Corruption
a biblical reason to respond
I. Corruption: a reason to respond
During a recent Monday morning Mass, Pope Francis made a strident assault on corruption
and bribery in which he allegedly described parents who practised bribery as losing their
dignity and feeding their children ‘unclean bread.’1 Corruption has become a household
name, implicating popular brands in its sad rise to the front pages of our national news.
For those of us committed to tackling poverty in general and extreme poverty in particular,
corruption has been identified as one of the greatest obstacles to poverty alleviation.
The past three decades has witnessed an unprecedented global response to material
poverty and beyond preaching and piety, Christian communities have become strategic
partners in fighting poverty.2
Despite its complexities a good deal of effort has been made in promoting good governance.
Good governance is “the way in which public power and authority is formed and used to
control and manage society’s resources.”3
But talk of corruption is technical, dangerous and a long way from our current plans to build
another clinic for the sick, or planning the preaching rota in the local church.
This paper is a small contribution to Christian faith responding to the cancer of corruption
which has embedded itself with devastating effect in civil society around the world. The
paper draws substantially from an earlier discussion paper, Ethical Leadership and freedom
from poverty which provided a basic biblical framework for the EXPOSED4 campaign. It has
also gleaned from scraps of conversations that emerged during the course of the campaign’s
development over the past two years.
1
Independent on Tuesday
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-corruption-fury-tie-them-to-a-rock-andthrow-them-in-the-sea-8934298.html
2
The World Health Organisation say that between 40%-60% of health care comes from churches and faith
communities
3
World Bank: Strengthening World Bank Group Engagement on Governance and Anti-Corruption, 20 October
2009
4
www.exposed2013.com
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II. Corruption can kill.
The battle against corruption is made all the more difficult because it is hard to define.
However, a global working definition is that:
CORRUPTION IS THE ABUSE OF ENTRUSTED POWER FOR PRIVATE GAIN. IT HURTS
EVERYONE WHO DEPENDS ON THE INTEGRITY OF PEOPLE IN A POSITION OF
AUTHORITY.5
It would cost the world approximately US $210billion per annum to keep our global promise
to reduce extreme poverty by half in 20156 but every year the global economy loses over US
$1 trillion through deliberate or indirect dishonesty. It means that our best efforts are being
devalued by the dishonesty we ignore.
In 2010 the World Bank highlighted the severe effects of ‘quiet corruption’ such as bribery,
poor regulations and service delivery for the extreme poor.7 In developing countries,
corruption means access to household water is 30% more expensive.8 Maternity patients in
Bangalore sometimes pay an average US $22 in bribes for adequate treatment.9 In her hardhitting book, Dead Aid the African economist Damisa Moyo draws on evidence to show the
correlation between a nation’s corruption level and its GDP. 10
The Christian NGO, Tearfund conducted a ground-breaking enquiry from their partners in
Peru, Cambodia and Zambia.11 The central theme was unmistakable: bribery and corruption
steals bread from the table and dignity from the lives of the poor.
The call for integrity is as relevant to rich nations as it is to the poor. Legal tax avoidance in
wealthy corporations such as Google and Starbucks is now as unacceptable as
embezzlement from Africa presidents. On 19th December 2012, the investment bank UBS
was ordered to pay US $1.2b to US regulators and a further £160m to the UK’s Financial
Services Authority because of attempted insider dealings. At least 45 traders and managers
on 3 continents made over 2,000 illegal submissions as a part of the grand deception.
A global conversation about ethical leadership and integrity will help us change the
discourse on corruption to acknowledge that very few nations are excluded from the
problem.
5
This is the generally accepted definition used by Transparency International
See Tom Cardamone, (Managing Director Global Financial Integrity), Illicit flows and the Millennium
Development Goals: Hidden Resources for Development, September 2010
7
Africa Development Indicators 2010
8
Executive summery Transparency International, 2008 Global Corruption Report
9
Transparency International September 2005
10
Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid 2009 p.51
11
Corruption and its Discontents Tear Fund 2010
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2
III. God’s mission against mis-management
However, the greatest obstacle to a prophetic Christian response is not the complicated
arguments of the professionals. It’s the slow pace at which Christians embrace the idea that
God really is concerned about “honest scales and balances.”12 The struggle for integrity is
far more than a political idea. It’s also about the virtue which elevates a nation.13 This is
precisely the power behind the message of Amos, Micah, Hosea as well as the Major
Prophets.14 Part of the problem C B Samuel says, is a poor Christian world-view influenced
by “an over-emphasised materialistic view of progress.” It fails to see this as a part of God’s
mission in the world.15
The first task in Christian engagement is to reclaim an understanding of God’s zero tolerance
towards corruption and the extent to which the issue has been edited from our reading of
the Scriptures.
