Borrowing from the Future by Morisy Ann;

Author:Morisy, Ann;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Inheritance matters

The question of inheritance has been around since the beginning of history, and different cultures and religious groups have surrounded the practice with different rules. Islam, more than any religion, has established procedures to ensure clarity and a degree of fairness, as well as charitable giving from the deceased’s estate. At the beginning of the Old Testament, or the Torah to use the Jewish name, the basic rules in relation to inheritance are spelt out in Numbers, the law book compiled by Moses as he led the Children of Israel through the wilderness. Moses determined that:

‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughters. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in this clan, that he may possess it.’1

While there are plenty of references to inheritance in the Old Testament, and the antics that go on to make sure one is first in line to benefit from a dying father’s blessing,2 there is scarcely any reference to the inheritance of material goods and wealth in the New Testament. The only reference is made by St Paul in the second of his letters to the Christians in Corinth. Here, almost as an aside, in the midst of preparing the Corinthian Christians for his third visit, assuring them that he will not be a burden to them, he comments, ‘After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.’3 This aphorism-like commendation of inheritance is one of the few direct references in the Gospels to the responsibility across generations. Walter Brueggemann comments that, especially in matters to do with age and family practice, the Bible often ‘appropriates and practises what is common in ancient Near Eastern culture, and it likely does so without great intentionality or reflectiveness.’4 Brueggemann would probably agree that this comment by St Paul, made en passant, seems scarcely intentional in theological terms.

In the absence of any explicit teaching on inheritance in the Gospels, we have to deduce the counsel that would be forthcoming from Jesus. This approach is one that we are familiar with in relation to most of the contemporary ethical issues that were inconceivable in the time of Jesus. So for counsel in relation to inheritance, the foremost themes would be:

Jesus urging us not to worry about material things

Jesus representing the generosity of God

Jesus taking the side of the disparaged and excluded

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