Shekels, Dollars, & Sense

Shekels, Dollars, & Sense
Author: Dennis O. Wretlind
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2007-02-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1425195024

The Bible presents a seemingly inconsistent teaching on financial stewardship. This apparent confusion is reflected in sermons, books and journal articles. Advocates abound for (1) tithing, for (2) tithing plus giving, for (3) no tithing but gracious giving. Church leaders clearly need money, but how to convince the people in the pews to be faithful stewards of God with their finances remains allusive. If they preach tithing, some may balk at the Old Testament basis for the doctrine. If they proclaim that tithing is a Christian duty and a starting point only for genuine giving, others may claim that they are "New Testament Christians" and live under grace not law. If they present no definitive teaching about the Bible and money, adequate finances may not be given. At the heart of the problem lies the need to clarify the biblical doctrine of financial stewardship. This book attempts that goal. The author investigates the tithing patterns of the Old Testament prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law and within the Mosaic Law. With these matters clarified, he then shines the light on intertestamental Judaism and the passages in the Gospels that mention tithing as part of the Old Testament economy. A remarkable consistency is discovered at the level of biblical theology. Finally, the New Testament Church giving patterns are thoroughly investigated beginning with the early Jerusalem Church and extending throughout the known world. Continuity and discontinuity appear continuity in biblical theology and discontinuity in custom and legal requirements between the Old and New Testaments. The biblical doctrine of financial stewardship and the divine mandate for the Christian become clear. The last two chapters of the book transfer the biblical teaching to the 21st century American church scene. Theological and practical considerations are presented without trying to "legislate" solutions.

Iscariot

Iscariot
Author: Charles Barnett
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2010-05-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 145023075X

Reverend Ryan Quinn is CEO of an ecclesiology research organization. With a team of Egyptologists recruited from New York museums, he embarks on a vaguely defined mission funded liberally by the Vatican, but also by a mysterious family. The narrative takes us to New York, France, Italy, Egypt, and New Mexico. The investigative team visits the Oasis of Fayoum, the Coptic caves of Naqlun, and the catacombs of Khnum Pharaoh Akhenaton's City of the Dead. There are twists along the way, a dead priest's notes to be deciphered, bizarre, ritual executions, and a startling conclusion that will disturb many.

The Evolution of Money

The Evolution of Money
Author: David Orrell
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2016-06-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0231541678

The sharing economy's unique customer-to-company exchange is possible because of the way in which money has evolved. These transactions have not always been as fluid as they are today, and they are likely to become even more fluid. It is therefore critical that we learn to appreciate money's elastic nature as deeply as do Uber, Airbnb, Kickstarter, and other innovators, and that we understand money's transition from hard currencies to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin if we are to access their cooperative potential. The Evolution of Money illuminates this fascinating reality, focusing on the tension between currency's real and abstract properties and advancing a vital theory of money rooted in this dual exchange. It begins with the debt tablets of Mesopotamia and follows with the development of coin money in ancient Greece and Rome, gold-backed currencies in medieval Europe, and monetary economics in Victorian England. The book ends in the digital era, with the cryptocurrencies and service providers that are making the most of money's virtual side and that suggest a tectonic shift in what we call money. By building this organic time line, The Evolution of Money helps us anticipate money's next, transformative role.