BIBLE ECONOMICS-THE ONLY SOLUTION TO POVERTY & INJUSTICE THAT REALLY WORKS–LONG TERM


(still under construction, but a lot of valuable material and links are here already)

QUOTES TO PONDER:

  • If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations.” Lev. 25:18 (In this chapter, Sabbath is mentioned 6 times in connection to economic/land justice and it is the same in Isaiah 58).
  • “There should be no poor among you…You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.” Deuteronomy 15:4-5
  • “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)
  • “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need…And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.“Acts 2: 45-7
  • There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.” Acts 4:34-5

Many people think or in their actions imply that the Bible doesn’t have much to say about economic principles or systems or that the economic principles that God listed aren’t relevant for a  non-agricultural society like ours. But nothing could be more harmful or further from the truth. Why?

The Bible has over 30 principles of Bible economics that God designed to prevent extremes of inequality. Ellen White says that no system has ever improved on God’s design (WM. p. 195). There is solid evidence from science, economics and real experiences this is true and that God’s economics can save institutions and organizations millions of dollars.

Certain Ph.D. economists like Dr. Paul Mills (Ph.D. in economics from Cambridge) have begun to study God’s Jubilee system and have shown that it has all the claimed benefits of capitalism, communism and socialism, but none of their extremely harmful side effects. A few nations like South Korea which have followed Bible economics demonstrate that it is incredibly powerful in our time, both at bringing high levels of positive development as well as dramatically increasing Christianity.  Unfortunately he does not list Bible references in his article. I will do that below some.
http://www.jubilee-centre.org/the-divine-economy-by-paul-mills/

Some Christians and SDAs to a larger extent have followed some of these principles such as tithe, offerings, warnings about debt and interest well, but there are many others we have not talked about very much even though they are very valuable.  God always has more truth that we can learn (John 16:12) and there is still much, much to learn about economics from God’s word and it can benefit us enormously.  This is one of the most crucial areas for our church because as far as I can see, to fund godly evangelism, education, churches, etc. in China which is crucial to help us evangelize the Middle East, in other unreached countries as well as the USA we’ll either need to follow God’s economics or pray a lot for God to drop tons of gold in our churches by miracle.  The Bible shows that God usually doesn’t do miracles when He has given us wise principles and tools to solve challenges (and Ellen White confirms this for those who are SDA and reading this***).  So one of the most efficient ways to make to make serious progress in completing the Great Commission has to be to learn about Bible economics and practice as much of it as we know how to do.

It is is not that surprising that most churches ignore Bible economics when you realize that Barna Research indicates that only 9 – 10% of Americans and 17% of Christians and 4% of Generation Z have a biblical worldview in even bare bones basic area like belief that God is the Creator of the Universe, Jesus is fully God, the Bible is inspired and accurate, there are moral absolutes,  salvation is a free gift by faith, etc. If the surveys included Bible economics, Bible health principles and Bible psychology, it would be far less.

The Worldview Measurement Project found that
“While 16% of those in the Boomer and Builder generations [have a biblical worldview], and just 7% of Baby Busters have a biblical worldview, only one-quarter as many Millennials have a biblical worldview – just 4%!”

Part of the problem is that Only 50% of Protestant pastors have a basic biblical worldview (since many denominations accept the deceptions of legalism or anti-nomian which the Bible strongly opposes (Eph. 2:8,9, Jude 3,4) and don’t teach a full biblical gospel).

https://www.culturefaith.com/groundbreaking-survey-by-acfi-reveals-how-many-american-adults-have-a-biblical-worldview/

Very rigorous science by Dr. Richard Wilkinson and others shows that greed and high levels of inequality where the top 20% have more than 9 times the wealth of the bottom 20% are very destructive to all levels of society (including the rich) in areas like these.
“life expectancy, on kids’ maths and literacy scores, on infant mortality rates, homicide rates, proportion of the population in prison, teenage birthrates, levels of trust, obesity, mental illness — which in standard diagnostic classification includes drug and alcohol addiction — and social mobility”
https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson

See also:
https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/cost-of-inequality-oxfam-mb180113.pd

and
https://nationaldebtclocks.org

Other serious side effects of high levels of economic inequality (which capitalism, communism and socialism all cause to various degrees) are deaths due to poverty/lack of health care/racism and other couses, higher infant mortality, divorce/family breakdown, poverty (which causes a whole slew of harmful things), environmental destruction, racism/prejudice, police killings, school shootings, distrust in society and more. I have listed some  of these consequences of greed in more detail and with academic references at my sites here:
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/equality/
and
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/greed/

If SDA schools and churches followed all of God’s principles that we could, we would not need most of the aid that we are giving out now. If you know how I can get these principles to be taken seriously in America…I’d really appreciate it. Almost everyone I talk to in Asia and abroad is very interested…including unbelievers who tell me they are stunned since no Christians have talked about these principles before. I’ve written on just one of them, land rights for all families, here (this is something that God in the Bible and Ellen White repeatedly emphasize as crucial for the stability of nations long term).
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/human-rights/thrive/land-rights-most-crucial-for-freedom/

Some consequences of not following God’s economics principles are:
1) LOSS OF HOMES CAUSES LOSSES OF 40-70% OF INCOME
When people don’t own their own homes/land, many economists like Dr. Michael Hudson have found that they have to spend a large part of their income on rent or mortgages. This greatly reduces how generous they can be to churches, charities, NGOs, etc. Since every dollar contributed to churches can bring ~$4.77-$10 to the community, this does enormous harm to societies and causes many people to live in desperation and consider various types of exploitation and/or crimes.

When people lose or never had their own home/land, they have to pay between 30%70% of their income on rent.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rent/2015/05/14/are-you-overspending-on-rent-youre-not-alone/#14846c263458

Or if they are in the process of buying a house, they spend ~43% of income on average on mortgages.
http://nakedcapitalism.com/2015/10/michael-hudson-on-parasitic-financial-capitalism.html

African-Americans pay ~44% of income on rent, sometimes up to 71% while Hispanics pay an average of 48% of their income on rent.

Black and Hispanic Communities Are Spending Almost Half Their Incomes on Rent
fortune.com/2017/03/30/rent-black-hispanic-neighborhoods/

See also:
https://sputniknews.com/radio_double_down/201608021043866518-bread-circuses-taco-bowls/

Many who do have homes are in danger of losing them because the banks/elite want people paying lots of their income on rent/mortgages. Dr. Michael Hudson, a Christian economist says:
“[in] the last eight years. Ten million families have lost their homes, and most peoples’ budgets are being squeezed. Obama saved the banks not the economy.”
michael-hudson.com/2016/08/post-convention-candidates/

People without their own homes/land often have more difficulty growing their own food because their housing is not stable. So they spend ~10%-50% of their income on food.
https://www.vox.com/2014/7/6/5874499/map-heres-how-much-every-country-spends-on-food  https://www.valuepenguin.com/how-much-we-spend-food

This and other expenses leave many people with less than 20% to spend on all other goods and services they need including education, health care, transportation, giving to the church, helping others in desperation as well as investing in their own retirement and helping their children with their future.  And many on the lower end of the economy go quite deeply into debt where they have to pay high interest rates, eating up more of their income. Some are forced into bankruptcy.

Dr. Michael Hudson explains with a little more detail:
“So imagine, here’s a family that in order to have a home is either paying 43% of its income on a mortgage, or it’s paying that in rent. The average – average – rent in New York City of $4,500 a month. Well, you can imagine if the average salary is about $80,000, do the math for yourself.

