Jesus

Matthew 25, New Revised Standard Version [NRSV] - 34 ...'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are are members of my family, you did it to me.'

Luke 6, Today's English Version [TEV] 38 Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands--all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you."

Paul

Romans 12, TEV - 8 ...Whoever shares with others should do it generously; ...whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully. 9 Love must be completely sincere... 10 Love one another warmly as Christian brothers, and be eager to show respect for one another... 13 Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers... 16 Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties... 18 Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody... 20...as the scripture says: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will make him burn with shame." ^{{Proverbs 25:21,22}} 21 Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

Others

1 Timothy 6, TEV 9 ...those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows. 11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself;...

Hebrews 13:16, NRSV - 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

James 2:12-18, TEV - 12 Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. 13 For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgement. 14 My brothers and sisters, what good is it for people to say that they have faith if their actions do not prove it? Can that faith save them? 15 Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. 16 What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”—if you don’t give them the necessities of life? 17 So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. 18 But someone will say, “One person has faith, another has actions.” My answer is, “Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.”

1 John 3:16-18, TEV - 16 This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for our brothers and sisters! 17 Rich people who see a brother or sister in need, yet close their hearts against them, cannot claim that they love God. 18 My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

Revelation 3, TEV 14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created. 15 I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! 16 But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, 'I am rich and well off; I have all I need.' But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind. 18 I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself and cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes, so that you may see. 19 I rebuke and punish all whom I love. Be in earnest, then, and turn from your sins. 20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with me. 21 To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne. 22 "If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!"

Hans Conzelmann (History of Primitive Christianity, translated by John E. Steely, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1973)

...Possessions are not ascetically renounced. Jesus had warned against wealth. But he did not demand general surrender of property even of his closest followers.  This holds true even in the community... When possessions and property are spoken of, the thoughts go far beyond material circumstances: what is involved is the whole of the attitude toward the world, whether man is lord over his possesions or is possessed by them. It is true that occasionally also possessions are regarded as bringing woe, and poverty as bringing blessedness (in the story of poor Lazarus), but this thought serves as illustration; it does not become a program... [pages 47-48]

Mary Baker Eddy

Church Manual 45:4 - It shall be the duty of the members of The Mother Church and of its branches to promote peace on earth and good will toward men;... and they shall strive to promote the welfare of all mankind by demonstrating the rules of divine Love

Church Manual 46:26 - A Christian Scientist is a humanitarian; he is benevolent, forgiving, long-suffering, and seeks to overcome evil with good.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures [S&H] 8:22 - If we turn away from the poor, we are not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses the poor. We confess to having a very wicked heart and ask that it may be laid bare before us, but do we not already know more of this heart than we are willing to have our neighbor see?

S&H 16:1-2 - A great sacrifice of material things must precede this advanced spiritual understanding.

S&H 142:11-24 - If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and architectural skill, making dome and spire tremulous with beauty, turn the poor and the stranger from the gate, they at the same time shut the door on progress. In vain do the manger and the cross tell their story to pride and fustian. Sensuality palsies the right hand, and causes the left to let go its grasp on the divine. As in Jesus' time, so to-day, tyranny and pride need to be whipped out of the temple, and humility and divine Science to be welcomed in. The strong cords of scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their vain traffic in worldly worship and to make them meet dwelling-places for the Most High.

S&H 239:5 - Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations, which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we get clearer views of Principle. Break up cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views of humanity.

S&H 206:15 - In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,--Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply.

S&H 571:19 - The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.

S&H 224:22 - A higher and more practical Christianity, demonstrating justice and meeting the needs of mortals in sickness and in health, stands at the door of this age, knocking for admission. Will you open or close the door upon this angel visitant, who cometh in the quiet of meekness, as he came of old to the patriarch at noonday?

S&H 475:13 - Man is... that which possesses no life, intelligence, nor creative power of his own, but reflects spiritually all that belongs to his maker. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 475)

S&H 518:13 - God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower. The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality--infinite Life, Truth, and Love.

Robert Peel (Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority, New York: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1977, page 505, note 17. - [Mrs. Eddy said,] "I have always declared against the display of material things & said the less we have of them the better. Since God taught me that matter is unreal and Spirit is the only reality any other position is unscientific."

Everett Ferguson (Early Christians Speak -- Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries, Revised Edition (Abilene, Texas: Abilene Christian University Press, 1981, 1987)

The sharing of food by the wealthier with the poorer was an important means of charity. The host provided food for those chosen who sometimes did not eat at his house but received the food at home or accepted it to take home. The recipients were expected to pray for the their benefactor, so sharing spiritual blessings in return for material ones.[page 133]

Clement of Rome [1st Century]:

Let the strong take care of the weak; let the weak respect the strong. Let the rich man minister to the poor man; let the poor man give thanks to God that he gave him one through whom his need might be satisfied. Let the wise man manifest his wisdom not in words but in good deeds... [page 208]
 

Ignatius [35-107 AD]:

Widows are not to be neglected. You, after the Lord, be their protector... [page 208]
 

Aristides [early 2nd century AD]:

They [Christians] love one another. They do not overlook the widow, and they save the orphan. He who has ministers ungrudgingly to him who does not have. When they see strangers, they take him under their own roof and rejoice over him as a true brother, for they do not call themselves brothers according to the flesh but according to the soul... [page 207]
 

Lucian of Samosata [115-200 AD]:

