Transcription of an old pamphlet I found on the internet in the night of 24/11/2019

A New Money for a New Age

Free on Application to E. W. ABRAHAM

112 Faithful Street
Victoria, B.C.

A New Money for a New Age

In view of the world-wide search for a new Monetary System which will bring real Security, the following thoughts on the Economics of the Bible are submitted, not with the intention of being dogmatic, nor as hard as fast rules, but as suggestions for the ground-work of further study along these lines. If abundance and plenty are worth having, they are worth studying and working for.

The subject will be discussed under nine headings, as follows:

The Kind of Government we need to administer a Righteous Economic System.
The Form of Money we would require.
The Law against Usury.
The Sabbatic Law of Release.
Provision for the Poor, Sick, Young, Old, Widows, etc.
A Minimum Wage.
Pensions for ALL.
Taxes, or tithe.
Government Control.

1. The Kind of Government We need…

First and foremost, we MUST HAVE a Government we can RELY UPON. A government made up, as Moses instructed, of “able men, such as fear God, men of Truth, hating covetousness…” Such a Government’s duties would be not to MAKE its own laws, but to ADMINISTER the economic laws of the Bible, Ex. 18.21; Deut. 1, 15-17; and 16, 18.

2. The Form of Money Required

Money would be provided ONLY by the Government, and SOLELY as a MEANS OF EXCHANGE. The Banks would not be allowed to create money in ANY FORM WHATEVER. Money would be SERVANT of the people, instead of its MASTER; issued as required, by the Government, and backed by the needs and resources of the country, for the USE and BENEFIT of our own people. Surely that is not too much to ask in this land of plenty – ENOUGH TOKENS OF EXCHANGE to enable us to PROPERLY EMPLOY ALL our people, and to PROPERLY care for our children, old people, and the sick – that is only common-sense after all. We certainly have not been using common-sense when we have allowed our children to be undernourished, our sick and aged neglected, and thousands of our people unemployed, just because we have NOT ENOUGH MONEY; although no one will suggest for one moment that we have not enough resources to fill ALL our needs. All money issued would have to be in some UNHOARDABLE FORM, i.e. dated or limited in some way as to avoid any possibility of its being hoarded, or held off the market 1 Tim. 6:10.

3. The Law Against Usury

USURY MUST BE ENTIRELY ABOLISHED. Under Bible economics, usury of ANY KIND is forbidden within the nation. With a Monetary System controlled by a RIGHTEOUS Government, with money for use PURELY as a MEANS OF EXCHANGE, there would be NO ROOM for usury or interest. The Bible makes NO DISTINCTION between usury and interest. Deut 23.19, reads: “Thous shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of ANYTHING THAT IS LENT UPON USURY…” and this injunction was confirmed again and again. Read Lev. 25.36; Ezekiel 18, 5 to 9; and many other passages.

We might, perhaps, notice, in passing, that “no interest” does not mean “no dividends” upon legitimate investments. The difference between interest on a loan, and dividends on an investment, is that the latter is paid ONLY when there is a profit to pay with it, whereas interest is payable even if the business run at a loss.

4. The Sabbatic Law of Release

The Bible is authority for an economic Sabbath, called the Law of Release, (Lev. 25, 3/4: Deut. 15, 1) whereby ALL debts shall be canceled every seventh year. God states that He will assume any debt canceled under this clause. (The probability is that as God constantly uses human means for the fulfillment of His Purposes, there would be a Central Fund out of tax surplus, whereby any canceled debts would be paid by the State.) It seems obvious that this debt clause applies chiefly to the poor and needy, and is not intended as an escape for dishonest people.

5. Provision For The Sick, Poor, Aged, Etc.

All hospitals, old peoples’ homes, asylums, etc., would be FREE and Government operated. Today our whole national economy, our health, our wealth, our moral standards, our very freedom, are all dependent upon “money.” There would be no suffering humanity as we see it today, if we lived up to Deut. 7, which reads: “Therefore shalt thou keep the Commandments, and the Statutes, and the Ordinances which I command thee this day… And it shall come to pass… that the Lord thy God will keep unto thee the Covenant and the Kindness which He hath shewn unto thy fathers… AND THE LORD WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THEE ALL SICKNESS…”

6. A Minimum Wage

Our Lord’s Parable of the Labourers in the vineyard (Matt. 20) would appear to give full authority for a Minimum Wage. “Whatsoever is right, “ the Master of the vineyard said to the men hired at the eleventh hour, “that shall ye receive;” and He gave them THE SAME WAGE as those who had been working all day, showing plainly that He recognized that their “right” or “need” was equal with those who had been hired earlier, even though their opportunity for earning ta wage had not been so great. In this age of statistics, it should be a simple matter to determine the minimum wage NEEDED in any country – it should be SUFFICIENT to provide the worker with ALL the necessities of life. Thereafter, of course the wage would be determined by the natural law of supply and demand, together with the efficiency of the worker. The Bible age for workers appears to be from 20 years old to 55, and in some cases from 25 years old to 50.

St. Paul clearly provided the answer to those who say that this system would be abused by the lazy, when he says in 2 Thess. 3, 10; “He that will not work, neither shall he eat.” There is also an age-old axiom, given by God Himself to Adam (Gen. 3, 19) “In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.”

7. Pensions for All

Under a righteous SERVANT-MONEY SYSTEM, ALL citizens, upon reaching retiring age (generally 55), would automatically retire and receive their first pension cheque, and could then look forward to a happy and provided-for old age, without having to work right up to the edge of the grave, as so many do nowadays. Here again the Statistical Branch would be able to work out the amount of the ideal pension – based upon a supply of NECESSITIES for the rest of one’s life. (Probably it would be found to be a somewhat similar amount to the Minimum Wage). Proof of age and citizenship would be the ONLY REQUIREMENT for eligibility – the Bureau of Vital Statistics would keep in touch with every man, woman and child in the country, and would pay the pension for ALL, from the highest to the lowest in the land, as soon as it became due. There would be no need for property or means test. Deut. 10.10; 24.17; Ex. 22.22; Jer. 7, 5/6.

8. Taxes or Tithe

Only ONE TAX for everyone. 10% of ALL Income or increase. (In exceptional cases 20% may be expected of the wealthy). In the case of there being no increase, as with a farmer’s poor crop for instance, there would be no tax at all that year – or if the income were to cease for any reason, so would the tax. One-tenth of all taxes would go to the upkeep of the Church, the remaining nine-tenths to the State for all purposes, such as education, hospitals, pensions, etc. Mal. 3.8/11 etc.

9. The Government Control NEEDED

All essential services, such as light, heat, water, transportation, should be run by the Government for the benefit of the people; though under the Bible Economic System, where no huge combines, monopolies and cartels could flourish, and where private enterprise could be better relied upon to serve the people at a reasonable rate, this may not be necessary. It does not require very much imagination to visualize the future, with atomic power harnessed for all sorts of BENEFICIAL USES; central heating and lighting for whole cities; unlimited power for farms and factories, or for transportation, etc. Today there is LITERALLY NOTHING standing in the way of these wonders, except finance, and our own sin and greed, and refusal to obey God’s Laws.

Please do not toss this article on the side, with a shrug of the shoulders and the idea that we have been discussing Utopia. GOD DOES NOT MOCK HIS PEOPLE. A perfectly just and equitable Monetary System is both feasible and possible, and is, without a doubt to be found in the Bible. It is up to us to study it out, but above all to trust God, and to ask Him to raise up righteous men amongst us WHO WILL PUT IT INTO FORCE.

E. W. ABRAHAM
Victoria, B.C., 1946