THE DANIEL HARRINGTON SJ MEMORIAL LECTURE

THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR IN THE BIBLE

October 12, 2023

GARY ANDERSON

Notre Dame

Modern persons tend to view charity “horizontally.” Discussion of our obligations to the poor revolve around the effectiveness of the donation (social justice) and the motivations of the donor (altruism). However, the Bible adds to these concerns a “vertical” axis, namely God. In this lecture we will consider how this view fundamentally changes the way people of faith view those who are poor.

GARY ANDERSON

Gary Anderson is the Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Thought at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and is the author of various articles and books including, Charity: The Place of the Poor in the Biblical Tradition (Yale, 2013). His specialization is in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, but because of his interest in the history of interpretation, he also works in Second Temple Judaism and early Christian sources.

This event is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” The opinions expressed in this event are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

HARVARD CATHOLIC FORUM

THE DANIEL HARRINGTON SJ MEMORIAL LECTURE

THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR IN THE BIBLE

GARY ANDERSON

HARVARD CATHOLIC FORUM

We regret that visitor parking is not available in the courtyard of the church. A limited number of metered parking spaces are available around the church building and Harvard Square (free on Sundays and state holidays). There are also a number of private garages and parking lots in the area.