OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway?" by Dr. Frank Chase Jr, Th.D.]

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV

Demanding that the Bible requires a tithe of money and that giving must start at 10 percent under grace shackles love and turns giving into a tax offering or membership dues. Comb the entire Bible and nowhere does God command any Hebrew, Israelite, Jew, or Gentile to pay a tithe from gold, silver, shekels, weekly or bi-weekly paychecks. Even though many Christians have convinced themselves that Israel’s economy was totally agricultural and the tithe came from their land, crops, herds and flocks, it does not mean that we do the same by paying a tithe in money because our economy is totally monetary. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? by Dr. Frank Chase Jr., Th.D. is a nonfiction book discussing the untwisted truth about the centuries old tithes and offering deception. The information in this book comes from a wide variety of educational and research sources. All references are detailed in the book from the Bible quotations to the Greek and Hebrew references. Website links and tithing quotations from other sources are detailed in the bibliography and end notes. The author's discussions revolve around tithing, the purpose of tithing, what to tithe, how much tithe to give, who should tithe, and to whom tithes are due. It also includes the difference between freewill offerings and mandatory tithing. This book contains a heavy dose of proper exegesis, hermeneutics and scriptural research on tithing to avoid confirmation bias.

The freewill offerings and mandatory tithing remind me of sadaqah (charity) and zakat (yearly mandatory to those who are able to pay) in the Islamic faith. Muslims have no problem about these as the Qur'an and the hadiths give clear instructions. As for the Christians, most Bible teachers create extra-biblical instructions along with taking Scripture out of context to amass financial support. Here's an excerpt from this book: "Requests for fifty-dollar seeds, hundred-dollar seeds or thousand dollar seeds are heralded from pulpits with promises of great blessings." Other than that, the money from the collections are used for the ministry's personal gain - salary, electricity bills, church upkeep, and support ministry costs which could have been asked from freewill offerings not from mandatory tithes.

I agree with the all the things written in this book other than this: "This was a type and shadow of God sacrificing His Son, Yeshua, (Jesus) on the cross to clothe us in righteousness through a blood sacrifice." I was born and raised with this teaching in mind. I believe in this blind faith until I was 29 years old. In Islam this is blasphemy. Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the prophets and there is only One God, Allah. If Jesus (peace be upon him) was His only son sacrificed to pay for our sins and to grant all people's salvation, wouldn't that be enough to guarantee us all heaven in the hereafter? Was the sacrifice not enough? Why are there still evil in the land? Why are we still tested? Why is heaven still elusive for us all?

Refuting unsound tithe doctrines and teachings is not that hard to do. It requires study, thorough research, reading between the lines and reasoning skills. I admire the author for the well-researched and detailed presentation of the truth in a conversational tone which hopefully opens the reader's mind before being pickpocketed spiritually and financially. This book can save the readers from an elaborate hoax, i.e. hijacking Scripture for personal gain.

I found more than 10 errors ranging from spelling, random capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. I suggest better layout for this book, too. It would have been better if titles are in bold fonts and separated by a space before the contents. This made me rate Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? by Dr. Frank Chase Jr., Th.D. 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to all Christians especially to those who would like to know everything about tithing. However, those who easily get bored with lengthy read and few redundant contents will find this book boring. Anyway, give to your heart's content in charity without any limit, but from the money tithes, grip your wallet and run for your financial life.

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Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway?
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Like Dolor's review? Post a comment saying so!

Ooooh this is a tricky one, mate! But I appreciate the honesty of your review. I definitely agree that charity should be from the heart. But I would warn you against pitting one religion's views against another's because comparison only leads to conflict and endless debates. Each to his/her own.

Ever_Reading wrote: ↑12 Jun 2018, 03:08 Ooooh this is a tricky one, mate! But I appreciate the honesty of your review. I definitely agree that charity should be from the heart. But I would warn you against pitting one religion's views against another's because comparison only leads to conflict and endless debates. Each to his/her own.

Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts on my review. I don't encourage people to believe what I believe in. I am just stating my side of disagreement with what the book's content. I am not into debates though.

