When viewed as a modern day occurrence, tithing is a process in which certain congregations will collect money, to maintain their own organizations. The method of distribution will vary from Church to Church, and with a few exceptions, the amount given is considered a personal witness, or in other words, give what you can type of thing, however with this being said there are important exceptions to this rule within other Denominations of Christianity. The MORMON'S for instance ask for 1/10 of your earned income...(this is a tremendous amount for most people considering that "taxes" take up 25 to 35 percent already). The basis for this belief within the Mormon's, and other Christian Faiths is found in scripture, and the actual meaning of the word Tithe (or 1/10th).

Of course in order to "collect" from the faithful, there have to be obvious, and sometimes not so obvious rewards and penalties. For instance in the MORMON church, when one isn't a full tithe payer they cannot enter the temple for normal ritualistic work. There are also other not so obvious methods such as describing tithing as "fire insurance" (meaning from the fires of Hell) and many, many testimonies are offered regularly describing the miracle of tithing (things are going very bad and a decision is made to give the tithe anyway...then what should have been the end is instead a whole new beginning etc..)

There is certainly empirical evidence that tithing and the act of charitable giving does inspire positive results in the giver and the receiver when done in the open minded and non conditional method of free agency. To give because you can AND you want to is indeed giving. This brings up an important difference between tithe and taxation.

One of the main things our MASONIC founding fathers did was to insure that the actual ancient functions of a Righteous Nations tithe as put forth in the ancient scriptures would be accounted for in our new system of Taxation WITH representation. In other words unlike the ancient church that would "take" the tithe and resistance could (and often did) get you killed, the New World would enforce the legality of Taxation, however give the taxed the ability to participate in the "spending" of the tax money (this through voting)therefore bridging the gap of Tithe and Tax. The Spirit of America was indeed the Manifestation of the nation in which one could pursue Happiness, which had been and still is seen as our Divine Purpose. In the Ancient Old Testament we see that the true purpose of the Tithe was to offer up defense of the Nation, feeding of the hungry, caring for the poor and infirm, and taking care of all the children. In our modern system, we see that for the average tax paying American, at least 10% of your yearly earnings will go to these very things.

This is the result of our fore-fathers wisdom. Many other issues are also competing for our Tax dollars, and by and large we are able to be generous with our wealth as long as this is managed toward the ultimate purpose of Human Happiness. In addition to the Tax that you pay, many people will contribute to other "causes" and "charities", and as we mentioned before, religious organizations will "pass the plate" and ask for this and that. The "share the wealth" mentality works very well when allowed to flourish in a Free Economy.

It is very important to remember this simple fact however, that by paying an honest tax in America you are over and above a Tithe payer in full, and all the blessings and rewards promised in scripture will be poured out unto you. You do not OWE any church, or any organization, and you do not have to PAY for the Enlightenment that your Heavenly Creator is sharing with you now. There are no "secrets" or "mystical passwords or names" that will get you in to God's presence. Remember, the gift of Eternal Life is Free through Jesus Christ's Love.

Working your best, at serving your fellow humanity is the ultimate expression of self determination and freedom. Being rewarded for your efforts, and then being generous with your rewards ensures sustainability, what goes around comes around so to speak. This "healing cycle" is the archetype for Heaven on Earth as well as for your each and every day. A day that starts with a Prayer and ends in success. In Jesus Way, AMEN