Now in addition to that, people have to pay maybe 10% more of their income to the banks for credit card debt, student loans, auto debt. And then also taken off the front of every paycheck is 15% of a forced saving of social security and medical care. So that’s taken off. And there’s about another 15% recombination of state and local and federal income taxes. And then you have the value-added taxes. So you add all that up. To the 43%, to 10% to the banks, maybe the 25% for taxes, you have only about 25% of the average paycheck that’s available to be spent on goods and services.
http://econintersect.com/pages/opinion/opinion.php?post=201704082350

All this loss of financial wealth causes serious damage to how generous people can be to the church. And that does enormous harm to society, since for every $1 given to churches, there is ~$4.77 and sometimes up to $10 in benefits to communities as the secular scientist Dr. Cnaan has found.
https://www.haloproject.ca/phase-1-toronto
https://www.haloproject.ca/calculator


As several major economists have pointed out (Dr. Hudson, Dr. Richard Wolff, and many others), it does not take sophisticated math skills to realize that if one group of people are paying 60%-100%+++ of their income every month, while another group doesn’t and that group is actually collecting huge sums of money for no real work done, society will quickly be split into classes of extremely wealthy and extremely poor. As Dr. Wilkinson and others have pointed out, when the top 20% get to the point where they have more than 9 times what the bottom 20% do, then all sorts of problems and evils are unleashed throughout society as Dr. Wilkinson explains in this TED talk briefly.
http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html

God said that greed is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10) and pretty much every evil thing that happens in society from family break down/divorce to addictions to prostitution and trafficking of children to slavery to terrorism and war to prejudice and school shootings to abortion can be traced back to greed and hoarding wealth and the propaganda promoted by those who have great wealth and want to have scapegoats to distract people’s attention from the real source of problems.
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/equality/

2) WE CAN’T FINISH THE GREAT COMMISSION WITHOUT BIBLE ECONOMICS

When we look at how many billions of people still need to hear the gospel and the funds we have to reach them, the situation appears grim. But this is only when people think according to man’s traditions, not God’s principles or science. When churches follow the golden rule and God’s Jubilee economics, each church will be able to save/earn $1000s and often millions of dollars per year more than they did before according to scientific studies. Bible economics is absolutely essential to finish the Great Commission and the only way that it can be done.  When this is followed, churches will be able to solve far more emergencies, cases of injustice and crises (ideally by teaching truth so that people can be self-supporting and independent, but sometimes by being generous with material goods or in financial ways). People will see that God’s truths can solve real problems in this world. They will gain confidence that the God who cares about them in this world also can be trusted to provide a wonderful eternal life.  This is basically what enabled the early church to turn the world of their time upside down for the gospel (Acts 17:6).  And it is pretty much the same now.

Jake Mulder spoke at the 2018 NAD symposium on evangelizing millennials and noted ( ~1:07:00) that one millennial said,
It doesn’t sound like good news if it doesn’t apply until after you’re dead.”

Many scientific studies and real examples are showing that when churches follow God’s Jubilee economics principles, they can demonstrate how to beat poverty even in the worst conditions, such as the early church did in beating poverty while under the oppression of one of the worst beasts of history, the Roman empire.

Ellen White makes it crystal clear that fully following the golden rule was the main secret of the early church and that we can have the same power that they did if we follow the same principles they did.

“there is a yet deeper significance to the golden rule. Everyone who has been made a steward of the manifold grace of God is called upon to impart to souls in ignorance and darkness, even as, were he in their place, he would desire them to impart to him. The apostle Paul said, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” Romans 1:14.

whatever you may possess above your fellows places you in debt, to that degree, to all who are less favored. Have we wealth, or even the comforts of life, then we are under the most solemn obligation to care for the suffering sick, the widow, and the fatherless exactly as we would desire them to care for us were our condition and theirs to be reversed…The standard of the golden rule is the true standard of Christianity; anything short of it is a deception.

When those who profess the name of Christ shall practice the principles of the golden rule… [she specifically cites Acts 2:42-47;4:32-35 with the early church sharing equally in economic justice areas, selling land and houses to provide for the poor and their testimony of the resurrection], the same power will attend the gospel as in apostolic times.” Ellen White, Mount of Blessing, p. 138-9.

The early Christians proved to the world that they valued people’s lives as more important than being rich or famous, etc. by actions like these:
A) They followed the golden rule in all areas of life they knew.

B) They considered everyone’s needs as equal (this is what biblical equality is, not communistic demanding that everyone have the same amount of money which the Bible nowhere requires).

C) They followed Bible Jubilee economics and used money beyond family needs for the welfare and independence of others. After they took care of the needs and happiness of their families, the shared any extra with people in need as a demonstration of godly love (1 John 3:17) and recognition that all gifts come from God in the first place and they have a duty to give to others as they have received from God (Romans 1:11,14).
and

D) They gave evidence and proof of the resurrection of Jesus.

See also what many scholars say about the reasons Christianity became so attractive in the Roman world here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/why/appeal.html

If modern churches do these things, we will have the same power they did.

There’s one thing to clarify here. Some might wrongly take this to extremes to mean that we should sell our family home and make our children homeless. That is absolutely not what it means. We know this because:
A) In Matthew 5:18-20, Jesus said that not even a jot of any law of God will change unless it’s purpose is finished and many verses talk about how God’s principles are meant to give us the highest levels of success, health, ability to earn more money,  wisdom/insight and other things. The OT has many verses saying that every family has a right to their own home (see many verses and much science on why this is crucial for freedom and stability in nations here). Since loss of a home would mean financial loss to families and churches in many areas, this text clearly does not mean we should all sell our homes and rent from others or be homeless. That goes against many Bible principles.

B) The NT several times makes it clear that Christians need to take care of their families decently (1 Tim. 5:8, 1 John 3:17).  And it’s difficult or impossible to do this if you don’t own your own home because then you have to pay ~40-70% of your salary in rent and ~10-50% in buying food since it’s difficult to grow food in homes you rent.

C) When you look at the story of Ananias selling his land and then lying about it, it’s clear it’s not his main home, just some extra land that he is not using.

So Acts 2 and 4 are talking about people selling extra homes and lands that their family has no need for, but can benefit others. As always, keep in mind that the economic principles of the Bible are designed to make as many people independent and self-sufficient as possible.

When there are serious economics injustices in societies, as existed in the early church under Rome, these always lead to a host of other injustices since greed is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). At these times churches have 2-3 main options .

A) KEEP IGNORING BIBLE ECONOMICS/JUSTICE & BRING ON TYRANNY
If churches do not follow Bible economics and justice and do not treat the needs of all as equal as the early church did, the consequences eventually become really dire. When churches abandon God’s principles of economic fairness and don’t follow godly justice for the poor, oppressed, foreigners, etc. it is THE primary cause of unbelief, scoffers and atheism. When this happens, God allows enemies of “believers” (such as pagan nations, communism, atheism, etc.) to harass believers and deceptions to proliferate and exploit people until they come to their senses and ask for relief (Hosea 8:2-4,11,12, 2 Peter 2:1-4, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, etc.).  The whole history of Israel shows this.

A recent book titled “Young Stalin” pointed out when there was economic injustice in the society and the church did nothing to solve it, many young people turned to other worldviews that claimed to have answers. In their case it was atheism and Darwinism and the tyranny of sin which resulted in ~35,000,000 lives lost.
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/thrive/causesofcommunism/

B) CHURCHES CAN FOLLOW BIBLE ECONOMICS/JUSTICE
When churches follow God’s principles and show that God has answers for the challenges and crises people in this life, then people will believe that God’s promises about the next life are also true and will flock to the church.

Many scholars have written about how one of the most significant factors in the early church turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6) was their care for the poor and outcast and oppressed. This is what the Holy Spirit does in the lives of those who truly love God.  This really proved to the ancient Jews, Greeks and Romans that something was very different about these early Christians. They put people as higher priorities than greed, material wealth, pride and selfishness. This was a huge factor in converting so many so quickly.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/why/

The Bible project illustrates God’s concept of justice and how it always involves lifting up the downtrodden in this short but brilliant  video animation on justice here:

It points out that the Hebrew word for righteousness is “tsedeka” and refers to right relationships between people, treating each person as someone made in the image of God, equal to yourself. The Hebrew word for justice is “mishpat”which can be be punishment for crime. But most of the time it’s restorative justice, lifting up those who are being oppressed and who are worse off than you are, working to restore them to full equality with yourself and others as much as it is in your power to do so and , opposing social structures that have caused their suffering. This idea is all over the Bible. In contrast, the Hebrew term for wicked is “rashah”. It is mistreating another human, causing injustice, oppressing them, exploiting them, ignoring that they too are equal creations by God. Any kind of lying, abuse (child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse), exploitation, chattel slavery, economic/debt slavery, sex trafficking, crime (theft), disobeying the 10 commandments, greed (the root of all evil) etc. are all “rashah”.  The most serious area of justice is the area of economics/greed.

