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Source: Russian Faith
The Orthodox Christian Prohibition of Interest on Loans
Loyalty to God's commandments, including the commandments prohibiting usury, is the path to the possible rebirth of our country.
Translated by Kimberly Gleason
Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev | May 30, 2022
A person should adhere to biblical principles and study the world experience of interest-free banking systems. Holy Scripture forbids lending money at interest and making profit from interest.
Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev, Church of the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner in Sokolniki, writer, theologian, & missionary
In the book of Exodus it says:
"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." (Ex. 22:25).The same prohibition is repeated in the book of Leviticus:
"If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God." (Lev. 25:35-37).
"You shall not charge interest to your brother — interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest." (Deut. 23:19).The New Testament also has instructions that are indirectly related to usury. The Gospel of Matthew says:
"Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from those who want to borrow from you" (Matt. 5:42).The Bible unequivocally condemns usury, meaning the lender's granting a loan to a borrower on the terms of paying remuneration for it. The amount of remuneration does not matter. The same ban entered the church tradition.
The Holy Fathers forbade others to engage in usury. For example, St. Gregory of Nyssa writes:
"And according to Divine Scripture, to the number of barred cases there is vengeance and interest, and communion with someone else's acquisitions, through some predominance, even if it was under the guise of a treaty" (Gregory of Nyssa 6).The Rules of the Church say:
"a bishop, or presbyter, or a deacon that demands extra from debtors, should either cease or be deposed." (Ap. 44).
"Initiates should not give rise and charge ... interest" (Laod.4).
"Since many of those who were included in the clergy, following covetousness, forgot the Divine Scripture, which says: do not give your silver on interest (Ps. 14:5), and lend requiring percentages, the holy and great Council reasoned that if someone, after this definition, comes to charge collecting interest from a loan, or another turnover giving to this business, or half growth requiring, or something else imaginative, for the sake of shameful self-interest, is a stranger to the clergy" (1 Un. 17).
"The bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, who charges interest, or the so-called percentage, must cease, or be deposed." (6 Un. 10).
"It is also argued that the cleric who gave the loan money, received the same amount of money: and the one who gave the thing received how much he gave" (Carth. 21).
The Apostle Paul wrote:
"Having food and clothing, let us be content. But those who desire to enrich themselves fall into temptation and into the net and into many foolish and harmful lusts that plunge people into calamity and ruin; for the root of all evil is the love of money, which having surrendered, some have turned away from the faith and have themselves subjected to many sorrows. But you, man of God, flee these things, and succeed in righteousness, piety, faith, love, patience, meekness" (1 Tim. 6: 8-11)The interest system does not exist in all countries of the world. For example, it is prohibited in Islamic and Jewish banking. The Jews do not allow such an attitude to their own people. The welfare of society is shaped not by the efforts of white-collar workers, but by the sweat and blood of workers and peasants — working people. The interest-free provision of people with money is not a myth, but a reality. In Holy Scripture it is categorically forbidden to give money at interest to one's fellow believer, but it is allowed with a foreigner because he may be a potential opponent, a representative of a hostile ethnic group, or a hostile state (Deut. 23:20). For example, an Islamic bank gives a Muslim money for equity participation in his business, thus, the bank is interested in business success. And if a bank gives money at interest, as in Russia, Europe, and the USA, then it is directly interested in ruining people, because in the event of ruin, you can sell a business and make money on ruin.
Please go to Russian Faith to read more.
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Further thoughts on usury:
Related:
If every American acted on this information and insights into existence central banking would come to an end as well as usury:
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