Not long ago a couple rushed into Casa Juan Diego, very agitated, asking to speak to us privately. They had just been reading the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the Acts of the Apostles, in which those who did not share their goods were struck dead. The couple, friends of the Houston Catholic Worker, had also just received a legacy. They wrote a check to Casa Juan Diego for $10,000.
The account of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, whose theological violence has disturbed exegetes since the Fathers of the Church, has led to an infinite number of interpretations.
In the following article, excerpted from VOCES, a theological journal from Mexico City, the author presents and develops the study of Daniel Marguerat on the meaning of the story of Ananias and Sapphira, placing it as a theological narrative of original sin which recurs in the reception of the Tradition. The author points out that in this case the presentation of the dramatic events does not emphasize the drama of individual salvation, but rather the unity of the community, especially as it affects the needs of other members and the poor. The story magnifies the power of the Spirit in building a community of love and brings into stark reality the importance of the universal destination of goods given by God. The author of the Book of Acts is very aware that the original sin of the community of Christians is a sin of money.
So when the Catholic Church sells the Vatican and all its properties and good Catholics follow suit we can feed the hungry for a year. Next year... who knows.
that had to be the most gobbly gooked article I read in years.
(Peter speaking to Ananias, calling him down:) "While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?"
I've heard the claim that the early church practiced communism, but to say that you have to ignore statements like this one. What Peter was talking about, as if it were the most natural thing to assume, was pure, capitalistic, private property. Ananias wasn't judged for having or keeping property/money; he was judged for lying about what he was giving: claiming to have given all when he had not.
And what is this about "TITHING" in the title? What they were doing in that situation was NOT tithing. Not even close.
Meh.
"All that believed"..believed what?
You just need to go back a couple of scriptures to find out. "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel". (Acts 2:16). "And it shall come to pass in the last days,saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,and your young men shall see visions,and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit: and they shall prophesy:" (Acts 2:17,18).
Acts Chapter 2 and 3 mark the beginning of the *harvest for Israel*. It is the preparing of the Jewish people for the times of restitution when Jesus Christ will come to earth the second time.
"Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when *the times of refreshing* shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began". (Acts 3:19-21).
Which brings us to *why Israel sells everything in the early Acts period*
They were convinced that the time was come when they would all be blessed and have all things equal, the Lord was coming back- But he did not. THIS IS WHY *All that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need". (Acts 2;44,45).
You know resty, if this is the current mormon proof text to support tithing, then the biblical literacy of mormonism is in even worse shape than anyone could have imagined. Take your time and READ the passage in Acts resty, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead because -
Acts 5:3* But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Acts 5: 9* Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
This has nothing to do with tithing, but everything to do with deception. These verses show clearly that the sin was hypocrisy and deception in the name of religion - kinda like mormonism. These verses also show that the gifts of goods were purely voluntary not mandated - like mormonism.
What does the story of Ananias and Sapphira have to do with tithing? They lied to God. It has nothing to do with tithing. They voluntarily sold and gave the money, they didn’t have to give it to begin with. They didn’t give all the money, which was still ok, had they told the truth when asked but they lied to God unnecessarily.
the story of Ananias and Sapphira in the Acts of the Apostles, in which those who did not share their goods were struck dead.
_______________________________________
No that is not what happened...
They were struck dead because they lied to the Holy Ghost..
Not because they did not give any of their money from the sale of their land...
They could have kept every penny of their proceeds and still been in God’s favor...
But they chose to lie to impress others and that is why God struck them down..
They claimed they gave all of their money from the sale but they held back some anfd lied...
When they were asked did you get so much for the sale, instead of saying No we got this much more, they said Yes we did and we are giving it all to the ministry...
Onlookers were impressed by their “generosity” for giving “all” their money, but they were liars...
They were destroyed for lying to God, not for failing to tithe...
Reading the Bible for oneself always helps...
In no way is this a tale specifically about money or about tithing - it is a tale about lying and breaking the bonds of coummunion with God, with those elected to lead and with the people. Peter does not condemn them for keeping the money, in fact he tells them that this was their money and they could have done with it what they wished. He condemns them for lying to the Holy Spirit. They tried to gain favour with those in the Church by lying to them!
Gosh some people really need to read their Bible rather than listening to some socilaist trying to seperate them from their money!
Mel
This thread is a PERFECT EXAMPLE of how mormons view the Bible! Thank you for posting this!
The Mormonic See and Say Bible Study Method
1. Open the Bible to any page - doesn’t really matter
2. Pretend there is not context to any passage you choose
3. Start with a mormonic doctrine in mind
4. Find a common word in the Bible that is common with the mormonic verses
5. Ignore the point of the passage - doesn’t matter
6. Read the mormonic teaching into the passage, claiming the use of a common word proves the mormonic doctine!
Whatyagot? Mormonism!
In this case, dear Resty, the lesson of the passage isn’t
about tithing.
BUT, the good news is that you have illustrated the flawed
mormonic method perfectly.
For this, we thank you.
They were not tithing. Tithing was a set amount prescribved under the law of Moses. After making such a basic mistake, I didn’t even bother reading the rest.
“in which those who did not share their goods were struck dead.”
I thought the point of the story was that they had lied about what they had shared, not that they had kept anything back.
“Ontological dimension”? This writer is love with the sound of his own voice, and is maybe having a torrid affair with his thesaurus on the side. There’s no need for all this high-falootin’ analysis on what is a very straightforward Biblical account.