Dr. Pedrito Maynard-Reid, professor of theology at Walla Walla University, in his talk “JUSTICE: A Radical, Prophetic Call to the Academy and the Pew.” points out that the Bible speaks about economic justice and social justice, which is always directly correlated to economic justice, over  2000 times. This is more than any other topic, except idolatry (which is also frequently heavily related to economic and social justice).
www.adventistpeace.org/blogcontent/2017/11/17/adventist-peace-radio-episode-15-pedrito-maynard-reid-lectures-on-justice

C) CHURCHES CAN EMPHASIZE GENEROSITY
Churches can compensate for not follow Bible economics by asking people to donate give money to those who are suffering and subjected to injustice. This can definitely help some, but as time goes on and economic conditions and injustices worsen, this usually becomes more and more expensive and most churches have largely or totally failed to reduce/stop the injustices in society.

These are consistent patterns and options that face God’s people all throughout history.

3) GREED CAUSES ALL EVIL
The Bible tells us that greed is the root cause of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). While the Bible clearly says that Christians have a serious responsibility take care of our family needs/some wants (1 Timothy 5:8), it repeatedly condemns extremes of wealth and makes the use of money quite an explicit test of whether a person is actually a Christian or not:

“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” 1 John 3:17

God condemns luxury as the main sin of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:49) and similarly condemns hoarding of massive amounts of wealth and actually associates it with the crime of murder (James 5:1-6, Rev. 18:3-20***). It has throughout history doomed and destroyed countless families and nations. Greed/luxury/hoarding are the main traits of the most evil beasts and corrupt religions throughout the Bible. Vast science is showing that the Bible was right, that high levels of inequality are the main cause of all evil.

The Bible understood long ago that greed/hoarding are the root of all evil, something that massive amounts of research have documented conclusively (see these links here and here for more details on that).

The Financial Stewardship Bible highlights Bible verses on
budgeting, debt, giving, lending, lifestyle, savings, taxes, the poor and other financial topics over 2,000 times.
https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Stewardship-Bible-American-Society/dp/1585169986

The Bible is the most crucial foundation of real justice, equality, and human rights throughout history according to many scholars. Even some atheist scholars say that atheists who care about justice should be great friends and supporters of biblical and moral religion in order to preserve justice in society.

The Bible tells us repeatedly that greed will be one of the most egregious and destructive sins of the last days (2 Tim. 3:1-5, 2 Peter 2:1-4, Rev. 18, James 5:1-6, etc.) and so obviously Christians should be just as committed to working against greed and its virulent evils just as with every deception in Bible times, such as Baal worship, that they were supposed to oppose.

Why is it then that most Christians and most pastors have never learned and do not teach very much if anything about Bible economics, especially when God repeatedly stated that it was a crucial principle for the long term stability and thriving of nations? Why is it that most denominations say little or nothing about God’s view of financial issues and economic justice? And why does this condition prevail in spite of the Bible clearly stating that greed, hoarding and following pride/feelings will be especially common sins in the time before Jesus comes?

Should we not look to God and His truths to understand the reasons why 3 people own more wealth than the bottom 50% in America, why the top 8 wealthy people in the world own more than the bottom 99% combined, why there are 46 million slaves in the world right now as well as tens of millions of people being trafficked for things like sex slavery? Does God not care about this? What kind of God would not? Certainly not any biblical God, esp. given the record of the prophets in constantly condemning greed, hoarding and luxury as the major sin of Sodom (Ez. 16:49).

——————————————————–
MAIN OBJECTIVES OF BIBLE ECONOMICS
——————————————————–

The Bible has over 30 financial principles that basically seek to balance several objectives. These are the main categories and goals that they are aimed at.
1) Educate people that God is the Creator of all things and the giver of all abilities to earn wealth (Deut. 8:18). So after we have taken care of our family needs and comforts (1 Tim. 5:8, 1 John 3:17), then we should try to give as we have been given to and enable others to be independent too as we can.

2) Provide funding for the church that will educate people about all the major areas of truth, justice and economics.

3) Protect land rights for every family. God stated that the profit of the earth is for all and that this includes land rights for each family outside cities (Lev. 25:1-18, Nehemiah 5:1-12, Ezekiel 45:9;47:22-3, etc.). Without land rights, people can’t be free long term and soon fall into various forms of slavery, whether it be debt slavery, wage slavery or the more serious forms of chattel and sex slavery. So God repeatedly emphasizes protecting land rights for every family.

4) Prevent the evils of greed. God severely warns against greed, hoarding and high concentrations of wealth as factors that cause all evil on the planet (1 Tim. 6:10). This protects nations from crime, slavery, national collapse, war and other tragedies that happen as Dr. Wilkinson and other scientists have discovered happen much more often when the top 20% have more than 9 times the wealth that the bottom 20% has.

Much scientific research shows that greed and high levels of inequality are the primary factors behind all evils on the planet (see also here and here).

5) God desires all to be independent and to work productively. They should not be dependent on the wealthy or corporations or governments for their livelihood and welfare. His laws are designed to give us freedom from all dependency (Psalms 119:44-5, James 1:25, etc.)

6) The Bible forbids the terribly vicious evils of greed and hoarding, but also does not require all to have equal wealth and advocates rewarding hard work. God does allow some people to experience injustice and poverty as a test of their character and a test to see how helpful and generous society around them will be with God’s gifts and resources. Who will demonstrate and live out love in the most practical area of finances?

Many verses in the Bible (some cited below) make it crystal clear that all levels of society, the poor, middle class, rich, churches, and governments are responsible to alleviate poverty. It may involve supporting people’s survival financially for a short period, but the goal of all generosity should be to enable independence for every individual and family.

7) Sabbath is one of the most crucial foundational truths because it is a kind of beacon or symbol that reminds us or connects us directly or indirectly to the most important truths and solutions to problems in our world, including modern problems.  You know when you go to a supermarket and they set up elevators so that you have to walk past many products in order to get in or out of the store? Sabbath is a bit like that. When you search through the Bible for the word Sabbath, it turns up in all sorts of surprising locations, often in topics that science shows are extremely important for protecting people from various kinds of deceptions. While corporations make people walk around for profit and sell a mix of substandard natural food and a lot of junk food that is harmful, God has set up the Sabbath to remind us of the most important truths that benefit our lives and can help us defeat oppressors of almost any kind.

Nearly all deceptions are promoted because they make it easy to exploit people in various ways.  Oxford professor Felipe Fernando-Armesto wrote about how losing truth makes people easy to exploit saying,

“Once truth has been devoured, people swallow falsehoods whole. Without confidence in the concept of truth, listeners are disarmed against lies.” “Truth, A history and a Guide for the Perplexed”, Felipe Fernando-Armesto, p. 165.

This is the main purpose of Sabbath, to remind us of crucial truths so that we will not be exploited by lies. Much more about why Sabbath is important here:
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/doctrine/sda/sabbath/

——————————————————————-
SUMMARY OF ~30+ BIBLE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES
——————————————————————

These are some of the main principles of God’s economic system briefly.  In the future, I will try to integrate the specific effects of each policy that economic research has documented. But the general effects are the a few people will unjustly acquire vast amounts of wealth while the general population will be in debt, exploited and or enslaved in various ways. Sometimes people in the general population have been and are in present times unaware of how they are being lied to, exploited and enslaved (there are many kinds of slavery…including debt slavery, wage slavery, sexual slavery, chattel slavery and others). This is often because they did not have access to the Bible or they were not taught crucial principles of economics and justice.  For general overview of the problems that greed and economic injustice cause,  including specific Bible claims about what this does, and what research has confirmed, go here:
blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/greed/
and
http://blog.truth-is-life.org/rights/equality/

1) EQUITABLE FOUNDATION-SHARE NATURE: God created all natural resources and He gave explicit instructions to Israel that all land/natural resources must be shared equitably among all people. This was permanent. Land could be leased but would always return to the original family after some years (the only exception to this was cit property. This gave each family enough resources to prove for its needs and be self-supporting and some capital to follow their dreams. Even to foreign government, God demanded that they provide all their citizens a minimum basic standard of living.

