The social aspect of the gospel

“How far should a Church go in the direction of acceptance of mutual responsibility? Should a gifted youth of the Church, whose family is in poverty, be sent to college at the expense of his fellow members? Should the Church match modern business corporations in providing for old age when there is no other provision? Should a Christian couple be able to face the possibility of their sudden death with the calm assurance that the Church of which they are a part will support their orphaned children up to maturity? Unless we know answers to questions as specific as these we do not know very much about the quality of love which the Christian society is meant to exhibit in concrete practice. General statements about love are not adequate.”—Company of the Committed, page 107

<idle musing>
Those are questions that the early church answered in a way that made them stand out in contrast to the surrounding culture. Unfortunately, they are also answered in a way that makes the church stand out today: The government offers assistance while much of the church criticizes them for it :(
</idle musing>