Psychologists typically define altruism as a
selfless interest for the good and welfare of others, that leads to such
pro social behaviors as cooperation, helping and sharing. Those who display
courage and generosity especially in the face of barriers are considered
heroically altruistic.
Much debate exists as to whether
"true" altruism is possible. The theory of psychological egoism
suggests that no act of sharing, helping or sacrificing can be described as
truly altruistic, as the actor may receive an intrinsic reward in the form of
personal gratification. The validity of this argument depends on whether
intrinsic rewards qualify as "benefits."
Altruism was a fundamental value in the
teachings of Jesus Christ. Meisinger (2000) investigated the editorial history
of the synoptic Gospels. He showed that the Gospel of Luke especially emphasizes
the extension of the Jesus’ love command beyond all bounds. The command of
Jesus to love our enemies in Luke 6:27–36 ) can be regarded as the highest
form of unconditional love. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
is an exemplary illustration of altruistic
Love. Jesus used this story to illustrate
that human kindness and benevolence must be available to all people, even to
the enemy. This shows that the mission of Jesus is not limited to the Jews, but
to all nations. Jesus summarized this commandment as follows:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:36-39)
Altruism is not only a virtue in the New
Testament. In Leviticus 19:33-34 in the Old Testament, God commanded the
Israelites:
When an alien resides with you in your land,
you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides living with you shall be
to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you
were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
One can see that the responsibility of caring
for other nations was given to God's people even in the Old Testament period.
In fact, a large part of Leviticus 19 deals with the practical implications of loving
people around oneself, no matter whether they are your immediate family or
foreigners.
Although some later Christian theologians,
such as St Thomas Aquinas, argued about the level of love one should
give to God, self and others, it is generally accepted that the scope of altruism
in Christianity means loving everyone. This is summarized in the golden rule:
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the
law and the prophets” (Matt 7:12). Altruism in Christianity, therefore,
means universal love.
In the Bible, offering hospitality is a moral
imperative. We are told to remember that we were once strangers in a strange
land (Deuteronomy 10:19) and are warned “Do not oppress the stranger, for you
were strangers in the land of Egypt” and that we should "love the alien as
yourself" (Leviticus 19:34).
Many biblical authors draw a strong
connection between love of others and love of God. 1 John 4 states that for one
to love God one must love his fellow man, and that hatred of one's fellow man
is the same as hatred of God.
When talking about altruism in Christianity,
it’s difficult to pin-point which denomination of Christianity to go with. Each
denomination has a theology that is slightly different from another
denomination, which in turn makes the practice of Christianity either radically
or subtly different from others, especially in the treatment of groups of
people dubbed outside the Christian faith. Altruism is a practice; it is
something done. It is not something felt (although feeling is involved), but
rather something acted out, a lifestyle, and for some, a faith. It is a complex
relationship with those around you. And each Christian denomination has its own
theology of how a Christian should act towards others, making altruism within
Christianity complex to dissect or make any generalization. It is for this
reason that I am turning to the first church after Jesus’ ascension to heaven.
Christianity was developed historically in a
time of great upheaval and conflict for Jews, where Jews lost their Second
Temple in 70 A.D. to the Romans (which were essential to Jewish theology). The
first Christians were essentially Jewish, having been called as students of the
Jewish Jesus, so it would follow that their moral and ethical compass developed
from the Jewish tradition. Altruism in the can be found in the 10 Commandments,
where one is to love thy neighbor as thyself. While modern definitions of
altruism require self-sacrifice, Judaism contends that altruism is an
expression of the self and acted out daily through mitzvah. In Judaism, the
concept of focuses on expressions of altruism and the way of putting the world
back together after it’s shattering in the Garden of Eden. For a Jew,
performing mitzvah, or the 617 commandments, or the 10 basic commandments,
amounted to performing altruism. This was how Jews survived after centuries of
exploitation, genocide, and exile.
So for the early followers of a Jewish Jesus,
who themselves came from moral and ethical Jewish backgrounds, following the
Jesus who told others to love everyone, to forgive, to turn the other cheek, to
essentially express altruism, was not far off from their own moral compasses.
What Jesus did introduce to the Jews of his time was the concept of
self-sacrifice. Jews were familiar with sacrifice – animal sacrifices were
performed at the Temple all day. But when Jesus introduced the concept of
self-sacrifice, it put a whole new spin on altruism.
For Christians, Jesus death on the cross was
the ultimate expression of altruism – laying down your life for the benefit of
others. The concept of hell and the emphasis of Jesus’ death for sins later
became the primary motivator for expressions of altruism for many Christians.
Passages such as reaping when you sow stick out starkly from the Hindu idea of
karma, where reaping what you sow may not happen in one lifetime, but over
several lifetimes.
Jesus himself encourages his followers to
leave their family in order to follow God's will. From this, later churches
took this to mean that altruism was for God's sake, in order to avoid hell, and
forcing families to either burn bridges with a zealous Christian or accept
God's will. While Jesus's sense of altruism stems from Judaism, his exclusion of
family and addition of self-sacrifice makes the Christian altruism different
from the Jewish, and also makes it different from Confucius altruism, which
favors family.
Regarding altruism and Christianity, the
concept of altruism was hijacked by the melding of government and religion by
Constantine. Constantine’s embracing of Christianity and making it the state
religion became the avenue for the Crusades, which called upon young male
Christians to leave their families and take up their modern Christian definition
of altruism, sacrificing themselves to take over Jerusalem and establish Jesus’
Millennial Reign. For Christians living during this time, altruism was
synonymous with defending both the government and Christianity, and furthering
the cause of the Gospel by any means necessary to gain forgiveness and
blessings from the Church, who theologically stood-in for Jesus. The Church
replaced the biological family, often using the story of Jesus’ studying in the
Temple with the rabbis rather than staying with his parents, saying that his
father was God, in order to legitimize the belief that self-sacrificial
altruism trumped family-oriented altruism.
“It is not contrary to Christianity that a
man should love himself, or, which is the same thing, should love his own
happiness. If Christianity did indeed tend to destroy a man’s love to himself,
and to his own happiness, it would therein tend to destroy the very spirit of
humanity. . . That a man should love his own happiness, is as necessary to his
nature as the faculty of the will is and it is impossible that such a love
should be destroyed in any other way than by destroying his being. The saints
love their own happiness. Yea, those that are perfect in happiness, the saints
and angels in heaven, love their own happiness; otherwise that happiness which
God hath given them would be no happiness to them.”
-On Charity and It's Fruits, by Jonathan
Edwards
When Paul, writing under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, penned in his letter to the Philippians Church and ultimately
to all believers, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus…" it was no small order. It is imperative that each of us understand
and apply this principle if we are going to be free to serve God. How could we
ever be obedient to the commands of Christ without having this attitude of
humility and of being a servant? For it is only with the mind of Christ that we
can love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them who hate us,
and pray for them who despitefully use us and persecute us (Matthew 5:44). It
is only with the mind of Christ that we can esteem others more highly than
ourselves (Philippians 2:3). It is only with the mind of Christ that we can
restore a brother who has been overtaken in a fault with the spirit of
meekness, considering ourselves lest we also be tempted (Galatians 6:1).
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