Even the conservative icon Ronald Reagan agreed,
“Certainly no thinking American would dispute the idea that there should be an economic floor beneath which no citizen of this land should be allowed to live.”
http://www.livedash.com/transcript/reagan/5916/HISTP/Wednesday_February_9_2011/559426/

People ranging from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to atheists like Voltaire and Rosseau to Chinese sages like Confucius and Mencius agree that this biblical concept of sharing all land/nature is the rational, just and ethical foundation for economics.

2) GENUINE FAIR TRADE/
FREE MARKET
God’s economics are the foundation for a genuine free market,  but not what most people think of as a free market now.  For much of history, a free market was a condition where there were no landlords, no charging of interest and no people earning massive amounts of money for no work. The Christian economist Michael Hudson explains:
“The classical economists had in common a description of rent and interest as something that a truly free market would get rid of. From Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill down to Marx and the socialists, a free market was one that was free of a parasitic overclass that got income without doing work….An economic fight ensued [after World War 1] and the parasites won. The first thing rentiers – the financial class and monopolists, a.k.a. the 1% – did was to say, ‘We’ve got to stop teaching the history of economic thought so that people don’t even have a memory that there is any such a thing as economic rent as unearned income or the various policies proposed to minimize it. We have to take the slogan of the socialist reformers – a free market – and redefine it as a free market is one free from government – that is, from ‘socialism’ – not free from landlords, bankers and monopolists.’ They turned the vocabulary upside down to mean the opposite. ”
https://michael-hudson.com/2018/12/guns-butter-the-vocabulary-of-economic-deception/

Once there is an equitable and free nation where people have their economic rights and can keep what they earn, then people can work and prosper depending on how hard they work, their creativity, supply/demand, etc.

Proverbs 31 shows an industrious woman engaging in free market activities admirably and there are many other places where industry and hard work are rewarded with wealth and honor.

Another aspect of genuine  free trade is fair trade. God insisted that trade be fair (and called those who violated this wicked).
“Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!  You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor. Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals. Now the Lord has sworn this oath by his own name, the Pride of Israel: “I will never forget the wicked things you have done! The earth will tremble for your deeds, and everyone will mourn.” Amos 8:4-8

We have some of the most unfair trading imbalances in all history now.
“The US-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI) and the Centre for Applied Research at the Norwegian School of Economics recently… tallied up all of the financial resources that get transferred between rich countries and poor countries each year: not just aid, foreign investment and trade flows (as previous studies have done) but also non-financial transfers such as debt cancellation, unrequited transfers like workers’ remittances, and unrecorded capital flight (more of this later). As far as I am aware, it is the most comprehensive assessment of resource transfers ever undertaken.

…What they discovered is that the flow of money from rich countries to poor countries pales in comparison to the flow that runs in the other direction. In 2012, the last year of recorded data, developing countries received a total of $1.3tn, including all aid, investment, and income from abroad. But that same year some $3.3tn flowed out of them. In other words, developing countries sent $2tn more to the rest of the world than they received. If we look at all years since 1980, these net outflows add up to an eye-popping total of $16.3tn – that’s how much money has been drained out of the global south over the past few decades. To get a sense for the scale of this, $16.3tn is roughly the GDP of the United States.”

Aid in reverse: how poor countries develop rich countries https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/14/aid-in-reverse-how-poor-countries-develop-rich-countries

3) MINIMIZE INCOME GAPS: While wealth is not a sin if gained honestly and people who work hard deserve to enjoy it and be rewarded, wealth must never be an idol. There are quite a few things that are a higher priority than wealth and we must keep these priorities in order if we want to have national security and avoid much higher levels of crime, instability, insecurity, terrorism, murder and war.

The Bible had many principles that minimized the income gap (banning the charging of interest, laws on gleaning and instructions to be generous to those in trouble as we would to God, tithe given to poor, etc.) and this was for the good of all.  One of my favorite writers, Ellen White, wrote:

“The Lord would place a check upon the inordinate love of property and power. Great evils would result from the continued accumulation of wealth by one class, and the poverty and degradation of another. Without some restraint the power of the wealthy would become a monopoly, and the poor, though in every respect fully as worthy in God’s sight, would be regarded and treated as inferior to their more prosperous brethren. The sense of this oppression would arouse the passions of the poorer class. There would be a feeling of despair and desperation which would tend to demoralize society and open the door to crimes of every description. The regulations that God established were designed to promote social equality. The provisions of the sabbatical year and the jubilee would, in a great measure, set right that which during the interval had gone wrong in the social and political economy of the nation.

These regulations were designed to bless the rich no less than the poor. They would restrain avarice and a disposition for self-exaltation, and would cultivate a noble spirit of benevolence; and by fostering good will and confidence between all classes, they would promote social order, the stability of government. We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and whatever we can do to benefit and uplift others will reflect in blessing upon ourselves. The law of mutual dependence runs through all classes of society. The poor are not more dependent upon the rich than are the rich upon the poor. While the one class ask a share in the blessings which God has bestowed upon their wealthier neighbors, the other need the faithful service, the strength of brain and bone and muscle, that are the capital of the poor.”Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 534

Again, watch this link on how big differences in income harm society:
http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html
Ellen White hit the nail right on the head and now very solid research confirms it. Robert Kennedy put it simply,
“I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.”

Let’s look at some principles on what God said governments are responsible to do, and not just the Israeli government but even secular ones like Sodom, Gomorrah and Babylon and then later churches and individuals.

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GOD’S ECONOMIC JUSTICE PRINCIPLES
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A brief summary is that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the earth and everything in it (Gen. 1, Ex. 20:8-11). All of the earth and everything we have belongs to Him (Leviticus 25:23, 42, 55, Ps. 24:1, Ps. 50:10, Hag. 2:8, 1 Chronicles 29:13-15). We acknowledge that He has graciously made us stewards of His creation (Gen. 2:15) and entrusted us with life, time, opportunities, resources, abilities and talents as well as economic principles to follow. He promised that if followed, they would eliminate poverty (Deut. 15:4) and make nations secure long term (Lev. 25:18). This promise came true and brought peace and safety especially when Israel followed land rights for every family (1 Kings 4:25) and also in New Testament times when the early church compensated for governments not following land rights by following the golden rule and economic justice for all, sharing equitably with those who were in need (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35). Ellen White says that we too experience the power of the early church if we follow their example (MB p. 137-9).

These economic principles have throughout history influenced the rise and fall of individuals, families, churches and nations and the churches witness for the gospel because they contrast the values of equality and love of godly people with the greed, hoarding and selfishness of the wicked that are root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10, James 5:1-5, 1 John 3:17, Rom. 13:8-10). Our very ability to earn money is given by Him and we are warned not to forget our Creator when we do well financially (Deut. 8:18-20).

GOVERNMENT LEVEL POLICIES

1) LAND RIGHTS FOR ALL: God as the Creator gave Israel a model of economic perfection so that their nation could stay stable, secure, peaceful and safe long term and then other nations could learn and follow (Deut. 4:1-8, Jer. 12:14-17). Several of these economic principles were tied to the Sabbath (Leviticus 25 mentions Sabbath 6 times in connection with land rights and the Sabbath verses in Isaiah 58 are in the context of economic/social justice). Land worldwide is valued at over $217 trillion now and equitable land rights have often been the key factor in national development vs. national decline. God repeatedly insisted that nations/governments, princes, and the wealthy not monopolize land or hoard (Nehemiah 5:1-12, Isaiah 5:8, Ez. 45:9). Land was set aside for homeless people to use (Ez. 45:6) so they wouldn’t have to pay rent.

God also insisted that ethical governments either:

A) ensure the permanent right of every family (both Israeli and foreign) to land outside cities (allowing leases for up to 49 years and permanent sales for city property) and give the land a Sabbath rest every 7 years (Lev. 25:1-7), in order to have long term security, peace and safety (Lev. 25:8-18, 1 Kings 4:25, Neh. 5:1-12, Ez. 45:9;47:22-23), something that can eliminate nearly all problems our world faces as Ellen White said (WM p. 195) and science agrees or

B) ensure the basic needs of the poor to avoid being considered wicked (Ez. 16:49, Daniel 4:27) and also to prevent poverty which motivates theft (Proverbs 30:9).

