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diff --git a/29912-tei/29912-tei.tei b/29912-tei/29912-tei.tei new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2df35b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/29912-tei/29912-tei.tei @@ -0,0 +1,10486 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> + +<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 SYSTEM "http://www.gutenberg.org/tei/marcello/0.4/dtd/pgtei.dtd" [ + +<!ENTITY u5 "http://www.tei-c.org/Lite/"> + +]> + +<TEI.2 lang="en"> +<teiHeader> + <fileDesc> + <titleStmt> + <title>The Social Principles of Jesus</title> + <author><name reg="Rauschenbusch, Walter">Walter Rauschenbusch</name></author> + </titleStmt> + <editionStmt> + <edition n="1">Edition 1</edition> + </editionStmt> + <publicationStmt> + <publisher>Project Gutenberg</publisher> + <date>September 5, 2009</date> + <idno type="etext-no">29912</idno> + <availability> + <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and + with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it + away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg + License online at www.gutenberg.org/license</p> + </availability> + </publicationStmt> + <sourceDesc> + <bibl> + Created electronically. + </bibl> + </sourceDesc> + </fileDesc> + <encodingDesc> + </encodingDesc> + <profileDesc> + <langUsage> + <language id="en"></language> + <language id="la"></language> + <language id="el"></language> + </langUsage> + </profileDesc> + <revisionDesc> + <change> + <date value="2009-09-2009">September 5, 2009</date> + <respStmt> + <name> + Produced by Bryan Ness, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain + material from the Google Print project.) + </name> + </respStmt> + <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item> + </change> + </revisionDesc> +</teiHeader> + +<pgExtensions> + <pgStyleSheet> + .boxed { x-class: boxed } + .shaded { x-class: shaded } + .rules { x-class: rules; rules: all } + .indent { margin-left: 2 } + .bold { font-weight: bold } + .italic { font-style: italic } + .smallcaps { font-variant: small-caps } + </pgStyleSheet> + + <pgCharMap formats="txt.iso-8859-1"> + <char id="U0x2014"> + <charName>mdash</charName> + <desc>EM DASH</desc> + <mapping>--</mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2003"> + <charName>emsp</charName> + <desc>EM SPACE</desc> + <mapping> </mapping> + </char> + <char id="U0x2026"> + <charName>hellip</charName> + <desc>HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS</desc> + <mapping>...</mapping> + </char> + </pgCharMap> +</pgExtensions> + +<text lang="en"> + <front> + <div> + <divGen type="pgheader" /> + </div> + <div> + <divGen type="encodingDesc" /> + </div> + + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">College Voluntary Study Courses</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Fourth Year—Part 1</p> + <p rend="font-size: xx-large; text-align: center">The Social Principles Of Jesus</p> + <p rend="font-size: large; text-align: center">By</p> + <p rend="font-size: x-large; text-align: center">Walter Rauschenbusch</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Professor of Church History, Rochester Theological Seminary</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Written under the Direction of Sub-Committee on College Courses, Sunday School Council of Evangelical Denominations, and Committee on Voluntary Study, Council of North American Student Movements</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">The Woman's Press</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">600 Lexington Avenue</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">New York City</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">1917</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Copyright, 1916, by</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">The International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, 1916</p> + <p rend="text-align: center">All Rights Reserved</p> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: always"> + <head>Contents</head> + <divGen type="toc" /> + </div> + + </front> +<body> + +<pb n='i'/><anchor id='Pg0i'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<head>College Voluntary Study Courses</head> + +<p> +<q>The Social Principles of Jesus</q> takes seventh place in a +series of text-books known as College Voluntary Study +Courses. The general outline for this curriculum has been +prepared by the Committee on Voluntary Study of the +Council of North American Student Movements, representing +the Student Young Men's and Young Women's Christian +Associations and the Student Volunteer Movement, and the +Sub-Committee on College Courses of the Sunday School +Council of Evangelical Denominations, representing twenty-nine +communions. Therefore the text-books are planned for +the use of student classes in the Sunday School, as well as +for the supplementary groups on the campus. The present +text-book has been written under the direction of these +Committees. +</p> + +<p> +The text-books are not suitable for use in the academic +curriculum, as they have been definitely planned for voluntary +study groups. +</p> + +<p> +This series, covering four years, is designed to form a +minimum curriculum for the voluntary study of the Bible, +foreign missions, and North American problems. Daily Bible +Readings are printed with each text-book. The student viewpoint +is given first emphasis—what are the student interests? +what are the student problems? +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +The Bible text printed in short measure (indented both +sides) is taken from the American Standard Edition of the +Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons, +and is used by permission. +</quote> + +</div> + +<pb n='ii'/><anchor id='Pgii'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Introduction</head> + +<p> +This book is not a life of Christ, nor an exposition of his +religious teachings, nor a doctrinal statement about his person +and work. It is an attempt to formulate in simple propositions +the fundamental convictions of Jesus about the social +and ethical relations and duties of men. +</p> + +<p> +Our generation is profoundly troubled by the problems of +organized society. The most active interest of serious men +and women in the colleges is concentrated on them. We +know that we are in deep need of moral light and spiritual +inspiration in our gropings. There is an increasing realization, +too, that the salvation of society lies in the direction +toward which Jesus led. And yet there is no clear understanding +of what he stood for. Those who have grown up +under Christian teaching can sum up the doctrines of the +Church readily, but the principles which we must understand +if we are to follow Jesus in the way of life, seem +enveloped in a haze. The ordinary man sees clearly only +Christ's law of love and the golden rule. This book seeks +to bring to a point what we all vaguely know. +</p> + +<p> +It does not undertake to furnish predigested material, or +to impose conclusions. It spreads out the most important +source passages for personal study, points out the connection +between the principles of Jesus and modern social problems, +and raises questions for discussion. It was written primarily +for voluntary study groups of college seniors, and +their intellectual and spiritual needs are not like those of an +average church audience. It challenges college men and +women to face the social convictions of Jesus and to make +their own adjustments. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='001'/><anchor id='Pg001'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part I. The Axiomatic Social Convictions Of Jesus</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter I. The Value Of Life</head> + +<p> +Whatever our present conceptions of Jesus Christ may be, +we ought to approach our study of his teachings with a +sense of reverence. With the slenderest human means at his +disposal, within a brief span of time, he raised our understanding +of God and of human life to new levels forever, +and set forces in motion which revolutionized history. +</p> + +<p> +Of his teachings we have only fragments, but they have an +inexhaustible vitality. In this course we are to examine these +as our source material in order to discover, if possible, what +fundamental ethical principles were in the mind of Jesus. +This part of his thought has been less understood and appropriated +than other parts, and it is more needed today than +ever. Let us go at this study with the sense of handling +something great, which may have guiding force for our own +lives. Let us work out for ourselves the social meaning of +the personality and thought of Jesus Christ, and be prepared +to face his challenge to the present social and economic order +of which we are part. +</p> + +<p> +How did Jesus view the life and personality of the men +about him? How did he see the social relation which binds +people together? What was the reaction of his mind in face +of the inequalities and sufferings of actual society? If we +can get hold of the convictions which were axiomatic and +immediate with him on these three questions, we shall have +the key to his social principles. We shall take them up in the +first three chapters. +</p> + +<pb n='002'/><anchor id='Pg002'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Worth of a Child</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And they were bringing unto him little children, +that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked +them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved +with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the +little children to come unto me; forbid them not: +for to such belongeth the kingdom of God. Verily +I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the +kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise +enter therein. And he took them in his arms, and +blessed them, laying his hands upon them.—Mark +10:13-16. +</quote> + +<p> +The child is humanity reduced to its simplest terms. Affectionate +joy in children is perhaps the purest expression +of social feeling. Jesus was indignant when the disciples +thought children were not of sufficient importance to occupy +his attention. Compared with the selfish ambition of grown-ups +he felt something heavenly in children, a breath of the +Kingdom of God. They are nearer the Kingdom than those +whom the world has smudged. To inflict any spiritual injury +on one of these little ones seemed to him an inexpressible +guilt. See Matthew 18:1-6. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Can the moral standing of a community be fairly judged +by the statistics of child labor and infant mortality?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What prompts some young men to tyrannize over their +younger brothers?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How does this passage and the principle of the sacredness +of life bear on the problem of eugenics?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Humanity of a Leper</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And when he was come down from the mountain, +great multitudes followed him. And behold, there +came to him a leper, and worshipped him, saying, +Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And +<pb n='003'/><anchor id='Pg003'/> +he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, +I will; be thou made clean. And straightway +his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, +See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the +priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for +a testimony unto them.—Matt. 8:1-4. +</quote> + +<p> +Whenever Jesus healed he rendered a social service to his +fellows. The spontaneous tenderness which he put into his +contact with the sick was an expression of his sense of the +sacredness of life. A leper with fingerless hands and decaying +joints was repulsive to the æsthetic feelings and a +menace to selfish fear of infection. The community quarantined +the lepers in waste places by stoning them when they +crossed bounds. (Remember Ben Hur's mother and sister.) +Jesus not only healed this man, but his sense of humanity so +went out to him that <q>he stretched forth his hand and touched +him.</q> Even the most wretched specimen of humanity still +had value to him. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What is the social and moral importance of those professions +which cure or prevent sickness?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How would a strong religious sense of the sacredness of +life affect members of these professions?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The Moral Quality of Contempt</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, +Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be +in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that +every one who is angry with his brother shall be in +danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to +his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; +and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger +of the hell of fire.—Matt. 5:21, 22. +</quote> + +<p> +In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus demanded that the +standards of social morality be raised to a new level. He +proposed that the feeling of anger and hate be treated as +<pb n='004'/><anchor id='Pg004'/> +seriously as murder had been treated under the old code, and +if anyone went so far as to use hateful and contemptuous +expressions toward a fellow-man, it ought to be a case for +the supreme court. Of course this was simply a vivid form +of putting it. The important point is that Jesus ranged hate +and contempt under the category of murder. To abuse a man +with words of contempt denies his worth, breaks down his +self-respect, and robs him of the regard of others. It is an +attempt to murder his soul. The horror which Jesus feels +for such action is an expression of his own respect for the +worth of personality. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How is the self-respect and sense of personal worth of men +built up or broken down in college communities?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How in industrial communities?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: Bringing Back the Outcast</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing +near unto him to hear him. And both the Pharisees +and the scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth +sinners, and eateth with them. +</p> + +<p> +And he spake unto them this parable, saying, What +man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost +one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the +wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he +find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on +his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, +he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, +saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found +my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that even +so there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that +repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous +persons, who need no repentance. +</p> + +<p> +Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she +lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the +house, and seek diligently until she find it? And +when she hath found it, she calleth together her +friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for +I have found the piece which I had lost. Even so, +<pb n='005'/><anchor id='Pg005'/> +I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the +angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.—Luke +15:1-10. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Every Jewish community had a fringe of unchurched people, +who could not keep up the strict observance of the Law +and had given up trying. The pious people, just because they +were pious, felt they must cold-shoulder such. Jesus walked +across the lines established. What seems to have been the +motive that prompted him? Why did the Pharisee withdraw, +and why did Jesus mix with the publicans? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What groups in our own communities correspond to the +<q>publicans and sinners,</q> and what is the attitude of religious +people toward them?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What social groups in college towns are spoken of with +contempt by college men, and why?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Is there a Pharisaism of education? Define and locate it.</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: The Problem of the Delinquents</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +For the Son of man came to seek and to save that +which was lost.—Luke 19:10. +</quote> + +<p> +Here Jesus formulates the inner meaning and mission of +his life as he himself felt it. He was here for social restoration +and moral salvage. No human being should go to +pieces if he could help it. He was not only willing to help +people who came to him for help, but he proposed to go after +them. The <q>lost</q> man was too valuable and sacred to be lost. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How does the Christian impulse of salvation connect with +the activities represented in the National Conference of +Charities and Correction?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How does a college community regard its <q>sinners</q>?</hi> Suppose +a man has an instinct for low amusements and a yellow +sense of honor, how do the higher forces in college life get +at that man to set him right? +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='006'/><anchor id='Pg006'/> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: Going Beyond Justice</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that +was a householder, who went out early in the morning +to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he +had agreed with the laborers for a shilling a day, he +sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about +the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace +idle; and to them he said, Go ye also into +the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. +And they went their way. Again he went out about +the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And +about the eleventh hour he went out and found others +standing: and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here +all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man +hath hired us. He said unto them, Go ye also into the +vineyard. And when even was come, the lord of the +vineyard said unto his steward, Call the laborers, +and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto +the first. And when they came that were hired about +the eleventh hour, they received every man a shilling. +And when the first came, they supposed that they +would receive more; and they likewise received every +man a shilling. And when they received it, they murmured +against the householder, saying, These last +have spent but one hour, and thou hast made them +equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the +day and the scorching heat. But he answered and +said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: +didst not thou agree with me for a shilling? Take +up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will +to give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not +lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or +is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last +shall be first, and the first last.—Matt. 20:1-16. +</quote> + +<p> +Judaism rested on legality. So much obedience to the law +earned so much reward, according to the contract between +God and Israel. Theoretically this was just; practically it +gave the inside track to the respectable and well to do, for it +took leisure and money to obey the minutiæ of the Law. In +<pb n='007'/><anchor id='Pg007'/> +this parable the employer rises from the level of justice to +the higher plane of human fellow-feeling. These eleventh-hour +men had been ready to work; they had to eat and live; +he proposed to give them a living wage because he felt an +inner prompting to do so. In the parable of the Prodigal +Son the father does more for his son than justice required, +because he was a father. Here the employer does more because +he is a man. Each acted from a sense of the worth +of the human life with which he was dealing. It was the +same sense of worth and sacredness in Jesus which prompted +him to invent these parables. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Do we find ourselves valuing people according to their +utility to us, or do we have an active feeling of their human +interest and worth?</hi> Let us run over in our minds our family +and relatives, our professors and friends, and the people in +town who serve us, and see with whom we are on a human +footing. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Courtesy of Jesus</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And early in the morning he came again into the +temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat +down, and taught them. And the scribes and the +Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having +set her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, +this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very +act. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone +such: what then sayest thou of her? And this they +said, trying him that they might have whereof to +accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his +finger wrote on the ground. But when they continued +asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, +He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a +stone at her. And again he stooped down and with +his finger wrote on the ground. And they, when they +heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the +eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, +and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And +Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, +<pb n='008'/><anchor id='Pg008'/> +where are they? did no man condemn thee? And +she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither +do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin +no more.