Debt and the Bible (part 1)

Debt and the Bible (part 1)

The United States is arguably a huge Christian nation. In the court rooms as well as government houses, participants still swear to the Bible before commencing.

This is not an article about whether or not the government is, consciousl committing a sin, by letting the credit card industry enslave its citizen with its policies; this is just a simple article exploring what the Judeo/Christian sacred texts have to say about debt.

 

What does the Bible say about debt?

It is, perhaps, a question that only Bible scholars can answer.The bible is a very controversial book. It took, not just years, but centuries/generations to be compiled. And when one says Bible, which bible or version is being referred to?

The Catholic Bible has more books in it than the Protestant Bible.

Anyway, this passage is regarding the lender, more than the debt itself, or the borrower:

 

Do not take a pair of millstones, not even the upper one, as a security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security.

(Deuteronomy 24:6)

 

In a contemporary world view, this could mean that the lender should not take away the source of the borrower’s livelihood just so the debt could be repaid. We see a lot of this happening in today’s business dealings and government laws in place cannot protect the consumers.

A lot of homes are being foreclosed because they were used as collateral, wages are garnished, and so on.

The Bible was written in a different political and economic standpoint; it is from a different era, and it’s also for a specific group of people.

So it’s safe to say that some of what the Bible says about debt may not be applicable today.

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