Book Review: Traditions of Men: The High Cost of Abandoning God’s Money by Doug Tjaden
Bruce Collins
May 20, 2007
“Traditions of Men: The High Cost of Abandoning God’s Money” by Doug Tjaden is one of the most important financial books in recent years. Tjaden adds the spiritual dimension to economics for a very unique perspective in today’s financial literature.
The book begins with a very forthright and transparent testimony from the author regarding his previously misguided fiscal management. From that imperative lesson, Tjaden understood the cornerstone to his thesis- that everything is God’s and our stewardship should be guided by His Word.
From there, “Traditions of Men” explores God’s view of wealth. The book states,” In Jesus, we are given the perfect example of how to live our lives. Jesus never experienced Earthly wealth. Jesus was not the beneficiary of being born into a wealthy family. The son of a carpenter, Jesus’ entire childhood and young adult life would have been considered modest in terms of material possessions.”
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’ Matthew 6:24
According to Jesus, wealth can be a tremendous stumbling block that will lead us away from knowing and serving Him.”
Traditions of Men” also investigates the prosperity doctrine. “Many churches today turn a blind eye to the dangers of the pursuit of money and in fact preach a prosperity gospel instead.”
Next, Doug Tjaden deals with the evils of debt enslavement. Certainly, this is topical as Americans (as well as the U.S. government) have never been this deeply in debt. Tjaden effectively drives the point home that debt laden Christians are anchored down from true freedom to serve the Lord.
Then, the author delves deeply into economics with an emphasis on scripture. He explains that gold and silver were used as a store of wealth as far back as Genesis 13:2. Hence, within the title lies the term, “God’s money.”
Honest money, like honest people surprised in a dark alley by a cowardly thug, has come under a sneak attack from evil. When nations digress through sin, the sin becomes “interwoven” into the fabric of culture to the point that it becomes hard to discern. This is known as a “moral hazard” and a good example is the apathy shown by the American public over the inflationary debasement of the currency. As a result, our money has shifted from tangible assets to paper of no intrinsic value.
Quoting from the book:
By looking at what the Biblical requirements of money are, you see that God had reasons for establishing gold and silver as our money. Gold and silver can be weighed and measured in a way that mandates honesty. When proper scales are used there can be no cheating. That is not the case with other kinds of money. Fractional, and to an even greater degree, fiat money could be used in ways that were very deceptive and would rob its’ holders of its value.”
Of course, this ties in directly with dishonest government that removes a gold standard (as Nixon did) and establishes a socialistic central bank (as we have). However, fiat money also has other disastrous effects, such as: acting as a secret tax on an unsuspecting public, enslaving people to the “debt master” government, encouraging immoral and unjust wars (and empire building), and it is opposed to Godly economics.
The book travels back in decades of time to other inflationary periods, including the horrific Weimar Republic of Germany. Tjaden even goes as far as using the taboo word, conspiracy, of the minority but correctly points the blame on the real enemy- Satan.
The author explores the Constitution and the devious Federal Reserve. “Traditions of Men” takes a tour from the United States’ past through the Great Depression and drops us squarely into today. These chapters are essential to comprehending the financial arena and its’ impact on the citizenry. This book is outstanding at explaining current economic situations like the current US dollar instability.
I really like this book because not only does it encourage a Godly perspective toward money but it also gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of current economic conditions.
I recently interviewed Doug Tjaden and the archive is up at my website at BruceDCollins.com. By the way, during the interview, Doug states that current Presidential candidate, Ron Paul, is about the only one in Washington who “gets it.”
I recommend this book. It is a complete look at the big financial picture.
For more information on Doug Tjaden and his excellent book, Traditions of Men: The High Cost of Abandoning God’s Money, check out his website at equippingthefamily.org.
The book begins with a very forthright and transparent testimony from the author regarding his previously misguided fiscal management. From that imperative lesson, Tjaden understood the cornerstone to his thesis- that everything is God’s and our stewardship should be guided by His Word.
From there, “Traditions of Men” explores God’s view of wealth. The book states,” In Jesus, we are given the perfect example of how to live our lives. Jesus never experienced Earthly wealth. Jesus was not the beneficiary of being born into a wealthy family. The son of a carpenter, Jesus’ entire childhood and young adult life would have been considered modest in terms of material possessions.”
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’ Matthew 6:24
According to Jesus, wealth can be a tremendous stumbling block that will lead us away from knowing and serving Him.”
Traditions of Men” also investigates the prosperity doctrine. “Many churches today turn a blind eye to the dangers of the pursuit of money and in fact preach a prosperity gospel instead.”
Next, Doug Tjaden deals with the evils of debt enslavement. Certainly, this is topical as Americans (as well as the U.S. government) have never been this deeply in debt. Tjaden effectively drives the point home that debt laden Christians are anchored down from true freedom to serve the Lord.
Then, the author delves deeply into economics with an emphasis on scripture. He explains that gold and silver were used as a store of wealth as far back as Genesis 13:2. Hence, within the title lies the term, “God’s money.”
Honest money, like honest people surprised in a dark alley by a cowardly thug, has come under a sneak attack from evil. When nations digress through sin, the sin becomes “interwoven” into the fabric of culture to the point that it becomes hard to discern. This is known as a “moral hazard” and a good example is the apathy shown by the American public over the inflationary debasement of the currency. As a result, our money has shifted from tangible assets to paper of no intrinsic value.
Quoting from the book:
By looking at what the Biblical requirements of money are, you see that God had reasons for establishing gold and silver as our money. Gold and silver can be weighed and measured in a way that mandates honesty. When proper scales are used there can be no cheating. That is not the case with other kinds of money. Fractional, and to an even greater degree, fiat money could be used in ways that were very deceptive and would rob its’ holders of its value.”
Of course, this ties in directly with dishonest government that removes a gold standard (as Nixon did) and establishes a socialistic central bank (as we have). However, fiat money also has other disastrous effects, such as: acting as a secret tax on an unsuspecting public, enslaving people to the “debt master” government, encouraging immoral and unjust wars (and empire building), and it is opposed to Godly economics.
The book travels back in decades of time to other inflationary periods, including the horrific Weimar Republic of Germany. Tjaden even goes as far as using the taboo word, conspiracy, of the minority but correctly points the blame on the real enemy- Satan.
The author explores the Constitution and the devious Federal Reserve. “Traditions of Men” takes a tour from the United States’ past through the Great Depression and drops us squarely into today. These chapters are essential to comprehending the financial arena and its’ impact on the citizenry. This book is outstanding at explaining current economic situations like the current US dollar instability.
I really like this book because not only does it encourage a Godly perspective toward money but it also gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of current economic conditions.
I recently interviewed Doug Tjaden and the archive is up at my website at BruceDCollins.com. By the way, during the interview, Doug states that current Presidential candidate, Ron Paul, is about the only one in Washington who “gets it.”
I recommend this book. It is a complete look at the big financial picture.
For more information on Doug Tjaden and his excellent book, Traditions of Men: The High Cost of Abandoning God’s Money, check out his website at equippingthefamily.org.