From the earliest stages of the EXPOSED campaign, the paucity of theological reflection on
corruption became evident. Admittedly, ‘corruption’, (phthora, diaphthora) as a biblical
theme broadly describes “the transience of the present world order”.16 The principle biblical
application of phthora and its variants, point to the erosion of true doctrine (Eph 4:22), false
teachings which weaken and destroy the mind, (1 Tim 6:5; 2 Tim 3:8) and the threatened
disintegration of the body of Jesus (Acts 2:27,31; 13:36). But the meaning also extends to
those who use the gospel for merchandise (Tit 1:11; 2 Pet 2:3, 14; Jude 11) as well as the
sense that ‘corruption’ involves the kind of dishonesty which brings poverty (2 Cor 7:2).17
None of the Bible resources which contributed to my own Christian formation in the 1980s
and 1990s, make any references to ‘corruption’ or ‘bribery’ in any way that would
contribute to the contemporary problems facing our world today.
But God’s impatience with corrupt behaviour is self-evident and emerges from a number of
well known Bible stories. Let me offer a brief review.
1 Samuel 2: 12-36 Much has been said about Israel’s desire to replace the
prophetic/priestly order with an earthly king. Whether God approved or tolerated kingship
is a key theological debate. But the reality is that all of this was precipitated by the corrupt
conduct of Eli’s sons who were the priests in residence.
12
Proverbs 16:11
Proverbs 13:34
14
Roberto Laver “Good News” in the Fight Against Corruption in The Review of Faith & International Affairs,
Vol 8, Number 4,2010 www.informaworld.com/rfia
15
CB Samuel response 11 May 2011
16
Derek Wood, coordinator, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Part One: Aaron-Golan, IVP, 1980 p.319
17
Vine, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, Marshall Morgan and Scott, 1981 p.242/3
13
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To put it another way: corruption changed the trajectory of Israel’s history. The people
were tired of it and in response, God instituted a monarchy which was both powerful and
accountable. The election process was both divine and democratic (1 Sam 10:17-24) and
the new ‘magna carter’ of the Hebrew people was deposited in God’s presence (1 Sam
10:25).
1 Kings 21 The story of Naboth’s vineyard is well known to many Christians. King Ahab’s
greed and envy of Naboth’s family legacy led to deceit, an unjust court hearing, false
witness and murder. But essentially, it was land-grabbing and murder as happens in
today’s world when multi-nationals and property developers rob and displace people to
commercialize the land.
God did not ignore it. He sent Elijah with a crucial message about justice.
Nehemiah 5 Nehemiah orchestrated the building of the wall but he also re-built the moral,
economic and social architecture of Jerusalem. Dealing with extortion, un-payable debts,
land-grabbing, and child slavery were all central features of this reform and spiritual
renewal.
Mark 11:15-19; Matt 21:12-17; Luke 19:45-48; Jn 2:13-22 When all four gospels tell a
similar or the same story you know its important. So the cleaning of the temple was
important. Jesus was willing to go to the very centre of religious, community and public life
to challenge extortion in the temple. Because the temple was the whole of life this was the
equivalent of taking on the Houses of Commons, St Paul’s, the Stock Exchange and the
community centre all at the same time.
Mark 12:13-17; Matt 22:15-22; Luke 20:20-26. This is the story of Jesus’ response to
questions about paying taxes to Caesar. It’s easy enough to spiritualize this story
emphasizing the need to give God His dues. But the key question was this: ‘should we pay
taxes to Caesar, our oppressors? Say, Yes and we will attack you. Please say, No and we will
ask the Romans to kill you.’
But it’s easy to overlook the Jesus’ economics ethic at this point: tax dodging is wrong.
Indeed, this was Pope Francis’ contention in his recent sermon on corruption in which he
asserted that people who gave money to the church but stole from the state were sinners
and should be punished.
Jesus’ ruling on taxation was not a ploy to save his own skin. It seems he believed it was
right to pay – even though very little of such taxes would ever come back to the common
people. If Jesus believed in paying non-beneficial taxes to a despot what would he say
about tax dodging which would otherwise benefit people?
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Thirty Pieces of Silver. The Easter narrative is worthy of special mention in this exploratory
study. At a traditionally informed level, we are aware that the events surrounding Jesus’
torment and crucifixion were filled with dishonesty and misrepresentation. His trial was a
judicial sham, displaying a total breakdown in the rule of law from a Jewish community who
prided themselves in obedience to the law, and Roman authority which was otherwise
meticulous in its jurisprudence. (Matt 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:3919:6). Jesus’ trial was synonymous with the kinds of miscarriage of justice with which we
have associated human rights infringements in countries such as Iran, Russia, Sri Lanka or
China, where civil liberties are openly ignored in the name of state security.
