Loading...The Christians who began to say that (unlike in the Roman world) the rich ought to give to the poor did not come up with the idea themselves. As we have seen, they were replicating (in a new form) what was found in the Hebrew Bible as taken up, as one would expect, by the historical Jesus. But the Christians ran with the idea, and that ended up having a lasting effect on all of society and Western culture.
The records of earliest Christianity are pretty clear: everyone (not just the rich) needed to give in order to help those who were less fortunate. According to the book of Acts, the members of the first community in Jerusalem sold everything and shared all things in common, so that no one was in need (Acts 2:43-45; 4:32-37). This sounds like Jesus’ own vision, though whether Acts can be trusted to describe social reality soon after Jesus’ death is another question. It is clear, however, that years later the churches of Paul, populated predominantly by those without substantial resources, were willing to share with those who had even less, as seen in Paul’s famous collection for the “poor” in Jerusalem (e.g., Rom. 15:25-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4).
This Christian tradition of the relatively poor giving to the very poor continues to be attested over time (e.g., Tertullian Apol. 39.7). Quite extreme versions of charity for the sake of others are attested as well, including, at the end of the first century, 1 Clement’s remarkable claim that some Christians had sold themselves into slavery to pay for the manumission of others (1 Clem. 55.2).
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It seems but a step away from selling indulgences. Question: Jesus told the rich young man to get rid of his “possessions”, not his wealth or money. Do you think this could be significant or do you think in this context possessions = money?
I think it was understood that you possessed your money, since there was no such thing as credit cards or electronic transfers. It was solid gold coins (and so on).
I am appreciating this series of blog posts. The radical message and actions of St Francis on wealth and book learning were quickly toned down by the Franciscans within decades of his death. A study of this might shed some light on how the legacy of Jesus was distorted.
Bart, I’m really enjoying these recent posts discussing wealth attitudes in the pre Christian and early Christian world. They are sensational. I’ve said it before, but I think it’s quite remarkable that you make great insight and scholarship available for such a modest monthly fee. A thousand thank yous to you.
A question : as you have noted, there is a clear transactional quality to all these beliefs i.e “I’m doing something good because I will get something good in return”, whether that’s a nice place in heaven or a good reputation on earth etc. But I’m wondering if it is even possible to avoid any kind of transactional feeling, no matter how you help the poor ? Even if you are a Dawkins-type atheist, even if you have no social standing or great reputation to uphold, even if nobody knows or sees your act of kindness, perhaps you do it because it gives you a small buzz, makes you feel good about yourself, makes you happy etc. Is it even possible to avoid getting something positive back ?
Yeah, I don’t know. Some people seem completely altruistic, but it’s hard to know how much that in itself is there reward….
It seems that self-sacrifice to one degree or another has been a powerful part of the evolutionary process for millions of years: for example, programmed cell death (apoptosis) helped make multi-cellular life as we know it possible.
And a tax exempt, profitable industry was born. The Church of………..
I used to give like 4K to the food banks every year.
Last summer the electricity went out at the main food bank and all the food got spoiled.. it got me to thinking.
Give… directly.
I stopped giving to food banks ( big donors still do)
I give huge tips now.
When I had cancer, when I had knee surgeries etc, I used “ instacart “ ( then got lazy and use them every week now)
I’ve had people drive up with my groceries with kids in the car, pizza deliverer’s with kids in the car!!!
I tip huge.. an extra 20 besides the 15%….
Your not supposed to brag about those things. But I have no spiritual base.
The inconsistencies are amazing. The church established orders of poverty and even severe isolation, and lauded such a life. Meanwhile, the pontiffs and others highly placed lived lives of extreme luxury, enjoyed considerable temporal power, and fathered illegitimate children by their concubines. It looks much like a sort of con, doesn’t it? Of course, it can’t be that! “Oh, what a great business! What a divine market-place! A person buys immortality with money, giving away worldly things that are perishing to receive in exchange an eternal mansion in heaven” (ch. 32).”– In these words, do we have a literal business model for today’s mega-churches? “Buy me a private jet! God will reward you, as I laugh up my sleeve at all you suckers! HA HA HA. I don’t even pay taxes!!”
Prof Ehrman,
The story of the rich young man referred.
Do you consider Jesus a Cynic or that he didn’t find need for material wealth due to the eminent end per his apocalyptic message – why hold on to material wealth if the end is already in sight (like tomorrow). How do we juxtapose Jesus’s words in this case to his apocalyptic understanding?
I don’t think he would have ever heard about the Cynics; but there were plenty of Jews (apocalyptic and not) who urged people to give their superflous resources to the poor….