Paste your essay in here…The model society is one that opens its arms to everyone and values unity and equality among its members. Unlike the societies depicted in Plato’s Republic and Virgil’s Aeneid, which favor the values of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice, the model society aligns itself with the values of forgiveness, kindness, attentiveness, and innocence. These values are extolled in the Gospel of Luke, The Acts of Paul and Thecla, and The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas.
As with the Kingdom of God, the model human society overcomes alienation and separation of peoples by putting an emphasis on welcoming and forgiving everyone—including the weak and the lost—and showing kindness to all. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, kindness is highlighted as being a core virtue. When a man falls victim to a robbery, both a priest and a Levite—prominent and respected figures in society—pass him by. A Samaritan—a member of a group often viewed as lesser because of their fundamental differences with the Jews of Jerusalem—stops to help the victim and attends to him out of compassion. When explaining the meaning of a neighbor and the significance of the parable, Jesus explains that a neighbor is “The one who treated [the victim] with mercy” (Luke 10:37). As in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the model society also values kindness and attentiveness.
The model society also mirrors the Kingdom of God in its high accord of the value of forgiveness. In both the Parable of the Lost Coin and the Parable of the Lost Son, importance is placed on not just being content with those who have already been convinced to abide by society’s values, but on getting all to repent and join the rest of the community. In the Parable of the Lost Coin, a woman does not stop searching for her coin even though she is in possession of nine others because of the feeling of joy she experiences when she finally finds the missing coin, just as “there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The nine coins she still possesses represent those in society who have already complied with its values, and the one missing coin represents those who are lost in their ways and do not align with the society’s values. Once they repent, however, they are welcome with open arms—as is the lost coin when it is found—because forgiveness is also a virtue of the society. Similarly, in the Parable of the Lost Son, a father explains that he is accepting his younger son back into his home and giving him luxuries because he has finally repented and is being forgiven. The father states that “[his son] was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (Luke 15:32). Those who have not repented are seen as dead and lost. But once they come back, their repentance is rewarded with joy and forgiveness.
Another core value in the model society is the importance of purity of innocence. In The Acts of Paul and Thecla, this purity is represented by a person’s virginity. Thecla is a young woman who is due to marry a man and therefore lose her virginity. When she hears Paul speak about the importance of keeping one’s virginity to stay pure in the eyes of the Christian society, Thecla vows to break her engagement and follow Paul’s words. Later, when Thecla is sentenced to burn, she is protected by “the Lord sitting in the form of Paul and [says], ‘As if I were not able to bear up, Paul has come to look after me” (Thecla 21). In the society that Thecla values, which parallels the model society, keeping one’s purity of innocence above all else is most important, and will be rewarded.
Further, unity is an important aspect of the model society. As demonstrated in The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas, fidelity to one’s beliefs, even to the point of martyrdom, is highly regarded. The model society encourages people from all walks of life to come together for the same cause, just as the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas do. Perpetua is a “newly married woman of a good family and upbringing,” and Felicitas is a pregnant slave, and they, like others in their society, are willing to die for their cause of Christianity (Perpetua 1.2). Like in Christianity, equality and non-discrimination are valued in the model society. All types of people—different classes, genders, and races—can fight for the same cause as one unit.
While the model society values unity and the welcoming of all, other societies claim that those who have specific skills and virtues should be valued over others. In Plato’s Republic, this is especially true, as Plato writes of Socrates’s claim that only philosophers are fit to lead the society because they are superior in knowledge and virtue. As Glaucon explains, “It would be absurd to choose anyone but philosophers […] For the very area in which they are superior [knowledge and virtue] is just about the greatest one” (Republic 6.7-9). This system that Plato outlines is based on the virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. Proponents of Plato’s Republic would not favor the model society because they would see it as weak, unstructured, and ungovernable. In their minds wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice are necessary for a society to succeed, whereas forgiveness, kindness, and attentiveness to others are illogical. They would argue that if everyone is equal, there would be no one to lead or teach the rest of society. Although this idea for a society was developed by a highly credited philosopher, it is flawed because it devalues unity among its members. If a society holds some of its members in higher regard than others, it diminishes the value of welcoming all peoples and allowing them to come together as one unified body, because it now sets its basis on the preferential treatment of some over others. Despite the positive virtues that the Republic presents, it is an exclusionary society, as it bans and marginalizes its members for being different or lesser than the philosophers.
Another society that extolls the virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice is presented in Virgil’s Aeneid. This society is one based on force and conquering, and values physical strength. Proponents of Virgil’s Aeneid would argue that courage and strength are necessary to create great culture and grow as a society, as well as to protect the community from conflict and destruction. If it wants to grow, however, this society could benefit from following the model society’s style of welcoming others into the community instead of waging war, because this creates a less hostile system. And, although it is different than the society in the Republic in that it favors war, the society in the Aeneid also exhibits the preferential treatment of certain members because of its emphasis on the survival of the fittest. It shows a preference for the warrior. As mentioned often in the Aeneid, this society prioritizes war, and its members have the mentality of “I must wage a war, year after year, on just one race of men!” (Aeneid 1.57-58). Valuing war, however, encourages a hostile mindset among its members, and interferes with that society’s ability to work as one unit and leads to eventual destruction.
Although the virtues presented in both the societies of the Republic and the Aeneid are commendable, these societies exclude and marginalize certain members, whereas in the model society everyone—regardless of their flaws—is welcome. It is the difference between an exclusionary society and a welcoming one, a marginalizing society and a forgiving one.