Treasure in Heaven

The Holy Poor in Early Christianity

Nonfiction, History, World History
Cover of the book Treasure in Heaven by Peter R. Brown, University of Virginia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter R. Brown ISBN: 9780813938295
Publisher: University of Virginia Press Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: University of Virginia Press Language: English
Author: Peter R. Brown
ISBN: 9780813938295
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Publication: March 8, 2016
Imprint: University of Virginia Press
Language: English

The "holy poor" have long maintained an elite status within Christianity. Differing from the "real" poor, these clergymen, teachers, and ascetics have historically been viewed by their fellow Christians as persons who should receive material support in exchange for offering immeasurable immaterial benefits—teaching, preaching, and prayer. Supporting them—quite as much as supporting the real poor—has been a way to accumulate eventual treasure in heaven. Yet from the rise of Christian monasticism in Egypt and Syria to present day, Christians have argued fiercely about whether monks should work to support themselves.

In Treasure in Heaven, renowned historian Peter Brown shifts attention from Western to Eastern Christianity, introducing us to this smoldering debate that took place across the entire Middle East from the Euphrates to the Nile. Seen against the backdrop of Asia, Christianity might have opted for a Buddhist model by which holy monks lived by begging alone. Instead, the monks of Egypt upheld an alternative model that linked the monk to humanity and the monastery to society through acceptance of the common, human bond of work. This model of Third World Christianity—a Christianity that we all too easily associate with the West—eventually became the basis for the monasticism of western Europe, as well as for modern Western attitudes to charity and labor. In Treasure in Heaven, Brown shows how and why we are still living—at times uncomfortably—with that choice.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The "holy poor" have long maintained an elite status within Christianity. Differing from the "real" poor, these clergymen, teachers, and ascetics have historically been viewed by their fellow Christians as persons who should receive material support in exchange for offering immeasurable immaterial benefits—teaching, preaching, and prayer. Supporting them—quite as much as supporting the real poor—has been a way to accumulate eventual treasure in heaven. Yet from the rise of Christian monasticism in Egypt and Syria to present day, Christians have argued fiercely about whether monks should work to support themselves.

In Treasure in Heaven, renowned historian Peter Brown shifts attention from Western to Eastern Christianity, introducing us to this smoldering debate that took place across the entire Middle East from the Euphrates to the Nile. Seen against the backdrop of Asia, Christianity might have opted for a Buddhist model by which holy monks lived by begging alone. Instead, the monks of Egypt upheld an alternative model that linked the monk to humanity and the monastery to society through acceptance of the common, human bond of work. This model of Third World Christianity—a Christianity that we all too easily associate with the West—eventually became the basis for the monasticism of western Europe, as well as for modern Western attitudes to charity and labor. In Treasure in Heaven, Brown shows how and why we are still living—at times uncomfortably—with that choice.

More books from University of Virginia Press

Cover of the book The Master, the Modern Major General, and His Clever Wife by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book The Executioner's Journal by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Different Shades of Green by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book A New Continent of Liberty by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Becoming Men of Some Consequence by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Detached America by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Freud and Augustine in Dialogue by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book "In the Hands of a Good Providence" by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Plotting Terror by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Failed Frontiersmen by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Artistic Ambassadors by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Monacan Millennium by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Charlottesville 2017 by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Contesting Slavery by Peter R. Brown
Cover of the book Intimate Reconstructions by Peter R. Brown
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy