CHARITY

CHARITY . The word charity derives from the Latin caritas and can be traced to the Greek charis. In the Western religious tradition, charity has become synonymous with the Greek terms agape, philanthopia, eleemosune (or eleos ), and even philia and eros ; with the Hebrew words zedakah, gemilut hesed, and aheb ; and with the Latin amor, amicitia, beneficia, and caritas (or carus ). Thus, as a theoretical conception, charity has meant both possessive and selfless love, as well as favor, grace, mercy, kindness, righteousness, and liberality. In its practical application charity denotes the distribution of goods to the poor and the establishment and endowment of such social-welfare institutions as hospitals, homes for the aged, orphanages, and reformatory institutions.

Documents of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt indicate that charity in the sense of social justice was considered a divinely decreed principle. The reforms of King Urukagina (c. 2400 bce) were praised because "he freed the inhabitants of Lagash from usury…hunger.… The widow and the orphan were no longer at the mercy of the powerful." But ideals of charity and social justice and the principle of social consciousness developed not only because the divinity had so ordained but also because social circumstances, human oppression, and suffering demanded them. The goddess Nanshe and later the god Utu (or Shamash), the orphan's mother and father, were the guarantors of justice, cared for the widow, sought out justice for the poorest, and brought refugees shelter. King Hammurabi (d. circa 1750 bce) sought through legislation to eliminate the social inequity that had been created by the malpractices of businessmen or other members of the enterprising Babylonian society. In ancient Egypt charity was perceived as an inner disposition toward fellow human beings and as a way to propitiate the gods for the purpose of achieving immortality, but it also meant, as The Book of Going Forth by Day indicates, "giving bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked and even a boat to the one who had none."

There is little doubt that early Hebrew thought was greatly influenced by the Babylonian, Egyptian, and other peoples of the ancient Near East. But the Hebrews molded what they inherited and added their own religious and social thought as set forth in their scriptures, particularly the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew root aheb refers primarily to love between man and woman, but in its theological use it denotes God's love for humankind, humankind's love for God, and love among human beings. God's love for humankind is caused by its need but also by God's innate qualities (Deut. 10:17–18; Ps. 145:15–16). A person's love for God is a response to God's love, a gratitude that is also expressed through one's love for other people.

As an applied virtue, charity is expected of everyone, for whoever gives charity will be blessed by the Lord (Deut. 15:7–10). In medieval Judaism, almsgiving to the needy poor was considered essential. For Moses Maimonides the highest form of charity was to help the poor Israelites rehabilitate themselves by lending them money, taking them into partnership, or employing them, for in this way the desired end is achieved without any loss of self-respect for the recipient. Lending money "to the poor man so as to alleviate his poverty and afford him generous support" was considered an obligatory mode of charity. Notwithstanding occasional references to liberality toward the Gentiles, as we find in the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 61a), in Jewish tradition "charity begins at home," and for many centuries the object of charity was the fellow Jew. Almsgiving was advocated by the Torah, but it was directed toward fellow Jews, "the descendants of the seed of Abraham…of pure Israelite descent." "Hard-heartedness is only found among the gentiles," as it is said that "they are cruel and have no compassion," in the words of Maimonides, who cites several passages from the Hebrew Bible in support of his views, such as Deuteronomy 15:3, Deuteronomy 15:11, Deuteronomy 14:1, and Jeremiah 6:23. The behavior of the Israelite toward the Gentile is different because Israelites are "the children of the Lord." Thus, Israelites must be generous to fellow Israelites.

In ancient Greek society charity was synonymous with love (agape ), philanthropia, eleos, and philoxenia, and it was manifested through benevolent deeds on behalf of those in need. In a variety of forms charity is present in the earliest Greek poetry, drama, and philosophy. Compassion for the afflicted and loving hospitality were greatly emphasized in Mycenaean and archaic Greek society (1400–700 bce). The care of strangers and suppliants was an ethical imperative because such people had been placed under the direct aegis of the divinity. Zeus became known as Xenios, "protector of strangers." This imperative is expressed in Homer's Odyssey : "Receive strangers regardless of who they may be; that man is sacred who welcomes a wayfaring stranger."

