The Poison of Government Corruption

 . AFRICA: In 2013, some 22,000 public officials in South Africa were charged with misconduct for corrupt activities.

. AMERICAS: In 2012, in Brazil, 25 people were convicted of using public funds to buy political support. Among those convicted was the former president's chief of staff, the second most powerful man in the country.

. ASIA: In Seoul, South Korea, 502 people died in a department-store collapse in 1995. Investigators found that city officials had been bribed to allow contractors to use standard concrete and to violate safety rules.

. EUROPE: "The extent of the problem [corruption in Europe] is breathtaking," according to European Commission Home Affairs Commissioner Ceclia Malmstrom.  She added that "the political commitment to really root out corruption seems to be missing." 

Government corruption has deep roots. Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman, and expert on the subject of anticorruption. wrote that reform would require fundamental changes in the way government does business."  While the situation might seem to be hopeless, the Bible shows that even greater changes are not only possible but also certain to happen.

Next time: Understanding the Bible - What Are the Keys? - The Bible's Answer

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