PrintNovember 20, 2010
Fools and Their Money
"For the love of money is the root of all evil," declares the Bible in Timothy 6:10. It's unfashionable to quote the Bible these days, at least in intellectual circles, where belief in a supreme being has been reduced to Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy sneering. To be sure, the Bible, when it gets a little too elliptical and a little too allegorical, can leave one scratching one's head. But when the circumlocutions are dropped, the Bible can get it very right: The Ten Commandments are timeless because they are succinct, demanding, and obvious. No new-age passive-aggressive-man fidgeting here. "For the love of money" is equally decisive, so perhaps the Bible should have left well enough alone -- embellishment being the enemy of clarity. The King James version adds, "which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" to the preamble. The Bible got it right; the subtext works. Note...(Read Full Article)
