In today’s modern world, many Christians ask themselves the question: How are wealth and poverty supposed to be understood in a Christian context? This query about the relationship between wealth and poverty is an ancient concern that stretches all the way back to Christianity’s establishment within the Roman Empire. This paper will explore four elements that will help modern Christians to respond to this age-old problem. First, it is essential to examine how wealth and poverty have been understood historically from three important perspectives: the Greco-Roman point of view, the Jewish outlook, and the Christian standpoint. Second, St. Clement of Alexandria provides Christians with an excellent explanation of how wealth and poverty should be comprehended. Third, St. Basil the Great devised an ingenious way of helping the poor through his establishment of his “new city” called Basileias. Fourth, St. Basil’s approach to helping the poor has inspired both Christians and non-Christians to come up with the idea of microlending, which is an excellent way of using an ancient solution to deal with a modern problem. …show more content…
Most imperial inhabitants resided in the countryside where they farmed, while a small group of the elite citizens, who owned most of the property, lived in cities. From the cities, these rich and powerful people controlled both the urban centres and rural areas. Besides being primarily agrarian, the Roman economy was also composed of traders, bankers, and shippers. Unfortunately, these other economic endeavours did not generate a great deal of financial growth because “‘under ancient and political conditions the interests of the elite were well served without