The approach of this book is well summed up in the foreword written by Phyllis Tickle:
In true LeBlanc fashion, he has chosen not to address tithing in long essays about its history among us or with critiques and tedious theological arguments. Instead in what I think was a stroke of genius or the angels or both, he has chosen to discover men and women who do tithe and are willing to say, publicly and on the record, why they do so. It is their stories in their words that Doug has collected here (p. xiii).
With this in mind, if one is looking for a biblical understanding of tithing this is the wrong book. It is merely a collage of stories drawn from liberal protestants (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7), a cultist (chapter 8), a charismatic (chapter 6), a rabbi (chapter 10), a Catholic priest (epilogue) and two conservatives who are highly engaged in the social agenda (chapters 5 and 11). It is quite concerning that Randy Alcorn (chapter 5) allowed himself to “sanctify this book.”
This volume is one of eight books in “The Ancient Practices Series” edited by Phyllis Tickle. I try to be gracious where possible in my reviews, but the majority of these books are not even worth reading, let alone reviewing. Sadly, Tithing is among the worst in the series.