The alternative to these is massive suffering in society which is the primary fuel of all sorts of crime, violence, revolutions and civilization destruction as the Bible and the history of many nations records from Israel to Europe to Russia to China and others.

REASON: The value of land is over $217 trillion a year, and the Bible, EGW, science and history all show that freedom and civilization can’t be preserved long term when land rights are ignored. See much documentation on this here:

2) BAN BRIBES/LOOPHOLES FOR THE RICH: Governments must not allow bribes from the rich to pervert justice and fairness(Exodus 18:21, Deuteronomy 16:19, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Proverbs 17:23, Amos 5:12, Micah 3:11).

REASON: “The annual costs of international corruption amount to a staggering $3.6 trillion in the form of bribes and stolen money…” https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/12/the-global-economy-loses-3-6-trillion-to-corruption-each-year-says-u-n

Since economists estimate it would take ~$3-400 billion to end poverty worldwide, bribery/corruption is costing more than 10 times the amount of money needed to end extreme poverty for everyone in the world. LITERALLY. That explains why God hates bribery so much.

3) DO NOT GIVE GIFTS TO THE RICH: Oppressing the poor and giving gifts to the rich both result in poverty (Proverbs 22:16). So Bible believers must oppose government leaders and policies that involve the government giving money to the rich, such as trickle down economics.

REASON: Trickle down policies don’t even work anyway as the very economist who invented them acknowledges, because those who receive the money just use it to buy back their own stock, to further consolidate power and money and other things.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-22/trump-tax-plan-turns-donald-trickle-down-king

4) INTEREST: Oppose the charging of interest for people in the church and within the nation (Lev. 25:35) since charging interest is a main way by which trillions of dollars is unfairly transferred from the poor and middle class to the rich. Foreigners can be charged interest (Deut. 23:20) because this prevents corporations from exporting factories to get the lowest wages and also can prevent companies from becoming oppressive international behemoths bearing resemblance to the oppressive merchants in Rev. 18.

REASON: Charging interest hurts the poor and suffering more than anyone else. And they are usually in that position because of injustice (such as divorce/family break downs, lost jobs or health problems) and/or ignorance due to inferior education in the first place.

5) TAXES: The Bible indicates that fair governments should charge taxes of not more than 2% of income (Amos 5:11,14, Ez. 45:13-17).

REASON: Higher and higher taxes, result in more concentrated wealth and power and more tedious bureaucracy.

6) OPPOSE/PUNISH THEFT: God warns against theft of many kinds all over the Bible and tells governments that they must punish it (Exodus 20:15, Exodus 22 and hundreds of other verses)

REASON: Fraud costs the global economy over US$5 trillion
https://www.crowe.com/global/news/fraud-costs-the-global-economy-over-us$5-trillion

Cybersecurity Ventures expects global cybercrime costs to grow by 15 percent per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025
https://cybersecurityventures.com/hackerpocalypse-cybercrime-report-2016/

7) DEBT: Cancel debts after 7 years (Deut. 15:1). It’s not right to keep anyone a slave to debt beyond that period.

REASON: The Bible and many economists call debt a form of slavery. So this means that the vast majority of Americans are slaves and don’t even know it. Ancient societies, both Israel and others, had customs of cancelling debt. The moral was that if rulers didn’t cancel the debts, there would be an economic and fiscal disaster.

The average person in America (NOT family), has ~$90,000 in debt because of modern economic systems that violate the above Bible principles as well as others below.
https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/demographics

Paul Craig Roberts  worked under Reagan as Assistant Treasury Secretary and says:
“We need a debt jubilee. Debt jubilees were widely used in the ancient world. . . . . Either the system goes into collapse or you write the debts down and you start over. . . . Again, either you paper it over again or you don’t succeed and everything blows up.”

Paul Craig Roberts – We Need Debt Jubilee or System Collapses

Dr. Hudson says we need to restore the biblical Jubilee concept now since most people are enslaved by crushing levels of debt that destroy many lives now. We need a debt Jubilee.

“Christianity began as a protest movement, but it was a protest movement that was very conservative. We know from the Dead Sea Scrolls – essentially the library of the Temple of Jerusalem hidden to protect it from the Romans – that what Jesus wanted to do was just what he announced in the first sermon that he gave. It is reported in Luke, Chapter 4. He said “I’ve come to proclaim the year of the Lord,” meaning the Jubilee Year. He unrolled the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah that described the Jubilee Year.

He said that the rabbis who opposed to be cancelling debts – the Pharisees, a conservative group of rabbis led most notably by Hillel – had developed a special clause that was similar to what the Babylonian creditors had tried to do. It was called the prosbul clause. A debtor who needed money would have to sign a waiver saying, “I agree not to avail myself of the rights that the Bible promises me in the Jubilee Year. So if the debts are cancelled, I waive my rights and the creditor can foreclose anyway.”

Jesus explained in his sermon that this was against the Mosaic Law – the law of Leviticus, chapter 25. It was in fact against everything the Old Testament talks about. (My book has the relevant Dead Sea scrolls.) But rabbinical Judaism was being taken over by pro-creditor Pharisees. Luke quotes Jesus as describing them as being avid for money, and working for the creditor class.

At that time the great social fight not only in Judea but also in Greece and Rome was between debtors and creditors. There was a region-wide civil war. There were assassinations of Roman pro-debtor advocates such as the Gracchi brothers in 133 BC. A century of civil war followed, in which even Julius Caesar, who enacted a modest debt reform, was killed. Sparta’s King’s Agis and Cleomenes were killed for cancelling the debts. There were armed uprisings throughout Greece and Asia Minor over this.

This was a universal fight. But somehow, the economic message of Jesus has been taken out of context. It is as if what he was talking about was otherworldly. But he was talking about something very worldly – the debt issue. Jesus wanted to restore the debt cancellation as it was supposed to be according to Leviticus 25.

Until my Harvard group began to publish its findings about 20 years ago, you had a general prejudice among Biblical historians that the Jubilee year couldn’t really have been enforced because it would have caused economic disaster. My book shows that when you look at 2000 years of Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian practice, the moral was that if rulers didn’t cancel the debts, there would be an economic and fiscal disaster.

The idea of debt amnesties was to prevent debt from tearing society apart – to prevent the kind of crisis that the United States has been in since 2008…”

“Jesus: the economic activist”
https://michael-hudson.com/2018/04/jesus-the-economic-activist/

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

8) PRIORITIZE INDEPENDENCE: Educate and assist every person to work with their own hands, be independent and support their family and be generous (1 Thess. 4:11-12, 1 Tim. 5:4, 8, Ephesians 4:28). Those who do not work, should not be the recipients of charity (2 Thess. 3:10), except for dire crises or unusual emergencies. Love and independence mean that after your family is stable, you work to help other people in your local household of faith be economically independent (1 John 3:17, Gal. 6:10), and then other churches nearby or in other countries (2 Corinthians 8:1-15).

REASON:

9) DO NOT EXPLOIT OR OPRESS ANYONE: The Bible repeatedly warns against mistreating, exploiting and oppressing foreigners in any way and says God will punish this severely (Exodus 22:22-24)

REASON:

10) NO KIDNAPPING/SLAVERY: God strictly forbade forced slavery and its source kidnapping. Both were capital crimes (Ex. 21:16, 1 Tim. 1:10).

REASON:

11) PAY TITHES/OFFERINGS (1/3 to the poor): Because we are stewards, we should give 10% of our money as tithe and offerings as God has blessed us***. Then God will open windows of blessing for us. (Mal. 3:8-12). If the church uses this money as God instructs, it could easily end poverty worldwide many times over (see church section).

