Forgive me for going into theological arcana for a moment: I'm a strong proponent of using "debts" and "debtors" in the Lord's Prayer. (For those who aren't familiar with the issue, there are three different ways of saying the "forgive us our _____, as we forgive _____" in the Lord's Prayer. There's "trespass/those who trespass against us," "sin/those who sin against us," and "debts/our debtors.")

Why is this? Several reasons. The first is practical: Trespassing isn't really relevant to a vast portion of the society. Even for those of us who do own land, trespassing is hardly something that requires deep forgiveness. Particularly given the extent to which the American economy is defined by indebtedness, the idea of forgiving and being forgiven debts has a much more personal meaning.

The second is theological: I agree with Yoder that when Jesus came to earth, he wasn't just proclaiming spiritual messages but practical ones. "The Kingdom of God is at hand" had very specific meaning to 1st-century Jews; it meant Jubilee, the year when all debts would be forgiven, all indentured slaves would be freed, and the land would be redistributed. "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" didn't just have spiritual meaning; it was at least partially taken as a literal command to forgive debtors. Debt, as we're seeing now, can be a great tool for those who want to economically exploit others; to make forgiveness of spiritual (or literal) debt based on one's own willingness to stop exploiting others is a very moral command.

Which brings me to a question: Given the magnitude of the subprime crisis, and given that a lot of these debts are now worth very little, why couldn't well-heeled churches or well-heeled Christian individuals demonstrate "Forgive us our debts" by buying up some of these subprime loans - and simply forgiving them, no questions asked, no strings attached? What better demonstration of the love of Christ could there be than spending a little of one's own money to get someone else out of a lot of trouble?

Just a thought...

Labels: Debt, Economy, Religion