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→Tithing in the New Testament
Christians support the [[Church]] and her [[pastor]]s with monetary contributions of one sort or another. Sometimes these monetary contributions are called tithes whether or not they actually represent ten-percent of anything. However, as tithing was an ingrained Jewish custom by the time of [[Jesus]], no specific command to tithe per se is found in the [[New Testament]]. References to tithing in the New Testament can be found in [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], and the catholic epistle to the [[Hebrews]].
Some Protestant denominations Christians cite {{bibleref|Matthew|23:23}} as support for tithing.
:''Away with you, you pettifogging Pharisee lawyers! You give to God a tenth of herbs, like mint, dill, and cumin, but the important duties of the Law -- judgement, mercy, honesty -- you have neglected. Yet these you ought to have performed, without neglecting the others.''
:(Albright & Mann, '''Matthew, Anchor Bible''', Vol. 26 (1971))
:(Fitzmyer, '''Luke, Anchor Bible''', Vol.l, 28A (1985))
Because of Jesus' specific mention of tithe in this passage, it is often felt that he thereby gave his endorsement to the practice of tithing in general and specifically to tithing herbs like mint, dill and cumin. Some scholars disagree, however, pointing out that Jesus was simply obeying Mosaic law as an obedient Jew.
The only other occurrence of "tithe" in the New Testament is found in Hebrews, chapter 7. Hebrews is an attempt to convince Jewish Christians that the entire sanctuary system, especially its priesthood, had been replaced by the Melchizedek-type high priesthood of Jesus Christ and the individual priesthood of every believer. Chapter 7 uses the ineffectiveness of tithing to illustrate that the laws governing the priesthood (including tithing) were "changed" and "abolished" (7:5, 12, 18).
==Modern-day teachings==