You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe?: A Deconstruction of Tithing and a Reconstruction of Post-Tithe Giving

by David A. Croteau

Tithing is a well-known church practice in our day and age, but do church-goers really practice it? When did the concept of tithing begin? How is it justified? What does the Bible say about it? You Mean I Don't Have to Tithe? is a detailed study on the controversial topic of tithing, covering over 2,000 years of well-known theologians regarding this topic. Dr. Croteau's intense tithing investigation will enable you to explore tithing and related topics in-depth, expounding many misconceptions of tithing as well as aiding in a correct understanding of this popular topic.

Genres: Theology, Christian

396 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2010

About the author

David A. Croteau (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament and associate dean at Columbia Biblical Seminary of Columbia International University.

Reviews

[Josh Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

An academic dissertation on tithing. My dream come true!

1) I came to this book already convinced that tithing was a practice under the Mosaic Law for Israel and not applicable to church age Christians. I appreciated that Croteau attempted to present a thorough case for that position. He deals with differing positions in church history, walks through the relevant texts and responds to arguments and objections.

2) Croteau organizes his arguments and summarizes his points satisfactorily enough. The first 4 chapters march through the terrain briskly and efficiently. Chapter 5 was a wrench in the wheel. A bit of a side tangent that didn't need to be in this book. The appendices I found to be mostly bland and uninteresting.

Overall, a bit of a cinder block. This topic needs to be addressed clearly for sure, but a more succinct and fat-trimming approach would be fantastic. I'm keeping an eye on a more condensed volume written three years after this one. It could solve all these problems in under 100 pages.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an easy and quick read even though it was quite academic. It was very well-done and helpful.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book so far is blowing the lid off of madatory tithing. So far from what I have read, all christians since Jesus' death and the early church has never had 100 percent agreement on tithing money. In fact any person who uses old testement scripture to support tithing is committing the worst kind of unethical exegesis by elevating the secondary meaning over the primary meaning of a text and thereby compromising the intent of the author, the text, and overall comprimising the intent of God for his people. Learn to give by grace not by legelism.