—John 8:2-11. +</quote> + +<p> +Was there ever a more gentlemanly handling of a raw +situation? This woman was going through one of the most +harrowing experiences conceivable, exposed to the gaze of a +leering and scornful crowd, her good name torn away, her +self-respect crushed. Jesus shielded her from stoning by the +power of his personality and his consummate skill in handling +men. He got inside their guard, aroused their own sense of +past guilt, and so awakened some human fellow-feeling for +the woman. When he was alone with her, what a mingling +of kindness and severity! Surely she would carry away the +memory of a wonderful friend who came to her in her dire +need. Why did Jesus twice turn his eyes away to the ground? +Was he ashamed to look at her shame? +</p> + +<p> +Such a sudden, tragic happening is a severe test of a man's +qualities. It brought out the courtesy of Jesus, his respect for +human personality even in its shame. <hi rend='italic'>How can we train ourselves +so that we may be equal to such emergencies?</hi> Would +continued spiritual contact with Jesus be likely to make a +difference? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +The passages we have studied are inductive material. Can +there be any doubt that Jesus had a spontaneous love for his +fellow-men and a deep sense of the sacredness of human +personality? Physical deformity and moral guilt could not +obscure the divine worth of human life to him. To cause any +soul to stumble and go down, or to express contempt for any +human being, was to him a horrible guilt. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +This regard for human life was based on the same social +<pb n='009'/><anchor id='Pg009'/> +instinct which every normal man possesses. But with Jesus it +was so strong that it determined all his viewpoints and activities. +He affirmed the humane instinct consciously and intelligently, +and raised it to the dignity of a social principle. +This alone would be enough to mark him out as a new type, +prophetic and creative of a new development of the race. +</p> + +<p> +Whence did Jesus derive the strength and purity of his +social feeling? Was it simply the endowment of a finely attuned +nature? Other fine minds of the ancient world valued +men according to their wealth, their rank, their power, their +education, their beauty. Jesus valued men as such, apart from +any attractive equipment. Why? <q>The deeper our insight +into human destiny becomes, the more sacred does every individual +human being seem to us</q> (Lotze). The respect of +Jesus for every concrete person whom he met was due to his +religious insight into human life and destiny. But how did +he get his insight? +</p> + +<p> +Love and religion have the power of idealistic interpretation. +To a mother her child is a wonderful being. To a true +lover the girl he loves has sacredness. With Jesus the consciousness +of a God of love revealed the beauty of men. The +old gods were despotic supermen, mythical duplicates of the +human kings and conquerors. The God of Jesus was the +great Father who lets his light shine on the just and the unjust, +and offers forgiveness and love to all. Jesus lived in +the spiritual atmosphere of that faith. Consequently he saw +men from that point of view. They were to him children of +that God. Even the lowliest was high. The light that shone +on him from the face of God shed a splendor on the prosaic +ranks of men. In this way religion enriches and illuminates +social feeling. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus succeeded in transmitting something of his own sense +of the sacredness of life to his followers. As Wundt says: +<q>Humanity in this highest sense was brought into the world +by Christianity.</q> The love of men became a social dogma +of the Church. Some other convictions of Jesus left few +traces on the common thought of Christendom, but the +<pb n='010'/><anchor id='Pg010'/> +Church has always stood for a high estimate of the potential +worth of the soul of man. It has always taught that man +was made in God's image and that he is destined to share in +the holiness and eternal life of God. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +What effects has this registered on social conduct? Has +the Church intelligently resisted social forces or conditions +which brutalized or shamed men? +</p> + +<p> +It is most difficult to estimate accurately the historic influence +of religious ideas. They are subtle and hard to trace. +But we can justly reason from our own observations in +evangelism and foreign mission work. Those of us who +have gone through a clearly marked conversion to Christianity +will probably remember that we realized our fellow-men +with a new warmth and closeness, and under higher points of +view. We were then entering into the Christian valuation +of human life. In foreign missions the influence of Christianity +can be contrasted with non-Christian social life, and +there is often a striking rise in the respect for life and personality +as compared with the hardness and callousness of +heathen society. This is one of the distinctive marks of the +modern and Western world compared with the ancient and +the Oriental. Those individuals among us who have really +duplicated something of the spirit of Jesus are always marked +by their loving regard for human life, even its wreckage. +That sense of sacredness is the basis for the whole missionary +and philanthropic activity of Christian men and women. +</p> + +<p> +It is also an important force in the social movements. Have +there been any widespread, continuous, and successful movements +for social justice outside of the territory influenced by +Christianity? Was there any causal connection between the +historic reformation and purification of Christianity since the +sixteenth century and the rise of civil and social democracy? +Does the spread of Christian ideas and feelings predispose +the powerful classes to make concessions? What contribution +<pb n='011'/><anchor id='Pg011'/> +did the Wesleyan revival among the working people of England +make toward the rise of the trade union movement, the +education of stable leaders, and the faith in democracy? It +takes idealistic convictions a long time to permeate large +social classes, but they often spring into effectiveness suddenly. +Certainly a belief in the worth and capacity of the +common man is a spiritual support of democratic institutions, +and where the Church really spread the Christian sense of +the worth and sacredness of human life, it has been a great +stabilizer of civil liberty. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus asserted with religious power what all men feel. +Sometimes it requires the solemn presence of death to brush +aside the artificial distinctions of society and to make us +realize that a life is a life, and precious as such. But when +we are at our best, we do feel the sacredness of human life. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +Does our present social order develop or neutralize that +feeling in us? +</p> + +<p> +Presumably it works both ways. For those who want to +spread the spirit of Christ, it becomes important to inquire +at what points our social institutions cheapen life and take +the value out of personality. +</p> + +<p> +The class differences inherited from the past are designed +to hedge the upper classes about with honor, but they necessarily +depreciate the lower classes by contrast and neutralize +the tie of the common blood. In some countries the self-respect +of the lower classes is affronted by degrading forms +of legal punishment reserved for them. Forms of servility +are exacted from servants and peasants. The practical working +of class differences is most clearly seen in the relation +of the sexes. Love is a great equalizer; hence it clashes with +class pride. The plot of innumerable dramas and novels +turns on the efforts of love to overcome the laws of social +caste. Where class spirit is traditional and fully developed, +men have a double code for the women of their own class, +<pb n='012'/><anchor id='Pg012'/> +and those of the lower classes. It is a far greater offense +for a gentleman to marry a girl of the lower class than to +ruin her. +</p> + +<p> +It is the glory of America that our laws do not intend to +recognize class differences. The conditions of life on a raw +continent and the principles embodied in religious and political +idealism fortunately cooperated. Will this last, or are the +great differences in wealth once more resulting in definite +class lines and in class pride and contempt? What does the +phrase <q>of good family</q> imply by contrast? What evidence +does college fraternity life offer as to the existence of social +classes? How is immigration likely to increase the cleavages +by adding differences of race and color, religion, language, +and manners? What light does the history of immigration +in America cast on our valuation of human life in strangers? +</p> + +<p> +Political oligarchies have usually defended their rule by the +assumption that the masses are incapable and the few are +superior. The laws made by them, however, have usually +shown ignorance and indifference as to the human needs of +the working masses. The same fundamental adjustment +exists in industry. It is not an expression of the worth of +the working people if they have no right to organize or to +share in governing the conditions under which they work, and +if years of good work earn a man no ownership or equity, +no legal standing or even tenure of employment in a business. +Is the right to petition for a redress of grievances an adequate +industrial expression of the Christian doctrine of the +worth and sacredness of personality? Is not property essential +to the real freedom and self-expression of a human +personality? +</p> + +<p> +War and prostitution are the most flagrant offenses against +this social principle. War is a wholesale waster of life. +Prostitution is the worst form of contempt for personality. +</p> + +<p> +Does our intellectual and scientific work ever tend to chill +the warm sense of human values? Do we acquire something +of the impassiveness of Nature in studying her enormous +waste of life? Do we transfer to human affairs her readiness +<pb n='013'/><anchor id='Pg013'/> +to use up the masses in order to produce a higher type? +Jesus did not talk about eliminating the unfit. He talked +about saving them, which requires greater constructive +energy if it is really to be done. It also requires a higher +faith in the latent recuperative capacities of human nature. +The detached attitude of scientific study may combine with +our plentiful natural egotism to create a cold indifference +toward the less attractive masses of humanity. We need the +glow of Christ's feeling for men to come unharmed out of +this intellectual temptation. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +Doubtless the objection has arisen in our minds that it is +not in the interest of the future of the race that religious pity +shall coddle and multiply the weak, or put them in control +of society. +</p> + +<p> +But did Jesus want the weak to stay weak? Was his social +feeling ever maudlin? He was himself a powerful and free +personality, who refused to be suppressed or conformed to +the dominant type. He challenged the existing authorities, +one against the field. Even in the slender record we have of +him we can see him running the gamut of emotions from +wrath and invective to tenderness and humor. It was +precisely his own powerful individuality which made him demand +for others the right to become free and strong souls. +Other powerful individuals have used up the rest as means +to their end. What human life or character did Jesus weaken +or break down? He was an emancipator, a creator of strong +men. His followers in later times did lay a new yoke on the +spirits of men and denied them the right to think their own +thoughts and be themselves. But the spirit of Jesus is an +awakening force. Even the down-and-out brace up when +they come in contact with him, and feel that they are still +good for something. +</p> + +<p> +<q>Jesus Christ was the first to bring the value of every +human soul to light, and what he did no one can any more +<pb n='014'/><anchor id='Pg014'/> +undo</q> (Harnack). But it remains for every individual to +accept and reaffirm that religious faith as his own guiding +principle according to which he proposes to live. We shall +be at one with the spirit of Christianity and of modern +civilization if we approach all men with the expectation of +finding beneath commonplace, sordid, or even repulsive externals +some qualities of love, loyalty, heroism, aspiration, or +repentance, which prove the divine in man. Kant expressed +that reverence for personality in his doctrine that we must +never treat a man as a means only, but always as an end in +himself. So far as our civilization treats men merely as labor +force, fit to produce wealth for the few, it is not yet Christian. +Any man who treats his fellows in that way, blunts +his higher nature; as Fichte says, whoever treats another as +a slave, becomes a slave. We might add, whoever treats him +as a child of God, becomes a child of God and learns to +know God. +</p> + +<p> +<q>The principle of reverence for personality is the ruling +principle in ethics, and in religion; it constitutes, therefore, +the truest and highest test of either an individual or a +civilization; it has been, even unconsciously, the guiding and +determining principle in all human progress; and in its religious +interpretation, it is, indeed, the one faith that keeps +meaning and value for life</q> (President Henry C. King). +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Ordinary Estimate of Men</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How much do we care for a man if he is of no practical +use to us? +</p> + +<p> +2. On what basis do we ordinarily value men? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Jesus' Estimate of Men</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Which source passages in the daily readings seemed +to put the feeling of Jesus in the clearest light? +</p> + +<pb n='015'/><anchor id='Pg015'/> + +<p> +2. How did the religious insight of Jesus reenforce his +social feeling? +</p> + +<p> +3. To what extent is it possible to duplicate his sense of +humanity without his consciousness of God? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Valuation of the Individual in Modern Life</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. List the evidences that modern society values men as +such apart from economic utility or standing, or show that +it does not so value them. +</p> + +<p> +2. Is the tendency in modern life toward a lower or +higher valuation of the individual? To what extent is this +due to the influence of Christianity? +</p> + +<p> +3. How do the statistics of industrial accidents agree +with our Christian valuation of life? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>The Test of History</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What widespread and successful movements for +social justice have there been outside the territory influenced +by Christianity? +</p> + +<p> +2. How do modern missions serve as an experiment +station for the problem of this chapter? +</p> + +<p> +3. What connection was there between the Wesleyan +revival and the rise of the trade union movement in England? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Do permanent class differences necessarily result in +a slighter social feeling for the inferior class? +</p> + +<p> +2. Describe the class lines drawn in your home town. +</p> + +<p> +3. Did you feel these lines more or less when you entered +college? +</p> + +<p> +4. Does college life tend to make us callous or sympathetic? +</p> + +<p> +5. Does life in social settlements seem to increase or +<pb n='016'/><anchor id='Pg016'/> +decrease respect for human nature in college men and +women? +</p> + +<p> +6. How would you preserve your self-respect if you +were a working man placed in degrading labor conditions? +</p> + +<p> +7. Does an honor system build up self-respect? +</p> + +<p> +8. Have your scientific studies, and especially evolutionary +teachings, increased your regard for humanity in +the mass? +</p> + +<p> +9. According to your observation, does religion make +a man a stronger or weaker personality? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='017'/><anchor id='Pg017'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter II. The Solidarity Of The Human Family</head> + +<p> +Every man has worth and sacredness as a man. We +fixed on that as the simplest and most fundamental social +principle of Jesus. The second question is, What relation +do men bear to each other? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Social Impulse and the Law of Christ</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, +trying him: Teacher, which is the great commandment +in the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love +the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy +soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and +first commandment. And a second like unto it is +this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On +these two commandments the whole law hangeth, +and the prophets.—Matt. 22:35-40. +</quote> + +<p> +Which among the multitudinous prescriptions of the Jewish +law ought to take precedence of the rest? It was a fine +academic question for church lawyers to discuss. Jesus +passed by all ceremonial and ecclesiastical requirements, +and put his hand on love as the central law of life, both in +religion and ethics. It was a great simplification and spiritualization +of religion. But love is the social instinct which +binds man and man together and makes them indispensable +to one another. Whoever demands love, demands solidarity. +Whoever sets love first, sets fellowship high. +</p> + +<pb n='018'/><anchor id='Pg018'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>When Jesus speaks of love, what more than mere emotion +does he mean?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Is love really the highest thing?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What do you think of the epigram of Augustine:</hi> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Ama et fac quod vis?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: Jesus Craving Friendship</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called +Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, +while I go yonder and pray. And he took with him +Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to +be sorrowful and sore troubled. Then saith he unto +them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto +death: abide ye here, and watch with me. And he +went forward a little, and fell on his face, and +prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this +cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, +but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, +and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, +What, could ye not watch with me one hour? +Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: +the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. +Again a second time he went away, and prayed, +saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away, except +I drink it, thy will be done. And he came again +and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. +And he left them again, and went away, and prayed +a third time, saying again the same words. Then +cometh he to the disciples, and saith unto them, +Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour +is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the +hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going: behold, +he is at hand that betrayeth me.—Matt. 26:36-46. +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus was personally very sociable. He evidently enjoyed +mixing with people. He liked the give-and-take of life. He +had friendships. A group of men and women gathered +around him who gave him their devoted loyalty. He in +turn needed them. The denial of Peter and the betrayal of +<pb n='019'/><anchor id='Pg019'/> +Judas hurt him, partly because they were defections from +the comradeship of his group. In Gethsemane he craved +friendship. He prayed to God, but he reached out for Peter +and John. The longing for friendship and the unrest of +loneliness are proof of a truly human and social nature. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>In how far is a need for others a sign of strength or of +weakness?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What connection has the spirit of a team, or the loyalty of +a college class, with the Christian law of love?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: Restoring Solidarity</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft +shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? +until seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not +unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times +seven.—Matt. 18:21-22. +</quote> + +<p> +Love binds together; hate and anger cut apart. They +destroy fellowship. Therefore the chief effort of the Christian +spirit must be to reestablish fellowship wherever men +have been sundered by ill-will. This is done by confession +and forgiveness. Forgiveness was so important to Jesus +because social unity was so important to him. In the Lord's +Prayer he makes full fellowship with men a condition of +full fellowship with God: <q>Forgive us our debts, as we have +forgiven our debtors.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Are there any personal injuries which are beyond forgiveness? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Think back to any striking experience of forgiving or being +forgiven. What was the religious and moral reaction on +your life?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: The Christian Intensification of Love</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life +for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the +brethren. But whoso hath the world's goods, and +<pb n='020'/><anchor id='Pg020'/> +beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his +compassion from him, how doth the love of God +abide in him? My little children, let us not love in +word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and +truth.—1 John 3:16-18. +</p> + +<p> +Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of +God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, +and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not +God; for God is love. Herein was the love of God +manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten +Son into the world that we might live through +him.