Christian Ethics Problem 3 Chapter 15
Christian Ethics Problem 3
1. What is the biblical basis for the Jubilee 2000’s call for the immediate canceling of the debts of all HIPCs?
Answer: Leviticus 25:14 says “You shall not oppress one another.” The lending countries loaned money at interest rates in excess knowing that the HIPCs could not pay those debts off in the future, and that is a means of oppression. Leviticus 25:25-28 is where the name Jubilee comes from. Basically, it says that if a man is poor and needs money, he can sell his items. Either he can pay off the debt and get his items back, a family member can do this for him, or upon the year of Jubilee the items are returned to the original owner and the debt is forgiven.
2. What conditions do you believe should accompany debt relief to developing countries?
Answer: Out of all the choices on pages 218-219 in the Stapleford text, I have chosen three conditions that I believe are most important (although I do believe all 9 of them should be used):
a. Preferential option for the poor with respect to the spending of the funds saved. I believe that if you want someone to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself. It goes back to Chapter 1 in the Stapleford text when he spoke about an individual having self-interest (without excess). If a country wants to get better, it has to invest in its people- education, roads, utilities, healthcare, AIDS/Ebola/Malaria/other disease prevention and treatment, loans available to farmers and small business owners.
b. The institution of social security systems. Cap military spending to avoid governments backing militias for political gain. No loans for countries persecuting any religious group. No spending the money going to war, instead investing it in long-term peace-keeping operations.
c. Investment by developed countries in technology needed to foster developing-country development. This closely ties in with my first choice, but I want to combine another condition (institution and enforcement
1. What is the biblical basis for the Jubilee 2000’s call for the immediate canceling of the debts of all HIPCs?
Answer: Leviticus 25:14 says “You shall not oppress one another.” The lending countries loaned money at interest rates in excess knowing that the HIPCs could not pay those debts off in the future, and that is a means of oppression. Leviticus 25:25-28 is where the name Jubilee comes from. Basically, it says that if a man is poor and needs money, he can sell his items. Either he can pay off the debt and get his items back, a family member can do this for him, or upon the year of Jubilee the items are returned to the original owner and the debt is forgiven.
2. What conditions do you believe should accompany debt relief to developing countries?
Answer: Out of all the choices on pages 218-219 in the Stapleford text, I have chosen three conditions that I believe are most important (although I do believe all 9 of them should be used):
a. Preferential option for the poor with respect to the spending of the funds saved. I believe that if you want someone to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself. It goes back to Chapter 1 in the Stapleford text when he spoke about an individual having self-interest (without excess). If a country wants to get better, it has to invest in its people- education, roads, utilities, healthcare, AIDS/Ebola/Malaria/other disease prevention and treatment, loans available to farmers and small business owners.
b. The institution of social security systems. Cap military spending to avoid governments backing militias for political gain. No loans for countries persecuting any religious group. No spending the money going to war, instead investing it in long-term peace-keeping operations.
c. Investment by developed countries in technology needed to foster developing-country development. This closely ties in with my first choice, but I want to combine another condition (institution and enforcement