Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's!
Apr 30, 2013 0:36:28 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2013 0:36:28 GMT -5
Good morning to you all! I trust that all is well with all of you! I remember when I was still a student, Sydney Grew, a visiting lecturer delivered an introduction to economics in which he stated that cash is reality. This particular assertion got me thinking. Is cash reality? What else is reality? I finally came to the conclusion that money is really an abstraction, in all its forms! A couple of years ago, I happened to go to the British Museum in Bloomsbury, Sydney Grew, and I saw four objects associated with the history of money. I should perhaps confess that economics confuses me, so if you want, why not all join me on my guided tour around the British Museum again today?
a. Gold coin of Croesus
BBC - A History of the World - Gold coin of Croesus
b. Ming banknote
BBC - A History of the World - Ming banknote
c. Pieces of eight
BBC - A History of the World - Pieces of eight
d. Credit card
BBC - A History of the World - Credit card
In modern times, what money does is it incorporates a wish, Sydney Grew, and displays that wish to the world. And in the way that human beings are, they tend to become fascinated by the potential of objects, and certainly it is a feature of the present day that people accumulate fortunes that nobody could possibly spend, and yet people still compete to accumulate ever larger fortunes. But what makes this inequality of fortune possible is having money!
There is nothing either natural or God-given about the use of money. It is just a historical process, quite a complicated one, that has built up over time. Over that period, money has worked pretty well and has played a very important role in the triumphs of humanity - and also of course in its miseries. But it has allowed the population of the world to expand beyond limits that were thought possible. Since even a few years ago, money has raised the standards of living. All these possibilities are in this little object, Sydney Grew!
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Bible Gateway - Matthew 22:15-22 (King James Version)
So render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, Sydney Grew!
a. Gold coin of Croesus
BBC - A History of the World - Gold coin of Croesus
b. Ming banknote
BBC - A History of the World - Ming banknote
c. Pieces of eight
BBC - A History of the World - Pieces of eight
d. Credit card
BBC - A History of the World - Credit card
In modern times, what money does is it incorporates a wish, Sydney Grew, and displays that wish to the world. And in the way that human beings are, they tend to become fascinated by the potential of objects, and certainly it is a feature of the present day that people accumulate fortunes that nobody could possibly spend, and yet people still compete to accumulate ever larger fortunes. But what makes this inequality of fortune possible is having money!
There is nothing either natural or God-given about the use of money. It is just a historical process, quite a complicated one, that has built up over time. Over that period, money has worked pretty well and has played a very important role in the triumphs of humanity - and also of course in its miseries. But it has allowed the population of the world to expand beyond limits that were thought possible. Since even a few years ago, money has raised the standards of living. All these possibilities are in this little object, Sydney Grew!
"Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way."
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way."
Bible Gateway - Matthew 22:15-22 (King James Version)
So render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, Sydney Grew!