Analyzing Christian Teachings on Self and the Community

This essay delves into the Christian perspective on the relationship between the self and the community, drawing upon five key principles from the Bible. It begins by highlighting the commonalities between Christian teachings and modern concepts of social order and solidarity, emphasizing the importance of defining the roles of the individual and the community. The essay then analyzes five biblical quotations, each representing a crucial principle. These include the importance of social solidarity through unity, the value of the individual within the community, the promotion of non-discrimination and integration, the emphasis on the unity and integrity of the individual within the community, and the significance of social justice. The analysis connects these biblical principles to modern concepts such as Durkheim's concept of totemism, utilitarianism, and legal statutes promoting equality. The essay concludes by reiterating the Bible's balanced approach to the relationship between the self and the community, underscoring the importance of both for maintaining social order and solidarity.

Running head: SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
The fascinating factor about the Christian religion is that they share a commonality with
modernity despite very ancient. Modernity had sought to determine the relation between the
individual and the community in order to define social solidarity and social order. Social order
prescribed a specific way of behaviour in the social sphere and to some extent in the private
sphere as well, and this disciplining effect that was generated in regulating the behaviour of the
human beings and that way the social solidarity was sought to be manufactured. The same thing
has been done by Christianity as well, it has provided a framework for maintaining social order
and social solidarity, for the purpose the relationship between the community and individual had
been defined in a meticulous way, albeit with a hunt of morality to it. In the contemporary world,
certain principles from the Bible that prescribe an ideal method of regulating the relationship
between the self and the community are secularized and applied in the social life, as codes of
conduct or as legal principles as well.
In this particular essay the focus of the decision shall be on discussing five principles
from the Bible which characterizes the catholic teachings about the relationship between the self
and the community. In the following sections the discussion shall be focusing on five instances
taken from the Bible in form of quotations in order to establish the relation between the self and
the community.
Social Solidarity
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree
with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be
perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Corinthians 1 : 10)
This particular quotation from the Bible can be related to the Durkheimian concept of
religion with specific reference to the idea of totemism that he had used to describe the self and

2SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
community. During his research work which was aimed at studying the worship practices of the
Aborigines he had discovered that each of the tribes had a specific holy symbol, which could be
a tree, a stone or an animal to which all the members of the tribe owed their allegiance and that
brought about a sense of social solidarity among the members of the tribe. Similarly, in this
quotation the unifying force is Jesus Christ who is supposed to bind all the members
Christendom together. Thus self is supposed to integrate with the other members of the
community and seek the fulfillment of the self in the community (Mill 2016).
Importance of the Individual in the Community
“And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the
disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5 : 14)
This particular quotation from the Bible stresses upon the importance of the individual as
much as the solidarity of the community is important. The element of the betterment of the
community lying in the betterment of the individual is very much immanent in thus particular
quotation. This particular quotation asks the community to be helpful towards the ones who are
incapable and incompetent. The purpose of the community has been outlined as the modern day
principle of benefit of one and all. This is reflective of the Utilitarian principle of Mill whereby
he had said that the importance of the individual does not diminish by virtue of association with
a community, and as per the Bible, the individual or the self is supposed to benefit and vice versa
by means of being a part of a community (Mill 2016).
Non Discrimination and Integration
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of
low position. Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12 : 16)

3SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
This particular quotation from the Bible has the element of integration, equality and
equity in it as it asks not discriminate against each other, having an element of morality in it.
This particular value from the Bible is very much in practice in the modern context and is
manifested in form of legal statutes that seek toed discrimination in society and also cherish the
spirit of equity by means of protective discrimination. These legal statutes which seeks to bridge
the social gap between the people are mentioned in the Bible as well. The relationship between
the self and the individual that is described by this passage from the Bible can be described as
that of social equality of all members of the society irrespective of their social differences (Gay
1997).
Unity and Integrity of the Individual in a Community
“so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for
each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part
rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1
Corinthians 12 : 25 – 27)
This particular quotation from the Bible stresses upon the fact that the society is a web of
individuals and in the benefit of the individuals lies the development of the community. This is a
very modernistic view of society which stresses upon the individual and does not subordinate the
individual before the community. The society is viewed as a machine with the individuals
making up for the constituent parts. As a machine cannot function if one part of it gets damaged,
similarly the predicament of an individual is also the cause behind the social breakdown. Hence
this shows that individual causes of concern are of equal importance as that of the causes which
are of social or collective importance. This shows that the relationship between the individual

4SELF AND THE COMMUNITY
and the collectivity should not be guided by the tyranny of the majority (Pescosolido and
Georgianna 1989).
Social Justice
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge
your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything
that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart.
Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a
grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”
(Leviticus 19 : 15 – 18)
This particular quotation from the Bible deals with social justice and equality of
opportunities by means of eliminating discrimination and favouritism. For social progress to take
place it is extremely necessary that the ones who deserve the opportunity are give their due
share. The element of legal and procedural justice is very much present in this particular
quotation from the Bible and it implies that social solidarity is highly dependent upon social
justice as social injustice tends to alienate a section of the society and polarizes them. This
particular feature is cherished in form of the legal principle of the Rule of Law in all modern
democratic nations (Gay 1997).
At the concluding section it can be said that the Bible has provided a very balanced
approach in determining the relationship between the Self or the Individual and the Community,
which has provided importance to both the individual and the community in maintaining social
solidarity by mean of upholding Social Solidarity, Importance of the Individual in the
Community, Non Discrimination and Integration, Unity and Integrity of the Individual in a
Community and Social Justice.

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References
Gay, G., 1997. The relationship between multicultural and democratic education. The Social
Studies, 88(1), pp.5-11.
Mill, J. S., 2016. Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
Pescosolido, B.A. and Georgianna, S., 1989. Durkheim, suicide, and religion: Toward a network
theory of suicide. American sociological review, pp.33-48.