy the temple maintenance and education was funded. Spending on military and security were in ancient Israel did not seem out of the tithes of the people but by the state from its own customs and market revenues and trading profits (such as mines ) financed.

Add 5 Numbers 12, 6-7 and 5 Moses 14, 23 a special hard tenth is mentioned, which was consumed during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem itself. The festival tithe was not a charge, but its own festive reserve.

If the tithe so interpreted that the normal tithe was levied every year, to get there by every third year tithe levied on Social 13 ⅓ percent of income. With the festival tithe as an internal reserve adds up to 23 ⅓ percent of all income. This always occurs in the literature conclusion, however, is fragile: Because based on (Deut 14:28 NIV ) must be argued that the festival tithe every third year nothing should be taken for their own purposes, because of whom are foreigners, widows and orphans, and the Levites should live in its own place (municipal social assistance). The Social tithing is thus generated from the festival tithe. The overall tax burden by tithing is therefore 13 ⅓ percent, because the consumed from the festival tithe itself Good ( two-thirds of the festival tithe ) can not be called as a delivery with good reason, but as a reserve within the family business.

Tithing in its function as a control was in ancient Israel only since the monarchy is known ( 1 Sam 8:13 NIV ). The desire of the people of Israel after an earthly king was not intended by God because He himself is the King of Israel. The earthly kingdom in the eleventh century BC started the modern tax system. This fiscal spheres - mixing due to the abolition of the separation of religion and state became the breeding ground for corruption and royal absolutism, these risks can be reduced since the modern age by state powers.

The tithe in Christianity

Many believers think that the New Testament would be required by the Christians no tenth, but only a voluntary support poor fellow Christians and poor communities. Apparently speak against the posts in Mt 23:23 and Lk 11:42 ELB ELB, where Jesus supposedly holds on tithing. However, Jesus denounced here only the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees who fulfilled the law of Moses in all letters and even more stringent, but completely left much more important love, mercy and justice in mind. However, the greatest is the setting of the NT in 2 Cor 9:7 EU. Paul draws here the freewill offerings clearly the compulsory levies before.

In the early days of Christianity, various church fathers demanded by the faithful a tithe on a voluntary basis. For the first time secured in the Vita Severini mentioned as a Christian duty was introduced in the 8th century as a compulsory levy.

In a letter of Pope Gregory II on 1 December 722 to Boniface says:

" From the revenues of the Church and the offerings of the faithful, he should [ Boniface ] make four parts: One of them he should keep it to yourself, spread the second among the clergy, according to their zeal in the discharge of their duties, the third part he is due to give the poor and strangers, the fourth he should but put aside for the church. "

Pope Zacharias wrote a letter to 748 francs distinguished in which the tithe was already mentioned as consisting of:

" But what concerns the tithes of the faithful that are offered in the churches, so it should not be at the discretion of the encoder to distribute them. For the customs of the holy fathers determine that from the bishop four parts shall be made. This ... namely the charity must be provided from the church and the altar equipment must be paid ... "

At the time of Charlemagne the church tithe in Kapitular of Heristal was 779 realm law to supply the Frankish church funds. This was later fully regulated in the Decree of Gratian in 1140.

Great regional differences usually received the bishop, the priest, the poor and the Diocese of each quarter of the tithe; from the 10th century got a third of the pastor and two thirds of the bishop, the resulting afford care for the poor and had to pay for the needs of the diocese ( administrative expenses, fabrica ecclesiae ). In Sweden lasted until the mid-13th century following decade Distribution: One-third was the priest. The remaining two thirds were then again divided into thirds for bishops, church and factory arms.

Due to the proprietary church system ( landlords, such as nobles, possessed churches to own ) and the monasteries as a secular landlords, however, the tithe was often de facto secular delivery - the personal Lord Church received two-thirds, one-third of the pastor. Often the tithe was also leased and the lessee got the difference between the tithe and the actual charges.

