A Brief History of Interest in Christian Thought

While America has grown to become a nation full of a diverse range of religions, most of the founders shared a christian heritage. They developed their understanding of the human person and the basis for government from christian thought. While now a key consideration at all levels of society, from credit-owing individuals to the federal government, interest has not always been so commonly accepted in the Christian world. From the original Hebrew texts to the present, thoughts concerning interest have been a society-defining sidebar in the western world.

The Old Testament’s discussion of interest is brief and primarily forbids it. Exodus 24 allows loans yet bars interest to those in need. It operates under the assumption that loans can allow the poor to get their feet back under them, and does not allow anyone to make the already difficult repayment process even harder. The author writes in Exodus that God commands, “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.” While not explicitly allowing them, the verse implies that interest-driven business loans were at least common at the time. However, a separate passage in Leviticus is less clear yet used by Jews and Christians to forbid business loans to those with shared faith. Once again the author writes, “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest.”  The interpretation of the motivation behind this has allowed the fragmentation of Christian thought in many different strands. Some believe that interest is allowed to the foreigner as a means of harming them, others see the lack of interest towards the Hebrew as an act of sacrificial solidarity. Nonetheless, this passage has been used to justify centuries of Christian reluctance to charge interest on business loans. …