Monday, February 27, 2006

Menno Simons and Tithing

A search was done in Menno Simons (1496–1561), The Complete Writings of Menno Simons, for his view on tithing. While nothing was found specifically on tithing, Simons believed the following: (1) Christians did not need to have all things in common; (2) ministers should not receive salaries; and (3) regarding the support of ministers: “as for the temporal necessities of life, the begotten church was sufficiently driven by love, through the Spirit and the Word of God, to give unto such faithful servants of Christ and watchers of their souls all the necessities of life, to assist them and provide for them all such things which they could not obtain by themselves.” While his views appear incompatible with tithing, since direct address on the issue was not found, hesitancy toward a decisive conclusion is prudent.

Resource on Menno Simons and Tithing:
Menno Simons, The Complete Writings of Menno Simons, ed. John Christian Wenger, trans. Leonard Verduin (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1956), 173, 443, 445, 450–51, 558–60, 663–64.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting! I have added a link to this page in my directory about Menno Simons (http://www.tekstlink.com/menno/articles.htm)