Tithing in the Middle Ages

Development

The tithe in the Middle Ages is a lying on the base tax in kind, which was initially deliver directly to the pastor, but had since about the year 1000, largely separated from the parish organization. Due to become less long-term sedentary population of the tithe was transformed for practical reasons of a personal power to a discharge bound to the land. This is also a recital in the core for the later land tax and property tax was laid. Kam land to a Jewish owner, he still had to deliver the tithe to the church. The tithe - recipients have the right to tithe survey often leased in order to guarantee an income can. The tenants were traders and were not necessarily close to the church, so that they saw less and less of it. The benefice were from their original task often even alienated when they were administered by clerics. At the time of the Reformation, 93 percent of the benefice were not located in a parish. The resulting tithes disaffection of the population was a breeding ground for the peasant uprisings and the Reformation in the 16th century. Unless recognized as exemt also the parish and monastic clergy 's tenth subject and particularly outraged by recurring Pope tithing.

Tithes everyday

The Decree of Gratian draws a conceptual model of tithing. In the legal reality it can be divided into a plurality of partial charges. The tithe is usually documented in the sources as an independent crop size fixed levy. He was, depending on the region and soil quality between 30 percent and less than 10 percent of the harvest.

In Europe, the tithe barns for storage in the villages special large barns, ( in Alemannic -speaking Tithe euern ), built, often after the church represented the most significant buildings of a village. The pastor or a separate Zehentner ( Decimator ) lifted a the tithe, and this was usually deliver itself to a collection point, such as the farmyard of the parish or the Zehenthof from Zehentholden. Tithe subject places or farms were also referred to as a tithe possession. The tithe ownership was mostly acquired through purchase, donation or gift.

A single monastery, as Ebstorf in the Lüneburg Heath, could have over 60 villages in the decade of possession.

In the Middle Ages, originally from the Old Testament tithe was extended. A distinction was made between large and small tithe tithe:

• Most tithe was payable analogous to the Bible on cereals and most livestock
• The small tithe was to be paid in addition to other crops as fruit tithe (kitchen herbs, fruit, vegetables) and small livestock. What exactly was small tenth subject was locally different.

In addition, tens of start-up, which were also collected varies from place to place developed:

• The wine tithe (also Nasser tithe ) is payable on homemade wines
• The Heuzehnt on harvested hay
• The timber tithe, to cut wood
• The meat or blood tithe, on slaughtered animals or animal products such as meat, eggs and milk
• The Neubruchzehnt or Novalzehnt ( in Switzerland also Neugrützehnt ) on fallow ground, ie on available -made by clearing land (also Rodezehnt or Reute tithe ).
• The mountain decade in mining
• The crusade tithe, a temporary levy to finance a crusade
• A similar control in pre-colonial Morocco was called Assyria ( from Arabic Aschara, " ten "). She was charged by the Sultan in Makhzen ( dominion of the Sultan ) or by an ally of the Sultan with his permission.

Abolition of tithes

After the Reformation the tithe was nationalized in Protestant areas of Switzerland - in compensation to the state took over the financial responsibility for the churches. The same is true for the Scandinavian countries under the rule of Christian III. of Denmark.

In Switzerland, the tithe was abolished in 1798 as a result of the invasion of the French under Napoleon Bonaparte and he furnished the Helvetic Republic.

Be held also in Germany the tithe until the 19th century. In many cases, the abolition of tithes was associated with a transfer fee, which often led to strong and long debt of farmers, such as in the tithe redemption in Baden. In order to make the money available, the savings banks were founded, such as the Nassau Land - Credit -Casse ( as a predecessor of Nassau Savings Bank ) to tithe redemption in Nassau.

Tithing today

The major churches in Germany attract a tax on the church controlling their members. However, the church tax is not a legal consequence of the tithe, it is in Baden -Württemberg and Bavaria 8 %, in the other Länder 9% of the income tax or payroll tax. In the calculation of the applicable church tax / income tax but basically child allowances are deducted for children.

Unlike the country's churches, the free churches have them collected no church taxes from the state. They are financed by direct contributions of the members. Many free churches expect their members to tithe as a voluntary tax. There are different opinions about whether the tithe on the gross or the net pay is to be calculated. Usually, the liberal Free Churches call for the tithe of the net wage, conservative free churches tithe from taxable income and radical free churches require a tithe from the gross salary. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons ) is required that each determines according to his conscience, which he regarded as his income, his income or earnings. He is obliged to provide about a tenth for the Lord's work available.