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Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/24/2010 9:44:31 AM
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JennSWN
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quote:
Is Bankruptcy Ever Okay for a Christian?
Matt Bell
With many people still struggling to find work, bankruptcy filings continue to grow. More than 500,000 people have filed so far this year, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center. That's up 17 percent from last year at this time.
While bankruptcy's stigma has weakened in recent years, it is still an especially troubling topic for many Christians. What about the biblical admonition, "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously" (Psalm 37:21)? Does that make a person who has filed for bankruptcy, or who is considering filing, a "wicked" person? No. While bankruptcy should be viewed as an absolute last resort, it is a viable option—even for a follower of Christ.
Read the rest of Is Bankruptcy Ever Okay for a Christian?
Do you think it's okay for Christians to file bankruptcy?
_____________________________
Jennifer Ward
Salem Web Network
jennifer.ward@staff.salemwebnetwork.com
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/24/2010 10:28:13 AM
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GroupW
Posts: 2860
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From: Up in the hills of Colorado (very BIG hills...)
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As long as it's an honest filing (you really do have your back against a financial wall), then yes. Obviously, it's not a good thing and something to be avoided, but there are times & circumstances where we have to make hard choices.
Here's why I think its ethical:
1) Lenders and other debtors all signed up to do business in a legal environment where bankruptcy is a real possibility. It's part of the deal that they make when they lend. The risk of it is embedded in the interest rate that you pay.
2) It's an option that's legally available to you under the laws that we all agree to live by.
What may not be ethical is the behavior (excessive borrowing) that got us into the mess that required bankruptcy as a solution. Bankrupcty in that case is the medicine, not the disease.
It's also worth noting that for most people, fiscal irresponsibility isn't the primary cause of bankruptcy - it's job loss, health problems, and divorce. Those are the big three & account for most filings. Sometimes bad things just happen.
_____________________________
“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken
"Dort, wo man Buecher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." - Heinrich Heine
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/24/2010 10:42:12 AM
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peace77
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Joined: 4/18/2005
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Yes, bankruptcy is okay if there really is no other way out.
If the funds for repayment can't be earned because the former earner is now too ill or disabled to work. Or, if the husband has run off leaving a young mother with several small children, no job experience and a mountain of debt. Or perhaps, the breadwinner has died without insurance or been sent to prison, leaving the rest of the family unable to both survive and to pay the debt.
I believe that the funds should be paid back to individual or small business creditors after bankruptcy if possible. Not by sending a few dollars a month but if the person who borrowed wins a game show, inherits a large sum of money or is otherwise easily able to pay an individual or small business owner, they should do so.
A large corporation will not miss the amount that wasn't paid. It was written off and forgotten. But a sincere note sent to a small business owner with the remainder of a long ago debt can speak volumes of Christian witness.
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/25/2010 12:18:53 PM
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phreddy
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Joined: 3/28/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GroupW
It's also worth noting that for most people, fiscal irresponsibility isn't the primary cause of bankruptcy - it's job loss, health problems, and divorce. Those are the big three & account for most filings. Sometimes bad things just happen.
How many of those filing could have been averted if the individuals involved saved a portion of their income every month for bad times? I know a fmaily who filed recently. The reason they stated for the court was that the husband's business closed. The sad fact is that they could have paid all of their necessary bills from the wife's teaching job if they had not spent every dime they made and financed more on top of that. The official cause was job loss, the real cause was irresponsibility.
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/26/2010 7:28:28 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 2860
Joined: 11/16/2007
From: Up in the hills of Colorado (very BIG hills...)
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Phreddy
Tough to say. For some folks, a decent savings would be enough to avoid bankruptcy. For others with severe medical bills, no reasonable amount of savings would avoid the problem.
Personally, I haven't run across any data one way or the other.
Would be an interesting thingg to study.
_____________________________
“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken
"Dort, wo man Buecher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." - Heinrich Heine
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/27/2010 5:04:35 PM
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aprildoll
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Joined: 6/27/2010
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What about Foreclosure? Is it okay for a Christian to intentionally let their home go into foreclosure?
I had savings, but due to a substantial loss of income I have used up most of that just paying regular expenses. There is no hope for additional income in the near future. If I empty out my savings, I can pay the mortgage for this month, but I will not have enough to pay next month. I have attempted to work with the bank mutiple times over the past 10 months to no avail. One bank did approve a modification, and I am current with them, however the larger mortgage will not work with me on payments. After much prayer, I am considering skipping this payment so that I still have savings enough to move me and my children to a new home (I'm a divorced mother of 2).
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 6/27/2010 9:30:07 PM
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peace77
Posts: 519
Joined: 4/18/2005
Status: online
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Could you sell the home or arrange a short sale with the bank?
Have you talked to any foreclosure prevention counselors?
Do not spend the last of your savings to make one more mortgage payment.
When you are current with your payments, the bank has no incentive to work with you. After you start missing payments, they may just change their mind.
Peace,
Anne
_____________________________
I GoodSearch for Lance's Deaf Orphans.
Raise money for your favorite charity or school just by searching the Internet or shopping online with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 7/1/2010 9:24:15 AM
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ppodmama
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From: Midwest
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Bankruptcy is a second chance. Now the laws require a course on money management as part of the process which is a good thing.
Outside of a disaster like illness or job loss, bankruptcy is usually a sign that something is out of whack and it's a good time to discover that.
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RE: Is it okay for Christians to file bankruptcy? - 7/2/2010 11:27:49 AM
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jaimestarcross
Posts: 1234
Joined: 11/28/2005
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quote:
While bankruptcy's stigma has weakened in recent years, it is still an especially troubling topic for many Christians. What about the biblical admonition, "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously" (Psalm 37:21)? Does that make a person who has filed for bankruptcy, or who is considering filing, a "wicked" person? No. While bankruptcy should be viewed as an absolute last resort, it is a viable option—even for a follower of Christ.
*The wicked are people who have no intention of repaying a loan.
Many of us have loaned money and the borrower has skipped out on repaying.
A wicked person is deceitful... like the borrower who doesn't make any amends to
re-pay his/her debt.
The bible instructs us to pay our debts --- make amends or ask for the debt to be forgiven etc.
_____________________________
shoutlife.com/UBfine
"A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world---and might be even more difficult to save."
C.S. Lewis
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