Blog 3 Kieran Harper

One part of the Gospel of Matthew that I found very interesting was the quote "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" in verse 7:12 (1). I had heard previously that this was where the "Golden Rule" had originated, but upon further research I learned that this was merely a reiteration of an already used phrase. Matthew uses the phrase as part of a moral lesson. Matthew 7 is spent not telling stories like many other parts of the Bible, but instead directly explaining a major concept of morality. 

The Golden Rule was stated in different forms by the Greeks, Confucius and in Jewish writings centuries before the time of Jesus (2). All of these sources of the rule state the same underlying meaning; the primary difference is only that the way Jesus supposedly said it is simpler, and therefore became more common. Another likely reason that it is more known in our society is the predominance of Christianity in our culture, making those teachings more likely to emerge in everyday life. 

Similar expressions are also present in the teachings of Islam and Buddhism, showing that this is a frequently recurring theme throughout religious morality. Matthew also provides another similar statement from Jesus to "love thy neighbor as thyself" in 22:39 (3) (4). The recurrence of this same principle, not only throughout Matthew but also throughout other religions and societies is what drew my interest. This certainly seems to be one of a handful of ideas that are almost unanimously agreed upon among different major religions.

¹ NRSV Matthew 7:1-13, 22:37-40

² B.D. Ehrman, The New Testament, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 110.

³ K.D.Stanglin, "The Historical Connection Between the Golden Rule and the Second Greatest Love Command” Journal of Religious Ethics, 33, no. 5 (2005): p 357-371.

4  NRSV Matthew 7:1-13, 22:37-40

Bibliography

New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Ehrman, B.D. The New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 

Stanglin, K.D. "The Historical Connection between the Golden Rule and the Second Greatest Love Command." Journal of Religious Ethics. 33. no. 5 (2005): p 357-371.