Nexus - 0215 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

The history of banking and banking practices reveals a very different picture of the history of our world. It is a history that is either deliberately or accidentally overlooked in our history classes. BABYLONIAN ECONOMIC SYSTEM—2000 BC—THE FIRST DEFAULTS Archaeologists digging in the ruins of ancient temples, or ziggurats, in Babylonia have discovered extensive evidence of the economic system practised by the priests of Baal. Instead of finding money (or coins) as we know it, we mostly find clay tablets representing promises to pay—or 1OUs. Along with the clay tablets has been uncov- ered the secret of their economic system, a system in some respects more efficient than our economic system today. People only borrow when they are in need or if they are greedy and think they are getting a bargain. In Babylonia after a bad crop year, the farmers would be forced to go to the priests of Baal for a loan to buy seed for the following year. Let us say a farmer named Seth was one of those who needed money for seed. The temple priests were most accommodating and graciously allowed Seth to borrow 10 talents under condition that he repay 11. His land, livestock, wife, children and he himself served as collateral. In that day there was little money in circulation. The sudden appearance of 10 talents in circulation allowed Seth and all the other farmers to buy seed and plant great fields of grain. They also bought cattle and sheep and many other necessary things. Here we have a situation of a debt of 11 talents coming due while there are only 10 talents in cir- culation with which to pay. We can imagine that Seth was panic-stricken after having paid back 10 talents and finding that he still owed one more, and that there was no way to pay because there was no more money in circulation. He could offer the priest thousands of bushels of grain in payment, but the contract he signed was due to be paid in TALENTS—not grain. Cattle? Seth had herds of cattle, pigs, and flocks of sheep—these were also turned down. The contract was to pay in TALENTS—not sheep and pigs. Seth had gathered up the only 10 talents in circulation to pay down on his 11 talent debt and now there was no money to be had. Land, com, cattle, sheep and pigs had no value as payment against his debt. The contract he had signed stated that he was to pay “talents” only, and there were no talents in circulation. Now arrives the moment of truth—default—bankruptcy. Since Seth could not pay his debt of 11 talents when there were only 10 talents in circulation, he must forfeit his collateral. His livestock went first, his lands next, then his children were sold into slav- ery as well as his wife, and then he himself became a slave. This is where most slaves came from—debt. Besides Seth and his family, there were tens of thousands of Babylonians who could not pay debts of 11 talents when only 10 talents were in circula- tion. By the thousands they were herded into captivity. The priests of Baal reduced a large part of their fellow countrymen to slaves and the ‘system of interest’ spread wher- ever Babylonian armies marched or Baal priests practised their religion. Extracted from the book - War Cycles, Peace Cycles by Richard Kelly Hoskins Published by: The Virginia Publishing Company PO Box 997, Lynchburg VA 24505 USA EARLY BANKS AND BANKERS Since the earliest times there have been banks and bankers, The type of bank which was approved of, operated simply to bring a person with money together with a person who needed money, and together they became partners in a joint ven- ture business enterprise. For this service, banks charged fees. The other kind of bank which was disapproved of, operated on the Babylonian principle of lending 10 and collecting 11. The first one was necessary, natural, and orderly; the other unnatural and disorderly. The reasons the disorderly ‘interest system‘ has been for- 28¢NEXUS DEFAULT & PROHIBITION OF USURY AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1993