Published & Black Podcast
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Published & Black Podcast
The Tithing Lie: Financial Truth They Won't Teach in Church Featuring Pastor Eryk Hood (Rejoice102.com)
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Pastor Eryk Hood returns to discuss his controversial book "Tithing Will Keep You Broke," exposing what he believes is one of the biggest financial scams perpetuated in churches today. Drawing from scripture and personal experience, he reveals why the traditional teaching on tithing contradicts the Bible and keeps congregants financially struggling while church leaders prosper.
• Pastor Hood once tithed 30-40% of his income yet continued to struggle financially
• The book of Hebrews chapter 7 directly addresses tithing as part of the old law that was "canceled because of weakness and ineffectiveness"
• Money was never considered a tithe in scripture—the original tithing system involved agricultural products
• Malachi 3:10 (commonly used to promote tithing) was addressed to priests, not to general worshippers
• Church members shouldn't be responsible for paying church bills—if God called the pastor to ministry, God will provide
• The contradiction of churches denying financial help to faithful tithers who face hardship
• Importance of studying scripture personally rather than accepting pastoral interpretations without question
Pre-order the updated version of "Tithing Will Keep You Broke" at SavedandEducated.org and find over 900 educational videos on YouTube under Pastor Eryk Hood and TikTok at Saved and Educated.
Stay tuned for Published in Black, the go-to radio show for black authors, creatives and entrepreneurs ready to turn their stories into success. Hosted by publishing expert and brand strategist, tiffany A Greenhood, each show will deliver real talk, powerful strategies and insider knowledge on self-publishing, brand building, wealth creation and making an impact with your voice. Whether you're writing your first book, growing your business or scaling your influence, published in Black will equip you with the tools, inspiration and unapologetic confidence to thrive. Listen now and be informed.
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Speaker 2:All right, so now today we bringing back. We brought back our guest from last week, pastor Eric Hood. Pastor Eric Hood and we are here to continue our discussion on his book that he is re-releasing. It was originally released in 2018. And he is re-releasing it. He is adding new information, more content, more scriptures, more proof that you ain't got no business tithing. Yes, I said it. I said it, so we're gonna talk to him today. Um, the book is re-releasing. If you would like to pre-order. We're just gonna give you the link early. Um, what's the link? Um? Saved and educatedorg? Saved and educatedorg. You can also join his email list. You can pre-order the book and download the free e-book that he has on there. So Saved and Educated is a brand that he launched a year or two ago and basically kind of like just there to provide the information that you're not going to learn in church. Yeah, that part All right. So we not going to learn in church. Yeah, that part All right, so we're going to hop right in. Thank you for coming, eric.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me All right Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:So my first question I love discussing this. My first question is tell us your personal story on time, and why was it so important for you to drop a book with that powerful title? The name of his book, you guys, is called tithing will keep you broke. Yes, tithing will keep you broke. Let me say it for the people in the back tithing will keep you broke is the name of the book. Okay, so tell us why it was so important to launch such a bold, powerful title and not really care what anybody else thinks.
Speaker 3:I got tired of struggling. I got tired of tithing, so-called tithing, and giving my money to the church and I was struggling, still struggling. I got tired of that and it had me questioning a whole lot of things that the preacher would say over the pulpit, because what he was saying over the pulpit wasn't resonating in my own life when I was doing what he was saying. So he would tell us to tithe and God would bless you a hundredfold. But yet things are getting worse for me. But I see the pastor and his family moving up and me and my family decreasing and I knew something wasn't right with it and I just came to a head where either he lying or God lying, somebody lying to me, and I need to know the truth. I used to tithe. When you look at your statement at the end of the year, I was tithing 30 to 40 percent, but yet I struggled 30 to 40 percent, and they only say 10, right yeah.
Speaker 2:What made you do 30 to 40 percent?
Speaker 3:Because and I know what folks are going through because my heart was in it, gotcha, my heart was in it, so heart was in it.
