Jesus’ most famous parable had a big influence on the early church – and the world.
From decadent medieval popes to modern televangelists with private jets, religion and money can make for an unsavoury mix.
But why do we think of charity as a good in the first place? The Greco-Roman world didn’t think so: they mostly thought the poor and suffering deserved what they got. It was Jewish thought, turbocharged by the teaching of Jesus, that transformed the way we think vulnerable people should be treated.
Fabiola, the wealthy noblewoman who founded Rome’s first hospital; Father Damien, the leper priest of Molokai; the Earl of Shaftesbury, who campaigned tirelessly for the rights of the poor and downtrodden … and innumerable nameless, forgotten individuals have shown what it looks like when Christians do take seriously the commands of the one they claim to follow.
Jesus’ most famous parable had a big influence on the early church – and the world.
The Jewish and early Christian insistence on care for the poor transformed the ancient world.
Modern ideas of charity were an anomaly in Greece and Rome.
The medieval papacy offers a vivid picture of a church corrupted by wealth.
We take it for granted that caring for the sick is a good thing. Why?
Father Damien of Molokai showed the true meaning of “compassion”: to suffer with the afflicted.
Few people have done more to lessen human misery and increase human happiness than Lord Shaftesbury.
Is it just the outliers, the extraordinary individuals, who influence history?
