Why God Loves Bitcoin
CONTEXT & QUALIFIERS
Here when I say God loves Bitcoin it’s used in a generic sense, as in any and all Cryptocurrencies in line with the principles and objectives outlined below.
Have you ever heard the statement “Ideas have consequences”? Well they do.
All of what we witness in the world today in regards to government models, laws and justice systems, and economic practices has its roots in philosophical and theological theory. Most of us, including myself, live our day to day lives taking the opportunities and freedoms we have for granted, which far more learned men have grappled with over the centuries.
Many of the principles upon which Capitalism and democracy was built stem from John Calvin and other reformers who deduced them from Scripture. So whether you’re aware of it, or you agree with it, principles from the Bible, such as all men being created equal, is ultimately a big part of the freedoms and rights we now enjoy in most first world countries. More on this here and here.
I’m a Protestant Christian missionary. I do not seek here to persuade anyone to believe in the Bible or the God of the Bible, I do plenty of that on Facebook and in person, but the positions I take in this post are made assuming the Bible is true, from the stance of a Reformed Protestant.
I believe Bitcoin (again, used in a generic sense for any cryptocurrency which can further this work) is ultimately part of God’s work and the implications are far reaching. I aim to defend here why.
WHY GOD LOVES BITCOIN
Martin Luther taught that when we prayed the Lord’s prayer, it had many implications for the world.
When the disciples asked Christ how we should pray, He taught them the Lord’s prayer. But this was never meant to be lifeless and rote, but it contains deep prayers leaking into all spheres of life. We’re told to pray:
“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”
To pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth means all that is right and true should pervade and conquer all that is wrong and false. It means for corruption, poverty, oppression, greed, the pride of life and so forth to be overcome by truth and light.
In the same prayer we pray:
“Give us this day our daily bread…”
This is a prayer not only for our current meal, but for the health and hands and ethics to work, to be wise and thrifty, to steward well, and an economy where we, and our neighbors, prosper. It’s ultimately a prayer for the economy, so that provision for food and the necessities of life are met, for us, our families and our neighbors, as God makes the rain fall on the good and the bad (Mark 5:45) — some theologians refer to this as common grace.
The ideas behind Bitcoin make for an economic model that can transfer wealth from the hands of the top 1% and spread it out among the middle class. Power can be taken away from monopolies and oligarchs and divided more equally among all people, of every nation (note: God also has a heart for all nations). I am not talking here about socialism — I am talking about anti-corruption. Some even believe cryptocurrencies will eradicate world poverty once and for all.
God Hates Unjust Scales
Early in the Bible we repeatedly read that God hates corrupt business practices.
‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity. ‘You shall have just balances, just weights…” Leviticus 19:35–36
“A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.” Proverbs 11:1
Scammers and thieves have been around since the beginning of civilization. Non-Christians who detest scammers for being crooked, even unknowingly, borrow from transcendent Christian principles. Nothing has changed in the nature of man since man was, sin being in us all. Sin pervades our every motive, desire and action (to differing degrees), though we may be blind to its malignancy does not mean it isn’t there.
This is why I believe the Bible, because it explains the world as it is, explains reality as it is, without apology. It provides robust, timeless answers to all life’s biggest questions, such as “what is the condition of man?”
Bitcoin is based on immutable math and is distributed between hundreds and thousands of nodes. I don’t have to trust in sinful man, although sinful man, staying consistent to their nature, does seek to dominate Bitcoin — until now they’ve failed. Its code cannot be manipulated — therefore people trust in the math behind it, not corruptible or untrustworthy people.
The best of men are only men at best.
God Hates Injustice
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” Leviticus 19:15
“I, the Lord, command you to do what is just and right. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. Do not ill-treat or oppress foreigners, orphans, or widows; and do not kill innocent people in this holy place.” Jeremiah 22:3
Bitcoin flies in the face of our corrupted legacy financial systems with a fixed monetary supply, or in some cases Cryptos with an unalterable and predictable low rate-of-emission. This means many injustices in the current monetary systems can be replaced with superior forms of wealth.
The creation of Cryptocurrency supplies (i.e. mining, staking, etc) will be distributed among people from every social class the world over, not centrally controlled by a central bank.
God Loves The Poor
We see throughout Scripture that God has a big heart for the poor!
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8–9
This is exactly what Satoshi Nakamoto did when we wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper. Every stance against corrupt powers that be, with bank bailouts, fractional reserve banking, and quantitative easing is a stance against them becoming richer at everyone else’s expense.
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” Psalm 41:1
Bitcoin has the potential to bring about the most massive distribution of wealth in world history. Billions of people in the world without bank accounts will be able to have access to wealth, new financial opportunities, and a quality of life never before possible. Direct correlations have been made between civilizations with no bank accounts or personal identification to those same people being trapped in poverty.
Remittances can be sent home much faster, for next to nothing.
Soon, anyone anywhere will be able to invest in a startup, or other digital asset, from anywhere in the world, with any amount of money at any time of night or day. It will no longer be an opportunity afforded to only the wealthy elite. Stop and consider the numerous economic ramifications of this!
God Hates Oppression
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17
“And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: This is what the Lord Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.” Zechariah 7:8–10
By taking power away from heads of States, and disrupting behemoth corporations, this mitigates, or in some cases removes, their ability to oppress people. By making competition global, and removing rent-seeking-middle-men, people can get fair wages, fair prices and fair interest rates. God likes fair too.
God Hates Unjustified Violence
History has witnessed many uprisings and revolutions. The further back in history we travel the more barbaric these become. Nowadays, more and more, wars are being fought economically. Since 9–11, various types of economic sanctions have been used to prohibit trade and freeze assets as a form of non-violent war tactics.
The world is now ripe for a non-violent socioeconomic revolution on a global scale.
Bitcoin’s a non-violent revolution anyone can comfortably participate in from the safety of their own home. All they must do is educate themselves, opt-out of the failed legacy system and buy some Bitcoin.
CONCLUSION
God’s People Are Instructed To Be Clever with Money
“The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Luke 16:8–13
When it says “when it fails”, it’s referring to when money is no more. But while we do have it, we’re to use it wisely for Kingdom-ends. Yes we’re to be generous, sacrificial and worshipful with our money, but not just our money, also with our talents, our relationships, our decisions and our time — every God given resource. All of these things are investments in wealth neither rust nor moth can destroy.
But that does not mean we give it all away, then we’d have no more to give. We are also commanded to provide for our families. That means we use it, invest it, multiply it, that we might have more to serve God with. But, as man cannot serve both God and money, and money can so easily gain the upper hand on our hearts, God in His love may keep great wealth from many of His children.
“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?” James 2:5
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:24
But if we can acquire wealth, it’s a needed tool, to bring about God’s sovereign ends.
If used correctly, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can be a bringer of light and good. Or, it can be used to further empower oppressive powers. It depends on us. This is the money of the people. The future is in the balance. Christians, how can we not act?
Don’t just pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth. Do something to advance it — buy Bitcoin!
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17
