Taking Loans

[bballa4life716]

In the bible it says you should not charge interest on loans. So does this mean that by buying a house or car, we are supporting a sin?

[Ryan897]

well i sapose it would be. but then you would have to live in a tent or have a ton of money to just buy it off. other than that i got nothing

[huldah153]

In the bible it says you should not charge interest on loans. So does this mean that by buying a house or car, we are supporting a sin?

No, it just means you are oppressed. But Proverbs tells us the borrower is servant to the lender, so it's advisable not to acquire loans if they aren't needed for the bare necessities of life.

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church forbade charging interest on loans and made it crime called 'Usury'.

[twistedsketch]

"Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess." - Deuteronomy 23:19-20

From what I understand, if an Israelite was going to another to borrow money or food or whatever, this was a brother in need. But if a foreigner was traveling through, he was usually on business and could afford the interest. I'm no expert, though.

I think it's very wrong to charge interest on a personal loan - if your friend owes you 20 bucks, that shouldn't grow to 30 bucks if he's slow to pay it. That goes against the generosity that I believe Jesus was about. And if you're taking out a loan, you'd better have a solid plan for paying it off - and a solid plan is not with another loan!