—1 John 4:7-9. +</p> + +<p> +Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love +one another. No man hath beheld God at any time: +if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his +love is perfected in us.—1 John 4:11-12. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +These are quotations from one of the early Christian writings. +They are evidence of the emphasis put on love as a +distinctive doctrine of the new religion. Note how the +natural social instinct of human affection is intensified and +uplifted by religious motives and forces. Which of these +motives are directly taken from the personality and life of +Christ? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Do you remember any quotations from non-Christian literature +in which a similar love for love is expressed?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Solidaristic Responsibility</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most +of his mighty works were done, because they repented +not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! +for if the mighty works had been done in +Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they +would have repented long ago in sackcloth and +ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable +for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than +for you. And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted +<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/> +unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for +if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which +were done in thee, it would have remained until this +day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable +for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, +than for thee.—Matt. 11:20-24. +</quote> + +<p> +We know that by constant common action a social group +develops a common spirit and common standards of action, +which then assimilate and standardize the actions of its +members. Jesus felt the solidarity of the neighborhood +groups in Galilee with whom he mingled. He treated them +as composite personalities, jointly responsible for their moral +decisions. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What groups of which we have been a part in the past have +stamped us with the group character for good or evil? How +about those of which we are now a part?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What have we learned from the Great War about national +solidarity?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Solidarity of the Generations</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and +garnish the tombs of the righteous, and say, If we had +been in the days of our fathers, we should not have +been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. +Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons +of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up then the +measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring of +vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? +Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise +men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and +crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your +synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that +upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on +the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto +the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye +slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I +<pb n='022'/><anchor id='Pg022'/> +say unto you, All these things shall come upon this +generation.—Matt. 23:29-36. +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus saw a moral solidarity existing, not only between +contemporaries who act together, but between generations +that act alike. Every generation clings to its profitable wrongs +and tries to silence those who stand for higher righteousness. +Posterity takes comfort in being fairer about the dead issues, +but is just as hot and bad about present issues. The sons +reenact the old tragedies on a new stage, and so line up with +their fathers. In looking back over the history of his nation, +Jesus saw a continuity of wrong which bound the generations +together in a solidarity of guilt. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Does the connection consist only in similarity of action, +or is there a causal continuity of wrong in the life of a +community?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Is there anything in our personal family history or family +wealth and business which threatens to line us up with past +evils?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: Social Consciousness in the Lord's Prayer</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father +who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom +come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on +earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And +forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our +debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but +deliver us from the evil one.—Matt. 6:9-13. +</quote> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Is there anything more solitary than a human soul calling +to the invisible Presence? Is there anything more social in +consciousness than the Lord's Prayer?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Where in these petitions do you feel the sense of social +coherence as the unspoken presupposition of the thought?<note place='foot'>Rauschenbusch, +<q>Prayers of the Social Awakening,</q> p. 15, on <q>The Social +Meaning of the Lord's Prayer.</q></note></hi> +</p> + +<pb n='023'/><anchor id='Pg023'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Could Jesus have thought this prayer if the unity of the +race had not been both an instinctive reality and a clear +social principle with him?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +That man is a social being is the fundamental fact with +which all social sciences have to deal. We may like or dislike +people; we can not well be indifferent to them if they get +close to us. As Sartor Resartus puts it: <q>In vain thou +deniest it; thou <emph>art</emph> my brother. Thy very hatred, thy very +envy, those foolish lies thou tellest of me in thy splenetic +humour; what is all this but an inverted sympathy? Were I +a steam-engine, wouldst thou take the trouble to tell lies +of me?</q> +</p> + +<p> +Sex admiration, parental love, <q>the dear love of comrades,</q> +the thrill of patriotism, the joy of play, are all forms of +fellowship. They give us happiness because they satisfy our +social instinct. To realize our unity gives relish to life. To +be thrust out of fellowship is the great pain. Many evil +things get their attractiveness mainly through the fact that +they create a bit of fellowship—such as it is. The slender +thread of good in the saloon is comradeship. (See Jack +London, <q>John Barleycorn.</q>) +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +None ever felt this social unity of our race more deeply +than Jesus. To him it was sacred and divine. Hence his +emphasis on love and forgiveness. He put his personality +behind the natural instinct of social attraction and encouraged +it. He swung the great force of religion around +to bear on it and drive it home. Anything that substitutes +antagonism for fraternity is evil to him. Just as in the case +of the natural respect for human life and personality, so in +the case of the natural social cohesion of men, he lifted the +blind instinct of human nature by the insight of religion and +<pb n='024'/><anchor id='Pg024'/> +constituted it a fundamental principle of life. It is the +business of Christianity to widen the area of comradeship. +</p> + +<p> +Common human judgment assents to the valuation of Jesus. +Wherever an effective and stable form of fellowship has +been created, a sense of sacredness begins to attach to it, and +men defend it as a sort of shrine of the divine in man. +Wherever men are striving to create a larger fellowship, +they have religious enthusiasm as if they were building a +temple for God. This is the heart of church loyalty. +</p> + +<p> +The family is the most striking case of solidarity. It is +first formed of two units at opposite poles in point of sex, +experience, taste, need, and aims; and when they form it, +they usually have as much sense of sacredness as their +character is capable of feeling. When children are added, +more divergences of age, capacity, and need are injected. +Yet out of these contradictory elements a social fellowship +is built up, which, in the immense majority of cases, defies +the shocks of life and the strain of changing moods and +needs, forms the chief source of contentment for the majority +of men and women, and, when conspicuously successful, +wins the spontaneous tribute of reverence from all right-thinking +persons. In using the equipment of the home, in +standing by one another in time of sickness and trouble, and +in spiritual sympathy, a true family practices solidarity of +interests, and furnishes the chief education in cooperation. +</p> + +<p> +Political unity was at first an expansion of family unity. +The passionate loyalty with which a nation defends its +country and its freedom, is not simply a defence of real estate +and livestock, but of its national brotherhood and solidarity. +The devotion with which people suffer and die for their +State is all the more remarkable because all States hitherto +have been largely organizations for coercion and exploitation, +and only in part real fraternal communities. Patriotism +hitherto has been largely a prophetic outreaching toward a +great fellowship nowhere realized. The peoples walk by faith. +</p> + +<p> +What evidence does college life furnish us of the fact that +social unity is realized with some sense of sacredness? Why +<pb n='025'/><anchor id='Pg025'/> +do the years in college stand out in the later memories of +graduates with such a glamour? Why do students devote so +much unpaid service to their teams and fraternities? Is it +for the selfish advantages they hope to get, or because they +feel they are realizing the best of life in being part of a +solidaristic group? Do the dangers of college organizations +prove or disprove the principle that fellowship is felt to be +something sacred? +</p> + +<p> +Any historical event in which men stood by their group +through suffering or to death is remembered with pride. Any +case of desertion or betrayal is remembered with shame. +No group forgives those who sell out its solidarity for private +safety or profit. +</p> + +<p> +Insurance and cooperation are two great demonstrations of +the power of solidarity. In insurance we bear one another's +burdens, <q>and so fulfil the law of Christ.</q> The cooperative +associations, which have had such enormous success in Europe, +succeed only where neighborhood or common idealistic conviction +has previously established a consciousness of social +unity. They have to overcome the most adverse conditions +in achieving success. When they do, the effect on the +economic prosperity of the people and on their moral stability +and progressiveness is remarkable. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +Thus the instincts of the race assent to the social principle +of Jesus, that fellowship is sacred. The chief law of Christianity +does not contradict the social nature of man but +expresses and reenforces it. It is the special function of +Christians to promote social unity and expand its blessings. +To do this intelligently we should take note where, at present, +solidarity is frustrated. +</p> + +<p> +For instance, it is important to inquire how social unity is +negatived in commercial life. Is competition necessarily unfraternal? +Would a Socialist organization of society necessarily +be fraternal? Is it a denial of fellowship to exact +<pb n='026'/><anchor id='Pg026'/> +monopoly profit from consumers, or to take advantage of the +ignorance or necessities of a buyer? Is the law of the +market compatible with a fraternal conception of society? +</p> + +<p> +Where can you trace the principle of solidarity actually +at work in industrial life? Give cases where you have +observed a real sense of human coherence and loyalty between +employer and employes. How had the feeling been promoted +in those cases and what effect did it have on the economic +relations of the two groups? Why is the feeling of antagonism +between these groups so common? Does the wages +system make this inevitable? How ought we to value the +willingness of organized labor to stand together, especially +on strike, and what connection does the bitterness toward +<q>scabs</q> have with our subject? +</p> + +<p> +War is a rupture of fellowship on a large scale. The +Great War of 1914 has been the most extensive demonstration +of the collapse of love which any of us wants to see. As +soon as one nation no longer recognizes its social unity with +another nation, all morality collapses, and a deluge of hate, +cruelty, and lies follows. The problem of international peace +is the problem of expanding the area of love and social +unity. It is the sin of Christendom that so few took this +problem seriously until we were chastised for our moral +stupidity and inertia. The young men and women of today +will have to take this problem on their intellect and conscience +for their lifetime, and propose to see it through. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +Does religion create social unity or neutralize it? Does +prayer isolate or connect? Has the force of religion in +human history done more to divide or to consolidate men? +</p> + +<p> +Evidently religion may work both ways, and all who are +interested in it must see to it that their religion does not +escape control and wreck fraternity. Even mystic prayer +and contemplation, which is commonly regarded as the flower +of religious life, may make men indifferent to their fellows. +</p> + +<pb n='027'/><anchor id='Pg027'/> + +<p> +It is worth noting that the prayer experiences of Jesus were +not ascetic or unsocial. They prepared him for action. When +he went into the desert after his baptism it was to settle the +principles on which his Messianic work was to be done; his +temptations prove that. When he went out from Capernaum +to pray <q>a great while before day,</q> it was to launch his aggressive +missionary campaign among the Galilæan villages. +Prayer may be an emotional dissipation. Prayer is Christian +only if it makes us realize our fellows more keenly and +affectionately. +</p> + +<p> +It is one thing to praise love and another thing to practice +it. We may theorize about society and ourselves be contrary +and selfish units in it. Social unity is an achievement. A +loving mind toward our fellows, even the cranky, is the prize +of a lifetime. How can it be evoked and cultivated in us? +That is one of the most important problems in education. +Can it be solved without religious influences? Love will not +up at the bidding. We can observe the fact that personal +discipleship of Christ has given some persons in our acquaintance +a rare capacity for love, for social sympathy, for peaceableness, +for all the society-making qualities. We can make +test of the fact for ourselves that every real contact with him +gives us an accession of fraternity and greater fitness for +nobler social unity. It makes us good fellows. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +The man who intelligently realizes the Chinese and the +Zulu as his brothers with whom he must share the earth, is +an ampler mind—other things being equal—than the man who +can think of humanity only in terms of pale-faces. The +consciousness of humanity will have to be wrought out just +as the consciousness of nationality was gradually acquired. +He who has it is ahead of his time and a pioneer of the +future. The missionary puts himself in the position to acquire +that wider sense of solidarity. By becoming a neighbor +to remote people he broadens their conception of humanity +<pb n='028'/><anchor id='Pg028'/> +and his own, and then can be an interpreter of his new +friends to his old friends. The interest in foreign missions +has, in fact, been a prime educational force, carrying a world-wide +consciousness of solidarity into thousands of plain minds +and hones that would otherwise have been provincial in their +horizon. +</p> + +<p> +A world-wide civilization must have a common monotheistic +faith as its spiritual basis. Such a faith must be unitive and +not divisive. What the world needs is a religion with a +powerful sense of solidarity. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>Solidarity in Human Life</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Are comradeship and team-work instinctive, or must +they be learned? +</p> + +<p> +2. Do the symptoms of hatred prove or disprove social +unity? +</p> + +<p> +3. Does a strong sense of social unity make a vigorous +individualism harder to maintain? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Christianity and Solidarity</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Give proof that Jesus felt a human hunger for companionship. +</p> + +<p> +2. How does the place assigned to love in the teachings +of Jesus bear on solidarity? How does the duty of forgiveness +connect with this? +</p> + +<p> +3. How does the spirit of the Lord's Prayer prove +the place of solidarity in Christianity? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Jesus and the Social Groups</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Where did Jesus treat communities as composite personalities? +Would it be equally just today to hold cities +responsible as moral units? +</p> + +<p> +2. How did Jesus trace a moral solidarity between generations? +</p> + +<pb n='029'/><anchor id='Pg029'/> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>Solidarity in Modern Life</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Where do you see the principle of solidarity accepted +and where do you see it denied in modern social life? +</p> + +<p> +2. In what way does war outrage Jesus' principles of +social unity? Does it ever promote fraternity and solidarity? +If so how? +</p> + +<p> +3. Is class consciousness a denial of social solidarity or +an approach to it? How can group loyalty be made to +contribute to the common weal? +</p> + +<p> +4. How should we value the willingness of organized +labor to stand together, particularly on strike? What light +does bitterness toward scabs throw on social solidarity? +</p> + +<p> +5. Why is the feeling of antagonism between employer +and employe so common? Does a wage system make this +inevitable? Can a real sense of cooperation be secured? +If so how? +</p> + +<p> +6. If a manufacturer has a monopoly, how much profit +will loyalty to Christian principles permit him to make? +</p> + +<p> +7. When is competition unfraternal? Would socialism +insure fraternity? +</p> + +<p> +8. Do college fraternities practice fraternity? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>Strengthening Solidarity</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How can the law of love be made the basis of modern +business? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does religion create social unity or neutralize it? +How about prayer? +</p> + +<p> +3. How does the Christian law of love bear on the relations +of the races in America? +</p> + +<p> +4. What have Christian missions done to lead society +from the nationalistic to the international and inter-racial +stage? +</p> + +<p> +5. Can world-wide social unity be secured without the +influence of Christianity? +</p> + +<p> +VI. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. To what extent does our present commercial and +<pb n='030'/><anchor id='Pg030'/> +industrial organization furnish a basis for experience of +solidarity and education in it? +</p> + +<p> +2. What aspects of modern advertising are Christian and +which are non-Christian? +</p> + +<p> +3. To what extent is the law of the market compatible +with a fraternal conception of society? +</p> + +<p> +4. Would a successful socialist organization create a +stronger sense of solidarity or would divisive interests get +in by new ways? +</p> + +<p> +5. Which has the better inducements to loyalty, a college, +or a trade union? Which has more of it? +</p> + +<p> +6. How does the team spirit go wrong among students? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='031'/><anchor id='Pg031'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter III. Standing With The People</head> + +<p> +We have found two simple and axiomatic social principles +in the fundamental convictions of Jesus: The sacredness of +life and personality, and the spiritual solidarity of men. Now +confront a mind mastered by these convictions with the actual +conditions of society, with the contempt for life and the +denial of social obligation existing, and how will he react? +How will he see the duty of the strong, and his own duty? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Social Platform of Jesus</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And he came to Nazareth, where he had been +brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into +the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to +read. And there was delivered unto him the book +of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and +found the place where it was written, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,</l> +<l>Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor:</l> +<l>He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives,</l> +<l>And recovering of sight to the blind,</l> +<l>To set at liberty them that are bruised,</l> +<l>To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.</l> +</lg> + +<p> +And he closed the book, and gave it back to the +attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the +synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to +say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled +in your ears. And all bare him witness, and +<pb n='032'/><anchor id='Pg032'/> +wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out +of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph's +son?—Luke 4:16-22. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Luke evidently felt that this appearance of Jesus in the +synagogue of his home city at the outset of his public work +was a significant occasion. The passage from Isaiah (61:1f) +was doubtless one of the favorite quotations of Jesus. He +saw his own aims summarized in it and he now announced +it as his program. Its promises were now about to be realized. +What were they? Glad tidings for the poor, release for the +imprisoned, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, +and a <q>year of Jehovah.