“All the major religions held in common at one point or other was opposition to the charging of interest. Judaism called for Clean Slates (Leviticus 25), and Christianity banned interest outright, citing the laws of Exodus and Deuteronomy.”

—  Michael Hudson

At all other times, of course, any invocation of religion, references to Jesus, God, and the like, would be treated as prima facie evidence of intellectual puerility by the socialists. But now a medieval ban on interest is dispositive.

Origen castrated himself attempting to follow Jesus’ teaching literally, but to date I haven’t noted any socialists urging us to follow his example.

Are we also willing to revive stoning for adulteresses, bans on eating shell-fish, the strict keeping of the Sabbath, St. John’s views of consumption (rocks for a pillow, locusts for dinner); the Old Testament view of punishment (massacring first-born children); and the New Testament view on work (those who don’t work don’t eat)?

Of course, I invoke religion on this blog too. The difference is I don’t castigate religious teaching at all other times…and I don’t confuse modern political theories and my preferences among them with the teachings of a spiritual figure whose sole use these days seems to be as a stage prop…