Thank you for your report on 16th of September. The world stock markets plunge as US banking giants collapse. One of the worst features of usury in its old sense of lending money without taking a share of the risk is the intensification of business cycles of this kind. Usury was condemned by the Jews in the Old Testament, Aristotle, Mohammed, St Thomas Aquinas and Dante and then sanctioned by Calvin.
Aristotle said: “Money is a medium of exchange only, not the mother of interest”. The church has forgotten its own teaching on the subject so we need a Papal encyclical.
Malaysia now operates a banking system successfully without usury. During the development of the American West in the 19th century great prosperity ensued with the use of President Lincoln’s interest-, or debt-free Greenbacks.
In England the principal opponents of usury are a parliamentary group The Forum for Stable Currencies administered by Sabine McNeill of 21a Goldhurst Terrace, London NW6. Austin Mitchell MP is a leading officer of that organization.
From Lord Sudeley,
25 Melcombe Court, Dorset Sq., London NW1
What the DT published on 17 September 2008:
Usury was condemned by the Old Testament, Aristotle, Mohammed, Thomas Aquinas and Dante. The church has forgotten its teaching on the subject so we need a Papal encyclical to rectify this.
Malaysia operates a banking system successfully without usury. During the development of the American West, President Lincoln’s interest-, or debt-free Greenbacks brought great prosperity.
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Please note that Grameen is a model for usury-free banking!
In the Spirit of the Forum for Stable Currencies