The aftershocks persisted when the stone was rolled away from the empty tomb. The
‘Jerusalem Gate’ cover-up, the bribing of the guards and the falsification of evidence were
dramatic enactments of a lack of transparency which accompanied the entire affair.
But I want to call special attention to Judas’ behaviour which precipitated all of this.
Because thirty pieces of silver wasn’t just a betrayal; it was also a bribe.
It’s hard to imagine what goes through the mind of an individual who consciously robs his
employers of US $6.2b. But that is precisely what happened when, Bruno Iksil an employee
at J.P. Morgan and Chase bank breached their security systems, causing major damage and
resulting in a fine of US $92m for the company last October.
It raises the question: what do Bruno Iksil and Judas have in common? Indeed, what does
Judas have in common with corporations in the extractive industries who knowingly exploit
the natural resources of poor nations - polluting and raping the environment in the process
- in return for a meager percentage of their profits? It’s greed. Greed, which leads to moral
blindness and which makes a bribe possible.
But it’s also a blindness which diminishes another person’s humanity, to a mere commodity
for personal gain. This does not always begin with malicious intent. An underpaid policeman
living on the edge of poverty with a family to feed may resort to forms of bribery which also
diminishes his victim. But in the end, his extortionate behavior drags him through the same
act of dehumanization as the drug baron who lives in a mansion, or the president who rapes
his own economy and callously sends the proceeds to tax havens controlled by respectable
banks in Europe.
And that was Judas’ darkness. The bribe is an emblem of dehumanization. For in the
process, the image of God in ‘the other’ is entirely destroyed as a pre-condition of the act.
There is no other way to extort apart from de-humanizing ‘the other’ and in so doing, to dehumanize oneself.
The bribe is pernicious, because invariably, it is linked to the abuse of power, and as often,
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to the institution of power. This is why the Bible has always been diametrically opposed to
bribes (Deut 10:17;16:19;27:25; 1 Sam 8:3;12:3; 2 Chron 19:7; Ezra 4:5; Job 36:18; Ps
15:5;26:10; Prov 17:8; 29:4; Isa 1:23;5:23; Ezek 22:12; Amos 5:12).
In the powerful story of Easter, Christians have focused on the betrayal at the expense of
the bribe. Betrayal speaks to the tragedy of a broken trust. Bribery describes the
mismanagement of power, and the silhouette of institutional strongholds overshadowing
Judas’ behavior. Institutional corruption tiptoed in the shadow of the cross on Friday
evening and stalked the tomb on Sunday. Greed, bribery, falsification, gagging and
dehumanization were all embroiled in the Easter event. Our selective reading of the cross
and resurrection has edited them into oblivion.
But thirty pieces of silver is not just a betrayal: it’s also a bribe.
IV. The power to prevent
Christians have an incredible opportunity to recover a biblical voice on corruption and in
David Bosch’s words, to immerse ourselves in the “real circumstances of the poor, the
captives, the blind, the oppressed.”18
The global church is not weak. In 2005 2.1 billion people (a third of the world’s population)
called themselves Christians. By 2050 that figure could be as much as 3 billion.
One thing is clear from these figures: if the Church wants to make a real difference it can.
That much salt and light should emasculate the evil of corruption and a global Christian
response to corruption would provide a metaphor for cleansing which the world would truly
understand.
This has been a central motivation for the EXPOSED campaign. Many Christian voices are
being raised on this critical issue19 but we still have a very long way to go.
18
David Bosch Transforming Mission p.426
It is dangerous to start identifying initiatives related to Christian movements but the work being done by
Christian Aid, Tear Fund, Association for Biblical Leadership Institute (ABLI), Annual Report from Norwegian
church Aid’s anti-corruption work 2010, Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace convened a
Fight against Corruption conference in 2006 which accelerated the issue. Paz y Esperanza, Peru; Jubilee Centre,
Zambia.
19
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V. A trinity of intervention
Over the past 3 years EXPOSED has become the widest coalition of Christian responses to
the problem of corruption in our world, challenging the church, business and government to
act with integrity. The first stage in the campaign culminated in a global week of action
seeking to bring awareness to millions of individuals and promote 2,000 vigils in local
communities 14-20 October 2013. We now have an ambitious target of raising 1 million
signatures asking the world’s most powerful nations to take positive steps to curb bribery, a
lack of transparency and tax evasion. These signatures will be taken to the G20 in November
2014.

Church
Frankly, integrity will challenge the Christian church even before we talk to anyone else.
Only a transformed church is likely to be an agent of transformation. Light shines out best
when our windows are clean.
Integrity is a big question for people of all faiths and the observation that very religious
cultures have a higher than normal corruption index applies equally to Christian
communities.20 It’s a sad indictment that ‘ecclesiastical crime’ has mushroomed from an
estimated US$300,000 in 1900 to US$32billion in 2010 with predictions that it will rise to
US$60billion by 2025.21 A finding like this muzzles the gospel.
