I’ve been meaning to write about this book for some time now, but havn’t gotten to it. It’s one of the very first books i’ve read about the tithing debate. The writer, Russell Earl Kelly has a PH.D. and i believe for his doctoral dissertation he researched and wrote about this subject. The book itself is 288 pages and refutes many of the common tithing arguments mentioned by the contemporary Church.
This book is a deep read for most people. I had to read through it slowly in order to understand what was being said. Overall the read is very rewarding and is one of the best books out there refuting the demand for tithing. For anyone who is beginning to study the subject of tithing i would always recommend this book. If i were to give this book a star rating i would give it a 9 out of ten. I would give one more star, but as i said, this book seems more for the deep theologically minded person and lacks personal applications and challenges, as well as down to earth discussion. (Sorry Mr. Kelly :) )
Here is a link to his website
http://www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com/
Related Posts
- The Tithing Argument is Shallow
- Tithing is Not a Christian Doctrine
- Tithing in the Age of Grace
- Reimagining Church by Frank Viola
Tags: book, russell earl kelly, should the church teach tithing, tithing
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hi Russel,
sir, i would like to make my comments concerning the tithes mentioned in Numbers 31 that according from your article the 1/500 and 1/50 did not conform to the tenth percent which exact the amount for the tithing. it eventually led to .1 and .01 respectively to make a tithe a non tenth percent equivalent in distributing the spoils of war to the people. i made my own research in the book of the Numbers that covers the tithing laws in which i disagreed about your claim that these fractions given in your article does not constitute a tenth. To understand in detail about tithe we must read first in Number 18 how many times the tithes are mentioned in this verse.
let us read in Numbers 18:26-28
v26 says: `When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you (Levites) must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering.
…..so from the people’s tithe that the Levites received, a tenth from it will go to the Lord. that means 2 X 10% or two tithes.
in v28 says: “In this way you (Moses) also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD’s portion to Aaron the priest.”
analyse: from the peoples tithes that moses received will go to the Priest ..that means 1 X 10%? why? because the common between these two verses were the people’’s tithe.
the arrangemet would be:
the peoples tithe + the Levites tithe + the Priest tithe =3 x 3 tithes!
we can now apply this formula to Number 31:32-26
v32 The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,00=
0 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had ne=
ver slept with a man.
v36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:
337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the LORD was 675;
v38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the LORD was 72;
v39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the LORD was 61;
v40 16,000 people, of which the tribute for the LORD was 32.
……..lets try the 675000 sheeps for the 3 tithes of num 18.
10% of 675000 =3D 67500
10% of 67500 =3D 6750
10% of 6750 =3D 675! of Num 31:36 very simple!
according to your article that the ordinance of the Mosaic Law which sets the spoil-tax at only one percent (1%)(1/50th of one
half, or 1/100th) and not ten percent ”
where did you get this calculation?
lets read in Num 31:
v27 Divide the spoils between the soldiers who took part in the battle and
the rest of the community.
v28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the LORD one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.
v29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the prie=
st as the LORD’s part.
v30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the LORD’s tabernacle.”
v31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
analyze: “From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the LORD one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.
Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the LORD’s part.”
……1/500 will go to the Priest.
From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, =
cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the LORD’s tabernacle.
……1/50 will go to the Levites.
so 1/500 of the Priest and 1/50 of the Levites =3D is not equal to tenth percent????
do you think there was no tithe on these two fractions?
it appears that you didnt notice that the tenth percent of God was still in1/500!
to make the distribution equal to both the soldiers and the people we must remove first the tenth from the 1/500!
thus 1/500 would be 1/10 and 1/50.
so now the total would be 1/10 of God and 1/50 of the soldiers and 1/50 of the people.
are these fractions equal to the formula given in Num 18 which constitute 3 x 10%?
what is your answer?
my answer is YES!
how? simply combine the two fraction of the 1/50 and 1/50 would be 2/100.
but the 100 is equal to 10 x 10 or by square root.
so 2/100 can be express as 1/10 and 1/10.
so now 1/10 of God
1/10 of the soldiers and 1/10 of the people thus equal to 3 X 10%
this conclude that the number 18 is equal to numbers 31 and therefore the tithe of God still stand.
willis
hi Russel,
sir, i would like to make my comments concerning the tithes mentioned in Numbers 31 that according from your article the 1/500 and 1/50 did not conform to the tenth percent which exact the amount for the tithing. it eventually led to .1 and .01 respectively to make a tithe a non tenth percent equivalent in distributing the spoils of war to the people. i made my own research in the book of the Numbers that covers the tithing laws in which i disagreed about your claim that these fractions given in your article does not constitute a tenth. To understand in detail about tithe we must read first in Number 18 how many times the tithes are mentioned in this verse.
let us read in Numbers 18:26-28
v26 says: `When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you (Levites) must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering.
