tithing

So I read Tithing by Douglas LeBlanc. Tithing is an issue that I have done some study on before even requesting the book and I will admit to having a negative predisposition before it even arrived. Book Sneeze asks for an unbiased review, so here it is. This was just a numbingly uninteresting book. It amounts to little more than a series of anecdotes and a diverse group of people stating their personal opinions about why tithing is swell and how, in many cases, God has faithfully given them money mysteriously. Sure it isn't technically prosperity teaching but there is a certain element of that ideology that runs rampant throughout. I frankly found it not only uninteresting but doctrinally dangerous.

I understand that the point most of the folks interview were making was not that tithing is commanded but a spiritual discipline (hence the name of the series) but the problem remains that in reading the various interviews you get the impression that these folks have done very little to study the idea of tithing as an Old Testament practice and don't see the difference between bringing your tithe into the storehouse and contributing money to your local church.

There is a lot to be said about faithful giving in the church, about caring for the needs of our brothers, about how Christians should view money. Setting a baseline 10% based on a poor understanding of Old Testament tithing and applying it to the church is unhelpful. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. That might seem harsh but I didn't come away with anything even remotely redeeming about it.

I received Tithing: The Ancient Practices Series as part of the Book Sneeze program in return for posting an unbiased review.