It was believed that when a poor person was expelled form the table of the rich or even rudely handled, the vengeance of the "gods and Furies would be visited upon the heartless miscreant," for "gods and Furies exist for beggars." To be merciful and to act out of love were common ethical admonitions. Hesiod (c. 700 bce) was even more pronounced in his concern for the poor, though he lauded hard work and stressed moderation in the practice of charity while advocating philanthropy, righteous deeds, and reverence for the stranger and the poor. Hesiod writes that in offering hospitality one should "be neither too lavish nor too parsimonious" and that one should not "taunt anyone for his poverty which eats out the heart—even cursed poverty is sent by the immortal gods."

The most important characteristic of Greek thought as early as the Homeric age is ethical in nature. In the classical Greek city-states, whether in Athens, Thebes, or remote Acragas, charity in the sense of selfless love, almsgiving, pity, and concern for the orphan, the widow, and the elderly was widely and generously practiced. The Greek charis originally denoted a gift of favor inspired by the Charites (the three Graces), goddesses who personified not only physical attributes such as charm, grace, and beauty but also kindness, goodwill, and gratitude.

Under the influence of the great philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and of the Stoics, charity was perceived as a duty toward all "broken and destitute humanity wherever found." It was a normal and religious obligation, a social and economic need. The pre-Socratic philosophers had held that justice and equality were principles of divine origin. Pythagoras, in particular, emphasized equality and harmony in social relationships. "All human laws are nourished by one, which is divine," adds Heraclitus. There are no political or economic laws, only moral laws.

For the great thinkers of the fifth and the fourth centuries bce, doing good for the sake of goodness was the only moral ground for charity. A cardinal principle of Greek religion and social thought was that the divinity is good and the cause of good. Plato writes that for "the cause of evil we must look in other things and not in God" (Republic 2.18). Neither God nor man can be really good without in some way communicating his goodness to others. Aristotle adds, "If all men vied with each other in moral nobility and strove to perform the noblest deeds, the common welfare would be fully realized, while individuals also could enjoy the greatest of goods, inasmuch as a virtue is the greatest good" (Nicomachean Ethics 9.8.7). Thus, "the conferring of a benefit where a return is not sought is morally acceptable, and the value of the gift is not to be judged by its intrinsic worth but by the spirit of one giver." Aristotle insisted on the idea of "the cheerful giver." Being good meant doing good.

Poverty should not be tolerated, for, according to Aristotle, it leads to the erosion of a democratic state and constitutes the basis of social revolts (Politics 6.3.4). Professional beggars were banned by Homeric society and Solon's and Plato's Athens as well as by Sparta. Nevertheless, poverty was accepted as a fact of life, and charity a means for its relief. The Greeks invoked curses upon men "who failed to provide water for the thirsty, fire for anyone in need of it, burial…, [hospitality, or] directions for a lost stranger."

Much of Greek religious and social thought was adopted by such Roman thinkers as Cicero and Seneca, who in their exposition of caritas and beneficia echo Aristotle's teachings and the Greek understanding of philanthropia. Whether for the sake of honor or other motives, much charity was practiced in the Roman Empire, especially in the alimenta, measures introduced to assist orphans and poor children. Initiated by private philanthropists, the system was adopted by the imperial government after the reign of Nerva (ce 96–98).

Charity in Christianity is synonymous with agape, or love. Whether it was a new commandment, as Christ had taught (John 13:34), is controversial. One thing is certain: Christianity proved more ecumenical and proclaimed that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female…but all [are] one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). In its practical application charity went beyond Jews, Greeks, and Romans. It stressed that "love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love" (1 John 4:7–8). God's love requires that human beings love one another (1 John 4:11). There is no better account of the nature and the fruits of Christian charity than the thirteenth chapter of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. Charity is defined as the love of God expressed through the God-made-man event in Christ and as humans' love of neighbor, the solvent of hatred of the enemy.

In postapostolic and medieval Christian thought, charity was the will of God, an act of propitiation to a means of eternal reward, a social obligation, and an act of righteousness. The motives might be selfless altruism, desire for fame, inner satisfaction, or a desire to imitate the divinity. Byzantine society, its government and church, monastic communities and individuals, made charity a major concern and established numerous institutions for the sick, orphans, widows, indigent, and others in need of rehabilitation and assistance. The Greek Christian tradition of charity, as selfless love and as acts of alms deeds, was established by the great Church fathers of the fourth century. To possess and practice charity is to imitate God, who is absolute and who has manifested love. Thus, Gregory the Theologian's admonition: "Prove yourself a god…imitating the mercy of God. There is nothing more godly in man than to imitate God's beneficent acts" (Homily 14).

