The Banking System explained

It is understood that early banking was invented around 2,000 BC by Babylonian priests who stored people’s gold for a fee and gradually they realised that they could lend some of that gold to others and earn interest.  Eventually, the system of modern banking was developed in Lombardy in Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries where moneylenders worked on wooden benches to encourage people to save with them and to take out loans. Indeed, the name ‘bank’ comes from the Italian word for ‘bench’.  And if the moneylenders cash ran out then the bench would be broken in half and business would cease.  The rotten bench was declared banca rotta from where we get the word ‘bankruptcy’.

Banks are a remarkable invention as they serve various functions in the community.  Their first function is to store money on behalf of other people.  These are people who deposit their money in the bank and assume that it will be kept safe.  Today, much of that money is stored digitally as in the past ten years the use of actual cash has diminished in British society by seventy percent.  The best example of a bank holding vast fortunes in Britain is the Bank of England which today stores about 400,000 bars of gold worth £200 billion.  It amounts to a fifth of all the gold in the world and if each bar was stacked on top of each other the height would be the equivalent to forty-six Eiffel Towers.  The gold covers over 300,000 square feet which is the equivalent of ten football fields. 

Would you forgive your brother’s murderer?

On September 6, 2018, Amber Guyer—an off-duty patrol officer in Dallas—entered the apartment of 26-year-old accountant Botham Jean. She later said she thought it was her own apartment and mistook Jean for a burglar, shooting and killing him.

One year later, on October 1, 2019, she was found guilty of murder. On October 2, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Through the Bible in 66 Days - Exodus

The Book of Exodus narrates one of the most thrilling stories in history. It follows the Book of Genesis, which left us anticipating the arrival of someone who would come to rescue the world. This figure is beautifully foreshadowed in the character of Joseph and other prominent heroes from that book.

However, before this rescue can unfold, God must first save His people, Israel, from a serious predicament. At the end of Joseph's life, the Israelites are growing and multiplying rapidly in a foreign land, posing a potential problem on the horizon—a nation developing within a nation.

Soon, an Egyptian king arises who is unfamiliar with Joseph's legacy. He chooses to enslave the Israelites, believing himself to be greater than God. Throughout history, there have always been individuals who think they are above God, but they eventually face His might and are humbled. We will see a similar occurrence later in the story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible.

Exodus depicts one of the greatest showdowns in world history: the most powerful man on earth against the God of heaven. This confrontation escalates with plagues of blood, boils, hail, thunderstorms, locusts, and darkness, culminating in the death of the firstborns. The battle continues until God parts the Red Sea, creating a path to freedom, and then closes it upon the Egyptian army, destroying them entirely.

Through the Bible in 66 Days - Genesis

 

We often ask questions like: Where did we come from in terms of the origin of life? Why is there so much evil in the world? Why can’t we ever seem to find peace? The answers to these big questions can be found in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

Genesis tells the story of our world—God's perfect creation, humanity's rebellion against Him, and the downward spiral that followed. This first book of the Bible describes significant social disruption, domestic abuse, and problems that regrettably have become normalized in our society. It recounts the first murder, lying, scamming, gang wars, riots, and other issues that bring us face-to-face with dysfunctional families and siblings betraying one another. Effectively, it portrays a society remarkably similar to ours, a world filled with selfishness. One major question arises: How did the world spiral out of control so quickly? The answer is later found in the holy scriptures: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12, Legacy Standard Bible).