I love books like this, that take widely-accepted assumptions within Christian circles and ask: Why? Is that exactly what was meant or said? In light of those answers, do we need to change our thinking or behavior? Regular gut-checks and examination of what we believe is essential to truly living, in my opinion. As far as your posed questions regarding Jesus, I would recommend reading The Case for Faith or The Case for the Real Jesus, by Lee Strobel, as they break down and present various evidences from various fields and then the reader draws their own conclusions. Even if you come away with exactly the same beliefs as before you opened the book, they are fascinating reads. Thanks for the great review!

Thanks for the detailed review! This seems like a tricky/somewhat controversial read indeed.

Wow, a complicated read. Giving freely is a good act and much appreciated by any religion, but comparison between religions just doesn't end in a favourable manner. Thank you for sharing your opinion through your review. It was a very intriguing read.

Whatever makes your heart light is what is right. In my opinion, giving is both a duty and a privilege.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Inday!

Great review! Reading this just reminded me of arguments I'd overheard concerning this issue amongst my christian neighbours. While some believed it was just a way of ripping off the congregation, and give their money directly to the poor instead, others felt what the church does with the money shouldn't bother the congregation, since they had done their part by paying and God was witness to this. I do concur that we should thread lightly on the issue of comparing religions here though.

I am interested in reading what the author has to say about tithing. It is my understanding that the 10% tithing came from the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek in the Old Testament. Since Abe gave his spoils of war (his earned income) to someone more prominent, so should we give our money to God, who is clearly more prominent than us. Thanks Dolor for your candid review

This book sounds interesting. I am under the impression that people tithe knowing a lot of that covers church costs and sponsorship in charity. The part I've always had an issue with is being told how much to give. It should be private and completely up to an individual to offer what they feel they can, in my opinion. It should never be a deterrent to attending the religious services of their choosing, because what's important is to receive God's message. Thanks for including your own personal thoughts and for the review.

This is an interesting read indeed. I don't deny that corruption is possible to happen in churches but so are in many places on the earth! I appreciate your review but comparing religions won't bring any good to everyone. Maybe you don't have intention to debate but your opinion of comparing religions is an invitation to argument. Spread the love, not hatred.

Thank you so much for your review and your lovely recommendation.

SamSim wrote: ↑12 Jun 2018, 08:42 I love books like this, that take widely-accepted assumptions within Christian circles and ask: Why? Is that exactly what was meant or said? In light of those answers, do we need to change our thinking or behavior? Regular gut-checks and examination of what we believe is essential to truly living, in my opinion. As far as your posed questions regarding Jesus, I would recommend reading The Case for Faith or The Case for the Real Jesus, by Lee Strobel, as they break down and present various evidences from various fields and then the reader draws their own conclusions. Even if you come away with exactly the same beliefs as before you opened the book, they are fascinating reads. Thanks for the great review!

Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts on my review. I respect all religions though. I was just stating what's on my mind on the subject. Mind you, I got my fare share of catechism and Bible study. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. As for the money tithe, it's your decision on what to do after reading the presented excerpts. It's still best to give anything (regardless of the amount) with open heart.

Dolor wrote: ↑14 Jun 2018, 15:07 Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts on my review. I respect all religions though. I was just stating what's on my mind on the subject. Mind you, I got my fare share of catechism and Bible study. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. As for the money tithe, it's your decision on what to do after reading the presented excerpts. It's still best to give anything (regardless of the amount) with open heart.

I agree. God loves a cheerful giver - it's about attitude, not amount.

MsTri wrote: ↑12 Jun 2018, 10:58 Thanks for the review. It sounds like very interesting, informative, and in-depth reading. Still, the need to tithe is so deeply ingrained in me that I honestly don't know if I could just stop cold turkey. And that's the thing about religion and surmising; there are so many good arguments for both sides to so many things that it's impossible to say what's really correct and I'm always paranoid about being wrong in God's eyes.

It's as simple as giving anything with all your heart regardless of the amount. Don't pressure yourself into tithing 10% of your salary bi-weekly nor monthly if your heart goes against your mind. It's not mandated in the scripture anyway. Money tithing was neither practiced by the people in the Old Testament nor stated to be compulsory in the New Testament.