…..so from the people’s tithe that the Levites received, a tenth from it will go to the Lord. that means 2 X 10% or two tithes.
in v28 says: “In this way you (Moses) also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD’s portion to Aaron the priest.”
analyse: from the peoples tithes that moses received will go to the Priest ..that means 1 X 10%? why? because the common between these two verses were the people’’s tithe.
the arrangemet would be:
the peoples tithe + the Levites tithe + the Priest tithe =3 x 3 tithes!
we can now apply this formula to Number 31:32-26
v32 The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,00=
0 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had ne=
ver slept with a man.
v36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:
337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the LORD was 675;
v38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the LORD was 72;
v39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the LORD was 61;
v40 16,000 people, of which the tribute for the LORD was 32.
……..lets try the 675000 sheeps for the 3 tithes of num 18.
10% of 675000 =3D 67500
10% of 67500 =3D 6750
10% of 6750 =3D 675! of Num 31:36 very simple!
according to your article that the ordinance of the Mosaic Law which sets the spoil-tax at only one percent (1%)(1/50th of one
half, or 1/100th) and not ten percent ”
where did you get this calculation?
lets read in Num 31:
v27 Divide the spoils between the soldiers who took part in the battle and
the rest of the community.
v28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the LORD one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.
v29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the prie=
st as the LORD’s part.
v30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the LORD’s tabernacle.”
v31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
analyze: “From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the LORD one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.
Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the LORD’s part.”
……1/500 will go to the Priest.
From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, =
cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the LORD’s tabernacle.
……1/50 will go to the Levites.
so 1/500 of the Priest and 1/50 of the Levites =3D is not equal to tenth percent????
do you think there was no tithe on these two fractions?
it appears that you didnt notice that the tenth percent of God was still in1/500!
to make the distribution equal to both the soldiers and the people we must remove first the tenth from the 1/500!
thus 1/500 would be 1/10 and 1/50.
so now the total would be 1/10 of God and 1/50 of the soldiers and 1/50 of the people.
are these fractions equal to the formula given in Num 18 which constitute 3 x 10%?
what is your answer?
my answer is YES!
how? simply combine the two fraction of the 1/50 and 1/50 would be 2/100.
but the 100 is equal to 10 x 10 or by square root.
so 2/100 can be express as 1/10 and 1/10.
so now 1/10 of God
1/10 of the soldiers and 1/10 of the people thus equal to 3 X 10%
this conclude that the number 18 is equal to numbers 31 and therefore the tithe of God still stand.
willis
“simply combine the two fraction of the 1/50 and 1/50 would be 2/100″ willis
1/50 + 1/50= 2/50 or 1/25, not 2/100. Remember when adding or subtracting fractions, the denominators must be the same, and they remain the same. It is the numerators that get added or subtracted. 2/100=1/50, so how can you add 1/50 to 1/50 and get 1/50?
1/4 + 1/4 is not 2/8 which would be 1/4. Instead it is 2/4 or 1/2
Uh Yeah!
1/10 x 1/10 is not 2/100 either. It is 1/100.
1/50 + 1/50 = 1/100, yes that’s correct in the modern mathematics!
but i’m JUST separating the two distinctive fractions owned by two different group, namely the soldiers to the priest and the people to the levites! the numerator 2 represent the two groups involved in the tithings. so 2/100 without the aid of the modern math can be expressed as 1/10 + 1/10 equalled to the fractions of Numbers 18 which were 1/10 to God, 1/10 to levites and 1/10 to people. my ideas of these WAS based only to what moses had instructed them in Num 18 and the special circumstances in Num 31 fell to the same analysis. thus the israelites have one moses, one God and one TITHE! if we assumed our own thelogical belief on this matter, God would be a useless being on the basis of handing down his commandment without FORCE!