In the 1700s John Wesley preached a sermon where he encouraged people to earn, save, and give all they could. Back then there was no pension, no sick pay. No unemployment benefits. No government welfare, government hospitals, or government schools.
A statue of John Wesley in London, UK. PICTURE: David Adams
You needed to save as you never knew when you wouldn’t be able to work. And Wesley wanted people to give as the only charity came from church. Wesley sparked a revival in England, followed by years of social reform from the Clapham sect, and so on.
Because of this, society slowly began to imbibe Wesley’s sermon. We now save through superannuation that pays our pension. We’re forced to give through taxation to do all the things that were once the charitable acts of the church – hospitals, schools, welfare.
We have no idea how much our society is shaped by Christianity.
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.
