I’m a conservative, and a Christian.
And I cringe at some of the things said in the name of “conservative Christianity“.
Which I hasten to add, because some of the things I’ve seen from “progressive Christians“, including some friends and classmates, this past few days have had me cringing even more.
Three things, specifically:
“Christ came to earth to forgive mankind‘s sins – so if you oppose loan forgiveness, you’re not a very good Christian“.
This is not “loan forgiveness”. This is transferring the loan to people who didn’t borrow it.
Will it benefit some people? Sure, it must be nice to have $10-$20,000 in balance disappear.
But this political act has nothing to do with Christ’s grace – dying for the sins every individual commits. It’s more like rounding up randos off the streets because someone else committed a murder. 
“It’s predatory lending!”
You can make that case. But unfortunately, the “forgiveness“ will do nothing to change that. In fact, it will only accelerate the “predatory“ lending, since everyone applying for those “predatory loans“ is going to figure “the first $10,000 is going to be free, again, anyway…“.
In fact, if the administration had sat down in a room to figure out the worst possible solution to student debt, this would’ve been it.
They could’ve made universities, with their hundreds of billions of dollars of endowments, share some of the risk. They could’ve even just cut interest rates.
But no. Fighting predatory lending by making everyone else pay is like fighting street crime by dumping piles of wallets out on the street and hoping people will stop holding other people up.
“New Ministers Go Deep Into Debt – and Don’t Make Much Money”
A couple of (it’s fair to say) “liberal” clergy I know have pointed out that their denominations require a Masters in Divinity (MDiv) to be ordained – which can cost up to $200K, as much as law school or medical school – but their first jobs out of seminary pay something close to minimum wage. And it’s fair to say outside Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar and Pope Frank, nobody goes into the ministry to get rich.
But isn’t that a little odd – an academic discipline (a product and service) that pays badly, and doesn’t necessarily cater to the children of immense wealth, costing well into six figures? I mean, if “products and services for people without a lot of money to spend on them” were prone to spontaneously inflating out of reach, the McDonalds cheeseburger would be $25.
At any rate – presenting this as a gesture of Christian grace is cynical, manipulative and profoundly wrong.
Everyone can expect your tuition to increase next year.
forgiveness of debt is income
forgiven debt should cause huge tax bill
bet it wont
no debt no tax doubleplusgood
heckovajob lesko
“Christ came to earth to forgive mankind‘s sins – so if you oppose loan forgiveness, you’re not a very good Christian“.
This is actually pretty consistent for the Big Government Christians. They confuse “forced transfer of wealth” with “charity” all the time. Such generosity of spirit… and other people’s money.
This is just the barbarians looting the treasury.
The correct Republican policy response is to propose $10,000 per citizen in firearms vouchers.
But only if you already own one.
This is actually pretty consistent for the Big Government Christians. They confuse “forced transfer of wealth” with “charity” all the time. Such generosity of spirit… and other people’s money.
Ian, does this mean I can deduct my taxes as a charitable contribution – from my taxes?
Maybe I’m showing my Catholic faith, but how in God’s name can you justify charging someone $200K to serve in Christ’s name? I mean, I can understand asking for some consistency with your doctrine, but the Church establishment should bear the burden of instructing those who will instruct and serve the faithful, not the servant.
I guess I’m just not conversant in other faiths. In our more traditional faith, it’s free to become a priest. Quitting before you become one may cost you the tuition for the divinity degree, but usually not, and even when it does it doesn’t come close to the cost above. And if you actually become a priest, it’s pretty much a given that you won’t be charged and the the Church will pick up the costs. I’ve had extended family members go through the process and not one of them paid a thing, even the one who took the extensive legal training and went to work in the Vatican. When he became laicized after a decade or so of service they didn’t come after him for payment, either.
And a complete lack of understanding of why such generosity is to be done. Forcing someone else to be “generous” isn’t what Christian generosity is about, it’s supposed to be a sign of voluntary personal submission to the Christian beliefs and way of life. As such, demanding that someone else “donate” in Christ’s name is about as blasphemous as you can get.
“It’s predatory lending!”
You go to the lender, ask for an unsecured loan, and they must give it to you, regardless of your credit history and your ability to repay it.
Who is the predator here?
MP +1