Love Thy Stranger by Bart D Ehrman

Love Thy Stranger by Bart D Ehrman

When you hear of a devastating earthquake thousands of miles away, you might reach into your pockets to make a donation. That’s the fault of an itinerant Jewish preacher from Palestine, an obscure backwater of the Roman Empire, otherwise known as Jesus Christ.

Kindness to strangers is not hardwired in our DNA. Nor was it esteemed by the great canon of ancient Western philosophy – the Greeks and Romans prioritised generosity to your friends and family. When Jesus told his followers to give up everything they owned to the poor, he heralded a moral revolution. The needy, the sick, the outcast were to be cared for – even if they were unknown to you. This was a tough pill to swallow for early Christians, and to this day, many insist Jesus didn’t really mean it. Nonetheless Jesus’ most radical commandment transformed the moral conscience of the West: its legacy lives on in public hospitals, the billions given in charity each year and even government welfare.

'An engaging but expert guide' The Times on Heaven and Hell

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His previous books include Heaven and Hell and The Triumph of Christianity. He has contributed to Time, The New Yorker and The Washington Post, among others.