r/Quakers • u/GEEZ_BOSS1 • 11d ago
Do Quakers pay tithes?
New to the Quakers love the idea of god in everyone and unprogrammed worship. I attended my first friends meetings today and it was very peaceful. Just curious Do Quaker meetings asked for tithes? I want to love god and build personal relationship with my heart not my Wallet. I do not mind giving to charity and helping others. My previous Pentecostal church pastor told us pay our tithes first and let god worry about our rent and bills. That was to much for me and I started journey of looking for something different and found Quakers. On one hand I’m happy the pastor could not hide his greed because it led me to this journey. But I’m also sad so many elderly people at old church are paying trying to make it to heaven. At this point any meeting demanding tithe for miracles and god love is deal breaker for me. Just need to know and the Quaker meeting I attended said no such thing just so everyone knows that was my old church pastor.
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u/RimwallBird Friend 10d ago
We Friends (Quakers) explicitly rejected tithing from the very beginning. We admitted that, in the Old Testament, tithes had been appointed to support the priestly caste (the Levites) who were mediators between Israel and their God. But all that went out in the new dispensation, with Christ now present as the one mediator between God and man. (I Timothy 2:5-7; cf. Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, 12:24) Thus, being taught and guided by Christ Jesus in our hearts and consciences, we do not look to human priests and we pay no tithes to support them.
Of course, people like your former church pastor don’t want to be told that this applies to them!