Speaker 3:so you were serious about this. I was on a serious tithing journey. My heart was in it, but but I but I understand. Now I understand and I'm going. I'm gonna show people through the scriptures. Scriptures understand why things wasn't working and it's not right to the people Anytime. You have a pastor who can see the members out in the congregation, he can tell when they're struggling. If you have a pastoral heart for the people that you say God has given you For you to shepherd over, you can see them struggling and you see you and your family not struggling. There should be a strong sorrow in your heart for the people to go to God and say Lord, what is going on? What is going on?
Speaker 2:Wow, I hope y'all listening and maybe taking some notes. This should this should tap you on the shoulder and make you want to get in your word period. This should tap you on the shoulder and make you want to get in your word period. Make you want to get in your word. So tell me, what would you say to someone who is struggling financially but has been told they must tithe in order to be blessed? That is the number one thing that is told and I'm going to say this, brainwashes you in your church journey.
Speaker 2:Anybody grew up in church, I know they have heard that you must have in order to be blessed and I'm always confused because Jesus died on the cross, right, but already for me. So write that down for me. Why do they use that? And what would you say to someone who has been told that in church, like they've been in church, been in church, let's say that they in their word, because I do understand a lot of people be in their word and just don't know how to study it to correctly understand it. So what would you say to them?
Speaker 3:If you keep tithing, you're going to keep struggling. That's it in a nutshell. Let me show you something. Let me show you something in the scriptures to validate what I'm talking about. And this was brought to me when I was sitting in my chair one day and I was asking God what is up with this tithing thing, man? This is how I talk to God. What is up with this tithing thing, man? This is how I talked to God. What is up with this tithing thing, man? Your shepherd, your pastor, told me that if I bring 10% of my money to the church to give to you, you're going to open up the windows of heaven and pull me out of blessing that I won't have room enough to receive. I didn't understand that scripture at the time, but I do now. It's in the book. This is what the scripture says. It says, and I'm showing you that God cannot I mean God cannot go outside of his word for nobody, for nobody in their mammon, I don't care how you feel. This is why I said I was tithing from the heart. My heart was in it, my heart was in the tithing. God don't function off that. He function off his word.
Speaker 3:Over in the book of Hebrews, chapter 7, and this is the chapter that's speaking on tithing. On tithing, watch this here, verse 18. It says for there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof, for the law made nothing perfect. Now, mind you, this chapter is talking about tithing, but the bringing in of a better hope, did by the, which we draw nigh unto God. Listen to what the amplifier said. So a previous physical regulation and command is canceled because of its weakness and ineffectiveness and uselessness, for the law never made anything perfect, but instead a better hope is introduced, to which we now come close to God. He is saying that the law that he made, the law, the commandments that he created, god created this. God said out of his own mouth, through the writer, that those commandments, he had to disannul them because of the weakness and ineffectiveness and uselessness of them. We talking about tithing. He can't go past that.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow, wow. That's a mouthful. We're going to take a break real quick.
Speaker 4:Thank you. And to see my past memories. Don't let it be said too late there's a brand new feeling in the air. You gotta run in the dark Before the rain starts.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Can you see the dark. All right, we are back and again, if you are just tuning in, we are back. And again, if you are just tuning in, we are here with Pastor Eric Hood. He is re-releasing his previously published book Tithing Will Keep you Broke. So, yes, we are discussing tithing today and why you should not be tithing. The title of the book is Tithing Will Keep you Broke. For more information and to stay connected to him, you want to go to savedandeducatedorg. Savedandeducatedorg. We are going to continue this discussion. Okay, so you've said before that giving is very important, but giving money to a church under manipulation that's a strong word, y'all. Giving under manipulation is not the same as giving to God.
Speaker 3:Can you break this down? For us, giving the manipulation part is when they tell you that you're giving to God, that you're tithing to God. There's nowhere in the scriptures where God ever asks you to give him a dime. It's not biblical. There's nowhere in the Bible. Some of this is common sense, but that's what the spirit of religion is nowhere in the Bible. Some of this is common sense, some of it, but that's what the spirit of religion does. It blocks people from even having common sense. You got to look at it. How is God getting the money? And if you tithing, is your pastor tithing? And if he is tithing, who is he tithing? Is your pastor tithing? And if he is tithing, who is he tithing? To what, what? What do you need with a god who is asking you for your money and saying he gonna bless you?