</q> If this was an allusion to the year +of Jubilee (Lev. 25), it involved a revolutionary <q>shedding +of burdens,</q> such as Solon brought about at Athens. At any +rate, social and religious emancipation are woven together in +these phrases. Plainly Jesus saw his mission in raising to +free and full life those whom life had held down and hurt. +</p> + +<p> +<q>As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I +them.</q> Must the platform of Jesus be our platform and +program? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Social Test of the Messiah</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And the disciples of John told him of all these +things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples +sent them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he that +cometh, or look we for another? And when the men +were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath +sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that cometh, +or look we for another? In that hour he cured many +of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many +that were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered +and said unto them, Go and tell John the things +which ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their +sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the +deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good +tidings preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever +<pb n='033'/><anchor id='Pg033'/> +shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. +Luke 7:18-23. +</quote> + +<p> +Was Jesus the Coming One? He did not quite measure up +to John's expectations. The Messiah was to purge the people +of evil elements, winnowing the chaff from the wheat and +burning it. His symbol was the axe. Jesus was manifesting +no such spirit. Was he then the Messiah? +</p> + +<p> +Jesus shifted the test to another field. Human suffering +was being relieved and the poor were having glad news proclaimed +to them. Sympathy for the people was the assured +common ground between Jesus and John. Jesus felt that +John would recognize the dawn of the reign of God by the +evidence which he offered him. +</p> + +<p> +What, then, would be proper evidence that the reign of +God is gaining ground in our intellect and feeling? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The Church, a Product of Social Feeling</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, +teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel +of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease +and all manner of sickness. But when he saw the +multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, +because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep +not having a shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, +The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers +are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the +harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest. +And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and +gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them +out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner +of sickness.—Matt. 9:35-10:1. +</quote> + +<p> +The selection of the Twelve, their grouping by twos, and +their employment as independent messengers, was the most +important organizing act of Jesus. Out of it ultimately grew +the Christian Church. Now note what motives led to it. +<pb n='034'/><anchor id='Pg034'/> +Jesus was relieving social misery. He was oppressed by the +sense of it. The Greek verbs are very inadequately rendered +by <q>distressed and scattered.</q> The first means <q>skinned, harried</q>; +the second means <q>flung down, prostrate.</q> The people +were like a flock of sheep after the wolves are through +with them. There was dearth of true leaders. So Jesus +took the material he had and organized the apostolate—for +what? The Church grew out of the social feeling of Jesus +for the sufferings of the common people. +</p> + +<p> +To what extent, in your judgment, does the Church today +share the feeling of Jesus about the condition of the people +and fulfil the purpose for which he organized the apostolate? +Or has the condition of the people changed so that their social +needs are less urgent? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: Jesus Took Sides</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, +Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. +Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. +Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. +Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when +they shall separate you from their company, and reproach +you, and cast out your name as evil, for the +Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap +for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; +for in the same manner did their fathers unto the +prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye +have received your consolation. Woe unto you, ye +that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto +you, ye that laugh now for ye shall mourn and +weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well +of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to +the false prophets.—Luke 6:20-26. +</quote> + +<p> +In these Beatitudes, as Luke reports them, Jesus clearly +takes sides with the lowly. He says God and the future are +not on the side of the rich, the satiated; the devotees of +pleasure, the people who take the popular side on everything. +<pb n='035'/><anchor id='Pg035'/> +Ultimately the verdict will be for those who are now poor and +underfed, who carry the heavy end of things, and who have +to stand for the unpopular side. In the report of the Beatitudes +given by Matthew (5:3-12) the terms are less social +and more spiritual, and the contrast between the upper and +lower classes is not marked; but even there the promise of +the great reversal of things is to the humble and peaceable +folk, the hard hit and unpopular; they are to inherit the +earth, and also God's kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +Would it make Jesus a wiser teacher and nobler figure if +he had reversed his sympathies? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Salvation through the Common People</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, +and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven +and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the +wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto +babes: yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy +sight.—Luke 10:21. +</p> + +<p> +For behold your calling, brethren, that not many +wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, +are called: but God chose the foolish things of the +world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; +and God chose the weak things of the world, that he +might put to shame the things that are strong; +and the base things of the world, and the things that +are despised, did God choose, yea and the things +that are not, that he might bring to nought the things +that are: that no flesh should glory before God.—1 +Cor 1:26-29. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The actual results of his work proved to Jesus that his +success was to be with the simple-minded, and not with the +pundit class. He accepted the fact with a thrill of joy, and +praised God for making it so. Paul verified the same alignment +in the early Church. The upper classes held back through +<pb n='036'/><anchor id='Pg036'/> +pride of birth or education, or through the timidity of wealth. +In bringing in a new order of things, God had to use plain +people to get a leverage. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What really was it that Jesus saw in the lowly to attract +him?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: Jesus, a Man of the People</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and +came unto Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then +Jesus sent two disciples, saying unto them, Go into +the village that is over against you, and straightway +ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose +them, and bring them unto me. And if any one say +aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of +them; and straightway he will send them. Now this +is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was +spoken through the prophet, saying, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>Tell ye the daughter of Zion,</l> +<l>Behold, thy King cometh unto thee,</l> +<l>Meek, and riding upon an ass,</l> +<l>And upon a colt the foal of an ass.</l> +</lg> + +<p> +And the disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed +them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and +put on them their garments; and he sat thereon. +And the most part of the multitude spread their garments +in the way; and others cut branches from the +trees, and spread them in the way. And the multitudes +that went before him, and that followed, cried +saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is +he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna +in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, +all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this? +And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, +from Nazareth of Galilee.—Matt. 21:1-11. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Here was a democratic procession! No caparisoned +charger, but a burro—though a young and frisky one, carefully +selected—no military escort with a brass band and a +drum major, but a throng of peasants, shouting the psalms +<pb n='037'/><anchor id='Pg037'/> +of their fathers and the hope of a good time coming; no costly +rugs to carpet the way of the King, but the sweat-stained +garments of working people and branches wrenched off by +Galilæan fists. What was he, this King of the future, +ridiculous or sublime? +</p> + +<p> +If Jesus is ever to make his entry into the spiritual sovereignty +of humanity, will the social classes line up as they +did at Jerusalem? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Final Test for All</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, +and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the +throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered +all the nations: and he shall separate them one from +another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from +the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right +hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King +say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed +of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you +from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, +and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave +me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, +and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I +was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the +righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we +thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee +drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took +thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when +saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? +And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily +I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of +these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto +me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left +hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal +fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: +for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I +was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a +stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye +clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me +<pb n='038'/><anchor id='Pg038'/> +not. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when +saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or +naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister +unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily +I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of +these least, ye did it not unto me. And these shall +go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous +into eternal life.—Matt. 25:31-46. +</quote> + +<p> +<q>Whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.</q> +Think of it—absolute justice done at last, by an all-knowing +Judge, where no earthly pull of birth, wealth, learning, or +power will count, and where all masks fall! By what code +of law and what standard shall we be judged there? Here +is the answer of Jesus: Not by creed and church questions, +but by our human relations; by the reality of our social +feeling; by our practical solidarity with our fellow-men. If +we lived in the presence of hunger, loneliness, and oppression, +in the same country with child labor, race contempt, +the long day, rack rents, prostitution, just earnings withheld +by power, the price of living raised to swell swollen profit—if +we saw such things and remained apathetic, out we go. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>You and I—to the right or the left?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +No one can turn from a frank reading of the Gospels without +realizing that Jesus had a deep fellow-feeling, not only +for suffering and handicapped individuals, but for the mass +of the poorer people of his country, the peasants, the fishermen, +the artisans. He declared that it was his mission to +bring glad tidings to this class; and not only glad words, but +happy realities. Evidently the expectation of the coming +Reign of God to his mind signified some substantial relief +and release to the submerged and oppressed. Our modern +human feeling glories in this side of our Saviour's work. +Art and literature love to see him from this angle. +</p> + +<pb n='039'/><anchor id='Pg039'/> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +His concern for the poor was the necessary result of the +two fundamental convictions discussed by us in the previous +chapters. If he felt the sacredness of life, even in its humble +and hardworn forms, and if he felt the family unity of all men +in such a way that the sorrows of the poor were his sorrows, +then, of course, he could not be at ease while the people +were <q>skinned and prostrate,</q> <q>like sheep without a shepherd.</q> +Wherever any group has developed real solidarity, +its best attention is always given to those who are most in +need. <q>The whole have no need of a physician,</q> said Jesus; +the strong can take care of themselves. +</p> + +<p> +So he cast in his lot with the people consciously. He +slept in their homes, healed their diseases, ate their bread, +and shared his own with them. He gave them a faith, a hope +of better days, and a sense that God was on their side. Such +a faith is more than meat and drink. In turn they rallied +around him, and could not get enough of him. <q>The common +people heard him gladly.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Furthermore, the feeling of Jesus for <q>the poor</q> was not +the sort of compassion we feel for the hopelessly crippled in +body or mind. His feeling was one of love and trust. The +Galilæan peasants, from whom Peter and John sprang, were +not morons, or the sodden dregs of city slums. They were +the patient, hard-working folks who have always made up the +rank and file of all peoples. They had their faults, and Jesus +must have known them. But did he ever denounce them, or +call them <q>offspring of vipers</q>? Did he ever indicate that +their special vices were frustrating the Kingdom of God? +They needed spiritual impulse and leadership, but their nature +was sound and they were the raw material for the redeemed +humanity which he strove to create. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +There is one more quality which we shall have to recognize +in the attitude of Jesus to <q>the poor.</q> He saw them over +<pb n='040'/><anchor id='Pg040'/> +against <q>the rich.</q> Amid all the variations of human society +these two groups always reappear—those who live by their +own productive labor, and those who live on the productive +labor of others whom they control. Practically they overlap +and blend, but when our perspective is distant enough, we +can distinguish them. In Greek and Roman society, in +medieval life, and in all civilized nations of today—barring, +of course, our own—we can see them side by side. Each +conditions the other; neither would exist without the other. +Each class develops its own moral and spiritual habits, its +own set of virtues and vices. Some of us were born in the +upper class, some in the lower; and in college groups the +majority come from the border line. By instinct, by the +experiences of life, or by national reflection, we usually give +our moral allegiance to one or the other, and are then apt +to lean to that side in every question arising. +</p> + +<p> +Now, Jesus took sides with the group of toil. He stood +up for them. He stood with them. We can not help seeing +him with his arm thrown in protection about the poor man, +and his other hand raised in warning to the rich. If we are +in any doubt about this, we can let his contemporaries decide +it for us. Plainly the common people claimed him as their +friend. Did the governing classes have the same feeling for +him? It seems hard to escape the conclusion that Jesus was +not impartial between the two. Was he nevertheless just? +To the æsthetic sense, and also to a superficial moral judgment, +the upper classes are everywhere more congenial and +attractive. To the moral judgment of Jesus, as we shall see +more fully in a later chapter, there was something disquieting +and dangerous about the spiritual qualities of <q>the rich,</q> and +something lovable and hopeful about the qualities of the +common man. Was he right? This is a very important +practical question for all who are disposed to follow his moral +leadership. +</p> + +<p> +The perception that Jesus championed the people can be +found throughout literature and art. Our own Lowell has +expressed it in his <q>Parable</q> in which he describes Jesus +<pb n='041'/><anchor id='Pg041'/> +coming back to earth to see <q>how the men, my brethren, +believe in me.</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Have ye founded your thrones and altars, then,</q></l> +<l>On the bodies and souls of living men?</l> +<l>And think ye that building shall endure,</l> +<l>Which shelters the noble and crushes the poor?</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>With gates of silver and bars of gold</q></l> +<l>Ye have fenced my sheep from their Father's fold;</l> +<l>I have heard the dropping of their tears</l> +<l>In heaven these eighteen hundred years.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Then Christ sought out an artisan,</q></l> +<l>A low-browed, stunted, haggard man,</l> +<l>And a motherless girl, whose fingers thin,</l> +<l>Pushed from her faintly want and sin.</l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>These set he in the midst of them,</q></l> +<l>And as they drew back their garment-hem</l> +<l>For fear of defilement, <q>Lo, here,</q> said he,</l> +<l><q rend='post'><q>The images ye have made of me.</q></q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +We shall get the historical setting for Christ's championship +of the people by going back to the Old Testament +prophets. They were his spiritual forebears. He nourished +his mind on their writings and loved to quote them. Now, +the Hebrew prophets with one accord stood up for the +common people and laid the blame for social wrong on the +powerful classes. They underlined no other sin with such +scarlet marks as the sins of injustice, oppression, and the +corruption of judges. But these are the sins which bear down +the lowly, and have always been practiced and hushed up +by the powerful. <q>Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that +oppress the poor, that crush the needy.... Ye trample upon +<pb n='042'/><anchor id='Pg042'/> +the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat; ... ye that +afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the +needy in the gate from their right.... For three transgressions +of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the +punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous +for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; they that pant +after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor</q> (Amos +4:1; 5:11-12; 2:6-7). Micah describes the strong and +crafty crowding the peasant from his ancestral holding and +the mother from her home by the devices always used for +such ends, exorbitant interest on loans, foreclosure in times +of distress, <q>seeing the judge</q> before the trial, and hardness +of heart toward broken life and happiness (Micah 2:1-2; +2:9; 3:1-2). We cannot belittle the moral insight of that +unique succession of men. Their spiritual force is still hard +at work in our Christian civilization, especially in the contribution +which the Jewish people are making to the labor +movement. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +Among the Greeks and Romans political and literary life +was so completely dominated by the aristocratic class that no +such succession of champions of the common man could well +arise. Yet some of the men of whom posterity thinks with +most veneration were upper-class champions of the common +people—Solon, for instance, Manlius, and the Gracchi. +</p> + +<p> +In recent centuries the vast forces of social evolution seem +to have set in the direction toward which Jesus faced. Since +the Reformation the institutions of religion have been more +or less democratized. The common people have secured some +participation in political power and have been able to use it +somewhat for their economic betterment. They share much +more fully in education than formerly. Before the outbreak +of the Great War it seemed safe to anticipate that the +working people would secure an increasing share of the social +wealth, the security, the opportunities for health, for artistic +enjoyment, and of all that makes life worth living. Today +<pb n='043'/><anchor id='Pg043'/> +the future is heavily clouded and uncertain; but our faith +still holds that even the great disaster will help ultimately to +weaken the despotic and exploiting forces, and make the +condition of the common people more than ever the chief +concern of science and statesmanship. