Happy holiday to our readers celebrating Simchat Torah, the day Jews finish reading the weekly Torah readings in synongogues, and start again from Genesis.
A related factoid: In Hebrew, the last letter of the Bible is Lamed which appears in the last sentence of the last chapter of Deuteronomy in the last letter of the word [...]

Would your political/economic ideology be consistent if you wanted the government to stay out of your pocket but not your bed? Kris Wampler of the Charlotte Libertarian Examiner delves into this conundrum, asking the provocative question: Can Christians Be Libertarians?
The battle between liberals and conservatives only obscures the matter while hampering liberty. The left and [...]

Pope Benedict offers a 79-point list of problems and recommendations on the economic crisis, drawing from previous popes and the Bible.  Philly Inquirer seeks financial book author comments.

Reuters treks out to Mount Gerizim in Samaria in the West Bank to visit with the “guardians of an ancient faith with a cameo role in the Bible.” The Samaritans have 750 surviving followers who employ ”surprisingly modern methods to keep their tiny community alive.”
Internet acquaintances, mail-order brides and pre-nuptial genetic tests have all become familiar to Samaritans trying to [...]

Continuing our discussion of Joseph and the financial lessons in his story: the Divine plan behind Joseph’s sale to the Ishmaelites and his ultimately landing in Pharaoh’s court is stated clearly in Genesis 50 as was foreshadowed a few chapters earlier.
After their father, Jacob-Israel dies, Joseph tells his brothers, “you meant evil against me (in [...]

Here’s a discussion on the pros of diversifying your portfolio, a concept that finds its roots in the Bible.
“But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead” (Ecclesiastes 11:2, NLT). Risks are really part of everything we do, and we should not be crippled by the fear [...]

In advance of their weekend sold-out appearance at Yankee Stadium, Pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen talk to CBS about their message of hope during tough economic times.
“We just feel very blessed to be here, very humbled and just rewarded,” Joel observed. “The Yankees have been good to us, and it seems like it’s a time [...]

Facing the global economic crisis, Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls on religious leaders to help develop a “shared moral sense” to govern markets and the economy.  He spoke of the need to conquer fear with faith.
In a speech at St Paul’s Cathedral, the Prime Minister drew on religious doctrine in a highly-personal address which warned [...]

Jay Michaelson surveys the Bible’s prohibitions against usury and call’s today’s financial regulation “nothing more than an update of the ancient prohibitions on usury, or the unfair charging of interest.”
Today’s derivatives market, for example, is precisely about “making money from money” — but taken to new and ludicrous extremes. The credit default swaps which were largely [...]

Here’s the latest DC leader with tax troubles. The LA Times quotes a Bloomberg investigation into California Congressman Pete Stark – a senior House Democrat who helps write the nation’s tax laws. The State of Maryland is now launching an investigation into Stark who:
has been claiming a $1.7 million Maryland home as his principal residence in recent years, [...]