Abstract
When Jesus asserted that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, he was asked by a lawyer, "Who is my neighbor?" The reply came in the form of the story of the good Samaritan-the man who bound up the wounds and looked after the Israelite who was neither his co-religionist nor a member of his race. Jesus' example has been rarely followed.
What is it in religion-and not just in the Christian religion-that leads its members to limit their conception of their neighbor? How is it that, in preaching the universal brotherhood of mankind, religions so often practice the opposite? In this essay, I shall try to provide some answers by focusing on the notions of faith, ethics and finitude.