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Judeo-Christian Tradition on Debt: Political, Not Just Ethical

M any civil society groups that deal critically with the situation of highly indebted developing countries draw their inspiration from principles arising from religious traditions and work within religious networks, such as the World Council of Churches. This essay seeks to inform questions about the resolution of today’s debt crisis against the background of this engagement. The approach is valuable both because of the moral richness of religious teaching, and because of the historical practice of translating moral religious principles into political action on debt. The first section interprets how the basic documents of the JudeoChristian tradition dealt with the debt problem in an ancient agrarian society. The second section asks what role appeals to ethics generally can perform in a political controversy, especially concerning the debt problem. The final section links solutions to the debt problem of individuals in ancient Judean society to debt problems of countries in modern societies. It argues that the linkage can help in finding political solutions for problems of our times.