麻豆社

When Joe Biden arrived in Cornwall this week for the G7 Summit, he pledged America鈥檚 help for lower-income countries coping with Covid-19. Biden offered 500 million doses of vaccine to 92 nations in dire need.

What particularly struck me about the American president鈥檚 promise was the language he used to describe this intervention. The United States, he said, will be the arsenal of vaccines, just as America was the arsenal of democracy in the Second World War. It conveyed the sense that America could be relied on to come to others鈥� rescue.

This was in line with many other American presidents describing their nation as a beacon of hope and charity that everyone can depend on. John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama all used the image of 鈥渁 city upon a hill鈥� to describe America, suggesting it stands proud in the darkness, bestowing light and goodness upon the world.

This understanding of America derives from Jesus鈥� Sermon on the Mount when he said to his followers: 鈥淵ou are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden鈥�, and was first taken up by Puritan settlers to describe America.

It鈥檚 also consistent with the longstanding beliefs of individual Christians that their faith means being charitable. But today, if that thinking leads to the bountiful offering their largesse to the more unfortunate, it can jar. Instead, Christian theology nowadays focuses more on the interconnectedness of humanity with the more affluent enabling others to prosper.

This difference in approach is evident in the debate over vaccines. Instead of gifting doses, some say major pharmaceutical companies should waive intellectual property rights to vaccines, so that others can manufacture cheaper versions for their struggling nations.

Among those calling for this suspension of vaccine patents is Pope Francis. He has warned that the world is suffering from another virus too 鈥� that of individualism. This was explored in his teaching document, Tutti Fratelli, where he also highlighted the importance of interdependence in Christian thinking. Humanity shouldn鈥檛 be about them and us but a fraternity, Francis said, and should go beyond policies for the poor and focus on being with the poor.

These ideas may be gaining traction now but they have been bubbling beneath the surface of Christian thought for some time. On Thursday night, at a concert by The Sixteen choir, a new piece written by Sir James MacMillan was performed. It included the words of the Victorian theologian John Henry Newman, highlighting that same interdependence. 鈥淕od has created me to do some definite service鈥�, he wrote. 鈥淚 am a link in a chain鈥�.

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