what is mercy

Early Christianity defined itself in terms of mercy. In his wonderful work The Rise of Christianity, religious sociologist Rodney Stark argues that contrary to romanticized notions about the early flourishing of Christianity, the new religion was an urban movement.

Stark’s explanation, which follows, helps us to understand mercy’s link to Christianity. The early Church prospered in the cities because those urban areas were dreadful. Stark describes the conditions of these urban areas as “social chaos and chronic urban misery.”

Sheer population density exacerbated the situation. At the end of the first century, Antioch’s population was 150,000 within the city walls— 117 persons per acre. New York City today has a density of 37 persons per acre overall. Manhattan, with its high-rise apartments, registers 100 persons per acre.

Contrary to early assumptions, these cities were not settled places, made up of inhabitants descending from previous generations. Given high infant mortality and short life expectancy, these cities required a constant, substantial stream of newcomers simply to maintain population levels.

As a result, the cities were composed of strangers. These strangers were well treated by Christians who, again contrary to some modern assumptions, were certainly not universally poor. Through a variety of ways, financially secure Christians welcomed the newly arrived immigrants.

On top of this, Christianity was new. While ethical demands were imposed by the gods of the pagan religions, these demands were substantially ritualistic. They were not directed at one’s neighbor. Yes, pagan Romans knew generosity, but that generosity did not stem from any divine command.

For example, a nurse who cared for a victim of an epidemic knew that her life might be lost. If she was a pagan, there was no expectation of divine reward for her generosity. If she was a Christian, however, this life was but a prelude to the next, where the generous were united with God.

Although the Romans practiced generosity, they did not promote mercy or pity. Since mercy implied “unearned help or relief,” it was considered contradictory to justice. Mercy was seen by Roman philosophers as a defect of character, belonging to the uneducated and the naïve. Stark concludes:

"This was the moral climate in which Christianity taught that a merciful God requires humans to be merciful, indeed that mercy is one of the primary virtues. The Christian understanding is this: Because God loves humanity, Christians may not please God unless they love one another. That was an entirely new understanding."

"Perhaps even more revolutionary was the principle that Christian love and charity must extend beyond the boundaries of family and tribe, that it must extend to 'all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 1:2). This was revolutionary stuff. Indeed, it was the cultural basis for the revitalization of a Roman world groaning under a host of miseries."

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/preview.aspx?id=237