A Journalist's word pictures of
'Grace and Usury' for Church Magazines

Ian Yearsley, a journalist, wrote a series of twelve 230 word pieces that were offered to church magazine editors via to the Christian News Service for the twelve months of 2002, entitled as follows:

Series title: GRACE AND USURY
1. (For 2nd January 2002 ) Why are we considering this, "Why money matters".
2. Scripture is full of this (this is heavy with references to keep the evangelical Editor happy)
3. The gift of God. Theological essentials; all is a gift from God, Israelites themselves once had been slaves; distinction between animals and plants, which can reproduce, and money which is dead.
4. Usury, the hated word. Usury in biblical times, shift from land to capital, 1545/1571, 10 per cent definition
5. Why risk is an exception, refers to Islamic banking, C S Lewis sci-fi with floating islands and people allowed to visit but not sleep on fixed lands (what was the title of this?) Narnia ?
6. Year of release and Jubilee - Sabbath principle extended.
7. Old Testament offers social restructuring, New Testament tends towards charity.
8. Early Fathers, Irenaeus to St. John Chrysostom
9. Today, not just usury but money makes money out of money; debt-based (compound interest bearing) economy
10 World debt, focuses attention on national and personal debt (three-gear !)
11 Where are we now, the moral dilemma ( we are all caught up in this)
12 Some ways forward, World Development Movement, Monetary Reform Group, Basic Income research, Grameen Bank, [Complementary Currencies] Credit Unions, etc. etc. Do we create ingenious ways of opting out or do we try to reform the system as it stands? Final reference to the ongoing wotk of the Christian Council for Monetary Justice.
Ask for details through peter@southwark.org.uk