Jesus Christ told his disciples that, in bestowing alms, they were not
even to let their left hand know what their right hand did. But
this self-sacrificing method has not been generally approved, and
comparatively few Christians "do good by stealth and blush to find it
fame." They more often "do good for fame and publish it by stealth."
Nay more, their "charity" is actually their boast in their controversies
with "infidels." Look at our hospitals, they say; look at our
orphanages, look at our almshouses, look at our soup-kitchens. It is
a wonder they do not boast of their asylums, but perhaps they think it
would invite the retort that they not only build them but fill them.
Such boasting, however, is utterly absurd from every point of view.
Since the world was in any degree civilised it has never lacked some
kind of benevolent institutions. It is absolutely certain that hospitals
are not of Christian origin; and there is hardly a country in the world,
with any pretension to rank above barbarians, in which some species of
provision is not made by the rich for the necessities of the poor. Every
Mohammedan, for instance, is required by his religion to devote a tenth
of his income to charity; whereas the Christian system of tithes is
entirely for the profit and aggrandisement of the clergy.
Still more ridiculous, if possible, is the Christian cry, "Where are
your Freethought hospitals, almshouses, and orphanages?" Freethought
is a poor, struggling cause; its adherents are comparatively few and
scattered; it has no endowments to lessen the current cost of its
propaganda; and it is unable to exact subscriptions by the orthodox
method of boycotting, or to acquire them in return for a good
advertisement. Still, the Freethought party does manage to relieve its
necessitous members; and the Freethinkers' Benevolent Fund is not only
well supported, in excess of all demands, but is probably the _only_
Fund which is administered without a single farthing of expense. Besides
this, Freethinkers support ordinary local charities, when deserving,
just like other people; although frequently, as in the case of almost
every hospital, religion is forced on the recipients of such charity,
whether they wish it or not, and religious tests are maintained in the
administration.
As a rule, however, Freethinkers are not inclined to attach so much
importance as Christians to organised almsgiving. At the best it is but
a clumsy way of alleviating the worst effects of social disease. The
Freethinker attaches more importance to the study of causes. He is like
the true health reformer who believes a great deal more in exercise,
fresh air, and wholesome diet, than in physic. For this reason
Freethinkers are generally students of social and political questions.
They are Radicals in the philosophical sense of the word; that is, they
recognise that real, lasting improvement can only be achieved by dealing
with the causes of poverty and degradation. Many Christians, on the
other hand, thoroughly believe that the poor will never cease out of the
land; and they seem to regard these unfortunates as whetstones, provided
by a beneficent providence, on which the wealthy may sharpen their
benevolence.
Christian charity, even in its highest form, is infinitely less merciful
than science; a truth which Mr. Cotter Morison enforces in the seventh
chapter of his _Service of Man_. Sanitation, medical science, free
trade, popular education, co-operation, and such agencies, have done
tremendously more than religion to diminish evil and mitigate suffering.
On the other hand, it is indisputable that much of our boasted charity
is worse than wasted, as it tends to produce the very helplessness and
pauperism that furnish it with objects of compassion.
Charity is very good in its way, but what we really want is justice. Let
us go in for justice first, and when we have got that we shall see what
remains for charity to do. Probably it will be found that unjust laws
inflict a hundred times more misery than charity could ever alleviate.
If that be the case, the most charitable man, after all, is he who
devotes some of his time, thought, and energy to political and social
reform. Good health for the next generation is more valuable than
medicine for the diseases of the present generation.
Charity, also, in its largest sense, is far wider than almsgiving. It
is a questionable charity which gives you a shilling if you are hard-up,
and persecutes you if you think for yourself. Most of us do not require
soup-tickets, but we do require civil treatment, respect for our
independence, and smiling rather than frowning faces. The man who lifts
me up from the road when I stumble, deserves my thanks; but I doubt the
sincerity of his kindness if, when he learns that I honestly differ
from him on the Atonement, he knocks me down again. Assisting people who
agree with you, and wilfully injuring those who differ, savors less of
charity than of zeal. You may be a very good Christian, but I venture to
say you are a very bad man.
When Saladin died he ordered charities to be distributed to the poor,
without distinction of Jew, Christian, or Mohammedan. Yet this brilliant
ruler had to repel Christian attacks on his dominions, and to witness
the most abominable cruelty wrought by the soldiers of the Cross. Where,
in the annals of Christendom, shall we find such a noble example of true
charity; of charity which overflows the petty barriers of creeds, and
loses itself in the great ocean of humanity?