When I saw another book in the Ancient Practices Series, I jumped at the chance to review it.I'm often challenged by the concept of tithing, and in discussing it with other people, lots of difficult questions arise:
- Is tithing only an Old Testament practice, no longer required of modern Christians?
- If we see tithing as relevant for today, do we practice the Old Testament's 10% or the New Testament's give-it-all-to-God?
- Are the unemployed required to tithe?
- What if you want to tithe but your spouse isn't Christian?
- What if you're in severe financial crisis and tithing will only add to your debt?
- Is tithing only financial, or does it include Time and Talents?
LeBlanc chooses to teach about tithing through profiles of tithers. That could work, but in the average 12 page chapter, 10 are dedicated to their personal history while only 2 are dedicated to the person's thoughts on tithing. My other issue is that most of these people are not your average tithers. Instead, they're often people who have dedicated their lives to extreme examples of giving, or living in dedicated communities that consume less.
That would be fine if this were a book on generous giving, but it's not. Unfortunately, it relegates tithing to a mere subtopic.
I really wanted to like this book, but in the end, I'm afraid I just can't recommend it.
Ugh.
I hate having to write something negative about someone else's creative project. It gives me a stomach ache.
I'm going to write a post featuring some of my favourite books - kind of a Summer Reading List. Stay tuned...
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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