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus was on the side of the common people long before +democracy was on the ascendant. He loved them, felt their +worth, trusted their latent capacities, and promised them the +Kingdom of God. The religion he founded, even when +impure and under the control of the upper classes, has been +the historical basis for the aspirations of the common people +and has readily united with democratic movements. His +personality and spirit has remained an impelling and directing +force in the minds of many individuals who have <q>gone to +the people</q> because they know Jesus is with them. In fact +we can look for more direct social effectiveness of Jesus in +the future, because the new historical interpretation of the +Bible helps us to see him more plainly amid the social life +of his own people. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>V</head> + +<p> +So we must add a third social principle to the first two. +The first was that life and personality are sacred; the second +that men belong together; the third is that the strong must +stand with the weak and defend their cause. In his description +of the Messianic Judgment, Jesus proposed to recognize +as his followers only those who had responded to the call +of human need and solidarity. He created the apostleship +and therewith the germ of the Church in order to serve the +people whose needs he saw and felt. +</p> + +<p> +How does this concern college men and women? By our +opportunities and equipment we rank with the strong. Disciplined +intellect is armor and sword. Many of us have inherited +social standing and some wealth; it may not be much, but it +raises us above the terrible push of immediate need. What +relation do we propose to have with the great mass of men +and women who were born without the chances which have +<pb n='044'/><anchor id='Pg044'/> +fallen to us without exertion? Do we propose to serve them +or to ride on them? Will we seek to gain some form of +power by means of which we can live in plenty, with only +slight and pleasurable exertion? In that case we can hardly +return to our fellow-men in work as much as we take from +them in enjoyment and luxury. We shall be part of that +dead weight which has always bent the back of the poor. +Is that an honorable ambition? Or do we propose to enter +the working team of humanity and to hold up our end? Our +end ought to be heavier than the average because we have +had longer and better training. <q>To whomsoever much is +given, of him shall much be required.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The moral problem for college communities is accentuated +when we remember that few students pay fully for what +they get. Whether our institutions are supported from taxation +or from endowments, a large part of their incomes are +derived from the annual labor of society; tuitions pay only +a fraction of the running expenses and of the interest on the +plant. Even if a student pays all charges, he is in part a +pensioner on the public. The working people in the last +resort support us; the same people who are often so eager +for education, and who can not get it. Some of them would +feel rich if they had the leavings of knowledge which we +throw to the floor and tread upon in our spirit of surfeit. +To take our education at their hands and use it to devise +ways by which we can continue to live on them, seems disquieting +even to a pagan conscience. It ought to be insufferable +to a sense of social responsibility trained under +Christian influences. +</p> + +<p> +Here is a test for college communities more searching than +the physical test of athletics, or the intellectual tests of +scholarship. Do we feel our social unity with the people who +work for their living, and do we propose to use our special +privileges and capacities for their social redemption? +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>When wilt Thou save the people?</q></l> +<l>O God of Mercy, when?</l> +<pb n='045'/><anchor id='Pg045'/> +<l>Not kings and lords, but nations,</l> +<l>Not thrones and crowns, but men.</l> +<l>Flowers of Thy heart, O God, are they.</l> +<l>Let them not pass like weeds away,</l> +<l>Let them not fade in sunless day!</l> +<l><q rend='post'>God save the +people!</q>—<hi rend='smallcaps'>Ebenezer Elliott.</hi></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Partisanship of Jesus</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Did Jesus really take sides with the poor? Prove it. +</p> + +<p> +2. Try to prove the other side. +</p> + +<p> +3. Which would be safer evidence: single sayings, or +the total impression of his life and teachings? +</p> + +<p> +4. What do you conclude regarding the attitude of Jesus? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>The Church and the People</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What motives led Jesus to organize and send out the +twelve? What was the historical significance of that +action? +</p> + +<p> +2. When and how did the Church lose its working class +character? +</p> + +<p> +3. Does the Church today share Jesus' feelings about +the condition of the people? Sum up evidence for and +against. +</p> + +<p> +4. What is the true function of the Church in society so +far as the poor are concerned? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Standing up for the People Today</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Is it a superficial or profound test to range a man +according to his sympathy with the common people? +</p> + +<p> +2. What does it involve to stand up for the people +today? How does it differ from charity and relief work? +</p> + +<p> +3. Name some men and women in our own times who +seem to have stood up for them most wisely and effectively. +</p> + +<p> +4. What are the vices of social reformers? +</p> + +<pb n='046'/><anchor id='Pg046'/> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>The Concern of College Men and Women</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How can college men and women make a just return +for their special opportunities? +</p> + +<p> +2. What movements in college and university life in +recent years are in line with this social principle of Jesus? +</p> + +<p> +3. What part have the university students of Russia, +Austria, Germany, and England taken in social movements? +Have American students ever taken a similar interest in +working class movements? If not, why not? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Is it an advantage or disadvantage to Christianity +that it began among the working class? What effects did +that have on its ethical points of view and its impulses? +</p> + +<p> +2. Why did the regeneration of ancient society have to +come through the lowly? Will it have to come the same +way today? +</p> + +<p> +3. Is it ethical to live without productive labor? Is it +morally tolerable to enjoy excessive leisure purchased by +the excessive toil of others? +</p> + +<p> +4. Is there any clear conviction on this question in the +Christian Church today? +</p> + +<p> +5. Is the fact that a person has sprung from the working-class +a guarantee that he will have the working-class +sympathies? +</p> + +<p> +6. Who seem to have more natural democratic feeling, +the men or the women of the upper classes? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='049'/><anchor id='Pg049'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part II. The Social Ideal Of Jesus</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IV. The Kingdom Of God: Its Values</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>The Right Social Order is the Highest Good for All</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The first three chapters dealt with simple human principles +which are common and instinctive with all real men. Jesus +simply expanded the range of their application, clarified our +comprehension of them, placed them in the very center of +religious duty, and so lifted them to the high level of great +social and religious principles. +</p> + +<p> +In the next three chapters we shall take up a conception +which is not universally human, but which Jesus derived from +the historic life of the Hebrew people—the idea of the +<q>Kingdom of God.</q> A better translation would be <q>the +Reign of God.</q> This conception embodied the social ideal +and purpose of the best minds of one of the few creative +nations of history. +</p> + +<p> +How did Jesus interpret this inherited social ideal? What +did the Kingdom of God seem to him to offer men? What did +it demand of them? What immediate ethical duty did this +social ideal involve? Our inquiry will move along these lines +in the next three chapters. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Main Chance</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure +hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; +and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, +and buyeth that field. +</p> + +<p> +Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man +that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: and having +<pb n='050'/><anchor id='Pg050'/> +found one pearl of great price, he went and sold +all that he had, and bought it.—Matt. 13:44-46. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +When war was common, property insecure, and safe deposit +vaults were scarce, it was common for men to bury +treasure in time of trouble and to forget it when they were +dead. Whoever accidentally found it <q>struck pay dirt</q> and +hastened to locate his claim. An extraordinary jewel, too, +was a bonanza. The infant capitalists of that day were wise +enough to liquidate their other holdings and invest everything +in the main chance. Jesus calls for the application of +the same method on the higher level. The Kingdom of God +is the highest good of all; why not stake all on the chance +of that? These parables were spoken out of his own experience. +He was gladly surrendering home, comfort, public +approval, and life itself to realize the Reign of God in +humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Imagine that Jesus had surrendered his religious idealism, +had gained wealth and official standing, and died of old age. +Would he have gained? What would the world have lost? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Master Fact</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, +Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.—Matt. +4:17. +</quote> + +<p> +The Kingdom of God is a master fact. It takes control. +When the Kingdom becomes a reality to us, we can not live +on in the old way. We must repent, begin over, overhaul +the values of life and put them down at their true price, +and so readjust our fundamental directions. The conduct of +the individual must rise in response to higher conceptions of +the meaning and possibilities of the life of humanity. Tolstoi +has described his conversion in the simplest terms in the +introduction to <q>My Religion:</q> +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<q>Five years ago faith came to me; I believed in +<pb n='051'/><anchor id='Pg051'/> +the doctrine of Jesus, and my whole life underwent a +sudden transformation. What I had once wished for +I wished for no longer, and I began to desire what +I had never desired before. What had once appeared +to me right now became wrong, and the wrong of +the past I beheld as right. My condition was like +that of a man who goes forth upon some errand, and +having traversed a portion of the road, decides +that the matter is of no importance, and turns back. +What was at first on his right hand is now on his +left, and what was at his left hand is now on his +right; instead of going away from his abode, he +desires to get back to it as soon as possible. My life +and my desires were completely changed; good and +evil interchanged meanings. Why so? Because I +understood the doctrine of Jesus in a different way +from that in which I had understood it before.</q> ... <q>I +understood the words of Jesus, and life and +death ceased to be evil; instead of despair, I tasted joy +and happiness.</q> +</quote> + +<p> +Some seek religion to escape hell and attain heaven; some +to attain a perfect personality; some to bring in the Reign of +God. Give cases. Estimate the relative religious and social +significance of these different spiritual experiences. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: Baptism and the New Order</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l>Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet,</l> +<l>Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,</l> +<l>Who shall prepare thy way;</l> +<l>The voice of one crying in the wilderness,</l> +<l>Make ye ready the way of the Lord,</l> +<l>Make his paths straight;</l> +</lg> + +<p> +John came, who baptized in the wilderness and +preached the baptism of repentance unto remission +of sins. And there went out unto him all the country +of Judæa, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were +baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their +sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and +had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat +<pb n='052'/><anchor id='Pg052'/> +locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, +There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, +the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop +down and unloose. I baptized you in water; but he +shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.—Mark 1:2-8. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The men who were baptized by John were not looking +forward to death and to salvation after death, but to the +coming of the Kingdom of God and of his Messiah. They +repented and accepted the badge of baptism in order to have +a share in the blessings of the Kingdom and to escape the +imminent judgment of the Messiah. Baptism was then +the mark of a national and social movement toward a new +era, and was a personal dedication to a righteous social +order. This original idea of baptism was practically lost +to the Christian consciousness in later times. Every man +who today realizes the Kingdom of God as the supreme good, +can reaffirm his own baptism as a dedication to the social +ideal and to the leadership of Jesus who initiated it. Such +a social interpretation of our personal discipleship will bring +us into closer spiritual agreement with the original aim of +Christianity. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Has our baptism ever had a social significance to us?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: The Way to Happiness</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for +your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; +nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not +the life more than the food, and the body than the +raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they +sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, +and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not +ye of much more value than they? And which of +you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the +measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning +raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, +how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: +yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his +<pb n='053'/><anchor id='Pg053'/> +glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God +doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day +is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he +not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be +not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? +or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we +be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles +seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye +have need of all these things. But seek ye first his +kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things +shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious +for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for +itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—Matt. +6:25-34. +</quote> + +<p> +This is a song of divine carelessness; not the recklessness +of a tramp who has lost his self-respect and his capacity for +long outlooks, but the carelessness of an aristocratic spirit, +conscious of his high human dignity. God has given us life; +will he not give what life needs? If the birds and the lilies +can make a living, can not we? It is pagan and low-bred to +wear out our souls with worry about minor needs. +</p> + +<p> +The key to this passage lies in the words <q>your Father,</q> +and <q>his Kingdom.</q> Man is a child of God, and that dignity +gives some calm and assurance amid the worries of life. +If we set our life toward the Kingdom as the supreme aim, +all the lesser interests will drop to their proper place. In +the measure in which the will of God is done and his +righteousness practiced among men, the satisfaction of the +main material wants will be easy. The Kingdom, the true +social order, is the highest good; all other good things are +contained in it. +</p> + +<p> +To worry or not to worry, that is the question. <emph>Have we +ever tried the adoption of a high aim as the way to happiness?</emph> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Sunny Religion</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: +and they come and say unto him, Why do +<pb n='054'/><anchor id='Pg054'/> +John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, +but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto +them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while +the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have +the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But +the days will come, when the bridegroom shalt be +taken away from them, and then will they fast in +that day. No man seweth a piece of undressed cloth +on an old garment: else that which should fill it up +taketh from it, the new from the old, and a worse +rent is made. And no man putteth new wine into +old wine-skins; else the wine will burst the skins, and +the wine perisheth, and the skins: but they put new +wine into fresh wine-skins.—Mark 2:18-22. +</quote> + +<p> +Fasting was an important part of piety with strict Jews. +It was an expression of religious sorrow and self-abasement. +Afflicting the body intensified this spiritual emotion. The +disciples of the Pharisees and of John were surprised and +shocked by the fact that Jesus and his group disregarded this +custom. The reply of Jesus shows the religious temper of +Jesus in a new light. He says his disciples were happy, +like guests at a wedding; why should they act as if they +were mournful? Fasting was alien to the spirit which ruled +in his company. It would be just as inappropriate as to +patch a piece of unshrunken stuff on an old garment, or to +put fermenting wine in old and brittle skin bottles. The +religion of Jesus, then, was distinguished from other earnest +religion by its happy and sunny character. See also the sharp +distinction he makes between the ascetic life of John and his +own enjoyment of social life (Matt. 11:16-19). Yet Jesus +was a homeless man, moving toward death. +</p> + +<p> +There seems to be a difference between the self-denial of +ascetic religion, and the surrender of self to the Kingdom of +God. What is it? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Poise of Expectancy</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto +ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth +<pb n='055'/><anchor id='Pg055'/> +to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were +foolish, and five were wise. For the foolish, when +they took their lamps, took no oil with them: but +the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. +Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered +and slept. But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, +the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. Then +all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. +And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your +oil; for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, +saying, Peradventure there will not be enough +for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and +buy for yourselves. And while they went away to +buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready +went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door +was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, +saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered +and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. +Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the +hour.—Matt. 25:1-13. +</quote> + +<p> +The Lord was to return soon and consummate the establishment +of his Kingdom. The first two generations of +Christians took this hope very seriously. Expectancy was +the true pose of Christians. Under the conditions of that +time this was their way of declaring that the Kingdom of +God is the highest good and that all our life should be concentrated +on it. If Jesus lived today he could find even more +effective exhortations to look sharp and not get left. But is +the constant expectation of a divine catastrophe from heaven +possible for modern minds? Must we translate that expectation +into the hope of moral and social development? By +doing so, can we still have a religious sense of a great and +divine future overhanging humanity which will give to our +life the same value and solemnity which the first generation +felt? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Explain what a strong social hope and faith would contribute +to a person's life in the course of years.</hi> +</p> + +<p> +How do faith and practical social effort react on each other? +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='056'/><anchor id='Pg056'/> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Coming Joys</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l>Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.</l> +<l>Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: +for they shall be filled.</l> +<l>Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.</l> +<l>Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.</l> +<l>Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.</l> +<l>Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: +for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.—Matt. 5:5-10.