Jubilee... Today? In America?

"Debt" by Nancy Ohanian

Do you remember what a Jubilee is? The origin of the word is neither about monarch’s reigns nor marriage anniversaries. It comes from the Old Testament and derives from the phrase "a trumpet-blast of liberty.” According to the Book of Leviticus, it was the “Year of Release” and God’s mercy would be manifest, slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts forgiven and property was to be returned to its original owners. The Jubilee year— every 50th year— was seen as a way to restore social and economic balance, and to prevent the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few. It wasn’t without context of the times and is thought to have begun in Mesopotamia where it was practiced as a way to periodically reset the economy and prevent debt from becoming a permanent burden on individuals and society. During a Jubilee year— every 50 years— all debts were forgiven, and any property or land that had been lost due to debt was returned to its original owners. This allowed people who had been burdened by debt to start anew, and prevented debt from becoming a permanent form of bondage. In effect, it was a way to restore balance to society, preventing the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few and preventing debt from becoming a means of control over others. It was also seen as a way to honor the divine, as it was believed that the gods had granted the land to the people and that it should be periodically returned to its original owners. In ancient Egypt, a practice known as hekau khasut or "voice of the people" involved debt forgiveness every three years, allowing debtors to start anew, but there isn’t a lot of documentation confirming it.

It was the Mesopotamian concept that was adopted by Judaism, where it became a central part of the biblical tradition. At more or less the same time the Israelites were practicing Jubilee years, the Greeks instituted— under Solon— something very similar called seisachtheia to alleviate social tensions— forced serfdom and even slavery— in Athens. Solon’ laws cancelled all outstanding debts, retroactively emancipated all previously enslaved debtors, reinstated all confiscated property to serfs and forbade the use of personal freedom as collateral in all future debts. His code also instituted a ceiling to maximum property size– regardless of the legality of its acquisition (inheritance, marriage), meant to prevent excessive accumulation of land by powerful families.

Even the Roman Empire had something vaguely analogous called cancellatio debiti which allowed for the cancellation of debts in cases of extreme hardship, such as after natural disasters. Later, in medieval Europe, various forms of debt forgiveness were sometimes practiced, such as the "Truce of God" which prohibited violence and allowed for the settlement of debts during certain times of the year. And in the Islamic world, the concept of qard al-hasan or "benevolent loan" involves interest-free loans with no collateral that are intended to help those in need, with the expectation that the loan will be repaid when the borrower is able to do so.

As you can probably imagine, Jesus picked right up on this. The concept of Jubilee is woven throughout his teachings. In Luke 4:18-19, he reads from Isaiah in the synagogue, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” The "year of the Lord's favor" referred to the Jubilee year and Jesus' use of this passage to describe his own ministry suggests that he saw himself as continuing the tradition of the Jubilee by preaching good news to the poor and oppressed and advocating for their liberation. In Matthew he told a parable about a servant who owed a large debt to his master, and was forgiven the debt when he pleaded for mercy, a metaphor for the Jubilee. Overall, his teachings emphasize the importance of compassion, forgiveness, and social justice, central values of the Jubilee tradition and a model for how society should be organized, with a focus on equality, liberation, and the common good.

You might be wondering why I’m starting the week off on this particular foot. Over the weekend Robert Aber suggested I watch a video interview with economist and author Michael Hudson about his new book The Collapse Of Antiquity: Greece And Rome As Civilization’s Oligarchic Turning Point, the sequel to ...And Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure And Redemption From Bronze Age Finance To The Jubilee Year. James Galbraith noted that “In this monumental work, Michael Hudson overturns what most of us were taught about Athens and Sparta, Greece and Rome, Caesar and Cicero, indeed about kings and republics. He exposes the roots of modern debt peonage and crises in the greed and violence of antiquity's oligarch-creditors, embedded in their laws, which in the end destroyed the civilizations of classical antiquity.” And Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times wrote that “In this fascinating book, Hudson explores the rise of the predatory rentier oligarchies of classical Greece and Rome. He makes a fascinating and persuasive case that the trap of debt led to the destruction of the peasantry, the states and ultimately even these civilizations.”

Hudson’s point is that these “societies polarized as a result of debt.” He makes a big deal about how the Biblical Lord’s Prayer (Matthew) went from “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” to Roman Christianity’s “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

More recently, Brian Wilson got it right

Hudson said that what the Roman Christians “meant was every kind of sin except economic sins, except the sin of creditors. Under St Augustine it was largely sexual and all of a sudden the focus of Augustinian Christianity became sexual egotism, not the wealth addiction of the creditors because, after all, if the leaders of the Christian Church, the archbishops and the bishops were all going to be taken from the wealthiest families, you’d hardly have the criticize their own wealth. So you stripped away from Roman Christianity the economic and social context that’d guided early Christianity… What Rome bequeathed to the west was not only creditor-oriented law but a creditor-oriented Christianity. This is what you have in American evangelism today: ‘King Jesus will make you rich.’”

