Written by and Anglican clergyman who has specialized in social work this book examines faith, care and community in the Apostolic age right down to the time of Constantine, a swathe of three hundred years. The book is a good little introduction to the world of the first Christians as they worked out their testimony against the complex background of society through those years. What system did the early church have for social caring? From the beginning they approached the matter by having a ‘treasure chest’, a fund in which the churches kept offertory monies given by faithful believers in order to assist the poor. This ‘chest’ serves as a symbol for the commitment of the church to the application of its faith to its social setting. To love in deed as well as word. From its early stages the believers cared for the need of the destitute, widows, orphans and other deprived people, particularly from amongst their own community. They provided a model that in certain ways corresponded with the methods of the Jews but in its scope and testimony was larger and unique in that society which knew little or nothing of such care. As we know, this example and role of social care for the needy demonstrated by the church has contributed to the modern concept of community care now present in many countries and in the hands of the governments of those lands although charitable works do continue. This is an interesting little book, obviously very specialized in its subject matter and traces certain dominant themes that continue to resonate throughout the centuries such as the relationship between church and state, the divergences between the faith and practices of the church that frequently occur, the conflict between traditionalism and modernity and also the challenge of fundamentalism and the continuing realities of persecution. There is plenty of background information here in the book and the three hundred years time span show the development of the church for better for worse and the issues it had to face. This study in church history against the wider history of the Roman Empire does one thing at least, it shows how much the growth of the church was linked with its caring heart being set in place and continuing through most difficult days. Most of us would attribute its growth to the ministry of the Word and we would be correct but right alongside that was the first social work network that cared for the needy.
