How should we be charitable?
There’s a wonderful Hasidic story of an old Rabbi in Poland, and a man came over to him and said, “You say never to say anything bad about anybody because it’s a sin in Jewish law to engage in lashon ha-ra (bad words), but I bet I can come up with somebody you can’t say a good word about.”
And the Rabbi said, “Who?”
And he said, “Atheists.”
And the Rabbi said, “No, there’s one time in your life when it’s very important to be an Atheist.”
The student was shocked for the Rabbi to say it’s important to be an Atheist. "When?”
He said, “When a poor person comes to you for charity, act as if there is no God. Act as if you are the only person on the face of the earth who can save that poor human being, and give him charity, not because God wants you to give him charity, but because that’s the right thing to do.”
(Dershowitz, Alan. "Does Organized Religion Hold Answers to the Problems of the 21st Century?" Organized Religion Debate, Franklin & Marshall College, 27 Sept. 2000.)
This brings up an important issue regarding the way Christians are to be charitable, or loving, to the people of the world, to both friends and enemies. Are we to act in such a way because God commands it, or because it is the "right thing to do"?
Through the telling of this story, Dershowitz seems to be making an argument along the lines of "Atheists have a greater capacity for true charity than do people who believe in heavenly rewards." I am using this as the basis for a thesis that I will argue against in a class paper. What are your thoughts about the issue?
posted by Paul B. at
1:09 PM
2 Comments:
I think that in a way some Atheists are more charitable. Than some Christians. I would assume that they do not have the underlying pressure to do what "other Atheists" are doing just to uphold an image that may not actually exemplify their inner desire to help. I think that Christians fall into the trap of doing things because they are supposed to, or doing things to uphold an image that they feel is expected from the church. This is a problem because often times, it can make a wonderfully compassionate choice to help someone, turn into another job or obligation. Because the Atheist is already cast down by the religious community, he is not bound by any rules, which gives him a freer position to better make charitable decisions.
Andrew and I have a friend who identifies himself as being an Atheist, and he and his wife have been more charitable to Andrew and I than any Christians that we have met so far. They have gone above and beyond to help us out without asking for anything in return. It comes straight from their hearts and challenges me to be a better Christian each time that I am around them.
By
Pamela, at 6:44 AM
That's a good point, Pam. One thing I'm wrestling with for my paper is that, while it is true that Christians, in particular, do believe in heavenly rewards, I'm not sure that is our motivation to act charitably. Whenever I help someone in need, I honestly never give one thought to some future reward I may get in the next life. Some people may. Really, my purpose in arguing against the stated issue is not to think myself more charitable (there are atheists that devote their lives to helping people), but rather to address the underlying assumption: that being charitable is "the right thing to do".
When anyone (Atheist, Christian, or other) acts charitably, they are inadvertently responding to the wisdom of some authority (society, themselves, a deity) that says such an action is "the right thing to do". Heavenly rewards aside, if it is indeed the case that all people seek to conform to some type of standard of "right", it would seem that Christians have at least the same capacity as an atheist to be truly charitable.
This idea is certainly open for further discussion. I'm still trying to make some sense of my argument. I don't want any false assumptions in there.
By
Paul B., at 1:45 PM
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