Charging Interest: Medieval Wisdom for a Modern Financial Crisis
Description
Charging Interest explores current exploitative financial practices through the lens of Martin Luther's explosive treatise called Exhortation to the Clergy to Preach Against Usury. Written in 1540 and translated anew by Michael T. Grzonka, this treatise tackles the growing problem of usury (money lending) in Luther's time and context. Wittenberg authorities claimed powerlessness in the face of poverty, famine, egregious hoarding, and price-gouging. Luther urged pastors to confront lenders who were charging exploitive interest rates, dooming many to a life of continual poverty and starvation.
Luther went so far as to ask exploitive lenders to repent of their practices, and if they refused to excommunicate them from worship, from participating in the sacraments, and refuse to provide burial services. Clergy who did not condemn these practices would risk facing God's judgment.
Michael Grzonka provides a detailed introduction and new translation of Luther's treatise as well as reflections on faithful and ethical responses to unfair financial practices in our own day. A detailed study guide raises key questions for review and helps readers reflect on how Luther's text still may address issues in the contemporary world. Renowned historian and Reformation scholar Carter Lindberg provides a forward to this topic, which Martin Luther addressed on more than one occasion.
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About the Author
Martin Luther stands as one of the most significant figures in Western history. His distinction as the father of the Protestant Reformation is augmented by his innovative use of new technology (the printing press), his translation of the Christian Bible into the vernacular, and his impact upon European society. Born in 1483 to middle-class parents in Saxony, eastern Germany, he became an Augustinian monk, a priest, a professor of biblical literature, a reformer, a husband and father. He died in 1546 after having witnessed the birth of a renewal movement that would result in a profound shift in faith, politics, and society. He has been both praised and vilified for what he preached and wrote. His thought continues to influence all Christians and to animate the movement that bears his name.
Michael T. Grzonka completed his Ph.D. in chemistry before moving to the US from Germany in 1996. Since 2013, he has researched and published study resources on Martin Luther and the German Reformation. His key interest is exploring how Christian teaching and ethics intersect with contemporary economic practices.
