TithingDouglas Leblanc
Buy: Koorong, amazon
Tithing is one of those subjects that can get Christians really worked up- both for or against tithing as a mandatory practice for Christians. In his book Tithing, Douglas Leblanc sidesteps the debates and instead lets people who do tithe tell their stories of why they do it and how they have found the practice beneficial. A strength of the book is that it includes people from a variety of perspectives- evangelical, catholic, eastern orthodox, mainline protestant, seventh day Adventist and even a Jewish rabbi! As a result of the different backgrounds, many different reasons for tithing are put forward. For people considering whether they tithe, it would be worth reading and pondering on some of the reasons given.
I appreciate the focus of many of the interview subjects on tithing not being a legalistic thing they have to do but part of a joyful life of generosity.
Some of the interview subjects did get into the idea of being materially blessed because they tithed and having bad things happened to them when they did not. While God may choose to bless someone for whatever reason he chooses, their giving included, we have to be careful with such a viewpoint because it can lead to prosperity gospel or blaming a bad occurrence on someone’s lack of giving or faith when that may not have been the cause.
Overall, I think this is a useful book if you approach it with discernment and also carefully study the scriptures on the topic.
Review copy provided by booksneeze.com
