The following book review was written by CPF Reader Kenneth Webb.
Do you already know financial theology pretty well from years in church, but wanted scripture to back up that theology? Or have you felt that you simply know nothing about biblical finance? Well this book both backs up that theology, if it is correct, and gives you knowledge if you lack it. Dollars and Doctrine
One of the main themes through the book, and a point that Kuban seeks to drive home is that our money is not our money, it is God’s. We are simply stewards of it, and will give an account on judgment day. Seeing money through that mindset will help you faithfully steward your money according to biblical principles. This revelation if you take a hold of it can free you from the daily grind to get that extra dollar. You will be freer to give, serve, spend time with family, etc. Your focus should be on Christ, and as you focus on Him, all your needs will be supplied. (Matt. 6:33) He also teaches on prosperity and poverty. Both poverty and prosperity come on both the righteous and unrighteous. We may never understand why, but in all things God is sovereign. He also points out that both poverty and prosperity can be a curse and a blessing depending on how your situation is viewed. For instance, poverty can be a curse for obvious reasons (no money), but it can also cause one to lean upon God and push harder to hear His voice.
You may not be interested in this book if you want a book to tell you where to go, how to spend you money. Kuban leaves a lot up to you and God, which I like, but others may find that they may not like it. It is also not for those who think that they are handling their money correctly according to Scripture, because this book is not going to help you. But if you are looking for scripture and some guidance, this is the book for you. Dollars and Doctrine
The book was a great book, but reading the book from cover to cover can be tough at times. There are some stretches (2-3 pages) of nothing but scripture. Those stretches can cause you to forget what the theme Kuban is attempting to drive home, but he comes back with a powerful statement about the verses presented. The first time it would be good to go from cover to cover and apply the principles the Bible outlines to your personal finances. Once that is complete you can come back to applicable chapters in the book. I think this book is more valuable, however, as a reference book.
This is a good book I would recommend. This book gives a lot of Bible verses pertaining to money, and Kuban is hesitant to interject his opinion and is more content with the verses speaking by itself. Instead of providing one verse and extracting multiple verses, Kuban does a good job of extracting multiple verses to back up what he does say. Even though its not as easy a read as a book with less scripture, if we had more authors with that attitude toward scripture, I think that we could go so much farther personally.
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I’ll second the fact that this is a great book. I’ve read many large excerpts of it on Free Money Finance. You can also find some of Rob’s additional writing on his Dollars & Doctrine website (dollarsanddoctrine.com).
Rob does a great job of looking at the Scripture and letting it say what it says, rather than interjecting his own opinions. Personally, I think every Christian who really wants to know what the Bible says about money should read this book.
(Author of Dollars and Doctrine) Thanks for the kind words guys. I just thought I would post a comment to let everyone who reads this review aware that I am having a “March Madness” sale running from March 7th-14th. On those days you can buy Dollars and Doctrine for HALF PRICE at my website (dollarsanddoctrine.com). Thanks for the support.