“Love Your Enemies”: Usury, Citizenship and the Friend‐enemy Distinction

Abstract

Through an analysis of the Scriptural treatment of usury, a constructive theological analysis of the question of the friend‐enemy distinction as a political category, its relationship to a Christian conception of universalism as determined by being in Christ, and the nature of faithful citizenship is forged. This essay argues that usury is a paradigmatic instance of the friend‐enemy distinction as defined by Carl Schmitt and as such is primarily a political act. The article closes by analysing Schmitt's reading of Jesus’ commandment to love enemies and suggests that after Christ, the friend‐enemy distinction ceases to be political and becomes missiological instead. The implication of this missiological conception is then related back to the on‐going question of usury.

The Discourse of Usury in the Views of Islam and Christianity

“…(Draper, 1935;Rubin, 2009Rubin, , 2010Rubin, , 2011Valeri, 1997), The focus of further study is usury in the view of Islam, Christianity and Greek scientists and economists in the early centuries of the development of economics. (Baker, 1974;Bretherton, 2011;George, 1957;Lawali, 2016;Meeks, 2011;Olechnowicz, 2011;Persky, 2007;Rutherford, 2005). From the tendency of this previous study, it can be seen that there are still very few journals in Indonesia that present writings on usury and look at the comparison between the two major religions in the world, namely Islam and Christianity.…”

Sovereign Debt

“…Furthermore, the economic dimensions of this relation require further exploration, especially since Schmitt saw economy as the enemy of the political and, as such, occluded the very economy of politics. On the latter see, for example, Bretherton .…”