[Olsen]

It seems like our country is unraveling at the seams! Our financial institutions are breaking and the central government cannot possibly "bail us out" of every economic disaster brought about by greed and stupidity. The government will eventually simply print more money to meet its ever widening efforts to pay every bill and, therefore, the inevitable result is an inflated currency gradually growing worthless. I sincerely hope that this dire prediction proves false. At a minimum, however, we will all face extremely challenging times in the days ahead...what is the appropriate Chrisitian attitude and response?

[Watchman]

Mr. Olsen,

Yes, you are absolutely correct regarding your prediction.

Our federal gov't behaves like drug addicts. There will be no thought of a change in behavior until creditors decide to quit lending money. When this occurs, the gov't will still print money.

As we can see from recent days, the bailout plan is comprehensive for housing mortgages. Congress will add to it as they are controlled by socialists and will take grand steps to socialize more of our economy. The bailout will include other indebtedness. Soon no one will have to pay back anything they borrow.

Of course, this economic behavior is the forerunner for the antichrist. When the free [Christian] world looks to government as the bailout for all indebtedness, they will be more than accepting of the one world order and the antichrist that will wipe out all national indebedness too.

[Rose]

Look at Wall street and the mismanagement that has occured there--700billion dollars and counting! Michael Douglas from the movie "Wall Street" was wrong when he said "Greed is good". Greed is not good and that is what has gotten our country into this horrible mess it is now in.

We must not forget the greed that characterizes the insatiable appetite of the consumer either. Consumer greed manifests itself in the desire to have it all NOW. If that means incurring more and more debt to quench this thirst, the consumer simply takes it on and doesn't worry about the consequences.

The primary motivation of debt whether individual, corporate or governmental seems to arise from the same motivation: GREED superimposed upon the ease in which you can acquire the things that you feel you must have or the "quick fix" for whatever ails you.

Maybe the true culprit here is not the weak individuals who fall for the "zero down/no payments for three years" but the businesses that offer and encourage that type of behavior and the government that rewards and enables reckless underwriting of mortgages and mortgage backed securities by simply buying the paper from the original lender. The greed may start with the small individual but it could never succeed without the encouragement from above.

[Watchman]

Clearly, this mess can find its root at the door step of the Democrat party as they paved the way for the gov't to guarantee mortgages to low-income people that would, under any normal circumstances, not qualify for a home loan. Any efforts by President Clinton and Bush to reform or further regulate these gov't-backed mortgage loans was blocked by the Democrats [whom profit therefrom] in Congress.

We shouldn't be blaming Wall Street -- neither should we be bailing Wall Street out. There is no reason why the taxpayer should pay the loss for the Wall Street's and the banking system's leverage of these mortgages, through derivatives, and claiming such instruments as assets for further loans and incentive management payouts. Of course, this leverage would not have been possible except for 1999 legislation removing the Great Depression protections against linking investment banking with regular banks.

When one fails to learn the lessons from history, one is doomed to repeat the mistakes. This is a perfect example of that error.

[Rose]

Today on the news they said that one out of five people in our state (Florida) owe more on their homes than they are worth and because of this cannot/could not sale them even if they wanted to. At some point individuals must take the blame for their own irresponsibility. Even if the government is making it easy for us to borrow with creative loan incentives etc, we must take personal responsibility for our own actions and not get in over our heads financially.

[SimitPatel]

Of course the Bible does offer wisdom in terms of preserving one's wealth during these times. I recently blogged about this:

True2ourselves.com, simitpatel

Gold is still a great store of wealth.

[BranKnewCreatureN559]

SET YOURS SIGHTS ON THE COVENANT OF ABRAHAM AND THE PROMISES OF GOD...
During a time when the world is shouting and screaming recession and financial crisis, the children of God must remember WE DO NOT OPERATE ACCORDING TO THE WORLD'S SYSTEM...We operate under KINGDOM PRINCIPLES....WHO IS YOUR PROVIDER? If Jesus is truly your Source...truly your Jehovah Jireh...Remember, who you are in Christ and the Covenant He set with Abraham...The Scripture in Malachai about "Robbing God" still holds true to this day...."Bring your tithes into the storehouse..." and truly watch Him open the windows of Heaven to the point of overflow...

The children of God..those who truly have their sights set on Him...those that truly know Him as their Provider will not lack for anything as the world screams during this economic crisis....Simply remember YOUR FATHER OWNS ALL THE CATTLE ON THE HILL AND THAT INCLUDES THE HILL...Be blessed...Be encouraged...He's the same yesterday, today, and forevermore...He was THE Provider then...and He remains The Provider to this day....if the enemy comes against your household during this time of worldly crisis...STAND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD...AND REMEMBER WHO HE IS!!

AGAIN...WE DO NOT OPERATE ACCORDING THE WORLD'S SYSTEMS...WE OPERATE UNDER KINGDOM PRINCIPLES....

[PastorC]

The appropriate Christian response to the world's financial chaos is to share Jesus Christ with as many people as possible. He is the only WAY, TRUTH, LIFE, -- only financial way, financial truth, financial life. Most people today realize, if honest, that low morals parallel the downfall of nations! Let's preach Christ and raise those standards--quickly.

Right on SimitPatel! The Fed is responsible for the destruction of the dollar (Federal Reserve Note) which they have propped up for years. The gold standard is one of accountability and limits the expansion of gov't and wars and banking. Of course this is why Nixon put the final screws to it in 1971. The posture of Christians should be for the benefit of this nation as a whole and for continued freedom (of religion and person). Great minds have predicted all this economic "chaos" for years and have been laughed at by the media and Fed cheerleaders. A good example is Ron Paul, an avowed Christian. He recently spoke against the Federal Reserve Bank and predicts that the Fed is working to create a new international fiat currency and world government. Campaign For Liberty — Home
Does this interest anybody? The moneychangers were the only people that Jesus violently (physically) attacked. These same moneychangers now control our government, conduct their meetings behind closed doors, and no longer publish our national debt (M3). The Federal Reserve Bank is a misnomer and is actually a privately owned corporation. What would Jesus do??? Definitely kick them out of the temple.

[PastorC]

Dear Fellow Believers:
In recent weeks, I've had three dreams concerning America/The World's economy. The most recent one, last night, depicted a childhood friend of mine who had just gone to a lake in order to feed her family. The times ahead will be difficult for this world, but a perfect harvest for Jesus Christ. People have finally realized the materialism is not security. We must teach them that Jesus Christ is.