貨幣
神讓人類能以耐用、可儲存、易攜帶的媒介代表實物價值。在原創意念中,神令一些天然元素如黃金,小巧迷人、而且相對稀有。又令人類有能力明白及判斷此類物品的價值。繼而允許人類建立政府,以常有資源如紙張,來代表罕有資源如黃金,再以紙張換取各式各樣的資源。[31]
現代人有金錢,非常容易攜帶(而且電子傳輸幾乎不費分毫),可以換取真正的資源,如食品、住屋、教育及資本貨物。能夠用貨幣輕易分配資源是履行創建管理任務重要的一部分。
《聖經》有很多關於金錢的教義。為人傳頌的有「貪財是萬惡之根」(提摩太前書6:10)和「你們不能又事奉神,又事奉瑪門」(馬太福音6:24)。這些教義不是關於金錢作為交易媒介,而是關於人類對金錢的取態以及金錢所代表的力量。然而,金錢作為交易媒介並非邪惡之源,金錢作為交易媒介是神的賜福。[32]
Some have argued that paper money which is not backed by gold is morally wrong. Exploring those arguments is beyond the scope of this article and would not inform the main points of this article.
Jacques Ellul, Money and Power (Inter-varsity Press, Downers Grove, 1984), argues that society’s way of thinking about money, wealth and resources is contrary to Biblical teaching. Although Ellul highlights the evil arising out of money, he is writing about wealth and material possessions, and not about currency as a medium of exchange.