REASON:

12) NO FAVORITISM FOR THE RICH (OR POOR): The Bible repeatedly warns against playing favorites with the rich or poor (James 2:1,8-9 Acts 10:34-36)

REASON:

13) OPPOSE BRIBES: The Bible warns against bribes by any individuals (Exodus 23:8, Job 15:34, Job 36:18, Ecclesiastes 7:7)

REASON:

14) GENEROSITY: Be generous when God blesses you or you will be cursed*** (Deut. 15:7-10, 2 Cor. 8:11, Acts 2:42-47;4:32-35). If possible, let the poor freely eat from fields (Lev. 19:9, Deut. 14:28). A great way to do this is to grow church gardens.

REASON:

CHURCH LEVEL:

15) NO CHURCH HOARDING OF LAND: The church and religious leaders not monopolize land or hoard anything (Ez. 45:1-5, Matt 23:14/Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:46-7, James 5:1-6).

REASON:

16) TAKE CARE OF THE POOR/DESTITUTE: If widows, orphans or others have no family to take care of them, then the church should do its best to care for them, since this is true religion (James 1:27, 1 Tim. 5:3).

REASON:

17) USE TITHE/OFFERINGS WISELY (religious leaders pay, 1/3 to the poor, and for festivals): The Bible tells people/churches to use the tithe for the pay of religious leaders, to give 1/3 of their tithe to the poor (Deut. 14:28-9) and to use it to make wonderful celebrations with music and food for everyone**.

REASON:

18) PAY FAIR WAGES TO SPIRITUAL LEADERS: Make sure to pay living wages to spiritual leaders (1 Cor. 9:3-10, Levites were paid for music***).

REASON:

WEALTHY/COMPANY LEVEL:
19) PAY FAIR WAGES TO WORKERS: Make sure to pay living wages to workers and spiritual leaders (James 5:4, Jer. 21:13) and don’t make them suffer by waiting too long for their pay either***.

REASON:

20) NO UNFAIR RENT: Do not take advantage of people’s desperation and charge unfair rent (Amos 5:11).

REASON:

21) FAIR TRADE: You must trade fairly and not use dishonest scales or measurements (Lev. 19:35, Amos 8:4,)

REASON:

22) NO FAVORITISM FOR THE RICH (OR POOR): God doesn’t play favorites (Romans 2:11) and government and the courts must not favor the rich or the poor for any reason (Exodus 23:3, Leviticus 19:15).

REASON:

23) DO NOT GIVE GIFTS TO THE RICH: Oppressing the poor and giving gifts to the rich both result in poverty (Proverbs 22:16).

REASON:  Christians should oppose government  leaders and policies that follow trickle down economics. They don’t work anyway as the very economist who invented them acknowledges.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-22/trump-tax-plan-turns-donald-trickle-down-king

24) DEBT: Cancel debts after 7 years (Deut. 15:1). It’s not right to keep anyone a slave to debt beyond that period(Proverbs 22:7).

REASON:

25) GENEROSITY: Be generous when God blesses you or you will be cursed*** (Deut. 15:7-10, 2 Cor. 8:11, Acts 2:42-47;4:32-35). If possible, let the poor freely eat from fields (Lev. 19:9, Deut. 14:28). A great way to do this is to grow church gardens.

REASON:  Science says:
“Year after year, more and more studies are highlighting the benefits of generosity on both our physical and mental health. Not only does generosity reduce stress, support one’s physical health, enhance one’s sense of purpose, and naturally fight depression, it is also shown to increase one’s lifespan.
The Benefits of Generosity
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-firestone/the-benefits-of-generosit_b_5448218.html
(see also: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/generosity-health_n_4323727.html)

THE BIBLICAL DUTY OF GOVERNMENTS TO ENSURE ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR THE POOR
Many people say that the government should stay out of charity and helping the poor. But look at these verses and remember that this was in the time of the monarchy where the king collected the taxes and distributed them. The king was the government of the time. So, these principles apply to other governments as well. Note the red parts especially:

The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined
Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor. How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust, demands the Lord, the Lord of Heavens Armies.”Isaiah 3: 14, 15

So, the leaders were guilty of grinding the poor through some kind of stealing from them. This would most likely be extortionist taxes or things of that nature, possibly injustice in the courts.

Psalms 72 says,
“1 Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the kings son.
2 Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful.
4 Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors.
12 He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.
13 He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.”

The king’s job here was to defend, help and rescue the poor and rescue the children of the needy and crush their oppressors. Their lives are precious to him and a godly king and government should help those who are in need.

Jeremiah 22 says
 “15 But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him.
16 He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me, says the Lord.
17 But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.

Here a godly king is compared to an evil king. Note that the godly king gave justice AND help to the poor. Justice is definitely a government function and it’s associated with helping the poor which also must be understood as a government function. These 2 concepts, justice and helping the needy are both part of a government’s function in the Bible. And they were not only the responsibility of Israel. God also expected other nations to help the poor. If they didn’t, it was sin.
Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.” Ezekiel 16:49

“King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” Daniel 4:27

Again Proverbs 29:7 says,
“The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.”

The Bible is very clear that this applies to individuals, churches as most agree. But, it also is very clear that it applies to governments. Godly governments are ones that take care of the needy.

To end with again, I will again quote president Franklin Roosevelt.

  • “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

If you care about freedom, then you have to care about economics.  And no economic system has ever brought or sustained more economic freedom than the economics of the Bible. So when we look for solutions to modern problems, this is the crux issue we must address. Working on other challenges has value. But if we do not teach and follow Bible economics as well as we can, it will largely be like playing whack-a-mole or fighting spider webs without dealing with the spider itself.  This is the biggest challenge for the church today if it is to become serious about avoiding enemies that harass it and finishing God’s Great Commission and going home to heaven.

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EXTRA INFORMATION
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Below is some useful information with quotes from many intellectuals about economic principles in ways that relate to the Bible. I will integrate it with the above when I have time, but haven’t yet. So you can read it if you want, but some material is the same as the above.

13 BIBLICAL ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES & INTELLECTUALS WHO AGREE WITH THEM

Here are 13 Bible principles from the above with some of the most insightful minds in history explaining why they are important.

1.      GOD OWNS EVERYTHING, PEOPLE ARE CARETAKERS & STEWARDS OF GOD’S RESOURCES

2.      EVERY PERSON HAS A RIGHT TO LAND (and/or natural resources)

3.      JUBILEE SYSTEM (land can’t be permanently sold. It returns to original owners after 49 years, except if it’s in a city. Land and property in cities can be sold permanently.)

4.      CHARGING INTEREST IS EVIL (especially to the poor or relatives)

5.      CANCEL DEBTS EVERY 7 YEARS

6.      TRADE FAIRLY

7.      PAY FAIR WAGES

8.      CHARGE FAIR TAXES (maximum 1-2%) AND RENT

9.      SHARE & BE GENEROUS TO THE POOR

10.  BE INDEPENDENT—DON’T SUPPORT DEPENDENCY

11.  GIVE TITHES AND OFFERINGS

12.  AFTER TITHE, TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY NEEDS (before sharing)

13.  SPIRITUAL LEADERS DESERVE FAIR PAY

 

 

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1. GOD OWNS EVERYTHING, PEOPLE ARE CARETAKERS & STEWARDS OF GOD’S RESOURCES

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       Psalms 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.

The Mennonite church has a very good approach to this idea of stewardship.  It’s at: http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/about/cof/art.21.htm and they rightly connect the Jubilee economic principles to the Sabbath.

We acknowledge that God as Creator is owner of all things. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath year and the Jubilee year were practical expressions of the belief that the land is God’s and the people of Israel belong to God.8 Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, announced the year of the Lord’s favor, often identified with Jubilee. Through Jesus, the poor heard good news, captives were released, the blind saw, and the oppressed went free.9 The first church in Jerusalem put Jubilee into practice by preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and sharing possessions. Other early churches shared financially with those in need.10


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2. EVERY PERSON/FAMILY HAS A RIGHT TO LAND (and/or natural resources)

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 Ecclesiastes 5:9 “9Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.”
      