Charity was also a cardinal feature of medieval Western European society, which was guided by the Church there. Augustine of Hippo, who exerted a major influence on the ethics of Latin and Western Christianity, writes that charity must be an inward quality of a person before it can be expressed outwardly as love and alms deeds. One cannot love others if one does not love oneself. Selfless charity works no evil. Eleemosynary deeds without selfless charity are not a guarantee of divine favor. God considers not the person to whom the gift is given, but the spirit in which it is made (The City of God, Book 21, 27). And Caesarius of Arles, nearly a century of later, added that "if you possess charity [in the sense of selfless love], you have God; and if you have no God, what do you possess?" (Homily 22).

Charity as a synonym for love, either as God's love for man or man's reciprocal love for God expressed in acts of love for fellow men, a conception central to the Western tradition, is not explicitly stated in Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam. Nor do we find definitions of charity similar to conceptions of philanthropia (Plato, Plutarch) or agape (New Testament). The Buddha's four noble truths (catvāri-ārya-satyāni) inherently include love and compassion toward fellow human beings. Buddhism sees suffering as a universal reality, but a reality with a cause. Suffering may be relieved through application of three principles: metta or maitri, loving kindness actively pursued; karuna, compassion or mercy, which does not repay evil with evil; and mudita, a feeling of approval of other people's good deeds. These principles find their expression in works of social welfare, including public works projects and the maintenance of hospitals and shelters or hospices.

The meaning of charity in Hinduism depends upon the interpretation of dharma, "the primary virtue of the active life of the Hindu." Dharma is the inner disposition and the conserving Idā, while the action by which it is realized is known as karman, which is expressed in physical, verbal, and mental forms. The physical forms consist of good deeds such as hospitality, duties to wife and children, and assistance to those in need. Verbal charity is identified with proper or gentle speech and courteous behavior. Mental charity is synonymous with piety.

Hinduism had given a primary position to personal ethics. And the Upaniṣads clearly indicate that each person is responsible for his economic or social condition. If individuals are moral and perfect and economically safe, society will ultimately be perfect. Thus, personal charity is enjoined to a degree that makes organized charity unnecessary.

If a human is a creature good by nature, then humans can develop ethics of benevolence, justice, or righteousness. Jainism, in particular, which stresses self-cultivation more than social involvement, sees self-perfection as the best means of alleviating social misery. The value of charity as an act of benevolence is judged by the degree of personal cultivation and sacrifice involved. It is a spontaneous and personal virtue, instinctive rather than acquired. "To love your neighbor as yourself" is inherent in the Vedic formula of unity with the absolute self, "That art thou" (tat tvam asi). Because one loves oneself, one is bound to love one's neighbor, who is not different from oneself.

Charity in Islam depends on the belief in an omnipotent God, master of humankind, which not only receives God's mercy but is always in danger of incurring his wrath. Thus, mankind needs to serve God by means of good works, including almsgiving, both voluntary offerings (sadaqat ) and legally proscribed ones (zakāt ), kindness, and good treatment of parents, orphans, and the elderly. A summary of Islam's moral code bearing on charity is found in the Qurʾān's seventeenth sūrah, lines 23–30. "The Lord has decreed … kindness to parents. … Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer.… Come not near the wealth of the orphan.…" These and other similar admonitions constitute the outward signs of piety, the means of expiating offenses, and the path to ultimate salvation. The specific forms of charity in Islam were also given institutional expression through endowments known as a waqf.

Whether or not influenced by religious traditions or humanistic motives inherent in natural law, there are in today's world hundreds of national and international organizations dedicated to some forms of charitable activity. A few of the better known charitable agencies would include CARE, Oxfam, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), and Civil Society International.

CARE, an international consortium of member states, is devoted to distribution of food and clothes to the needy but also dedicated to the reduction of poverty among the world's poorest countries. Like CARE, Oxfam, in addition to practical daily charities, tries to find solutions to overcome poverty and improve health. It responds to needs of countries that have suffered from earthquakes, floods, and epidemics.

UNICEF, under the aegis of the United Nations, is committed to charity affecting poor and destitute children. Health care, improved nutrition, clean water, education are some of UNICEF's priorities.

Among its various missions, the works of Civil Society International includes aid to the poor, the orphaned, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled.

See Also

Almsgiving; Grace; Hospitality; Zakāt.

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