Sunday usury-blogging

Albrecht Durer: Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple

The pundits say that Democrats must learn to speak the language of faith. I don't have any faith, but here's what I think a person of faith would say, if they believed the literal truth of the Bible:Usury is an abomination that threatens the very foundations of our society.

Soaring Interest Compounds Credit Card Pain for Millions [NYT permalink]

Ezekiel 18:13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

Comments

[Al Hill]

You miss the point, the people on the right now practice the faith of "ME" the only parts of the faith the believe in are the parts that are good me "ME" all the control they want of others is only for the purpose of making things better for them, never for others.

[david]

From http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08077a.htm

"Is it permitted to lend at interest? Formerly (see USURY) the Church rigorously condemned the exacting of anything over and above capital, except when, by reason of some special circumstance, the lender was in danger of losing his capital or could not advance his loan of money without exposing himself to a loss or to deprivation of a gain. These special reasons, which authorise the charging of interest, are called extrinsic titles.

"Besides these compensatory interests, the Church has likewise admitted moratory interest. In our day, she permits the general practice of lending at interest, that is to say, she authorizes the impost, without one's having to enquire if, on lending his money, he has suffered a loss or deprived himself of a gain, provided he demand a moderate interest for the money he lends. This demand is never unjust. Charity alone, not justice, can oblige anyone to make a gratuitous loan (see the replies of the Penitentiary and of the Holy Office since 1830).

"What is the reason for this change in the attitude of the Church towards the exaction of interest? As may be more fully seen in the article USURY, this differece is due to economical circumstances. The price of goods is regulated by common valuation, and the latter by the utility that their possession ordinarily brings in a given centre. Now, today, otherwise than formerly, one can commonly employ one's money fruitfully, at least by putting it into a syndicate. Hence, today, the mere possession of money means a certain value. Whoever hands over this possession can claim in return this value. Thus it is that one acts in demanding an interest."

[Charles Swift]

Well, I think if all of the Christians who support the death penalty missed "Thou Shalt Not Kill" in the Ten Commandments, I don't hold out much hope for them finding Ezekiel 18:13

[peter jung]

I notice the reference to MBNA in that NYT article. MBNA has been the single biggest corporate contributor to the Bush campaign in recent years. Amazingly, the "socially responsible" financial service outfit Working Assets runs their credit card business through MBNA. Talk about hypocrisy. I raised this issue with a Working Assets representative a few months ago, and got a polite reply and some lame excuses.
Now that the election is past, maybe I can find the time to raise some hell.

[T]

Then there is that part of the bible that says to kill anyone, even family members, for believing in other gods.