[ExI] 23andme again

[BillK]

On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote:
> The practice of usury is uniformly condemned by all mainstream
> religions. There is a very good reason for that.
>

It's not as simple as that. Remember Shylock? The Jews were the rich
moneylenders. Disliked, but everybody used their services. (Until
Christians were allowed to do money-lending).

In the new Testament story, Jesus wasn't offended by the moneylending
itself so much as by the practice of turning the temple into business
premises. He chased them out of the temple.

Jesus used money-lending in his own parables. In the Parable of the talents:
    "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers,
and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury."
—Matthew 25:27

Borrowing and lending is treated in a complicated fashion in most
religions. Mainly because it is a necessary evil, so they have to do a
double-think to get round their religious rules and still be allowed
to invest and borrow. Religion causes this sort of problem all the
time. Is this food allowed to be eaten? Is this really food? Am I
really eating it? And so on.........

BillK