Virtue according to the early church

Our concept of morals is very much about rules. For us, a moral man or a moral woman is someone who doesn't do bad things and does do good ones. One of the ironies of this is that we read a rule-based approach back into the Bible even into places, such as Paul's letters, that obviously emphasize virtue not rules.

Here is a great example. The text below is all about virtue. When the author insists that a church leader be married only once, he doesn't mean because there is a rule about not remarrying. He doesn't even mean that people who do remarry are necessarily bad people. He means that it tells you something about a man's character if he has married only once. Anyway, here is a list of Christian virtues as selected by the very early church:

The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way—for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil. Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Students of biblical scholarship will no doubt want to point out that the segment above is from Timothy and that Timothy was most likely not the work of Paul himself. Yes, but does this really matter to a Christian?


Others will note that the Bishops talked about here are married and what does that mean. The answer to that is a long story and an interesting one but not anything I want to get into now. Perhaps some other day.


I just want to think about that wonderful text and make a few points:

1. It's a noble calling to be bishop. That means these same virtues should be pursued by anyone who thinks their life is a noble calling. We might say, these virtues in a bishop to be sure but also for everyone.
2. Notice how the virtues are social. This would be a commonplace observation for an urbanized Hellenic person living anywhere in the Mediterranean. We think that a person can be virtuous even though despised by everyone in their society. For a cartoonish example, think of the whore with a heart of gold or the superhero with a  secret identity. That makes a certain sense to us but would be contradictory to the Hellenic Christian: for him private morality would be like dry water. This is in direct contradiction to what is often taught from the pulpits of our Christian churches. For the author of Timothy, their might be private moral acts but virtue is always tested in the public sphere.
3. And finally, my main point: these are virtues not rules. I know a very Evangelical Anglican who argues that the letters of Paul teach us not to drink and to live in poverty but that isn't the case: the author here says we shouldn't be drunkards and that we should not be greedy for money. Those are character traits not rules.