In the comments to my previous post, wasp jerky made the most delightful and thought-provoking comment:

I never cease to be amused that so many churches are squeamish about homosexuals in their congregations, yet have no problem with bankers. The Bible condemns usury and even calls it an abomination. Where’s the “God hates bankers” movement?

This issue resonates with me for a few reasons. First of all, biblical Christian financial ethics are one area with which I have little quarrel. Jesus preached a lot about money, and his teachings sure sound good (and, of course, extremely challenging). Also, the two gentlemen who lead my bible study group (one does it more often than the other) both work for bank! Can you believe it? Though the second only joined the ranks of the sellouts recently, having grown tired of not being able to make a living at the health-care job for which he trained and having to work part-time shifts at the gas station where he’s worked since he was a teenager. Which is totally understandable and I’m thrilled for him. He is one of my favourite people ever in the world. I’ve known him since I was five, and you know how most people suck when they go through the awkward teenage years? He didn’t. He was cool and kind and fun even then. He’s that awesome. (Also, the first banker and bible study leader got him the job in the first place. See? Christian community at work! I’ve gotten jobs from church people, too, and it’s a nice effect.)

Anyway. I’m ruminating about these things in case they should come up in the context of our formal study. Inasmuch as our study is anything resembling “formal” with me cracking jokes all the time. I try to keep it to a dull roar, I swear. Wait, I don’t swear, Jesus says to make no oaths, let your yes be yes. (I pay attention sometimes.)

Because we are North American Christians, we can’t have a bible study or small group without having study guide books. The book we’ve been going through this fall was selected by the first banker: The Treasure Principle, by Randy Alcorn.

At first I was relieved by this choice. I was afraid we’d end up with some study that would stir up the controversial issues, on which my perspectives most certainly differ from the rest of the group. (By “controversial issues,” I mean the usual, you know, homos, fetus-killing, but also more esoteric things like the Nature of Salvation and whatnot.)

I’m down with Jesus’ teaching on money, and I’m sure you know that Jesus preached a lot more about money than he did about homos, or, for that matter, sex. Interesting, no?

Now, the first banker’s intentions were totally good in choosing Alcorn’s slight volume. We in our group are all young, and good financial habits are best made early. Everyone, even the heathens, agrees that giving money away is good. Hell, pathological corporations give away money because it makes them look good. That tells you something. Philanthropy and charity are as nearly universally-held as any value can be in our society.

I’d been meaning to make a separate, longer post about Alcorn’s book and maybe I still will. Actually, I can say with a good deal of certainty that I will, because there was one point early in the book where the content almost made me puke. (How’s that for a teaser?) But for now I’ll suffice it to say that I was extremely pleased to find that my dyed-in-the-wool evangelical comrades increasingly took issue with The Treasure Principle. Partly for its obnoxious style — you know, it’s the kind of study guide that has you look up eighteen different verses, with no regard for context, to answer one question to which the answer is obvious (well, to which the “right,” proscribed answer is obvious). We all grew increasingly annoyed by the book’s focus on heavenly reward, but as I said, that’s a story for another day.

Let’s go back to wasp jerky’s original comment. “Usury” isn’t a word you hear very often, so let’s get a definition on the table:

u·su·ry (yū’zhə-rē)
n., pl. -ries.

1. The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest, especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate.
2. An excessive or illegally high rate of interest charged on borrowed money.
3. Archaic. Interest charged or paid on a loan.

It’s not like I’m going to go up to the first banker, point my finger, and say, “YOU, SIR, ARE GUILTY OF USURY! YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION BEFORE GOD!” and slap him on the cheek with a white glove or something. Under the modern definition, what banks do is not usury (those money stores, on the other hand, are a different matter). However, under the old definition, the biblical definition, any interest charged is usury. Not just the 18% credit card rate, not just the 50% money mart rate, but a measly 1%, or 0.0001%.

But the definintion has changed, as lexis continuously does, as culture continuously does.

A couple years ago, back when I was divorced from Jesus, a good friend came out of the closet, in a move that surprised no one (well, it did surprise some people, but most of the people he knows are Christians and generally Christians can’t recognize gay if you paint their house with it). I asked him if he were still a Christian. He said he was. I said, how? (I was pro-homo at that point, see, but I figured my pro-homo-ness and Christianity were incompatible.) He said, well, when biblical writers used the word “homosexuality,” they probably didn’t really relate it to the concept of two people in a committed, loving, mutually-beneficial, ethical relationship creating a home together.

I relate the “sin” of homosexuality to the “sin” of usury here to ask, if we can change the definition of the latter word, why can’t we change the definition of the former?

Just a question.

(Some of my favourite people are bankers.)

Things in which I am interested:
• In-depth discussion of theological concepts
• Questioning the “fundamental” tenets of Christianity (but not with the implicit precept being that in the end we’ll all discover what we believe was Right All Along)
• Entertaining the thought that maybe there is not just one “right” way to practice Christianity

Things in which I am not interested:
• The same old religion repackaged in a fancier way, either with orgiastic worship or lots of ancient rituals and shit
• Pithy responses to serious questions (”Just trust in Jesus.” “God will win in the end.”)
• Christianity that agrees with political and economic conservatism

Tonight I had a discussion with a man who believes that our society is built around Christian concepts and believes, in terms of the legal system and such. I said no freakin’ way. We live in a capitalist society, and capitalism requires inequality and explotation to function. Inequality and exploitation are completely in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Capitalists say that the market can provide for all, but obviously that doesn’t happen. Our society is built around our economy, and the economy is not Christian in its values. Yes, philanthropy and humanitarianism is valued in our Western culture by Christians and others alike, but no amount of philanthropy that is currently done is enough to balance the inequalities, and certainly is not enough to prevent those inequalities from occuring in the first place.

But then again I am a young woman and he is a middle-aged man; both of our positions in life cause us to lean towards leftism and conservatism, respectively. And don’t get me wrong, I love this man. He is a wonderful person and a valued member of my faith community. He also works in upper management at a bank. (Heh, I feel like right-wingers who say, “Some of my friends are homosexual.” Now I can say, “Some of my friends are conservative capitalists!” And he is a really great guy, you’d love him.)