The Catholic Social Agency as a Force in the Community. A Study of Catholic Charities in the Triple Cities: Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott, New York: 1937–1950
Abstract
Background of the Study. The history of man is a grand chronicle of his two basic and opposing drives, love and hate. In primitive society there was a spirit of mutual helpfulness within the tribe but the attitude towards strangers was invariably one of suspicion and hatred. Even among the Chosen People of God the practice of hospitality and compassion was to a large degree limited to members of their own race. The Mosaic precept of equal retribution - "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" - was compassionate in comparison with prevalent custom. Sinners were punished with extreme severity. The Greek and Roman philosophers advocated a sterile type of intellectual love applicable to their peers but not to the great mass of slaves. It is quite safe to state that true charity did not exist in the world before the coming of Jesus Christ.
Subject Area
Social work|Philosophy|Philosophy of religion|Social studies education
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Stuart Hurlbut, "The Catholic Social Agency as a Force in the Community. A Study of Catholic Charities in the Triple Cities: Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott, New York: 1937–1950" (1951). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30724945.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30724945
