R H Tawney - William Lyon Mackenzie King - William T Still TV - Exodus 22:25 - Leviticus 25:36&37 - Deuteronomy 23:19-21 - Ezekiel 18:13 - Koran 2:275&276 - Koran 3:130 - Koran 4:161 - Paul Johnson - Thomas Fuller - J Burnett - Robert Peston TV -
To take usury is contrary to Scripture; it is contrary to Aristotle; it is contrary to nature, for it is to live without labour; it is to sell time, which belongs to God, for the advantage of wicked men; it is to rob those who use the money lent, and to whom, since they make it profitable, the profits should belong. R H Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, 1926
Usury once in control will wreck the nation. William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th prime minister of Canada
Interest was contrary to reason and justice ... A crime called usury. William T Still, The Money Masters, 1996
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. Exodus 22:25
Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. Leviticus 25:36&37
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may thou goest to possess it.
When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. Deuteronomy 23:19-21
Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. Ezekiel 18:13
Those who swallow usury cannot rise up save as he ariseth whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: Trade is just like usury; whereas Allah permitteth trading and forbiddeth usury. He unto whom an admonition from his Lord cometh, and (he) refraineth (in obedience thereto), he shall keep (the profits of) that which is past, and his affair (henceforth) is with Allah. As for him who returneth (to usury) – Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein.
Allah hath blighted usury and made almsgiving fruitful. Allah loveth not the impious and guilty. Koran 2:275&276
O ye who believe! Devour not usury, doubling and quadrupling (the sum lent). Observe your duty to Allah, that ye may be successful. Koran 3:130
And of their taking usury when they were forbidden it, and of their devouring people's wealth by false pretences, We have prepared for those of them who disbelieve a painful doom. Koran 4:161
Most early religious systems in the ancient Near East, and the secular codes arising from them, did not forbid usury. These societies regarded inanimate matter as alive, like plants, animals and people, and capable of reproducing itself. Hence if you lent ‘food money’, or monetary tokens of any kind, it was legitimate to charge interest. Food money in the shape of olives, dates, seeds or animals was lent out as early as c.5000 B.C. if not earlier ... Among the Mesopotamians, Hittites, Phoenicians and Egyptians, interest was legal and often fixed by the state. But the Hebrew took a different view of the matter. Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews
To borrow upon Usury, bringeth on Beggary. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732
The true spirit of usury lies in taking an unjust and unreasonable advantage of their fellow creatures. Burnett, J, Earl of Chesterfield v Janssen 1750 2 Ves Sen 141 repo
Pawnbrokers have been booming ... Today there are more than two thousand. Robert Peston Goes Shopping III, BBC 2013
Hire-purchase is enjoying something of a revival. ibid.