Money Changers in the Temple

One of my favorite Bible stories has been that of Jesus and the Money Changers. It made for a wonderful scene in one of my all time favorite rock musicals - Jesus Christ Superstar.

It generally gets worked into sermons about the evils of selling the good of God. But then it seems to me in this day and age that religion is all about money and how you are not going to the promised land if you don't tithe. But I digress. This blog is about those all time bad boys in the land of money changing - the sub-prime lenders. And the wonderful government that is going to bail them out of their financial woes.

So back to that Bible story. Jesus walks into the temple square and throws a tizzy because of all the merchants selling lambs for sacrifice, etc. So he starts in overturning tables and scattering gold coin of the money changers and generally all hell breaks loose. The modern version would feature the Romans following him around and doling out compensation for the losses of the money changers. With a bit extra for pain and suffering. It rather ruins the story don't you think?

Now wouldn't the Christian thing to do be for those Romans to go around and find all the people that availed themselves of the money changers and got cheated and compensate them? I mean in answer to that ever present bumper sticker - What would Jesus Do? - wouldn't that be it?

So shouldn't the United States government make the sub-prime lenders lower their now raised interest rates to those initially agreed upon at the beginning of these loans? And then access all those people about to lose their homes to these mortgage bait and switch scams and give them relief in at least the form of say a mortgage payment holiday for three months so they can catch up? Or allow them special protection under the bankruptcy laws because they were cheated?

Speaking of bankruptcy laws; the man in the White House had all those toughened up so it costs a lot to avail yourself of this protection if you can fit the rules at all. He thought too many people were getting out of credit card debt and hurting his friends - dare I say the money changers. Course GW has done nothing to stop all the bait and switch going on with credit card companies. Nor has he taken into account that the majority of people that end up filing bankruptcy (people and not airlines) do so because of medical expenses they cannot pay. And this year that number may be joined by those that cannot buy gas to get to work or pay the rising energy bills to heat their houses.

So just where is Jesus when you need him? The temple of the United States Government is filled with vile money changers.