货币

文章 / 工作神学项目出品

神让人类能以耐用、可储存、易携带的媒介代表实物价值。在原创意念中,神令一些天然元素如黄金,小巧迷人、而且相对稀有。又令人类有能力明白及判断此类物品的价值。继而允许人类建立政府,以常有资源如纸张,来代表罕有资源如黄金,再以纸张换取各式各样的资源。[31]

现代人有金钱,非常容易携带(而且电子传输几乎不费分毫),可以换取真正的资源,如食品、住屋、教育及资本货物。能够用货币轻易分配资源是履行创建管理任务重要的一部分。

《圣经》有很多关于金钱的教义。为人传颂的有「贪财是万恶之根」(提摩太前书6:10)和「你们不能又事奉神,又事奉玛门」(马太福音6:24)。这些教义不是关于金钱作为交易媒介,而是关于人类对金钱的取态以及金钱所代表的力量。然而,金钱作为交易媒介并非邪恶之源,金钱作为交易媒介是神的赐福。[32]

Some have argued that paper money which is not backed by gold is morally wrong. Exploring those arguments is beyond the scope of this article and would not inform the main points of this article.

Jacques Ellul, Money and Power (Inter-varsity Press, Downers Grove, 1984), argues that society’s way of thinking about money, wealth and resources is contrary to Biblical teaching. Although Ellul highlights the evil arising out of money, he is writing about wealth and material possessions, and not about currency as a medium of exchange.