objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"suspended in her jar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/641\/2019\/11\/495px-Corporate_greed_octopus.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"495\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Bratten Weiss\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Bratten Weiss\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/\",\"name\":\"objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/9df374e63a51b266e34036d2ec00390d\"},\"description\":\"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Object To Student Loan Forgiveness? This is Neither Ethical, Practical, Nor Christian\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/\",\"name\":\"suspended in her jar\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/9df374e63a51b266e34036d2ec00390d\",\"name\":\"Rebecca Bratten Weiss\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/af4c7a180419f166695e9008fd256002?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/af4c7a180419f166695e9008fd256002?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rebecca Bratten Weiss\"},\"description\":\"Part time teacher, part time farmer.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/author\/rweiss\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian","description":"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian","og_description":"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/","og_site_name":"suspended in her jar","article_published_time":"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":495,"height":599,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/641\/2019\/11\/495px-Corporate_greed_octopus.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rebecca Bratten Weiss","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rebecca Bratten Weiss","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/","name":"objecting to student loan forgiveness is not ethical, practical, or christian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-25T22:26:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/9df374e63a51b266e34036d2ec00390d"},"description":"If you must prioritize your need to see people suffer unjustly over concerns about ethics and the common good, at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Object To Student Loan Forgiveness? This is Neither Ethical, Practical, Nor Christian"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/","name":"suspended in her jar","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/9df374e63a51b266e34036d2ec00390d","name":"Rebecca Bratten Weiss","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/af4c7a180419f166695e9008fd256002?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/af4c7a180419f166695e9008fd256002?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rebecca Bratten Weiss"},"description":"Part time teacher, part time farmer.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/author\/rweiss\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":3993,"date":"2019-11-25T18:26:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T22:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2019-11-25T18:26:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T22:26:50","slug":"objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/suspendedinherjar\/2019\/11\/objections-to-student-loan-forgiveness-are-not-ethical-practical-or-christian3993\/","title":{"rendered":"Object To Student Loan Forgiveness? This is Neither Ethical, Practical, Nor Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

I am at a loss to understand why another person\u2019s good fortune should embitter one\u2019s own success, but this is apparently a thing. Resentment of the rich by the poor makes sense to me, especially given that the majority of wealthy people are so thanks to the labors of the poor \u2013 but, being well-off and resenting the idea that others should get a break strikes me as the very opposite even of such merely human virtues as noblesse oblige<\/em> and magnanimity, let alone the kind of charity and care for the common good to which Christians are called.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep in mind, too: plenty of debtors have already paid off the actual monetary amount they initially borrowed, but \u2013 in an economy where everything\u2019s raising but the wages \u2013 mounting interest means that, given what many can afford to pay, they will have reimbursed the lending institutions some three times as much, by the end of it all. Recipients of student loan forgiveness would not be weaseling out of a moral obligation to repay a loan; rather, this would be a case of preventing lending institutions from carrying on with their ongoing and systemic injustice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Debt forgiveness: a venerable Christian tradition.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Catholics, in particular, should keep in mind that debt forgiveness is part of the Christian tradition, and has roots in the old Jewish tradition of \u201cJubilee Years\u201d when debts were erased, and land was allowed to lie fallow.\u00a0 Constantly churning along in unremitting production is contrary to our Christian cultural heritage that values rest, and honors natural cycles \u2013 even passing on a sacred story in which the Creator rests, after the work of Creation.<\/span><\/p>\n

As to the lenders? They are usurers \u2013 chargers of unjust and crippling interest. And yes, traditionally the church condemned usury. In the <\/span>Divine Comedy<\/span><\/i> the usurers are regarded as sinners against nature, because of their attempt to make money \u201creproduce\u201d unnaturally. The teaching on usury has never been changed. It simply appears to have been conveniently forgotten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ethics of labor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the perspective of the ethics of work, it is often reiterated that it is unjust to deprive a worker of the wages that are their due. This pertains most directly to bad bosses. And bad bosses who pay badly because \u201cwe\u2019re a religious ministry\u201d are not, incidentally, exempt from this.<\/span><\/p>\n

But we need to think also of the injustice of accruing wealth that one has not earned, has not worked for, has given nothing for. This is what the charging of excess interest entails. It involves stealing the earnings of the workers who actually labored for it, enriching oneself unjustly from their labor. To accrue wealth this way is, in terms of classical morality, a sin both of greed and of sloth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Objections to student loan forgiveness also neglect the reality that communities and societies benefit when citizens are not crippled with debt. If you wish to live in a healthy and flourishing society \u2013 or if your concern is even, simply, about the robustness of the economy \u2013 you should support student loan forgiveness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If, in spite of the fact that student loan forgiveness is practical, ethical, and part of the Christian tradition, you insist on prioritizing your need to see people suffer over concerns about ethics and the common good \u2013 at least stop pretending that this particularly bizarre and unappealing kink is a flourish of virtue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

image credit: https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Corporate_greed_octopus.jpg<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"