Downward Not Southward

Graduate level theological and exegetical discussions written by Justin Marsh, a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. At almost 6,500 words (with 24 sources), this is definitely the longest and most complex paper I’ve ever written! This one was for a class called “Wealth and Poverty in the New Testament” (Spring 2009) and we were allowed to choose our own topic as long as it related to Biblical socioeconomics. I chose to do research on something called the “temple tax,” a mandatory fee that was paid once a year by Jewish males in the first century, and how the ideas that supported it and the practices that surrounded it influenced Judaism’s system of religious giving. As I did the research I realized that the nature of this tax reminded me a lot of contemporary teachings on tithing, other forms of religious giving, and the issues that arise from all of this (building funds, big budgets, keeping up with culture). It also reminded me of a scene from Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N2mjbEs3d8c/SjsmcPBooiI/AAAAAAAAAEg/ELK6F4ku8hc/s1600-h/lasttemptation.gifChristian stewardship is an important topic because we live in a culture of overabundance. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N2mjbEs3d8c/SjsmARlY5vI/AAAAAAAAAEY/4MfL-Sd9Kg8/s1600-h/lasttemptation.gifCommunal ideas of generosity and sharing are pretty much ignored as long as we stick to the 10% (or so) that the Bible supposedly commands individuals to give. This paper calls for a renewal of our own contemporary practices based on what we can learn from the seeminlgy negative effects of an ancient but suspcious religious tax.

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