Tag: Leviticus 25
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Prosperity: Dencentralization
After a twelve-day hiatus, I return to my series on the "Cycle of Prosperity." My last three posts dealt with the cultural environment that gave birth to the explosion in modern prosperity originating in Europe. I suggested that there are at least four cultural features related to the Judeo-Christian heritage that have had an impact…
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Living Simply in Abundance (7)
Earlier in this series, I wrote that wealth and prosperity were promised outcomes for faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. But within that covenant, we find this warning: Deuteronomy 8:17-20 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your…
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Economic Fallacies: “Biblical Redistribution”
The Biblical Redistribution fallacy identifies wealth equalization as the primary economic concern of the Bible; the Jubilee Code of Leviticus 25 is the most exemplary passage. Based on this perspective, public policies ranging from tax rates to debt cancellation for developing nations are advocated. These policies may be worthy and appropriate, but that is distinct…
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Household: Jesus’ Mission Statement
How did Jesus perceive his mission? The gospel of Luke tells in sequence of Jesus being baptized, going into the wilderness to be tested, and then reading from the scrolls during worship at Nazareth. Scholars believe the event at Nazareth actually happened later in Jesus' ministry. So why does Luke locate it at the beginning?…
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Theology and Economics: Jubilee Code
The most instructive passage on economic behavior is Leviticus 25 instructions concerning the sabbath and Jubilee. Chapter 25 is often referred to as the "Jubilee Code." Leviticus 25:1-7 1 The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that…
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Theology and Economics: Distributive Justice
Distributive Justice – How capital and goods are distributed throughout society. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" and only God is eternal. Therefore, everything ultimately belongs to God. Yet God created us to be "stewards" of his creation. "Steward" is not widely used today. I love its Old English origins. Hundreds…
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Theology and Economics: The New (Jeru)shalom
When Jesus arrived on the scene, the Jews were looking for a messiah to gather all the Jews to Israel, overthrow the oppressors, and restore shalom. Exactly how this would happen and when was a much-contested issue. Still, these three elements were prominent within most Jewish eschatology. The gospel of Luke takes the story of…
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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…