Then Proteus was apprehended as a Christian and thrown into prison.... The Christians, regarding the affair as a great misfortune, set in motion every effort to rescue him. Then, when this was impossible, every other attention was paid him, not cursorily but diligently. At dawn there were to be seen waiting at the prison aged widows and orphan children, and their officials even slept inside with him, having bribed the guards. Varied meals were brought in, and their sacred words were spoken... There were some even from the cities in Asia who came, the Christians sending them from their common fund to succour, defend, and encourage the man. They exhibit extraordinary haste whenever one of them becomes such a public victim, for in no time they lavish their all. [page 208]
 

Irenaeus [130-200 AD]:

And instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everthing we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions. (Against Heresies IV.xiv.3) , [page 209]
 

Floyd V. Filson (A New Testament History: The Story of the Emerging Church, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1966)

Possessions Jesus saw to be a special temptation. They could make one self-centered and callous to the needs of others (Luke 16:19-31), and for Jesus whatever makes one indifferent to the needs of others is spiritually ruinous. He puts this danger in another way; possessions, "mammon" or wealth, can and often do become the grim rival of God for man's loyalty. Man can become so obsessed with physical needs and the gaining of wealth that God is crowded out of his life. But God tolerates no rival; he claims complete loyalty; man cannot serve both God and mammon (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13). Man is a fool not to see this, for in the end, if he fails to see it, he will lose both his possessions and his own soul; true wealth is to be "rich toward God" (Luke 12:13-21). [page 103]

Martin Hengel (Property and Riches in the Early Church, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974)

In cases of castrophe, readiness to help knew no bounds. When barbarian nomads laid waste Numidia in AD 253 and made many Christians homeless, Cyprian collected a spontaneous contribution of 100,000 sesterces for those who had been affected. This was from the relatively small community in Carthage... We hear of similar generous help -- even towards pagans -- in epidemics of plague in Carthage, Alexandria and elsewhere... Even in the fourth century the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), an enemy of the Christians, told the pagan high priest Arsacius of Galatia 'the the godless Galileans feed not only their (poor) but ours also', whereas the pagan cult, in the revival of which the ruler was so interested, was a complete failure in the welfare of the poor. In this way the early Christian communities abolished complete penury among their own members and at the same time made a very good impression on outsiders, since such comprehensive care was alien to the pagan world. [pages 44-45]
 

[BibleTexts editorial note: Cyprian was a Christian martyr beheaded at Carthage in 258. Emperor Julian, who was himself a pagan referred to the Christians as "godless Galileans," because the Christians did not worship the pagan gods.]

Clement of Alexandria [150-215 AD] ... who wrote a treatise..., The Rich Man's Salvation... Possessions, rightly understood, are an instrument given by God..., indeed they are God's gift, which we receive for our brother's sake and not for our own... Everything depends on using riches to supply the need of one's fellow-men:

For he who holds possessions... and houses, as the gifts of God; and ministers from them to the God who gives them for the salvation of men; and knows that he possesses them more for the sake of the brethren than his own; and is superior to the possession of them, not the slave of the things he possesses; and does not carry them about in his soul, nor bind and circumscribe his life with them, but is ever labouring at some good and divine work, even should he be necessarily some time or other deprived of them, is able with cheerful mind to bear their removal equally with their abundance. This is he who is blessed by the Lord, and called poor in spirit, a meet heir of the kingdom of heaven... [pages 74-75]

Joachim Jeremias (New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971)

A loving understanding of the poor permeates the gospel accounts: this is so in the parables of the lost coin and the unjust judge, or in the story of the widow's mite. Jesus himself was one of the poor. The tradition records that his parents, too, were poor... It is without question a correct observation that social distress comes further to the fore with Jesus than it does with the Rabbis. Again and again Jesus appeals for money to be given to the poor (Mark 10.21 par.; Matt. 6.4, 20; Luke 12.33); here we should remember that in the east 'almsgiving' is not support for beggary, but the dominant form of social help...

Jesus made discipleship quite generally dependent on the renunciation of possessions..., however, the sacrifice is limited to those followers of Jesus who accompany him, and that will be the original meaning. For it seems as if Jesus has followers who remain in their homes and probably also retain their possessions...

For all the disciples of Jesus, regardless of whether they leave everything and accompany Jesus or remain in their homes, it follows that by experiencing salvation they have been shaken out of the security of their possessions (Luke 19.8). They have experienced a revision of all values... [pages 221-223]

Joseph B. Tyson (A Study of Early Christianity, New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1973)

Several practices in the primitive communities deserve our attention. Luke has said that they practiced a sharing of possessions, and this must be historically correct. Those who were able donated money for the support of those who were not able to work. This practice must have been continued in the Gentile churches... [page 285]

Other sources regarding dates, biographical sketches, and other details:

Luke T. Johnson, Sharing Possession - Mandate and Symbol of Faith, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981. This work has an appendix entitled, "Suggestions for Further Reading," which includes a bibliography listing of eighteen other books on the subject.

David L. Mealand, Poverty and Expectations in the Gospels, London: SPCK, 1980. This work also has an appendix entitled, "Studies on Property and Riches in the New Testament," which includes a bibliography listing of twenty-seven other books on the subject.

See the following BibleTexts webpages:

• Christian compassion: http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/genuine-christianity.htm#compassion (a section of the coverage of "Characteristics of earliest Christianity)
• Christian compassion: http://www.bibletexts.com/topics/substance.htm (index to many articles on this subject)
• Give to the poor: http://www.bibletexts.com/topics/g.htm#give-to-poor (a listing of references in the Bible and other writings on this subject)