One of the central ideas of ...And Forgive Them Their Debts is the concept of a “jubilee” which he argues is still relevant today, as debt levels have become unsustainable for many individuals and countries, and debt forgiveness could be a way to alleviate the burden of debt and allow for a fresh start. He discusses the role of debt in the modern economy, and how the financial sector has become increasingly powerful and influential in shaping not just economic policy but our whole increasingly dysfunctional society. He argues that the conservative focus on debt repayment and austerity measures has led to a growing wealth gap and economic inequality, and that a more equitable system would require a more forgiving approach to debt, a more compassionate and just approach to economic policy, addressing economic inequality and promoting social justice.

Believe it or not some societies have recognized the harms of allowing wealth and power to become too concentrated in the hands of a small group of elites, and have implemented policies and measures to promote greater equality and prevent social unrest. Jubilee and debt forgiveness measures seek to promote a more equal distribution of wealth and prevent the accumulation of debt that could ultimately harm not just borrowers but society as a whole. Even lenders, who are certainly motivated primarily by profit, have a stake in the stability and prosperity of the society in which they operate. Economic instability and social unrest can ultimately harm lenders as well as borrowers, by reducing the overall pool of available capital, limiting lending opportunities, damaging the value of existing investments and leading to revolution and their own demise.

Jesus Christianity seems to have changed from a movement that vigorously encouraged the idea of Jubilee into the exact opposite-- part of a rationalization for preserving the power of the status quo and opposing anyone who challenged it— Roman Christianity and MAGA evangelicism. Throughout history, powerful elites have used religion as a way to justify their own power and privilege, and to oppose challenges to the status quo.

In …And Forgive Them Their Debts, Hudson explores the role of debt and debt forgiveness in economic history, from the Bronze Age to the present day. He makes it clear that debt has been a major driver of economic instability and inequality throughout history, and that debt forgiveness— Jubilee— has often been used as a means of addressing these issues and restoring social and economic stability. In the interview I listened to, Hudson noted that Pharisee rabbis would force borrowers to waive their rights under the Jubilee Year even though the Jubilee Year was an important concept in Jewish law and traditions. He noted that these principles were not always upheld in practice, and that various economic and political factors could lead to the erosion or abandonment of Jubilee principles over time.

Then Jesus came along with “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:20-21). And “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24) And “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:23-25). And “If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:34-36).

How do these and other biblical references to economic issues and social justice jive with MAGA christianity, which, at best, downplays and ignores these pivotal values. This is due to the church's historical alignment with political and economic powers. Hudson makes reference to Peter Brown’s work, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography and The Making of Late Antiquity, a key theme of which is the tension between Augustine's early commitment to a radical Christian message of social and economic justice, and his growing alignment with the political and economic powers of his day. Brown argues that Augustine's early writings, such as The City of God and On Christian Doctrine, express a vision of Christianity that emphasizes the importance of humility, charity, and community, and that challenges the dominant values of Roman society. However, as Augustine became more involved in the politics of the Roman Empire, and as the Christian church became increasingly aligned with the power structures of the day, his vision of Christianity became more conservative and focused on maintaining social order rather than challenging it. He began to emphasize the need for social order and stability above all else. Brown was adamant that Augustine's later work— On the Morals of the Catholic Church— reflected this shift in focus, with Augustine emphasizing the need for the wealthy to use their resources to maintain social order and support the poor, rather than advocating for radical economic redistribution or debt forgiveness. This shift in emphasis reflects a broader trend within the early Christian church toward aligning itself with political and economic power structures of the Roman Empire, rather than challenging them.

The Vandal conquest of North Africa in Augustine’s time— with the population largely siding with the Vandal over the Roman establishment— was facilitated by the economic and social discontent of many North Africans, who were often heavily taxed and exploited by the Roman government and elite and viewed the Vandal conquest as a source of relief from Roman oppression.

Christianity developed into an institution aligned with the power structures of the Roman Empire and later European monarchies, and served to legitimize their authority and reinforce social hierarchies. “What Rome bequeathed to the west,” said Hudson, “was not only creditor-oriented law but a creditor-oriented Christianity. This is what you have in American evangelism today: ‘King Jesus will make you rich.’”