Some
people consider the commandments of the Old Testament stricter than those of
the New, but they are deceived by such a shortsighted interpretation. In the
former, theft, not miserliness, is punished; wrongful taking of property is
punished in the latter by fourfold restitution. In this place the rich man is
not censured for having taken away someone else’s property but for not having
sufficiently given away his own. (Gregory the Great, ACCS OT III, 169)
people consider the commandments of the Old Testament stricter than those of
the New, but they are deceived by such a shortsighted interpretation. In the
former, theft, not miserliness, is punished; wrongful taking of property is
punished in the latter by fourfold restitution. In this place the rich man is
not censured for having taken away someone else’s property but for not having
sufficiently given away his own. (Gregory the Great, ACCS OT III, 169)
Really appreciated this insight, given the way we tend to view the testaments as contrasting.