Isaiah 5:8 Destruction is certain for you who buy up property so others have no place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the land.
”You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger portion of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller portion will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the portions of land will be divided among your ancestral tribes.” Numbers 33:54

 “Divide the land within these boundaries among the tribes of Israel. 22 Distribute the land as an allotment for yourselves and for the foreigners who have joined you and are raising their families among you. They will be like native-born Israelites to you and will receive an allotment among the tribes. 23 These foreigners are to be given land within the territory of the tribe with whom they now live. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” Ezekiel 47:21-23
 “These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.” Numbers 35:8


ABRAHAM LINCOLN: “The land, the earth, God gave to man for his home, sustenance and support, should never be the possession of any man, corporation, society or unfriendly government, any more than the air or water — if as much. An individual or company, or enterprise, acquiring land should hold no more than is required for their home and sustenance…, and never more than they have in actual use in the prudent management of their legitimate business, and this much should not be permitted when it creates an exclusive monopoly. All that is not so used should be held for the free use of every family to make homesteads and to hold them so long as they are so occupied….But when slavery is over and settled, men should never rest content while oppression, wrongs and iniquities are enforced against them.”  Abraham Lincoln

THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826), author of the Declaration of Independence and with Ben Franklin the most inventive and intellectual of the Founding Fathers, wrote, “The earth is given as a common stock for men to labor and to live on… Wherever in any country there are idle lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. Everyone may have land to labor for himself, if he chooses; or, preferring the exercise of any other industry, may exact for it such compensation as not only to afford a comfortable subsistence, but wherewith to provide for a cessation from labor in old age.” (Notes on Virginia, 1791)

JEAN JACQUES ROSSEAU (1712-1778): “You are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to no one.” (Voltaire spoke similarly)

VOLTAIRE: “The fruits of the earth are a common heritage of all, to which each man has equal right.”

CONFUCIUS (BC 551-479), Chinese philosopher: “When the Great Way prevailed, natural resources were fully used for the benefit of all and not appropriated for selfish ends… This was the Age of the Great Commonwealth of peace and prosperity.”


WILLIAM BLACKSTONE (1732-1780), British judge: “The earth, therefore, and all things therein, are the general property of all mankind from the immediate gift of the Creator.”

 

HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1910), British philosopher and more famous than Marx at the time: “Equity does not permit property in land… The world is God’s bequest to mankind. All men are joint heirs to it.”

 

MAX HIRSCH (1877-1968), banker, investor, and author: “Abolish special privileges and Government interference in industry. Give to all equal natural opportunities, equal rights to the inexhaustible storehouse of Nature and wealth will distribute itself in exact accordance with justice.”

HORACE GREELY “Whenever the ownership of the soil is so engrossed by a small part of the community that the far larger part are compelled to pay whatever the few may see fit to exact for the privilege of occupying and cultivating the Earth, there is something very much like slavery.”

M. MORTIMER ADLER (a philosopher of politics and economics): “I slowly came to realize that political democracy cannot flourish under all economic conditions.  Democracy requires an economic system which supports the political ideals of liberty and equality for all.  Men cannot exercise freedom in the political sphere when they are deprived of it in the economic sphere.”

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3. JUBILEE SYSTEM (land can’t be permanently sold. It returns to original owners after 49 years, except if it’s in a city. Land and property in cities can be sold permanently.)

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(Read the whole chapter) “13In the Year of Jubilee each of you must return to the lands that belonged to your ancestors.  “23 The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me. 24 “With every purchase of land you must grant the seller the right to buy it back. 28 …In the jubilee year{every 50th year}, the land must be returned to the original owners so they can return to their family land.”  Leviticus 25 (the rest of the chapter explains that property in towns can be bought and sold permanently, except for the property of the Levites which they can always buy back).
“None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted…9 No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of
Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.” Numbers 36:7,9
Ezekiel 45:9 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Stop all your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land! Stop expelling them from their homes!

 1 Kings 21:  When Ahab demanded that Naboth give him his land, Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors!” Under the laws of Omri/Baal, this was blasphemy against Baal and the king. Naboth and his heirs were executed and Ahab then took possession of it.  But there was an immediate and severe denunciation of this by the fierce prophet Elijah.  Elijah pronounced God’s sentence of death on Ahab, Jezebel and his whole dynasty for this crime:
1 Kings
21:19 “Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood-yes, yours!'”


In I Kg 22 and 2 Kg 9.7-10, the prophecy was fulfilled and Ahab’s dynasty was completely destroyed. The right to land based on the Jubilee was a crucial issue to God in this case. So important that through his prophet he pronounced a sentence of death because the King was violating the system of land and property that God had set up.

ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919), the steel magnate: “The most comfortable, but also the most unproductive way for a capitalist to increase his fortune, is to put all monies in sites and await that point in time when a society, hungering for land, has to pay his price.”

 

ADAM MONROE: “No human being can live without using land. As long as some people must pay others for the right to use land, there will be poverty. Once all persons have an equal right to use land, poverty cannot exist. Nature is generous, she is the author of love and life, but her gifts must be allowed to flow freely throughout all of society; they must not be held for ransom. If they are, what will flow throughout society will be the opposite of life: pollution, anger, violence, hatred, suffering, confusion, war and death.” Adam Jon Monroe, Jr. Editor of “The Georgist News”

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR (1880-1964): Inspired by Henry George’s reform proposals, MacArthur saw to it that during his military governorship of Japan following the Second World War that land rent reform was incorporated in the writing of the Japanese Constitution. The new constitution reversed the portion of agricultural commodities collected as rent between owners (whose portion dropped to one-third of the total), and the tenants farmers who actually did the work (who were then able to retain two-thirds of what they produced).

 

Read more on this topic at: http://www.landreform.org/reading0.htm and especially on the Jubilee at:

http://www.landreform.org/wp9.htm

 

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4. CHARGING INTEREST IS EVIL (to poor or relatives)

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Psalm 15:5 Those who do not charge interest on the money they lend, and who refuse to accept bribes to testify against the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.
Nehemiah 5:7 “You are oppressing your own relatives by charging them interest when they borrow money!” …You are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense. 9Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right!

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  The charging of interest is amajor way that the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.  It also enables a person to make money by doing nothing which is very likely the reason that the Bible prohibits it.
Islamic banks have found a way to follow this better than Christians sadly.

From: www.islamvision.org/EvilsofInterest.asp

See also: http://www.ied.info/books/ed/debt.html#_Toc35644544 to understand the problem of debt traps and interest.  This whole book is brilliant at showing how economic systems of the present are designed to keep billions in economic slavery and siphon off the product of their work to the rich, a terrible form of theft


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5. CANCEL DEBTS EVERY 7 YEARS

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Deuteronomy 15:1 “1At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.3 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.” (NIV)

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  Debts and especially interest cause the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer very fast.  These extremes cause much instability in society.  This is why debts should be cancelled every 7 years.

See this link for why we should do this: http://www.ied.info/books/ed/debt.html#_Toc35644544

There are compelling reasons for paying attention to this potential for catastrophe as, every debt crisis in history since Solon of Athens has ended in inflation, bankruptcy or war, and there is no cause to believe we’ve solved this one, even if it has been postponed.(George, Fate Worse Than Debt, p. 196.)

 

In the 1800s, the United States defaulted on much of its development debt. An honest accounting would find the developed world owing the developing world for the destruction of their social wealth, the earlier enslavement of their labor, and the long term underpayment for their labor and resources.

 

Rutherford B. Hayes (19th U.S. President), from his personal diary, year not provided (between 1881-1891) December 4 Sunday. In church it occurred to me that it is time for the public to hear that the giant evil and danger in this country, the danger which transcends all others, is the vast wealth owned or controlled by a few persons. Money is power. In Congress, in state legislatures, in city councils, in the courts, in the political conventions, in the press, in the pulpit, in the circles of the educated and the talented, its influence is growing greater and greater. Excessive wealth in the hands of the few means extreme poverty, ignorance, vice, and wretchedness as the lot of the many

 

 

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6. TRADE FAIRLY

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Leviticus 19:35 “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. 36Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Amos 8:4 Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land… skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:
“The secret to siphoning away others’ wealth is the low-paid labor in the poor nations and high profits and high wages in the rich societies that have dominated global trade for centuries. Arjun Makhijani calculates that, through an imbalance of currency values, equally-productive labor in the world’s defeated, dependent nations were paid 20% that of the developed world, a 5-to-1 differential.(Arjun Makhijani, From Global Capitalism to Economic Justice (New York: Apex Press, 1992).)  Later currency collapses in the developing world may have doubled that differential to 10-to-1.
See:
http://www.ied.info/books/ed/externaltrade.html

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7. PAY FAIR WAGES

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       James 5:4 “For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.”  (see also Malachi 3:5)

       Jeremiah 21:13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice,  making his countrymen work for nothing,  not paying them for their labor….17 “your eyes and your heart  are set only on dishonest gain,  on shedding innocent blood  and on oppression and extortion.”