Speaker 2:but? But we giving it to the church. So wait a minute. So why so the deal? So so you're giving it to the church. For what? The reason that they, the reason that they always say even people, when, when it comes up in conversation, people that tithe defended as well the bills have to be paid. Explain that to us. So so the pastor say um, god called me to start this church and I'm called to teach the people Right and this is what he called Right. So why are we responsible as the members to then pay for the bills? In the house of God, as they say, take care of God's house and then he'll take care of yours. But it's a lot of people who have been in church for years still struggling. So how do we explain that? So they say it's supposed to be to pay the bills and whatever, and y'all know the saying and so. But then your bills at your house go without still and you are paying this 10%. They asking you for some churches, how you sign a whole agreement contract.
Speaker 3:Go ahead, pastor ignorance is not bliss. I don't care what they tell you about ignorance, ignorance is not bliss and that that is not your job to take care of a church. God called him, he called him so. So if he say God called him to build this church, then that look, if, if, if God called him for it, then God gonna take care of it that part.
Speaker 2:What, what, so what they? They shouldn't need our money to pay the bills but see.
Speaker 3:But see. Ignorance is very expensive. It's very expensive. And see, one thing your pastor don't want you to do is to get wealth of the scriptures. When you get wealth of the scriptures, it's going to open up a whole lot of doors for you. You do not have to pay no church bills. That's not your house. Is the church going to pay your bills? Some of it is common sense.
Speaker 2:I see somebody on TikTok say it's like going to church or going to school for 30 and 40 years and never graduating. Yeah, yeah, they say preachers have to take up donations, but they say they are tithes.
Speaker 3:Well, preachers prosper off ignorance and poverty. They prosper off ignorance and poverty. They do not want you to get in your scriptures to study the word, because if you get in your scriptures to study the word, you will see that your pastor been lying to you all your church life.
Speaker 2:So I want to clarify something, Pastor Hood, about the paying the bills, because they stick with that. Okay, so let's just get some clear clarity. So we are not supposed to be paying the bills of the church, no? So then their next question is going to be well then, how are the bills supposed to get paid?
Speaker 3:The same way your bills get paid. Pastor, go to work and get them a job. The scripture says man don't work, yep, man don't eat. If you don't go to work, your bills don't get paid.
Speaker 2:Alright, we can move on from that, alright.
Speaker 3:Tithing Yep, I'm going to say it before it's over Will keep you broke. Yeah, tithing will keep you broke.
Speaker 2:That's the name of the book. That's the book title. Y'all Tithing will keep you broke. That's the name of the book. That's the book title. Y'all Tithing will keep you broke.
Speaker 3:Go pre-order your book Savedandeducatedorg. Savedandeducatedorg.
Speaker 2:They've been lying to y'all. But get in your word. Here's why this discussion is so important. Get in your word, get in your word. Get in your word. No one can manipulate you. No one can tell you something. That's not true if you don't see it in the word in the Bible that you say you believe in, that you say you believe in. We have to get out. I'm just going to say this we have to get out of trusting someone else's opinion. Um, education and all of that. And we're not reading for ourselves. If we were, it wouldn't be possible to even, it would be no need to even publish a book like this. And you, it was mandatory for you to publish this. Yes, yes, and you came up with this title.
Speaker 3:Yes, I came up with that title because it's a personal truth and I see it in other folks' lives that it's a personal truth. It is a personal truth and you get so into tithing that you get into self-deception, thinking the Lord is blessing. I used to tithe and give my last to the church and the family. We getting ready to go out to eat, and guess what I'll tell them the Lord will provide.
Speaker 2:We are going to go to break, but before we go to break, I want to ask you a question, and I just forgot what my question was. So let's just go to break.
Speaker 4:This is good me, higher, higher. There is nowhere I wouldn't go. It's true, lord. Take me higher, higher, higher and higher. Give me more of your glory, yes, more of your spirit. God, I just need more of you, cause I don't wanna be lost in your presence. Yes, I don't wanna be wrapped in your love. Take me higher, higher. Come to my home.
