One of the drawbacks to going out on the weekends with my boyfriend is, he listens to some religious programs on the radio. One of them is a program on how to manage money in accordance with the Bible.

While I'm not against tithing (or maybe I am, if there's a standard definition of it in terms of amount), I think people should choose what they give their churches, if anything. On this radio show, I think they said it's 10%, too, and as I recall, they said the first money you set aside is for tithing, not your bills, needs, etc. I might be wrong about that, but I know it's at least one of the very first things.

Anyway, I don't think God needs money. The church might, and I'm not against giving money to help your church run, or get new Bibles or equipment or whatever, but it should be each member's choice as to how much s/he gives.

I also think, if Mel Gibson wants to put his money into a church, he shouldn't have built what I call a "church of excess," with gold and expensive ornamentation, costing millions of dollars; he should donate his money to other churches that need it, or charities.