</l> +</lg></quote> + +<p> +In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus formally outlined his +conceptions of ethical and religious life as distinguished from +those then current. It was the platform of the Kingdom of +God. We might expect it to begin with denunciation. Instead +it opens with a spontaneous burst of joy. A great good was +coming. It would bring a store of blessings to all who had +the inward qualifications to receive them. All who felt the +divine dissatisfaction with themselves and the craving for +social justice and righteousness, would get their satisfaction +(v. 3, 4, 6). The higher social virtues, gentleness, purity of +heart, peaceableness, would get recognition and gain ascendancy +(v. 5, 7, 8, 9). But the climax of praise and promise +is for those who propagated righteousness where it was not +wanted, and suffered for it (v. 10-12). <q>These words belong +to the greatest ever uttered</q> (Hegel). They are pure religion, +and they were called forth by religious faith in a social +ideal. +</p> + +<p> +Have we known men and women who had some of these +qualities, who lived within the Kingdom of God, and who +enjoyed its blessings? If they have ennobled our life, let +us think of them a moment with a silent benediction. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='057'/><anchor id='Pg057'/> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +We see from the passages we have studied that the mind +of Jesus was centered on a great hope which was just ahead. +It was so beautiful that even in anticipation it was filling +his soul with joy and he knew it would bless all who shared +in it. It seemed to him so valuable and engrossing that a +man ought to stake his whole life on attaining it, and +subordinate all other aims to this dominant desire. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +He spoke of this great good as <q>the Kingdom of God.</q> +Even a superficial reading of the first three Gospels shows +that this was the pivot of his teaching. Yet he nowhere +defines the phrase. He took an understanding of it for +granted with his hearers, and simply announced that it was +now close at hand, and they must act accordingly. What did +the words mean to them? The idea covered by the phrase +was an historic product of the Jewish people, and we shall +have to understand it as such. +</p> + +<p> +The Hebrew prophets had concentrated their incomparable +religious energy on the simple demand for righteousness, +especially in social and national life. The actual life of the +nation, especially of its ruling classes, of course never squared +with the religious ideal. The injustice and oppression around +them seemed intolerable to the prophets, just because the +ethical imperative within them was so strong. So their unsatisfied +desire for righteousness took the form of an ardent +expectation of a coming day when things would be as they +ought to be. God would make bare his holy arm to punish +the wicked, to sift the good, to establish his law, and to +vindicate the rights of the oppressed. This great <q>day of +Jehovah</q> would inaugurate a new age, the Kingdom of God, +the Reign of God. The phrase, then, embodies the social +ideal of the finest religious minds of a unique people. The +essential thing in it is the projection into the future of the +demand for a just social order. The prophets looked to a +<pb n='058'/><anchor id='Pg058'/> +direct miraculous act of God to realize their vision, but they +were in close touch with the facts of political life and always +demanded social action on the human side. +</p> + +<p> +Plato's Republic and More's Utopia are intellectual productions +which have appealed to single idealistic minds. The +Hebrew prophets succeeded in socializing their ideal. By the +force of religion they wrought the conception of the Kingdom +of God into the common mind of a nation as a traditional +conviction which was assimilated by every new generation. +</p> + +<p> +But when a great idea is appropriated by the masses, it is +sure to become cruder to suit their intellect and their need; +and when a national ideal is handed on for centuries, it will +change with the changing fortunes of the people that holds +it. When the Hebrew nation came under the foreign rule +of the Assyrians, Persians, and finally the Romans, its freedom +and chance for political action were lost, and its political +ideals, too, deteriorated. The Kingdom hope became theological, +artificial, a scheme of epochs of predetermined length +and of marvelous stage settings. Yet, even in this form, it +was a splendid hope of emancipation, of national greatness, +and of future justice and fraternity, and it helped to keep the +nation's soul alive amid crushing sorrows. +</p> + +<p> +The people at the time of Jesus in the main held this +apocalyptic conception of the Kingdom. It was to come as +a divine catastrophe, beginning with an act of judgment and +resulting in a glorious Jewish imperialism. Jesus shared the +substance of the expectation, but as a true spiritual leader he +reconstructed, clarified, and elevated the hope of the masses. +He would have nothing to do with any plans involving blood-shed +and force revolution. The Hebrew Jehovah became +"our Father in heaven" and this democratized the Reign of +Jehovah. The pious Jew expected God to enforce the ceremonial +laws; Jesus had little to say about religious ceremonial, +and a great deal about righteousness and love. Under +his hands the Jewish imperialistic dream changed into a call +for universal human fraternity. He repeatedly and emphatically +explained the coming of the Kingdom in terms taken +<pb n='059'/><anchor id='Pg059'/> +from biological growth, and his thoughts seem to have verged +away from the popular catastrophic ideas toward ideas of +organic development. These changes—if we have correctly +interpreted them—represent Jesus' own contribution to the +history of the Kingdom ideal, and they are all in the same +direction in which the modern mind has moved. (For a +fuller statement of these modifications see Rauschenbusch, +<q>Christianizing the Social Order,</q> p. 48-68.) +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +So much by way of historical information. Now let us +emphasize again that this social ideal seemed to Jesus so fair +and fine that he gave his whole soul to it. Naturally he +would. Since he loved men and believed in their solidarity, +the conception of a God-filled humanity living in a righteous +social order, which would give free play to love and would +bind all in close ties, would be the only satisfying outlook for +him. He promised that all who hungered and thirsted after +righteousness would be satisfied in the Kingdom, and he was +himself the chief of these. The Kingdom of God was his +fatherland, in which his spirit lived with God; and with that +vision of perfect humanity before him, he kept its calm and +tranquillity amid the enmity of men as he sought to win men +to its better ways. +</p> + +<p> +The Kingdom of God is the highest good. The idea of God +is the highest and most comprehensive conception in philosophy; +the idea of the Kingdom of God is the highest and +broadest idea in sociology and ethics. It is so high and broad +that many find it hard even to grasp the idea. Just as a +barbaric tribe of hunters or fishermen would find it impossible +to comprehend the social coherence and the patriotism of a +nation of a hundred millions; just as the narrow nationalist +of today falls down intellectually and morally when he confronts +world-forces and relations: so we who are trained to +think in terms of family and State, give out when we are to +treat the Kingdom of God as a reality. It takes faith of the +<pb n='060'/><anchor id='Pg060'/> +intellect to comprehend a stage of evolution before it is +reached. It takes faith of character to launch yourself toward +a great moral goal before its tangible and profitable elements +are within reach. It takes more moral daring today than for +a century past to believe in the reemergence and final victory +of God's social order. But this is the time for all true +believers to square their shoulders and say with Galileo, <q>And +yet it moves.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Any man whose soul is kindled by the conception of the +Kingdom of God is a real man. Whoever loves the idea, +must turn it into reality as far as life lets him. Whoever +tries it, will suffer. But even if he suffers, he will be more +blessed and more truly a man than he would be if he did not +try. In seeking the Kingdom he realizes himself. <q>He that +loseth his life for my sake, shall find it.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +Jesus bade us <q>seek first the Kingdom of God and his +righteousness,</q> and he obeyed his own call. The main object +of his life was the ideal social order and the perfect ethic. +Now if Jesus is our ideal of human goodness, is any goodness +good unless it works in the same direction? If a man is of +flawless private life, but is indifferent to any social ideal, or +even hostile to all attempts at better justice and greater +fraternity, is he really good? Even a strong desire for +personal perfection, if there is no desire for a regeneration +of society in it, must be rated as sub-Christian because it is +lacking in the sense of solidarity and may be lacking in love. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Power of a Great Idea</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Did the idea of the Kingdom of God ever play a +part in your religious education? +</p> + +<p> +2. Did you feel any response to it in studying this lesson? +Does it have reality? +</p> + +<pb n='061'/><anchor id='Pg061'/> + +<p> +3. Suppose an entire study group should fail to see anything +in it, would that prove it valueless? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Historical Changes in the Kingdom Ideal</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How did the Kingdom ideal take shape in the minds +of the Hebrew prophets? +</p> + +<p> +2. Explain the nature of the apocalyptic hope and its +divergence from the prophetic ideal. +</p> + +<p> +3. What passages seem to throw the most light on Jesus' +conception of it, and his feeling about it? What do you +think about the Beatitudes from this point of view? +</p> + +<p> +4. At what points did Jesus clarify and elevate the hereditary +hope of his nation? Summarize the conception of +the Kingdom as it lay in the mind of Jesus. +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Present Possibilities of the Kingdom Idea</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What value would the preaching of the Kingdom of +God have in evangelistic work today? +</p> + +<p> +2. How would it affect religious education and the moral +outlook of the young? +</p> + +<p> +3. How would the possession of the Kingdom faith equip +the Church for leadership in an age of social movements +and unrest? +</p> + +<p> +4. How does the Kingdom hope add to the joyousness +of the Christian life? +</p> + +<p> +5. How does Jesus' conception of the Kingdom of God +connect with the great social and national hopes of today? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How does a man realize himself in seeking the Kingdom? +How does a man realize the Kingdom in developing +himself? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does the idea seem to offer a religious vehicle for +conceptions you have derived from sociological work? +</p> + +<p> +3. Does a social concept like the <q>Kingdom of God</q> gain +<pb n='062'/><anchor id='Pg062'/> +anything for its practical efficiency today from being +ancient, and from being religious? +</p> + +<p> +4. Will such a concept ever be effective with the masses +unless it is essentially religious? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='063'/><anchor id='Pg063'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter V. The Kingdom Of God: Its Tasks</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>The Right Social Order is the Supreme Task for Each</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The perfect social order is the highest good. In so far +as it is a gift of God, offered to the individual like the fertile +earth and the oxygen of the air, we must appropriate it +and enjoy every approximation to the perfect society. +But what is the responsibility of the individual toward the +achievement of the ideal social order? What task does it lay +on him? How did Jesus see this problem? It is finely stated +in the words with which Émile de Laveleye closes his book +<q>Sur la propriété</q>: <q>There is a social order which is the best. +Necessarily it is not always the present order. Else why +should we seek to change the latter? But it is that order +which ought to exist to realize the greatest good for humanity. +God knows it and wills it. It is for man to discover +and establish it.</q> +</p> + +<p> +What, then, is the responsibility of the individual with +regard to the achievement of this highest good? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Kingdom of Hard Work</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +For it is as when a man, going into another +country, called his own servants, and delivered unto +them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, +to another two, to another one; to each according +to his several ability; and he went on his journey. +Straightway he that received the five talents went +and traded with them, and made other five talents. +<pb n='064'/><anchor id='Pg064'/> +In like manner he also that received the two gained +other two. But he that received the one went away +and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. +Now after a long time the lord of those servants +cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And +he that received the five talents came and brought +other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto +me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents. +His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful +servant: thou hast been faithful over a few +things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou +into the joy of thy lord. And he also that received +the two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst +unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two +talents. His lord said unto him, Well done, good +and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a +few things, I will set thee over many things; enter +thou into the joy of thy lord. And he also that had +received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew +thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou +didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not +scatter; and I was afraid, and went away and hid +thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. +But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou +wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I +reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not +scatter; thou oughtest therefore to have put my +money to the bankers, and at my coming I should +have received back mine own with interest. Take +ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it +unto him that hath the ten talents. For unto every +one that hath shall be given, and he shall have +abundance: but from him that hath not, even that +which he hath shall be taken away. And cast ye out +the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: +there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.—Matt. +25:14-30. +</quote> + +<p> +Evidently the sympathy of Jesus was with the two men +who hustled, and not with the fellow who took it out in +growling and blaming the boss. Jesus would have agreed +<pb n='065'/><anchor id='Pg065'/> +to the proposition that to live an unproductive life is one +of the cardinal sins. Evolution and Christianity agree +on that. This exhortation to do good work was given +when Jesus was looking forward to his death and his absence. +He would leave the Kingdom of God as an unfinished +task. He wanted his disciples to carry forward +their Master's business under their own initiative when he +was not there to direct them. The new conditions would +throw even heavier responsibilities on them. +</p> + +<p> +Can you translate this parable into terms of college life +and sketch three college students as companion pieces to +the three business men? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Call to Action</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw +Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting +a net in the sea; for they were fishers. And Jesus +said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make +you to become fishers of men. And straightway +they left the nets, and followed him. And going +on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, +and John his brother, who also were in the boat +mending the nets. And straightway he called them: +and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with +the hired servants, and went after him.—Mark 1:16-20. +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<p> +And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a +man, called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: +and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose +and followed him.—Matt. 9:9. +</p> + +<milestone unit='tb' rend='rule: 50%'/> + +<p> +And as they went on the way, a certain man said +unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou +goest. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have +holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but +the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. +And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, +Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. +<pb n='066'/><anchor id='Pg066'/> +But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their +own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom +of God. And another also said, I will follow +thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to +them that are at my house. But Jesus said unto +him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and +looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.—Luke +9:57-62. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The way in which Jesus called his disciples shows that he +felt he had a big business in hand. It was a call to action, +to conflict and loss, and there was snap in it. Leaving +their boats and nets doubtless seemed a big proposition to +these four fishermen; but they did it. Matthew had to give +up a government job with pickings. These five rose to their +chance with courageous decision, and their names are still +borne by millions of boys today. The names of the other +three are lost to fame. One of them gushed and Jesus +cooled off his emotions. The second and third wanted to +procrastinate and hid behind social obligations. Note that +epigram about the ploughman. It is a splendid expression of +intelligent and concentrated energy. You can't drive a +straight furrow while you <q>rubber.</q> You've got to <q>tend +to your job.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Four of the first five are said to have died a violent death. +Would they have been wiser if they had looked out for +Number One? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The Futility of Talk</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, +shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that +doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. +Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did +we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name +cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty +works? And then will I profess unto them, I never +knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. +</p> + +<p> +Every one therefore that heareth these words of +<pb n='067'/><anchor id='Pg067'/> +mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise +man, who built his house upon the rock: and the +rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds +blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for +it was founded upon the rock. And every one that +heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, +shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his +house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and +the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon +that house; and it fell: and great was the fall +thereof.—Matt. 7:21-27. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus evidently felt deeply the emptiness and futility of +much of the religious talk. He was interested only in those +emotions and professions which could get themselves translated +into character and action. Words have always been +the bane of religion as well as its vehicle. Religious emotion +has enormous motive force, but it is the easiest thing in the +world for it to sizzle away in high professions and wordy +prayers. In that case it is a substitute and counterfeit, and +a damage to the Reign of God among men. +</p> + +<p> +How about our own religious talk? +</p> + +<p> +Would it be better, then, to give up preaching and public +prayer? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What has the utterance of religion done for us?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: This Camel Passed Through</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he entered and was passing through Jericho. +And behold, a man called by name Zacchæus; and +he was a chief publican, and he was rich. And he +sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for +the crowd, because he was little of stature. And he +ran on before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree +to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when +Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said +unto him, Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; +for to-day I must abide at thy house. And he made +haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. +And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, +<pb n='068'/><anchor id='Pg068'/> +He is gone in to lodge with a man that is a sinner. +And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, +Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; +and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, +I restore fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, To-day +is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also +is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to +seek and to save that which was lost.