The good news is that Christians have a positive history in defending the poor and we are
beginning to grasp this nettle. And as Batchelor and Osei-Mensah point out a great deal of
African Christians are making serious attempts to respond to corruption. 22
It was particularly encouraging that the Cape Town Commitment has identified corruption
as an important obstacle to Christian discipleship:
Corruption is condemned in the Bible. It undermines economic development,
distorts fair decision-making and destroys social cohesion. No nation is free of
corruption. We invite Christians in the workplace, especially young entrepreneurs,
to think creatively about how they can best stand against this scourge.23
On 2nd September 2011 an early response from Lausanne in India held a conference on
20
Religions and Development, Religions, Ethics and Attitudes towards Corruption: A Study of Perspectives in
India, Working Paper 53 October 2010
21
Todd M. Johnson, David B. Barrett, and Peter F.Crossing, “Status of Global Mission, 2010, in Context of 20th
and 21st Centuries” published in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 34, No. 1 (January
2010), pg 34, by the Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven, CT.
22
Paul Batchelor and Steve Osei-Mensah, Salt and Light: Christians’ Role in Combating Corruption, Lausanne III
Cape Town 2010
23
Cape Town Commitment, October 2010 Part II 7b
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corruption. In the past 18 months, EXPOSED campaign has uncovered an exciting range of
initiatives responding to corruption at grass roots level.

Business
Christian attitude to the workplace has gone through a healthy revolution. The workplace is
becoming co-terminus with Christian witness and Kingdom resourcing. But increasingly,
business is thinking about its role in bringing transformation to institutional issues.24
Business has done a great deal to emancipate millions of people in the so-called BRICS
nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). All of that is to be celebrated. But
even good news can become a smoke-screen for bad news. Wealth creation is no substitute
for ‘honest scales’ for in all our wealthy nations the gap between rich and poor is growing. 25
Business, transnational agencies and corporations bear a heavy responsibility for the shady
practices which continue to oppress the poor. In the same way that business grew wealthy
on Black slaves, some businesses still expand on the suffering of the poor.
There is a common misconception that corruption is all about bad governments pillaging
their nations. But in fact deliberate illicit flows accounts for 3-5% of the global loss between
$30-$50 billion each year. Half of this results from illicit cash flows on goods and mispriced
commodities.26
Our purpose is not to demonise business. Rather, it is to provide a prophetic appeal as
powerful and as liberating as the prophets and Jesus himself. The Bible is overwhelming in
its concern towards improper trading and God’s concern for ‘honest scales’ comes again and
again in the Bible.27

Government
Christians should not be selective in our advocacy. We have rightly lobbied about morality,
family and the education of our children. We must also speak up for the poor.
And we have no reason to believe that partnership with government for the common good
goes against the grain of Scripture. Nehemiah’s reformation and restoration of Jerusalem
would have been inconceivable without help from a pagan king.28 Any Christian who is
serious about the Bible is obliged to be serious about biblical advocacy. God has left us with
24
Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22-25
In 1979 1% of the USA owned 10% of its production wealth (GNP). In 2007 1% of the USA owned 20% of
GDP. 2011 10% of Libya population live on less than $2 per day – despite Libya’s pre-revolution oil revenue.
26
Tom Cardamone, managing director Global Financial Integrity, Illicit Financial flows and the Millennium
Development Goals: Hidden Resources for Development September 2010
25
27
Lev 19:36; Prov 11:1; 16:11; 20:23; Ezek 45:10; Hosea 12:7; Amos 8:5; Mic 6:6-11
28
Nehemiah 2:6-9
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no mandate to be mute.29 And equally we must do more than pray for Christians in
government; we also need Christian leaders with the passion and skills to shape our policies.
As Dr Goodwill Shana puts it, “Christian politicians are over-rated if all they bring is integrity
and ethics. They must create the socialisation and institutionalisation of ethical values and
the institutional mechanism for good service delivery.”30
A final thought
Corruption is an enormous, complicated and seemingly interminable problem. But so is
human sin. No one has ever suggested that Christians should be complacent about
evangelism. And neither should we be sluggish about dealing with corruption. Christians
have a biblical mandate to respond and it’s worth remembering that the Reformation was a
radical theological revolution but it was also the biggest anti-corruption movement the
world has ever seen.
Rev Joel Edwards
15 November 2013
29
See An evangelical Declaration on Government, the Poor and God’s Mission in the World, Wheaton, Illinois,
May 19, 2010. The consultation was sponsored by Bread for the World, Wheaton College and Micah
Challenge
30
Rev Goodwill Shana submission 8 May 2011
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