Tithing

I was considering about the regimented form of charity known as tithing. According to the Bible, people should give out a portion of their wealth and dedicate it to God(dess). For the common understanding, that usually means handing moolah over to the Church. Or some other equivalent religious institution.

Yet sometimes, people just don't agree with what their religious institution happens to believe in. Sometimes that money is going to be used for nefarious purposes that do not correspond to what the people believe in. Generally, when one decides to get enslaved by some religion, they have some sort of belief system. A belief in what the religion stands for, and what it means. Admirable. Unfortunately, the religious leaders may have alternative interpretations of these matters, and may turn the funds towards other purposes.

Not very nice at all. What's next? Well, the logical alternative would be not to tithe at all. Non-religious people generally don't tithe. It sounds pretty fine. Except perhaps the religious do feel somewhat obligated to give a part of what they have, and perhaps they would believe it inappropriate not to do so. I would respect that as well.

The solution, I propose, is for them to simply opt to tithe directly to whichever causes they do believe in. Causes that adhere to the tenets of their religion and thus further what they believe God(dess)'s will to be. That, in my opinion, is more in keeping with what the spirit of tithing should be. Heck, dedicating money to a religious tenet could be as simple as helping to feed the poor, if kindness happens to be one of those tenets...