—Luke 19:1-10. +</quote> + +<p> +Zacchæus was engaged in the profitable but shady business +of farming the Roman taxing system in one of the +richest districts of Palestine. He was a politician and business +man combined, and the kind of man that is <q>bound to +land.</q> Being only five feet one he had no chance amid +a crowd in a narrow street watching a procession. So he +climbed a tree. Imagine a corporation president climbing +a telegraph post to see Jesus! This spirit of determination +appealed to Jesus and he promptly made friends with him, +though he well knew he would lose some more of his reputation +by identifying himself with a publican. Zacchæus +proved his fitness for the Kingdom of God by parting with +his accumulated graft at a single sweep. Fifty per cent +of his property given away outright; the balance used to +make restitution at the rate of four hundred per cent—how +much was left? Here a camel passed through the needle's +eye, and Jesus stood and cheered. +</p> + +<p> +At what points is the moral energy of college men and +women most severely tested? Where do they meet their +great spiritual decisions? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Will in Prayer</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he spake a parable unto them to the end that +they ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, +There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, +and regarded not man: and there was a widow in +that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge +me of mine adversary. And he would not for a +while: but afterward he said within himself, Though +<pb n='069'/><anchor id='Pg069'/> +I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this +widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she +wear me out by her continual coming. And the +Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. +And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him +day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over +them?—Luke 18:1-7. +</quote> + +<p> +In most of his sayings on prayer Jesus either objected to +the wordiness of prayers (Matt. 6:5-13), or he demanded +more will and persistence. In the story of the widow and +the judge the odds were against the widow. Being only a +widow she had no pull and no vote. The judge was frankly +a tough case, untouched by religion and conscience, and +thick-skinned as to public opinion. Yet the widow won out +by sheer doggedness. Surely the mind that sketched the +reiterating widow and the collapsing politician had an admiring +eye for energy of action. Jesus wanted that spirit +and determination put into prayer. But note that he was +thinking, not of personal edification, nor of private benefits +to be obtained, but of the <q>avenging of God's elect</q>; that +is, of straightening out the affairs of the world so that the +wrongs of the righteous would be redressed. A keen social +consciousness about the condition of God's people, coupled +with <q>hunger and thirst for justice,</q> can turn prayer into +action. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Have we any experience of prayer concentrated on great +public evils?</hi> How does that differ from prayers centering +about our own interests? (See Fosdick, <q>The Meaning of +Prayer,</q> Chapter X.) +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: Twelve against the Field</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of +heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, +cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, +freely give. Get you no gold; nor silver, +nor brass in your purses: no wallet for your journey, +<pb n='070'/><anchor id='Pg070'/> +neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the +laborer is worthy of his food. And into whatsoever +city or village ye shall enter, search out who in it +is worthy; and there abide till ye go forth.... +And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your +words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city, +shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto +you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of +Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than +for that city.... And be not afraid of them that +kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.—Matt. +10:7-11, 14-15, 28a. +</quote> + +<p> +This whole chapter expresses with immense vitality the +heroic spirit called forth by the Kingdom propaganda. Jesus +sent these twelve men through the villages of Galilee to +duplicate and multiply what he was doing. The natural +leaders of society, the able, the educated, the powerful, were +concerned in setting up their own kingdom and enslaving +their fellows to serve them. So Jesus took what material he +had, peasants and fishermen, and created a new leadership. +He flung them against existing society, knowing well that +they would have to face opposition. In fact, they were +destined, one by one, to go to death for their cause. He +tells them not to mind a little thing like death, but to do +their work and rally the people around the idea of the +Reign of God. +</p> + +<p> +Can the men and women who are today trying to rebuild +human society on a basis of social justice and fraternity +claim any right of succession in the sending of the Twelve? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: Doing All, and Then Some</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +But who is there of you, having a servant plowing +or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he +is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit +down to meat; and will not rather say unto him, +Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, +<pb n='071'/><anchor id='Pg071'/> +and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and +afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank +the servant because he did the things that were commanded? +Even so ye also, when ye shall have done +all the things that are commanded you, say, We are +unprofitable servants; we have done that which it +was our duty to do.—Luke 17:7-10. +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus often boldly took his illustrations from the facts +of life even when they were repellent to him. Here he +holds up the joyless life of a Syrian agricultural laborer. +After plodding all day in the field, this man comes home, +tired and hungry. Is he promptly cared for? No, he must +first cook and serve his master's meal. Then he can eat +what's left. Does he get any thanks for working overtime? +Not a thank. Now, says Jesus, what this man does under +the hard coercion of his lot, you and I must do of our +own free will. After we have done a man's work, let us +go and do some more for the sake of the cause, and disclaim +praise. That spirit of utter service is, in fact, the +spirit in which men work when the Kingdom vision gets +hold of them. They become greedy for work and can not +satisfy themselves. The strong and inspired men always feel +at the end that they have not done half they ought to have +done. The last words of Martin Luther, scribbled on a +scrap of paper, were: <q>We are beggars. That's true.</q> +</p> + +<p> +What would Jesus say to a college student who is chronically +tired and who feels that he is laying his professors and +his father under heavy obligation by working at all? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +Is it not a strange fate that down to the most recent +times art has pictured Jesus all meek and gentle, and theology +has emphasized his passive suffering? Yet he was high-power +energy. His epigrams and hyperboles crack like a +whip-lash. He was up before dawn. He always rose to the +<pb n='072'/><anchor id='Pg072'/> +sight of human need. To do the will of his Father was meat +and drink to him. His life was a combat. He faced opposition +without flinching and <q>stedfastly set his face to go +up to Jerusalem</q> when he knew it meant death. Even when +he stood silent before the court and when he hung nailed to +the gallows, he was a spiritual force in action and men +were disturbed and afraid before him. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +He communicated energy to others. He hated mere talk +and discouraged fruitless theorizing. He praised energetic +action when he found it, as in the case of Zacchæus, and of +the men who climbed the roof with a paralytic man and +dug up the roofing to let him down to Jesus. He called +that sort of thing <q>faith.</q> Faith, in Jesus' use of the word, +did not mean shutting your eyes and folding your hands. +He said it was an explosive that could remove mountains. +He gave three of his disciples nicknames, and they were +all given to express forcefulness; Simon he called Peter, +the Rock; and James and John he called Boanerges, the +sons of thunder. He sent his disciples open-eyed to face +trouble; he told them the wolves were waiting for them, but +to rejoice and be exceeding glad for the chance of lining up +against them. Let us clear our minds forever of the idea +that Jesus was a mild and innocuous person who parted his +hair and beard in the middle, and turned his disciples into +mollycoddles. Away with it! +</p> + +<p> +Though the spirit of Jesus has never had more than half +a chance in historic Christianity, yet it is demonstrable that +the total efficiency of humanity, the bulk of work done, and +the capacity for heroic tension of energies have been greatly +increased by it. Taking it on the smallest scale—every real +conversion means a break with debasing habits, with alcoholism, +with the waste of sexual energies; it means more +self-control, more responsiveness to duty, more capacity to +take a long outlook, and consequently better work. We can +<pb n='073'/><anchor id='Pg073'/> +observe this in ourselves and others. We still need the +coercion of stern necessity and of public opinion to keep us +straight, but an inward compulsion is added. A Christian +carries his policeman around inside of him. Where Christianity +gets a really firm hold on men or women, especially if +there is a basis of natural ability, it pushes them on to lead +in moral movements and they break away for human +progress. +</p> + +<p> +When Christianity multiplies such cases, and makes soberness, +duty, and hard work the habit of entire communities, +we have a social fact of first-class importance; for the human +animal is naturally lazy, sluggish, and inclined to live for +today. The capacity to subordinate immediate gratification +for a future good is scarce; the capacity to subordinate +selfish advantage to a great common and moral good is +scarcer still. +</p> + +<p> +We can see this force working on a larger scale on the +foreign mission field where Christianity is a new social energy. +There it is easier to disentangle it from other social forces. +What are the comparative results when it gets a lodgment in +a single social class or tribal group? This question will +bear watching during the next fifty years. The full social +results of Christianity will not show till the third generation. +</p> + +<p> +We get another demonstration of increased working efficiency +in humanity wherever Christianity has passed through +an internal purification which has set free more of its spiritual +energies. What, for instance, has been the historic connection +between the development of capitalistic industry in +Holland, England, and France, and the sober and frugal +piety and patient laboriousness created in the Calvinists of +Holland, the Puritans of England, and the Huguenots of +France? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +The contributions made by Christianity to the working +efficiency and the constructive social abilities of humanity in +the past have been mainly indirect. The main aim set before +<pb n='074'/><anchor id='Pg074'/> +Christians was to save their souls from eternal woe, to have +communion with God now and hereafter, and to live God-fearing +lives. It was individualistic religion, concentrated +on the life to come. Its social effectiveness was largely a +by-product. What, now, would have been the result if +Christianity had placed an equally strong emphasis on the +Kingdom of God, the ideal social order? Other things being +equal, a Christian father and mother are better parents than +others because they have more sense of duty, more love, +and a higher valuation of spiritual things. But if, in addition, +they have a religious desire for a higher social order and +realize that noble children are a splendid contribution to it, +how will that affect their parenthood? A teacher, artist, or +scientist who is also a religious man, will do conscientious +work if he works under the motives of individualistic religion. +But if he has a vision of the Kingdom of God on earth and +sees the contributions he can make to it, will not that raise +the character of his output? A business man of strong +Christian character will work hard, keep his word in business, +and deal fairly with employes and customers. But +would not a new direction be given to his moral energies if +his religion taught him that he must help to shape the workings +of industry and trade so that hereafter there will be no +fundamental clash between business and the morals of +Christianity? +</p> + +<p> +What the world of Christian men and women needs is to +have a great social objective set before them and laid on +their conscience with the authority of religion. Then religion +would get behind social evolution in earnest. +</p> + +<p> +This would be no new and foreign element imported into +our religion. It would be a modern revival of the doctrine of +Jesus himself, which has been too long submerged and +neglected. One chief reason why it was side-tracked is that +no despotic State and no society dominated by a predatory +class ever wanted religion applied to a reconstruction of the +social order. The idea of the Kingdom of God reawoke +with the rise of modern democracy. Now is the time for it. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='075'/><anchor id='Pg075'/> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +The idea of the Kingdom of God is not identified with any +special social theory. It means justice, freedom, fraternity, +labor, joy. Let each social system and movement show us +what it can contribute and we will weigh its claims. We +want the old ideal defined in modern terms, in the terms +of modern democracy, of the power machine, of international +peace, and of evolutionary science. But we want to embrace +it with the old religious faith and ardor, so that we can +pray over it. +</p> + +<p> +This great task of establishing a righteous social life on +earth embraces all minor tasks in so far as they are good. +The mother who tries to make a good home, the farmer +who feeds the people, the teacher who trains them, the +scientist who gets the facts for all, the merchant, the workingman, +the artist, the leader in play—they are all contributing +to the Kingdom, provided they view their work so, and +are trying to put an evolutionary <emph>plus</emph> into it which will lift +the total nearer to the divine will. The Kingdom is the +supreme task, and all small tasks are part of it. That gives +every man a place in it who works—where is the idler's place +in it?—and it hallows all good work with religious glory. +</p> + +<p> +It may seem as if this social aim of religion may depreciate +the aim of developing our own personality and of saving our +souls. It ought not. Sometimes it does for a time. But we +are each so enormously important to ourselves that we are +not likely to forget ourselves, and the practical struggle with +temptation and sorrow will teach us to seek strength for our +personal needs from Christ. In time we shall learn to say +with Jesus, <q>For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also +may be sanctified.</q> In time surrender to the Kingdom ideal, +toil for it, self-denial for it, cooperation with others for it, +will have the strongest kind of reactions on ourselves and +our moral fiber. Gymnasium work is all right, but real work +in the open is better. We are most durably saved by putting +in hard work for the Kingdom of God. +</p> + +<pb n='076'/><anchor id='Pg076'/> + +<p> +In every great task a religious man is consciously thrown +back on the aid of God—most of all in the greatest task of +all. Eternal powers are cooperating with our puny efforts. +That alone guarantees that our work is not wasted. We +plant and water, but unless God's sun shines upon it, our work +is nothing. He is a fool that is not reverent and humble. +We sorely need this faith in the collaboration and patience of +God today when so much of the best spiritual achievement +of mankind is swept away, and we seem far away from a +kingdom of love. <q>As the heavens are higher than the +earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my +thoughts than your thoughts.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +Here, then, we have another social principle of Jesus. A +collective moral ideal is a necessity for the individual and +the race. Every man must have a conscious determination to +help in his own place to work out a righteous social order for +and with God. The race must increasingly turn its own +evolution into a conscious process. It owes that duty to itself +and to God who seeks an habitation in it. It must seek to +realize its divine destiny. <q>Thy kingdom come! Thy will +be done on earth as it is done in heaven!</q> This is the +conscious evolutionary program of Jesus. It combines religion, +social science, and ethical action in a perfect synthesis. +</p> + +<p> +What has this to say to students? Everything, it seems. +</p> + +<p> +First, whatever is to be our particular job, we must relate +it to the supreme common task at which God and all good +men are working. Unless we see and assert that relation, +we are mere day-laborers or slaves, with neither intelligence +nor enthusiasm. +</p> + +<p> +Second, anyone who, instead of loyally relating his life-work +to God's work, pursues his own ambition at the expense +of the Kingdom and damages it to make profit for himself, +is like a man who takes pay to damage his country. He +<pb n='077'/><anchor id='Pg077'/> +makes the work harder for all who are more faithful than +he, and their blood will be upon him. +</p> + +<p> +Third, <q><foreign rend='italic'>noblesse oblige</foreign>.</q> +If we belong to the republic of +learning and education, something extra is justly due from +us. Here, for instance, is the evangelization of the world in +this generation. An organization has been created to accomplish +it. Heroic pioneers have died, preparing the way for +larger forces. Is our life fit and good enough to put into +that? Here is the Christianization of the social order in the +next two generations. What have all our social studies been +for in the design of God? To fit ourselves for exploiting our +fellows or to show them the way to the Kingdom of God? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>Our Untapped Reserves</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How far is a person who produces nothing, of use +to the community? Is increase of productive efficiency the +test of progress? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does religion help to call out reserves of energy in +human nature? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>The Energy of Jesus</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How far did Jesus give evidence of audacity and high +power energy? Has the Christian Church realized this? +How about the portrayals of him in art? +</p> + +<p> +2. Furnish evidence that Jesus demanded sincere work. +How was this connected with the Kingdom of God in his +mind? +</p> + +<p> +3. Give proof that he demanded heroism of his followers +as a commonplace thing. +</p> + +<p> +4. How did this temper affect his view of prayer? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Christianity and Work</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Has Christianity ever promoted idleness? If so, +what type of Christianity was it? +</p> + +<pb n='078'/><anchor id='Pg078'/> + +<p> +2. Taken as a whole has Christianity increased the +amount of work done, or lessened it? Give historical proof. +</p> + +<p> +3. Would it raise the economic efficiency of an African +tribe to become Christians? Would it raise the efficiency +of the Mexican people if they adopted a purer type of +Christianity? How? +</p> + +<p> +4. Where is the idler's place in the Kingdom of God? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>The Reenforcement of Christianity by the Kingdom +Ideal</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Is a call to be converted a call to enjoy spiritual peace +or to exert spiritual energy? +</p> + +<p> +2. How has the idea arisen that Christianity is a "dope" +to make people contented amid wrong conditions? +</p> + +<p> +3. How would the Kingdom faith give religious quality +to the plain man's job? +</p> + +<p> +4. Other things being equal, has a religious man more +or less fighting energy against wrong than a non-religious +man? +</p> + +<p> +5. If a man passes from an individualistic to a social +conception of religion, what change will it make in moral +action? +</p> + +<p> +6. To what extent is the enterprise of the Kingdom of +God a dynamic expression of accepted sociological principles? +</p> + +<p> +7. What is the special obligation of college men and +women to the Kingdom of God? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Is the Kingdom of God to be brought about by an +act of God in the future or by the work of men in the +present? Does the one exclude the other? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does our social order call out the full energy and +intelligence of the working people? +</p> + +<p> +3. Can an overworked and underpaid workman feel that +<emph>he is working</emph> for the Kingdom of God? +</p> + +<pb n='079'/><anchor id='Pg079'/> + +<p> +4. Does the Kingdom of God necessarily involve elements +of social readjustment and change? +</p> + +<p> +5. Would a predatory governing class in the past have +allowed the preaching of a social conception of the Kingdom +of God? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='080'/><anchor id='Pg080'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VI. A New Age And New Standards</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>As the Kingdom Comes Ethical Standards Must +Advance</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Every approximation to the Reign of God in humanity +demands an advance in the social relations of men, that is, +an advance in ethics. Every really epochal advance must +have it or slip back. There must be, first, better obedience +to the moral principles already recognized and accepted by +society; second, an expansion of the sway of ethical duty +to new fields and wider groups of humanity; and third, a +recognition of new duties and the assimilation of new and +higher ethical conceptions. +</p> + +<p> +To what extent did Jesus appreciate these supreme needs? