The Golden Rule: Biblical scholar says radical teachings of Jesus transformed altruism
When money, manpower and supplies from all over the world poured into Western North Carolina after the devastation wrought by Helene, writer and religious scholar Bart Ehrman understood the genesis of this altruism better than most.
In his new book, “Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West,” Ehrman argues that prior to the rise of Christianity, the concept of providing material help and compassion toward strangers was not in the religious or ethical toolbox of previous Western societies.
“This is a modern phenomenon. In a crisis today, people feel a moral obligation to lend a hand, even to strangers who live hundreds or thousands of miles away,” Ehrman writes.
Although the idea for the book predated Helene, Ehrman witnessed first-hand what happened after that disaster. He’s a recently retired distinguished professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill and has a home in Haywood County. He was staying in that house when Helene hit.
“People were sending donations in, people were bringing water, by animal, and, you know, people were just really concerned for those who were put out of house and home, and whose businesses had been destroyed … in the ancient world, that never happened. If there was a disaster, and it was people you didn’t know, they weren’t your family, they weren’t your friends … you wouldn’t help them,” Ehrman said in an interview last week.
In the book, Ehrman uses historical examples to prove this argument, particularly events in Greek and Roman societies.
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“We know of horrible natural disasters from antiquity: epidemics (the horrible plague in Athens, fifth century BCE), devastating fires (Rome, 64 CE), volcanic eruptions that wiped out entire cities (Vesuvius, 79 CE) ... But concern for the unknown poor and destitute — that is, for the vast majority of the population — was never on the radar screen,” he writes.
Ehrman, who is also a popular podcaster, was originally a Christian believer who now considers himself agnostic. One point he thinks a lot of people don’t understand about Jesus’ teachings is how revolutionary they were during his lifetime.
“Jesus’ teachings were so radical that nobody followed them. People get upset with me when I say that, but it’s true,” Ehrman said. “I mean, when Jesus told a rich man to sell everything he has and give to the poor, he really meant it. Right. And people today think, ‘OK, I need to be more generous. I need to give a little more to my church. I need to give a little more to charity.’
“And that’s true. You probably do need to give more of it. But that’s not what Jesus was saying. He was literally saying, ‘Sell everything’ … I think he really meant it,” he said.
Ehrman says that Jesus’ concept of love is also often misunderstood, especially his admonition to “love your enemies.”
Bart Ehrman. File photo
“So when he’s talking about love, and when the New Testament talks about love, it’s not a feeling or an emotion, it’s how you act, and you act in somebody else’s best interest,” Ehrman said. “That doesn’t mean that you love your enemies, because if so, then you help them destroy you, but it means that you want the best for them, which in this case, may be for them to stop trying to destroy you.”
Several of Ehrman’s books have been New York Times bestsellers, and his discussion at HART Theater at 7 p.m. on April 8 is sponsored by Blue Ridge Books.
