Feat u red A u thor
tithing, giving and
t h e n e w t e s ta m e n t
A nastasios K io u lachoglo u
b y Dan i e l G omes
Anastasios Kioulachoglou’s first work, entitled Tithing, Giving and
the New Testament, delves into the concept of Christian giving and
debates the practice of tithing – an Old Covenant practice – and its
place among born-again Christians.
Ah, money. It never fails to be a
touchy subject, does it? Yet Kioula-
choglou, an economist by profession,
has no qualms about it. In his raw,
incisive style, the Greek author states
exactly what the New Testament
has to say about money and its ste-
wardship; to that effect, he starts his
first book by addressing one of the
most well-known practices present in
modern-day church – tithing.
Backed by an impressive number
of biblical passages, Kioulachoglou
concludes that tithing is a part of
the Mosaic Law circumscribed to
the people to whom the Law was
given – the Jews, the people of the
Old Covenant – and that a parallel
of such practice is not to be imposed
18 ISSUE #8
on people who are outside the Law, i.
e. Christians. Instead of considering
whether they should give 10% of
their earnings before or after taxes,
Christians should be mindful of what
the New Testament really calls for:
gracious and willing giving. The
author goes on to present various
examples of what genuine giving is
all about in the New Testament; this
is giving that blesses, that is voluntary,
and that does not necessarily come in
the form of material possessions.
Kioulachoglou also spends a
chunk of his work in addressing the
reality of modern-day church finan-
ces, providing his input as inferred
from the biblical teachings of the NT
in the role of Christians supporting