And Jesus Said: “Gouge Thy Neighbor”
February 25th, 2008 | by Tom Harper |It might seem to you that Evangelicals — the same people who go apeshit over abortion and the “Homosexua l Agenda” — have been strangely silent about the cheating and gouging done by corporations . And you would be right.
This article, along with the accompanying map, shows a strong correlation (by state) between payday lenders — and other legalized loansharks — and the percentage of Evangelicals and Mormons who live in that state. Basically, the more lily-white and Jesus-spouti ng the population is, the more tolerant they are of those money-change rs that their idol drove from the temple.
This map also gives new meaning to the term Red State. The deeper the shade of red, the more payday lenders the state has per 10,000 residents. Utah and a whole slew of southern Bible Belt states are the reddest in terms of payday lenders and Biblehumpers .
The one exception to this trend is Nevada. They have a lot of payday lenders, but at least for them it’s consistent with their freewheeling anything-goe s attitudes. And Nevada still has a lower ratio of payday lenders than those Family Values states in the south.
Now, the same Holy Book that (supposedly) screams about homosexuals, abortion and premarital sex also has a few things to say about usury:
“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.”
“If he has exacted usury Or taken increase — Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations , He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him.”
Check out the link; there’s a whole screenload of passages about usury (hint: none of them are in favor of it).
Funny how the Holier-Than- Thou brigade has “forgotten ” about these Biblical passages. But hey, at least they have Values.
Tags: General, BIO, Morals and Values, Religion and Politics, Culture, Abortion, Bible, Evangelical
