For a long time, I was not really King James Only, but I was a King James elitist. I thought other translations were fine, but the KJV was the gold standard. After spending some time looking into other translations, how translations were made, textual criticism, etc., I un-elevated the KJV and accepted that there are a wide range of really great, reliable translations.

The KJV has one kind of glaring issue, many of the English words in that translation are either no longer in use or don’t mean the same thing that they used to.

My preferred translations are NKJV and ESV.

Why is it, that on this forum, the posts that are sensational about happenings in the CoG, generally speaking, get more attention than posts over theological/doctrinal/Christian life? Thoughts?

I am relatively new to this forum. I don’t have an account on the old system, but I have read many threads over there. There are exceptions, but mostly this forum seems to be folks complaining about things going on the denomination. I am not saying I don’t share in some of those concerns, and that we shouldn’t voice the concerns. It just feels like we’re forgetting that people we disagree with are still Christian brothers in Christ.

Any denomination (or non-denomination for that matter) is going to have issues, and no matter what group you might be a part of, you’re not going to like something that is going on. I am a CoG pastor, and I disagree with some things, and I don’t like some things that have happened, even to me within our denomination, but praise the Lord, we’re not a denomination that is even remotely close to going the way of other denominations like the United Methodist Church. We believe in the authority of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. A lot of denominations are going the way of the world, but the CoG is not one.

Here is an example: I posted a question a few days ago about tithing, that got one response. It is a genuine question seeking answers. The posts since then have been about things going on in the church at large and are sensational, and they have a lot more comment. Is that what this forum is for, or should we be spending even more time being “iron that sharpens iron”?

Ministers of the Church of God are required to pay tithes, and to attest that they are paying tithes each month when they report. This is required according to the Minutes and is necessary to retain and maintain a ministerial license. Therefore, if a CoG minister does not tithe, then they are forfeiting their license. The question I have, is does this violate Scripture?

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 talks about giving, and when it comes to giving, makes a few statements. First, it says that each person must give based on what they “have decided in your heart”. Does that mean the requirement to tithe for ministers by the CoG is saying “it is ok to give what is on your heart, as long as it is at least 10%?” Secondly, and this is at the heart of my questioning, is the next part of verse 7, which says “not reluctantly or under compulsion…”. Those words, “reluctantly” and especially “under compulsion” (“of necessity in the KJV) are two phrases that seem to be contrary to CoG teaching. In focusing in on the term “compulsion”, the term means imposed upon. Paul, writing under the inspiration of Holy Spirit, seems to be teaching that no one should have to give under the distress of repercussions, or not forced to do what they can’t or don’t want to do. Being forced to do something you don’t want to do does not lend itself to doing something “cheerfully”, which, according to this passage, God love’s a cheerful giver. It seems that Paul is teaching here that God is more interested in cheerfulness in our giving.

With that in mind, if a CoG minister could lose their license for failure to tithe, then isn’t that compulsion? I think the answer is yes, but I am seeking someone to help clarify where I might be wrong on this. Is there anywhere in the Scripture where tithing is a requirement for the Christian?

I received a whole inbox of posts and comments that were reported by someone as spam this afternoon. I believe someone methodically went through the board and reported these posts as spam. Further, it appears this resulted in some of your accounts being suspended by Reddit. Since this was done at the site-wide Reddit level and not at the r/Actscelerate level, there’s nothing I can do about it.

However, according to Reddit, you should have received a message about your banned status letting you know the reason you were banned. Additionally, there should be information about how you can appeal your ban, which I encourage you to do. You can appeal here: https://www.reddit.com/appeals