Robert Sheppard submitted on April 2017 a thesis to the Faculty of Liberty University School of Divinity in candidacy for the degree of master of arts in global studies which is entitled “Banking and Finance for the Modern Christian”.
According to the author the purpose of the paper is “to help Christians to better understand what the Bible teaches with regards to banking and finance as it relates to mortgage lending by applying biblical theological categories and a diachronic analysis of usury from the reformation period until now for the purpose of enriching the lives of Christians everywhere while drawing attention to the cause of Christ”. The author presents an analysis of the Christianization of usury in early modern Europe. The author also discusses the biblical principles of lending, Christian debt in the modern era, and biblical lending in the present day.