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Group advances new discourse on tithe

By Chris Irekamba
17 December 2017   |   4:13 am
The ongoing debate and discourse on payment of tithe and its utilisation has taken another dimension, as the Chairman, The Africa Future (TAF), a non-governmental organisation...

The ongoing debate and discourse on payment of tithe and its utilisation has taken another dimension, as the Chairman, The Africa Future (TAF), a non-governmental organisation, Dr. Tosin Ajayi, has posited that the concept of tithe is not the mere giving of 10 percent of one’s income or earning, but rather it is about giving all, including one’s life to the service and development of mankind.
 
Dr. Ajayi, who told newsmen at a briefing in his Ikeja, Lagos office, that he has kick-started the campaign to sensitise churches, Christian organisations, Christians and all other religious groups on the imperative to buy into this new concept, which he noted is not new, as it has been from the inception of the Holy Bible and Christianity.
 
Dr. Ajayi said the argument of whether or not tithe should be paid since it was not prescribed in the New Testament of the Bible, but only found in the Old Testament, should not arise at all because according to him, there are many practices and traditions being faithfully practised today by Christians that were not prescribed by the New Testament, but were inherited from the Old Testament. He gave such examples as wedding, child naming and dedication.

 
The tithe campaigner also described as baseless those opposing payment of tithe by clinging to the claim that neither Jesus Christ nor His disciples paid tithe and did not preach it.
 
He noted that though the Apostles may not have paid tithe in cash, they indeed paid through their priceless and indelible services to the gospel and mankind, especially the poor and needy. In his view, nothing could be more tithe than this, and this remained the standard that every Christian, churches, Christian organisations and all other religious groups should follow, by giving more than the 10 percent. In this regards, he made references to Stephen and Apostle Paul.
  
He expressed dismay over the poor manner churches, especially in Nigeria utilise even the insufficient 10 percent tithe paid to them and lamented that the funds are not used for the need of the poor, children, the widows and the sick in the society.

He recalled the early missionaries, who brought Christianity to the country and used all they had to meet the needs of the people, especially in the area of education and health.

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