Water to Wine and Money Out of Nothing

The workings of finance and religion are similar. At their core they are built on trust and credit: ultimately faith. In fact, it seems a little unreasonable that we, at least in western spheres, have elevated finance ahead of religion. The church (synagogue, mosque etc.) asks you to place unequivocal faith in an omniscient, omnipotent being, who is forgiving and wise and benevolent. That's it, that's all you have to do. Accept that comprehending the world is far beyond the powers of a single human being and let a righteous God into your life. Finance asks you to believe in your fellow humans and money. Between God and people I'll take God. Not that people are all bad but even a cursory look around and at history suggests people have a pretty dubious record. Only people could form a state like Belgium or spend hours listening to Radiohead.

In their functions church and finance aren't all that different. They allocate resources to communities and secure the capital (spiritual or monetary) required to build things. They ask people to suspend their disbelief and trust the authorities. Except only one of them promises redemption and eternal happiness.

Finance has evil as does religion. Bernard Madoff struck a deal with something like a financial Lucifer. Only the prince of darkness could trick 50 billion dollars out of pensions, charity funds, and nest eggs. The new year will test every soul followers faith, from financiers, to tottenham footballers, to the religiously minded, because this crisis is a crisis of the mind and the only credit is the piggy bank of your heart.