The medieval church forbade usury and claimed that usurers went to hell. However, as the feudal system of the Middle Ages declined and merchants emerged as an emerging power, usury businesses amassed enormous wealth. Usurers donated their corrupt wealth to monasteries, and when they died, they could be buried there. It was a bonus that the donor usurer could receive the sacrament of confession shortly before death. Fear of the afterlife caused poor churches to accumulate wealth, used to decorate walls or build larger, more elaborate structures, leading to the Renaissance era. The unjust usury business sparked a literary and artistic revival. Let go of the illusion that only good things can change the world for the better or the right. The innocence of ignorance about how the world works makes it easier to accept sin and corrupts the world into evil. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
All values are interconnected and relative. There is no such thing as an absolute value. For instance, is the value of the goose that lays golden eggs due to the goose itself, or because of the golden eggs it produces? Are the productive forces of life indeed more precious, or does gold hold greater value? If you find yourself on the brink of starvation without food, which is more valuable: the goose that lays the golden egg or the one that lays ordinary eggs? Value depends on context and circumstances, as it is inherently relative and changeable. In essence, all values fluctuate. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”