MENDOZA: I am a brigand. I live by robbing the rich.TANNER: (promptly) I am a gentleman. I live by robbing the poor. Shake hands.George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, 1903.This interpla
Noble: Sunshine the best disinfectant: why churches must open their books
US Justice Louis Brandeis, in his book Other People’s Money, explained: “Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants.” He leveraged the view that ‘public opinion … is full of sunlight … selfishness, injustice, cruelty, tricks and jobs of all sorts shun the light’. This is appropriate to the national discussion about religious bodies and money.
The Bible is an interesting book. Paul indicates that people preach out of different motivations, including impure ones (Philippians 1: 14-17). The ‘wheat and tares’ parable points to the difficulty of distinguishing between false and true preachers. Jesus whipped scoundrels, because of their mercenary ways, out of the temple on two separate occasions (bad behaviour is stubborn).
Friday 22 January 2021
SEIZED: Boxes said to contain $29m in paper $100 notes at a national security facility. The money was brought to the Central Bank on December 31, 2019 by pastor Vinworth Dayal who wanted to exchange it for the new polymer notes which are now legal tender.
Police investigating the source of funds garnered by Pastor Vinworth Dayal were granted a two-week extension to withhold some $29 million they seized during the 2019 demonetisation of the old $100 bill.
Prosecutors asked for the extension at a virtual court hearing on Friday, saying a file on the case is in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and investigators are awaiting his response.