Speaker 2:All right, we are back. We are going to continue this conversation with Pastor Eric Hood. The name of his book is called Tithing Will Keep you Broke. You can join his email list and pre-order the book at savedandeducatedorg. Hop in right back in.
Speaker 2:So this is the question I wanted to ask before the break. So there are tons of situations and stories over the years it's too many to even name where this member of this church had let's say they've been there 30 years. They've been tithing faithfully period, because you know they keep a record of this and they go check it whenever you come and ask for help. So if they're going through some financial hardship right, which could be they need money for rent anything someone passed they want to know can you not pay for the funeral? But can we host a funeral at the church? The member may not be the person who was deceased may not be a member, but this person was and it could be their mom or sister or you know, and and they're often denied, they're denied any financial help.
Speaker 2:So what happens is when I've heard you say before, pastor Hood, well, there's two sides to this thing, because if what your pastor have been teaching you out of Malachi 3 and 10 about robbing God and if you tithe that, you will be blessed and the heavens. God will open the windows of heaven. Right, you shouldn't need to go to your pastor will open the windows of heaven. Right, you should need to go to your pastor. If tithing truly worked, you should need to go to your pastor or your church for anything, because if that scripture mean what they say, it mean you should be overflowing. You should be wealthy and rich by now. Can you touch on that?
Speaker 3:You already did, you already said it.
Speaker 2:I'm just saying.
Speaker 3:All I know is what's always said.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. Everybody is familiar with these type of stories because they've lived it or they know someone who have lived it, and so it's like y'all ignorant.
Speaker 3:Ignorance calls that. That's the price of being ignorant. That's's the price of not getting in your word. That's the price of actually using your pastor as the Bible versus the Bible. That's the cost Ignorance cost, because when the church needs something, they give up an offering. When you need something, they give up a prayer.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:That's the price of being ignorant, and we already had this. You have to really really get an understanding of this thing called tithing. Tithing is the biggest scam Satan ever used in the church.
Speaker 2:So tithing was't never for us, never Ever. Who was it for? Tell us who Malachi 3 and 10 is talking to, if you can. He's talking to the priest.
Speaker 3:He's talking to the priest. He's not talking to you. You wasn't even in control of the tithe. You don't have the right to tithe. He's talking to the priest. He's not talking to you. You don't have the right to tithe when you're giving up your money. Your money is not a tithe, your money is not a tithe that. There's nowhere in scripture where money is a tithe.
Speaker 2:Okay, so tithing was a part of the law, right? Yes, okay. With that being said, how did we even get because the law was eventually done away with? Why are pastors and churches still teaching from the law and saying that you still have to obey the law, even with the? You can't wear this and you can't wear certain materials, and all this? How many laws is it, pastor Hood?
Speaker 3:It's over 600.
Speaker 2:It's over 600 laws, so can you pick one out and, you know, call yourself living by obeying it without obeying the others.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 2:Why not?
Speaker 3:Because the scripture says that if you live by the law, that if you use the law, you have to live by the law, which means that if you fail in one law, james 2.10 says if you fail in one law, james james 2 10 said if you fail in one law, you fell in the whole thing. So you would have to live a perfect life which annihilates you already pastor hood.
Speaker 2:I would love to finish this conversation, but tell us how we can contact you across social media. Do you have any? If they don't pre-order the book right, do you have somewhere they can go to get your teachings and scriptures so they can go and study for themselves? Go?
Speaker 3:to YouTube at Saved and Educated. Saved and Educated. You can go there and check me. I got over 900 videos on there, saved and educated. You can check me out on TikTok. Saved and educated.
Speaker 2:They can also search Pastor Eric Hood, pastor Eric.
Speaker 3:Hood will bring it all up. Pastor Eric Hood, e-r-y-k. You have how many videos on there Got over 900. Okay, over 900 messages.
Speaker 2:Awesome guys. I hope you all learned something. I hope you took some notes. If not, you can go and listen to the replay at PublishingBlackPodcastcom. See y'all next week.
Speaker 1:You have been listening to, published in Black with publishing expert and brand strategist, tiffany A Greenhood. Listen next week for real talk, powerful strategies and much more. Again, we thank you for listening.
