‘Tithes enriching church bosses’

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A Bindura-based “prophet”, Prince Wonderful, says congregants should not be compelled to finance opulent lives of pastors and prophets through tithes and offerings, arguing that these are not part of the modern-day church.

A Bindura-based “prophet”, Prince Wonderful, says congregants should not be compelled to finance opulent lives of pastors and prophets through tithes and offerings, arguing that these are not part of the modern-day church.

By Staff Reporter

Prince Wonderful

The 31-year-old preacher, who also denounced the idea of establishing a church, said no pastor or prophet in Zimbabwe was entitled to tithes or offerings as these were only meant for Levites, not Gentiles.

“I believe tithes and offerings were paid in the Old Testament by the Hebrew people who we call Israelites and not the Gentiles. This is what I believe,” he said.

“Why do we only have to demand tithes in cash yet in the Bible it was paid through many forms?

“It dawned on me that this system is wrong. Maybe I need to emphasise that giving is not wrong, but there is a type of giving that is wrong, which is making church leaders prosper. 

“People are taken to the Old Testament where they will be led to certain sections, but ignoring others.”

He said he took this position when the Holy Spirit ministered to him one night, asking him where in the Bible he had seen non-Israelite believers being asked to pay tithes and offerings.  

The youthful preacher, who has received a backlash from fellow prophets and pastors for his stance, said Jesus Christ never collected tithes because that was a preserve of Levites and priesthood coming from Aaron’s house, who was a son of Levi.

“Anyone who was outside Levi was not allowed to take tithes and offerings. That is why in the Old Testament we have prophets like Elisha, Elijah and Jeremiah, but none of those prophets, even though they were Israelites, survived on tithes,” he said.

Wonderful criticised the proliferation of churches, querying: “where in the Bible [did] God anoint a founder of a church?”

He said his was a gathering, not a church.