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?: If fair wages are paid, then extreme inequalities will end and so will poverty because everyone will have enough to pay for what they need.  There are several kinds of slavery…and one of them is economic.  If a person doesn’t have economic freedom, then it is very likely that he will be forced or oppressed by someone else.

 

Leo Tolstoy wrote, “The essence of all slavery consists in taking the produce of another’s labor by force. It is immaterial whether this force be founded upon ownership of the slave or ownership of the money that he must get to live.”

 

See: http://www.ied.info/books/ed/externaltrade.html#_Toc35644427

As we have learned, in direct trades between countries, wealth accumulation advantage compounds in step with the pay differential for equally-productive labor. If the pay differential is 5, the difference in wealth accumulation advantage is 25-to-1. If the pay differential is 10, the wealth accumulation advantage is 100-to-1…If the pay differential is 60 (the pay differential between Russia and the victorious America [23-cents an hour against $14 an hour]), the wealth accumulation advantage is 3,600-to-1…Place a trader between those two unequally-paid nations to claim all surplus value both through outright underpaying in hard currency or through paying in soft currency and selling in hard currency, capitalize those profits by 10-to-20 times, and you have accumulated capital through capitalized value.11�

 

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8. CHARGE FAIR TAXES (maximum 1-2%) AND RENT

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Amos 5:11 “You trample the poor and steal what little they have through taxes and unfair rent…14Do what is good and run from evil–that you may live! ”

Ezekiel 45: 13″This is the tax you must give to the prince: one bushel of wheat or barley for every sixty[h] you harvest, 14one percent of your olive oil,[i] 15and one sheep for every two hundred in your flocks in Israel.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?: Unfair taxes can be another way for the rich to oppress the poor and siphon off their wealth.  When governments are within their proper limits, they shouldn’t need to have more than 1-2% taxes.  This can easily be provided and more by taxing only those who use natural resources.  No other tax is necessary or fair.  This kind of tax system will enable everyone who is willing to work to take care of their basic needs.  When governments become bloated and corrupted, then you need higher taxes.  But, this is not right or necessary.  It is very possible to operate a nation well according to God’s tax principles.

 

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9. DON’T HOARD/SHARE & BE GENEROUS TO THE POOR

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Deut. 15:7″But if there are any poor people in your towns…, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. 8Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the LORD, you will be considered guilty of sin. 10Give freely without begrudging it, and the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

 Leviticus 19:9 ”When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

 2 Corinthians 8:13Of course, I don’t mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, everyone’s needs will be met.

 “There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.” Ecclesiastes 5:13

  “Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’  20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:16-21

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  Emergencies and disasters happen.  People need 2nd chances at becoming independent and self-sufficient.  If they do become self-sufficient, this will benefit the whole community, not just those who are helped.  Sharing with each other, especially the land and it’s resources with everyone working diligently will create something similar to the Age of Great Harmony that Confucius and Mencius in China talked about.

http://www.noogenesis.com/Confucius/harmony.html

When Confucius was sad about the state of the world he said in reply to a question as to why he was “overcome with sighs”: 

Confucius’ Great Harmony
When the
Great Way prevailed, the world community was equally shared by all. The worthy and able were chosen as office-holders. Mutual confidence was fostered and good neighborliness cultivated. Therefore people did not regard as parents only their own parents, nor did they treat children only their own children. Provision was made for the aged till their death, the adults were given employment, and the young enabled to grow up. Old widows and widowers, the orphaned, the old and childless, as well as the sick and the disabled were all well taken care of. Men had their proper roles and women their homes. While they hated to see wealth lying about on the ground, they did not necessarily keep it for their own use. While they hated not to exert their effort, they did not necessarily devote it to their own ends. Thus evil schemings were repressed, and robbers, thieves and other lawless elements failed to arise, so that outer doors did not have to be shut. This was called the age of Great Harmony (Ta Tung)

…Now the Great Way has fallen into obscurity, . . . Each one separately loves his own parents; each looks upon his own children only as his children. People take the wealth of natural resources and the fruits of their own labors as their own. . . . Castle walls and outer defenses, moats and ditches, are made strong and secure. . . .”

Excerpt only of his full reply. Hsiao, Kung-chuan (trans. F. W. Mote). A History of Chinese Political Thought. Vol. 1: From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1979, p. 125.

Noted Confucius: “To implement my principle is nothing more than being honest and just.”

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10.  BE INDEPENDENT—DON’T SUPPORT DEPENDENCY

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2 Thes. 3:10 “Even while we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘Whoever does not work should not eat.’”

1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  When you create dependency in people, you are making them able to avoid the use of their skills and talents and you are causing them to be a drain on others and very likely the church.  If there are emergencies or unusual situations like orphans or widows or natural disasters, then help in any way possible is critical and necessary.  But, enabling someone to be lazy by getting handouts for free is directly against the Bible principles listed above.  A person who refuses to work should not be given food by those who work diligently.  We are to assist people to become independent and self-sufficient, NEVER dependent on us and our money.

 

A missionary in Africa, pastor David Wilkinson, stresses self-reliance this way:
“The Bible teaches that the person who is not willing to work should not eat, he says: ‘If you have 150 people who you feed on a daily basis, and you don’t have them lift a finger, you are disobedient to the Bible.’”

 

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11. GIVE TITHES AND OFFERINGS

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Malachi 3:8-12 “10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  This is the recognition that God created everything and is the due that he asks of those who believe in Him and honor Him.  Many great businessmen were and are faithful tithe payers.  Some include: Woolworth, J.C. Penny, Hershey, Rockefeller, Colgate and many others.

 

New York Times best selling author Robert Allen shared his insights on money live on a radio show, The Mike Litman Show.  There were 7 skills (see them at: http://www.joshhinds.com/mlitman_articles/litman_rallen.html). 

 

The final skill was “SHARE YOUR MONEY”.  He said, “You’ve got to share your money. Frankly, for me, I pay my sharing first. Out of every dollar I get in, and out of every net profit that I get in, I pay 10% right off the top. It’s the first money that I spend and then I live on the rest and I save the next 10%, then I spend the rest on taxes and shelter and cars and whatever else.”

 

 

In Israel, tithe was used mostly for 3 things (the tithe in Israel may have been larger than 10%…with offerings it may have reached up to 25% of their income…but God promised that he would bless them if they followed this): To support priests, for religious festivals, for the poor/widow/orphans, etc.

 

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12. AFTER TITHE, TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY NEEDS (before sharing)

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  1 Timothy 5:8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?: This verse brings out the point that after paying tithe, believers next most important responsibility is to take care of their own families. After that, we can share with others in need…then later we can pay for our wants and other basic things.

 

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13. SPIRITUAL LEADERS DESERVE FAIR PAY

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 1 Corinthians 9:3 This is my answer to those who question my authority as an apostle.[b] 4Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?:  Everyone needs to make money to pay for basic expenses.  Money represents the value of your work and spiritual work is extremely valuable both for this life and for eternity (1 Timothy 4:8) and so it should be rewarded.  A pastor (like a King) must not hoard things and be luxurious.  But, he deserves to be paid decently for his work so that he can support his family. Spiritual leaders are some of the most important leaders in history because they were the main people responsible for educating people about how to live life, handle relationships problems, supporting the development of science, counsel people in trouble, act as peace makers and so much more. Their value to society is inestimable.

EXTRAS TO ADD

we aren’t teaching land rights, harm of interest, cancelling debt, 1 John 3:17, how to create independence, etc.

gold/silver money, 6,000 fiat currencies have gone to zero.

Money printed by govt. not banks.

no interest on it.

NEWSTART double’s income

marriage

volunteering economy/films for action.

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