The global power of freemasonry - Gnostic Liberation Front

and jealously guarded other gods from also receiving sacrifice. The
Babylonian exile was the Israelites' first contact with a more sensible
philosophy and with culture... Through acquired historical data and partly
through their own oral traditions a history of the Jews was constructed.
The writings of the prophets constituted their own revisions of that which
had been overheard in captivity."
In ancient Babylonia the legal interest rate was 30 per cent on
money and 50 per cent on grain. In Assyria there was no upper limit
for the interest rate. The farmers were often so deep in debt that
they starved to death along with their families. This led to ruthless
exploitation of the soil.
In the city of Uruk in Babylonia there lived two brothers who lent
money with interest. When a borrower no longer could repay his
loan, he lost his house and had to start working for free for the
brothers. The slave could be lent also to other employers. This is a
classical example of economic slavery.
Almost 3700 years ago the ruler of Babylon, Hammurabi (1848-
1805 B. C), who was descended from the Amorite dynasty, forbade
through his law acts (containing 93 paragraphs) the taking of
interest on interest, which meant that the borrower, in addition to
the assets he had borrowed, had to give the same amount in goods or
money. Anyone who broke the rule was severely punished, though
very few abided by it. The 282 statutes of Hammurabi written in
Acadian were found in 1901 at excavations at Susa in ancient Elam
(now Iran).
Hammurabi understood that interest on top of interest would lead
to a terrible economic burden that the people would not be able to
bear. Because of that he felt it necessary to punish usury severely.
The highest interest rate permitted was set at 20 per cent. Trade and
the general economy immediately improved, though it was hard to
adhere to the law. The Israelites enjoyed the practice of usury and
eagerly started to exploit it.
The prophet Muhammad demanded that usury be forbidden. He
recommended that the lender should act as an investor who would
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