Category: Disillusion
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Jubilee and Debt Cancellation
Ask most people about "Jubilee," and they will say they have never heard of it. If they have heard of it, it is often because of the Jubilee 2000 organization, now known as Jubilee Research. This organization has lobbied for debt cancellation for the poorest of the lesser developed countries (LDCs). They have had the…
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Jubilee Ethic
Jubilee sounds like an idea with great potential. However, as Yogi Berra once observed, “To say a player has potential means he hasn’t done it yet.” (Of course, he also said, “I didn’t really say a lot of the things I said.”) There is no evidence that Israel ever observed the Jubilee. In fact, they…
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Jubilee (Part 3)
Leviticus 25:35-46 NRSV 35 If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. 36 Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. 37 You…
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Jubilee (Part 2)
Leviticus 25:13-17 NRSV 13 In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property. 14 When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another. 15 When you buy from your neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years…
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Jubilee (Part 1)
The nation of Israel was formally established at Sinai by God, with God as king. At that time, God instructed the people as to righteous behavior. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain many laws addressing how the people were to relate to God and how the people were to relate to each…
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Capital Ideas
One of the fundamental rules for using Scripture is to avoid reading our culture into the text. Scripture was written into a particular context. When we read about economic issues, we must read them within context. What has changed about economics since the Bible times? A Lot! Most people have worked in agriculture over…
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Keepers of the Pig Sty
Centuries ago, in feudal England, one's wealth was based largely on the amount of land and livestock owned. An army of servants managed livestock. A "ward" was a servant responsible for some aspect of the operation. The feudal lord's most valued possession was often his herd of pigs. Consequently, the most trusted ward was the…
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Strong Medicine
The Ten Commandments' first three or four commandments (depending on how you number them) addressed our relationship with God. The remaining commandments deal with our relationships with each other. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your…
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One God
Several weeks ago, I wrote about viewing Scripture as a six-act play. Act 1 was the creation of the heavens and earth and the placement of Adam and Eve in Eden. Act 2 was the rebellion of humanity against God. Act 3 began with Abraham's call and the Israelites' birth. It continues up to the…
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Laying the Moral Foundation
The Israelites experienced God's miraculous deliverance from bondage in Egypt. God deconstructed the illusion of power and permanence of the Egyptian Empire. God had called out a people that would give witness to God in the world. At Mount Sinai, God spoke to Moses and gave him the foundational moral and ethical framework for the…