Church Voices

A common practice in ancient Rome was to leave unwanted infants on a hillside to die of exposure. As Christianity spread it became common for those infants to be saved by Christians as a way of advancing the kingdom of God in the great here and now. This practice is now looked back on as a great source of pride by current Christians. I doubt very much that ancient Romans even recognized this as an abhorrent practice.

Every era has its unseen vices. Practices that are so deeply ingrained in the daily routine of life that the horror of the practice fades away to background noise.

The unseen vices of America’s past include slavery quickly followed by societal and lawful racism. Americans today recognize the sin easily, and so today actively grapple with its effects, and the current forms of racism. Americans of even 60 years ago did not.

But what about today? What are the unseen vices of the current age? While I’m sure I overlook a great many, I humbly suggest usury as a prime candidate. Consider the following story:

The New York Times has an article that tells the unfortunate tale of Diane McLeod and her love affair with debt. She started out “debt free” when she got married, but after a divorce she’d managed to accrue $25,000 in credit card debt. Despite not having a down payment or any assets, Diane was given a $135,000 mortgage. Over the next few years, illness, underemployment, and shockingly irresponsible spending combined disastrously with the bank’s willingness to refinance her loan as her home appreciated (for a fee, of course). 5 years later, Diane owes $237,000 on her mortgage. She’s in foreclosure now, and a recent sheriff’s auction of the home did not draw a single bidder. A similar house down the street recently sold for $84,000 less than she owes on her home.

The NYT says there is a bright spot at the end of the tunnel for Diane. She’s still getting credit card offers from “Urban Bank.”

Recently an envelope arrived offering a “pre-qualified” Salute Visa Gold card issued by Urban Bank Trust. “We think you deserve more credit!” it said in bold type.

A spokeswoman at Urban Bank said the Salute Visa is part of a program “designed to provide access to credit for folks who would not otherwise qualify for credit.”

The Salute Visa offered Ms. McLeod a $300 credit line. But a closer look at the fine print showed that $150 of that would go, as annual fees, to Urban Bank.

Its clear that we’ve long passed the point where credit cards (and banks that issue them) have are not trying to earn a living off of interest in the form of short term loans that are paid off. Instead, their goal is to create debt that is never paid off. Credit card loans are essentially becoming assets. They don’t care if you have the ability to pay off the loan because they don’t want the loan paid off ever. They just want a constant revenue stream.

Christians of the past recognized the danger of usury. St. Jerome concluded that on the basis of Deuteronomy 23.20 earning any interest at all should be banned (as all men are brothers, sharing a common creator), Augustine concluded “to live by usury is exceedingly unnatural”, Saint Anselm began the shift in thinking that lead to the belief that charging interest was the same as theft, in 1139 the second Lateran Council denied sacraments to unrepentant usurer, by 1142 a decree had been issued that forbade re-payment greater than the amount actually lent, and St Thomas Aquinas and his disciples generally concluded that earning money lent on interest was wrong with a few exceptions. The list can go on and on, these are just some of the larger examples.

Of course to come to such a conclusion would require some major re-thinking of how Christians conduct themselves. The obvious being to avoid using, being employed by, or investing in credit cards, rent-a-centers, check cashing business and other businesses that earn money by charging exorbitant fees and interest on those least likely to be able to re-pay it.

What might hurt a bit more is the examination of the role that banks play. The sub-prime mortgage meltdown demonstrates that even large, reputable banks have acted in a way that is contrary to scripture. For most of us this isn’t a huge concern as we have the ability to use the services of a bank when and how we choose, and so can choose to use our money and borrowing power in a way that is consistent with scripture.

However, for those who find themselves in a banking career a bit more discernment is required. Do the scriptures forbid a Christian from being a teller at a reputable bank who may or may not be engaged in producing credit cards and other less than wise lending services? What should someone who is rounding out the end of their career as a bank president at a local branch do? They are bound to take care of their family, but at the same time their skills are now all in areas that would require them to work for a business that oversees auto loans. What about a car salesman who doesn’t actually make loans, but knows that many of the people he sells to can’t afford the loans they’re signing? While Christians can probably exist in these industries in some capacity, these questions are rarely, if ever, wrestled with.

There is one area to thank God for the progress made in. I thank God that men like Dave Ramsey have sounded the alarm on money management and debt in general. I also thank God that many churches are involved in educating their communities in this area.