Sacred Tenth

An illuminating study of giving, from temple to pulpit.
Tithes shaped communities and conscience.

In The Sacred Tenth, Henry Lansdell offers a disciplined nineteenth-century enquiry into tithe-giving practices, mapping how ancient religious customs and biblical finance principles informed parish life and public morality. Part historical survey and part practical reflection, the work reads as both a primer in comparative religion studies and a focused religious history study: Lansdell moves from scripture and early custom to medieval precedent and Victorian parish, explaining the mechanics and meanings behind church giving traditions. The result is at once a clear christian stewardship guide and a clergy and laity resource, accessible to curious readers and robust enough to serve as a reference for theology students and researchers of church fundraising history. Lansdell's measured prose bridges doctrinal argument and social observation, showing how the language of duty, charity and finance shaped communities and institutions; the book therefore speaks into modern debates about stewardship without collapsing into polemic.

Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint - a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

Lansdell's voice captures a distinct Victorian-era religious sensibility, giving the work literary and historical significance beyond its immediate subject. A steady companion for theology students, a useful text for comparative religion studies and religious history study, and a practical touchstone for clergy involved in parish finance, the book is also attractive to classic-literature collectors assembling nineteenth-century Christianity collections. Whether approached as a close study of ancient religious customs or as a handbook of church giving traditions and biblical finance principles, The Sacred Tenth rewards attentive reading: it clarifies the long arc of church fundraising history and preserves a particular nineteenth-century perspective that still informs conversations about faith and money today.