Did Jesus Teach Christian Socialism?
Two currents are just now to be seen in the general course of discussion over the ethics of Jesus. The one finds in his words essential principles of morality practically unconditioned by the messianic expectations of his contemporaries. The other current of interpretation regards Jesus as committed...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Chicago Press
1913
|
| In: |
The biblical world
Year: 1913, Volume: 41, Issue: 3, Pages: 147-161 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Two currents are just now to be seen in the general course of discussion over the ethics of Jesus. The one finds in his words essential principles of morality practically unconditioned by the messianic expectations of his contemporaries. The other current of interpretation regards Jesus as committed to the belief in the speedy end of the world. From this point of view his ethics would be intended only for the brief age that elapsed before the great catastrophe, or, to use the technical expression, "ad interim." The bearing of the first conception upon social theory has been very generally developed in America, as for example in Professor Peabody's volume Jesus Christ and the Social Question. The "ad interim" theory has never been thoroughly worked out. This article by Professor Arbuthnot is almost the first discussion of the bearing of this important change of estimate. It can hardly be expected that all of our readers will agree with its position. We expect to publish further articles in the field of the social teaching of Jesus during the course of the year. In the meantime we should be very glad to receive comments from our readers upon the general position taken in the following discussion. In order to give point to such communications we should be glad to have them answer such questions as: "Would a more thoroughgoing criticism of the gospels distinguish more precisely than has Professor Arbuthnot between the teaching of Jesus and the conceptions of the evangelists?" "If it should be admitted that Jesus expected the speedy end of the world, would the principles of an 'ad interim' ethics be applicable to an indefinitely long social evolution?" "Would an unprejudiced criticism of the Synoptic Gospels lead us to the conclusion that Jesus expected the end of the world to come in the lifetime of his generation?" The present article has special value in that it seems to distinguish sharply between the moral attitude that should result from sympathy with Jesus and some particular economic theory as to how this attitude can best find expression. |
|---|---|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The biblical world
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1086/474731 |