Key Arguments

• Early Christian hostility to the public realm can be understood as a consequence of devotion to good works, independent of eschatology.
• “it is manifest that the moment a good work becomes known and public, it loses its specific character of goodness, of being done for nothing but goodness’ sake.”
• “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.”
• “whoever sees himself performing a good work is no longer good, but at best a useful member of society or a dutiful member of a church.”
• “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

Source Quotes

Yet the otherworldliness of Christianity has still another root, perhaps even more intimately related to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and at any rate so independent of the belief in the perishability of the world that one is tempted to see in it the true inner reason why Christian alienation from the world could so easily survive the obvious non-fulfilment of its eschatological hopes. The one activity taught by Jesus in word and deed is the activity of goodness, and goodness obviously harbors a tendency to hide from being seen or heard. Christian hostility toward the public realm, the tendency at least of early Christians to lead a life as far removed from the public realm as possible, can also be understood as a self-evident consequence of devotion to good works, independent of all beliefs and expectations.

Christian hostility toward the public realm, the tendency at least of early Christians to lead a life as far removed from the public realm as possible, can also be understood as a self-evident consequence of devotion to good works, independent of all beliefs and expectations. For it is manifest that the moment a good work becomes known and public, it loses its specific character of goodness, of being done for nothing but goodness’ sake. When goodness appears openly, it is no longer goodness, though it may still be useful as organized charity or an act of solidarity.

When goodness appears openly, it is no longer goodness, though it may still be useful as organized charity or an act of solidarity. Therefore: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” Goodness can exist only when it is not perceived, not even by its author; whoever sees himself performing a good work is no longer good, but at best a useful member of society or a dutiful member of a church.

Therefore: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” Goodness can exist only when it is not perceived, not even by its author; whoever sees himself performing a good work is no longer good, but at best a useful member of society or a dutiful member of a church. Therefore: “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

Goodness can exist only when it is not perceived, not even by its author; whoever sees himself performing a good work is no longer good, but at best a useful member of society or a dutiful member of a church. Therefore: “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” It may be this curious negative quality of goodness, the lack of outward phenomenal manifestation, that makes Jesus of Naza reth’s appearance in history such a profoundly paradoxical event; it certainly seems to be the reason why he thought and taught that no man can be good: “Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.”

Key Concepts

• goodness obviously harbors a tendency to hide from being seen or heard.
• the moment a good work becomes known and public, it loses its specific character of goodness
• Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.
• whoever sees himself performing a good work is no longer good
• Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

Context

10 THE LOCATION OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES: Using Christian 'good works' as an extreme case to illustrate activity-location fittingness.