By Davis Carlton

Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) has written an article informing readers about the implications for individuals and churches given the recently passed CARES Stimulus package aimed at relieving Americans who are suffering financial hardships under the current COVID-19 lockdown. The article seems a somewhat strange read given that it appears on The Gospel Coalition website. It reads like something that a tax attorney or accounting firm would post on its website for the benefits of current or prospective clients, and yet it’s posted on The Gospel Coalition.

Carter seemingly is simply presenting information to readers as a sort of public service announcement by presenting some of the details of the CARES Act without passing much in the way of judgment on the nature of its provisions. If it was Carter’s intention to simply publish information without passing any judgment on said information then mission accomplished, I guess. It just seems odd to me. One would think that TGC would be interested in providing commentary based upon Biblical wisdom, but even if it was Carter’s intention to simply pass along information without passing judgment he has failed miserably to provide any semblance of the truth. Reading Carter one gets the impression that this large stimulus is simply about providing relief to Americans who have been affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Wouldn’t Carter better serve readers of TGC by informing them of the long term implications of the government’s response?

Carter completely ignores the massive price tag of this purported economic “stimulus” as well as the consequences of such immense deficit spending on projects that have virtually nothing to do with any real or perceived pandemic. Several Facebook friends have simply pointed out the disparity between how much money we’re supposed to receive against how much this bill costs. The two trillion dollar price tag can be divided by the approximately three hundred thirty million people residing in the United States, for a relative cost per person of just over six thousand dollars. This puts in perspective the $1,200 dollar payout that people might receive as a result of the CARES act. This is essentially a loan at over four hundred percent interest which doesn’t include any additional devaluation that is sure to come about by virtue of printing or electronically creating money out of nothing. Money can be printed or electronically transferred, but value cannot be created out of nothing by anyone except God.

This is a gross violation of the just weights and measures principle taught in many places in the Scriptures (Lev. 19:36; Deut. 25:13-14; Prov. 11:1, 16:11; 20:10, 20:23; Mic. 6:11). Essentially this moral precept was against counterfeiting. Most people see how this is obviously evil when practiced by individuals, but unfortunately fail to hold banks governments to the same standard. Additionally the fact that private financiers will greatly profit from the money that has been conjured out of nothing by reaping interest payments violates the Biblical prohibition on usury (lending at interest: Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36-37; Deut. 23:19-20; Neh. 5:7-10; Ps. 15:5; Prov. 28:8; Is. 24:2; Jer. 15:10; Ezek. 18:8-17, 22:12).¹

For centuries Christian kingdoms strictly prohibited usury and fractional reserve banking as it is now practiced throughout the world based upon the passages cited above. The age of Enlightenment brought a new approach to society in which rulers believed that they could utilize these practices to stimulate economic growth. These practices started off modestly by comparison to the way that they are implemented today, but eventually they have eroded the wealth of the formerly Christian Western world and benefited the class of international financiers. We can easily see the decline in the purchasing power of American dollars since the time that our country ceased using the gold standard and allowed for a purely fiat currency.

Our disobedience against the commandments of God has grown exponentially since then. Seventeenth century Dutch bankers could not have imagined the depths of depravity into which their twenty-first century descendants have fallen. The Western world is ripe for judgement for having abandoned God. Carter and TGC have missed an opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom of God’s Law and how it can apply to our current problems. I’ve come to expect nothing less from an organization that consistently flogs whites over fake cultural Marxist sins and gives a platform to men and women who have obviously crossed over into heresy on essential points of doctrine. But at least Carter has notified churches on the most efficient way to apply for crumbs that fall from Caesar’s table.