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: Living up to the Old Standards</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +In the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the +word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias +in the wilderness. And he came into all the region +round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of +repentance unto remission of sins; as it is written +in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The voice of one crying in the wilderness,</l> +<l>Make ye ready the way of the Lord,</l> +<l>Make his paths straight.</l> +<l>Every valley shall be filled,</l> +<l>And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;</l> +<l>And the crooked shall become straight,</l> +<l>And the rough ways smooth;</l> +<l>And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='081'/><anchor id='Pg081'/> + +<p> +He said therefore to the multitudes that went out +to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who +warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring +forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and +begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham +to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able +of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. +And even now the axe also lieth at the root of the +trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth +good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.—Luke +3:2-9. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The ABC of social renewal and moral advance is for +each of us to face our sins sincerely and get on a basis of +frankness with God and ourselves. Therefore Christianity +set out with a call for personal repentance. If we only +acted up to what we know to be right, this world would be +a different place. But we fool ourselves with protective +coloring devices in order to keep our own self-respect. Take +our language, for instance; it reeks with evasive euphemisms +intended to make nasty sins look prettier. We call +stealing <q>swiping</q> and cheating <q>cribbing.</q> When we have +been drunk we say we were <q>squiffy.</q> As soon as we face +the facts, we realize that what we call peccadilloes in ourselves +are the black sins that have slain the innocents and +have hag ridden humanity through all its history. That is +the beginning of social vision. Personal repentance is a +social advance. +</p> + +<p> +What equivalent have college men and women for the +plea of the Pharisees that they were Abraham's children +and had a pull with God? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: Expanding the Area of Obligation</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made +trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to +inherit eternal life? And he said unto him, What is +written in the law? how readest thou? And he +answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God +<pb n='082'/><anchor id='Pg082'/> +with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with +all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy +neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou +hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. +But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, +And who is my neighbor? Jesus made answer and +said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem +to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who +both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving +him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was +going down that way: and when he saw him, he +passed by on the other side. And in like manner +a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw +him, passed by on the other side. But a certain +Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: +and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, +and came to him, and bound up his wounds, +pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on +his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took +care of him. And on the morrow he took out two +shillings, and gave them to the host, and said, Take +care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, +when I come back again, will repay thee. Which of +these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him +that fell among the robbers? And he said, He that +showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, +Go, and do thou likewise.—Luke 10:25-37. +</quote> + +<p> +A meaty story and a famous one. The lawyer found his +own answer uncomfortably simple when it was taken up +in such a matter-of-fact way. It was suddenly up to him +to act on his own advice. He tried to hedge by raising a +new question: <q>Love my neighbor? Certainly. But who is +my neighbor?</q> Who is within the cordon of fraternal +fellowship with me? All men of my people and religion? +Or only the good and desirable people? Where do you +draw the line? Follows the story of the Good Samaritan. +<q>Your neighbor? The alien and the heretic.</q> The logic +of the reply demanded that some good Jew would be shown +caring for a wounded Samaritan. Jesus gives it a smashing +<pb n='083'/><anchor id='Pg083'/> +effectiveness by reversing the role and showing the hated +Samaritan as the heroic lover of his kind. To get the +situation we must remember the historic enmity between the +Jews and the half-breed aliens who had stolen their land and +their religion while they were exiled. If we substitute +Spaniard and Moor, Kurd and Armenian, Serb and Bulgar, +we may get the tension. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Who are our American Samaritans?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: Raising the Standards</head> + +<p> +We must live up to what we know is right, and we must +expand the area of ethical obligation to take in even men of +alien race and hostile religion. But beyond that, we need +a conscious advance in the ethical standards themselves. +Jesus worked out this principle with perfect clearness in a +part of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:17-48. He +states the need, and then shows in six cases how such an +advance would work out. We shall take these up in their +order. Matthew has introduced scattered sayings of Jesus +which serve as corollaries, but which do not bear directly +on the real course of the argument; for instance, Matthew +5:23-26; 29-30. In our quotations in this and the following +days we shall confine ourselves to the main line of thought in +order to concentrate attention on that. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +Think not that I came to destroy the law or the +prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.... +For I say unto you, that except your righteousness +shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and +Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom +of heaven.—Matt. 5:17, 20. +</quote> + +<p> +Apparently conservative Jews soon felt the spiritual freedom +and force in the teachings of Jesus. He seemed to them to +be attacking the sacred Law, the foundation of morality and +religion. Jesus mentions the charge but denies it. His purpose +was not destructive but constructive. He demanded not +<pb n='084'/><anchor id='Pg084'/> +less righteousness but more. The lines of right living needed +to be prolonged. The traditional standards were no longer +adequate. A man might obey them and yet not be a good +man. The scribes and Pharisees were the model church +members of Judaism and experts in piety, yet they were +not qualified to enter the Kingdom of God. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Are we also good people who are not good enough?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: The Sins of Hate</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Ye have heard that it was said to them of old +time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill +shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto +you, that every one who is angry with his brother +shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever +shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger +of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, +shall be in danger of the hell of fire.—Matt. 5:21, 22. +</quote> + +<p> +The Law of Moses forbade murder; a man-slayer was +amenable in the ordinary court. Was this an adequate expression +of the sacredness of human life and personality? +It never even scratched a man or woman who assaulted the +soul of another with anger and curses. Jesus proposed that +these sins be restandardized. Plain anger ought to be valued +about as murder used to be. And if anybody went so far +as to revile a brother and deny his moral or intellectual +worth, the Supreme Court and Gehenna would be about right +for him. The lawyers' gauge of culpability can not get down +to the subtler expressions of lovelessness which break the +prime law of the Kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>By what methods is contempt expressed in our own social +life?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>How highly do we rate the moral value of self-respect?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: The Sins of Sex</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not +<pb n='085'/><anchor id='Pg085'/> +commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one +that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed +adultery with her already in his heart.... +</p> + +<p> +It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his +wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: +but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away +his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh +her an adulteress; and whosoever shall marry her +when she is put away committeth adultery.—Matt. +5:27, 28; 31, 32. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +These two cases deal with sex. The old law forbade +adultery, the infringement of family life, and stopped there. +Jesus goes back of the act to the lustful imaginations and +the wandering eye, which may lack opportunity but which +are the real spring of all uncleanness. He runs the line of +ethical obligation farther back. +</p> + +<p> +The law of divorce (Deut. 24:1), especially as interpreted +by the scribes, was very comfortable—for the male. +He could divorce his wife for almost any cause. Her only +protection was that a formal paper had to be given her +which enabled her to marry again. As a woman's economic +and social standing in that age depended almost wholly on +her family relations, she was at the mercy of the man. Jesus +demanded more protection for her. To him the relation was +indissoluble. The Mosaic provision for divorce was a concession +to the low moral level of the people. The ideal was +the <q>one man, one woman</q> provision of the Creator. (See +Matt. 19:3-8). The disciples ruefully remarked that such +a strengthening of the bond did not add to the attractiveness +of marriage—for the male (19:10). +</p> + +<p> +Where do we draw the line between the rightful, natural +desire of sex and lawless predatory lust? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Sins of Words</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of +old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt +<pb n='086'/><anchor id='Pg086'/> +perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto +you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it +is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the +footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the +city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by +thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or +black. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: +and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.—Matt. +5:33-37. +</quote> + +<p> +Current morality had reached the point of insisting on +truthfulness when a man was under oath. Solemnly to call +God to witness a statement and yet to fool your neighbor by +it, was downright wicked. But it was very handy. So they +developed a joyful lot of casuistical distinctions as to which +kind of oaths were binding and which didn't count. See how +Jesus ridiculed this (Matt. 23:16-22). Here he proposed that +the obligation of veracity be extended to all statements. A +truthful man needs no oaths to assure a doubting world that +this time he is really telling what is so. Oaths are a device +of the devil to limit the amount of truth in the world. +</p> + +<p> +How about oaths for legal purposes? Could they be dispensed +with? Have they done more good or harm? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Sins of Strife</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, +and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, Resist +not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on +thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if +any man would go to law with thee, and take away +thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever +shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him +two. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him +that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. +</p> + +<p> +Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love +thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto +you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute +you; that ye may be sons of your Father who +<pb n='087'/><anchor id='Pg087'/> +is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the +evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and +the unjust. For if ye love them that love you, what +reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? +And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye +more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? +Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father +is perfect.—Matt. 5:38-48. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The Law restricted the natural desire for revenge to the +limit of a strict equivalent. If a man knocked out your tooth, +you could knock out one for him, but not two teeth, nor +all he had. Of course retaliation never heals a feud. Jesus +proposes to limit revenge still farther and to retaliate only +by acts of kindness. That is, in fact, the only way to end +a quarrel completely and victoriously. It reestablishes fellowship +and kills an enemy. +</p> + +<p> +The Law called for love for one's neighbors; the scribes +had added the permission to hate one's enemies. Jesus raises +the standards of good-will. The law of love applies to all. +There is nothing great in loving those who love us. Anybody +can do that. Heroic love begins where no love comes +to meet it. Those who can win that triumph show the true +family likeness of God, and are now living in his Kingdom. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What are our personal experiences as to the utility of +revenge?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>What is the difference between the non-resistance which +Jesus proposed, and cowardice?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Is there such a thing in fact as loving your enemies?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +The Hebrew religion was an unfinished religion. That is +one of the best proofs of its divine inspiration. The prophets +had the forward look. Great things were yet to come. As +one of the most daring expressed it, the old and hallowed +<pb n='088'/><anchor id='Pg088'/> +covenant, made by God at the Exodus, would be superseded +by a new and higher relation; God would write his +law into the hearts of the people; the old drill in outward +statutes would disappear, for all men would know God by +an inward experience of forgiveness and love (Jeremiah 31:31-34). +</p> + +<p> +Jesus not only shared this expectation of a new religious +era, but set it in the center of his teaching. Religion to him +was not static. He lived in a moving world. A new age +was coming, and he would be the initiator of it. <q>From the +days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of God suffereth +violence, and men of violence take it by force.</q> John +had been the greatest of the prophets; with him a new swift +movement had begun; but something far greater was coming; +even the least in the new age would have an advantage +over John (Matt. 11:11-19). +</p> + +<p> +The popular conception expected the new age to come by +divine miraculous interference simply. The Messiah would +descend from heaven with angelic legions, expel the Romans, +judge the nation, punish the apostate Jews, and then the +new Jerusalem, which was already complete and waiting in +heaven, would descend from above. That was the Utopia +of Jewish apocalypticism. Jesus never eliminated the direct +acts of God and the significance of divine catastrophes from +his outlook. But in his parables taken from biological processes +(see especially Matthew 13) he developed a conception +of continuous and quiet growth, culminating at last in +the judgment act of God. The Kingdom of God, he said, +is like a farmer who sows his grain and lets the forces of +nature work; he goes about his daily tasks, and all the time +the tiny blades come up, the ear forms and gets heavy, and +then comes the harvest (Mark 4:26-29). Jesus was working +his way toward evolutionary conceptions. They were so +new to his followers that he put them in parable form to +avoid antagonism. +</p> + +<p> +Such a conception of the Kingdom brought it closer to +human action. It was already at work; it was in one sense +<pb n='089'/><anchor id='Pg089'/> +already present (Luke 17:20-21). It was possible then to +help it along. +</p> + +<p> +The most obvious duty was for every man to clean up his +own backyard and repent of his sins. Every one should approximate +the life of the Kingdom by living now as he would +expect to live then. But, as we have seen from his sayings, +Jesus went far beyond this. He demanded an elevation +of the accepted ethical standards. It was not simply a +matter of erring and lagging individuals, but of the socialized +norms of conduct. He had deep reverence and loyalty for +the religion of his nation, and never told his followers to +break with it. But he asserted boldly that the customary +ethics of Judaism, based on the Decalogue and its interpretation +by the Jewish theologians, was not good enough. It was +good as far as it went, and he had no destructive criticism +of it, but it needed to be <q>fulfilled</q> and to have its lines prolonged. +</p> + +<p> +We have studied the six sample instances which he offered +in order to explain his principle of moral and social progress. +In each case he accepts the law as it stood, but asks +for more of the same thing, more respect for personality, +more reverence for womanhood, more stability for the home, +more truthfulness, more peacefulness, more love. Thus he +combined continuity with progress, conservatism with +radicalism. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +The platform for ethical progress laid down in the Sermon +on the Mount is a great platform. When Tolstoi first realized +the social significance of these simple sentences, it acted as a +revelation which changed his life. Even men who reject the +supernatural claims of Christianity uncover before the Sermon +on the Mount. Yet its fate is tragic. It has not been +<q>damned with faint praise,</q> but made ineffective by universal +praise. Its commandments are lifted so high that nobody +feels under obligations to act on them. Only small sections +<pb n='090'/><anchor id='Pg090'/> +of the Christian Church have taken the sayings on oaths, non-resistance, +and love of enemies to mean what they say and +to be obligatory. Yet all feel that the line of ethical and +social advance must lie in the direction traced by Jesus, and +if society could only climb out of the present pit of predatory +selfishness and meanness to that level, it would be heaven. +</p> + +<p> +Do you and I believe in it? Do we believe that it is not +enough to keep out of the spiritual hell and damnation of +adultery, but that a clean mind would be the most efficient +and cheerful mind? Do we believe that a man who forgives +and keeps sweet is happier and safer than a man who always +resents things and stirs the witches' caldron of hate in his +soul? If a man loved his enemy and turned the other cheek, +would he be everybody's door-mat or everybody's temple of +refuge? +</p> + +<p> +Suppose we mark for the present those parts which we are +willing to accept as our own standards of action. If there +are portions which do not seem practicable, let us post them +in our minds as debatable propositions, as points to be tested +by the experience of coming years, or as working hypotheses +in the science of living. +</p> + +<p> +But whatever we may think of single points, let us stick +to the leading thought of Jesus, that every advance toward +the Kingdom of God, that is, toward the true social order, +involves a raising of the ethical standards accepted by society. +This is a principle of social progress which every leading +intellect ought to know by heart. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +When Jesus offered his six sample cases of ethical progress, +he had no intention of exhausting the principle of advance +which he laid down. There was more to say about +the Jewish law. It is now for his followers to treat the inherited +ethical conceptions of traditional Christianity with the +same combination of reverence and courage with which he +treated the Jewish law. +</p> + + +<pb n='091'/><anchor id='Pg091'/> + +<p> +From the beginning Christianity taught self-control and the +mastery of the spirit over physical desires. It always condemned +drunkenness. But ancient Christianity never demanded +abstinence from fermented drink. With modern +methods of manufacturing alcoholic drinks and modern capitalistic +methods of pushing their sale, the danger has become +more pressing. With modern scientific knowledge the +physiological and social problems of drink have become +clearer. Modern life demands an undrugged nervous system +for quick and steady reactions. It was said of old time, +<q>Thou shalt not get drunk</q>; but today the spirit of Christianity +and modern life says, <q>Thou shalt not drink nor sell +intoxicants at all.</q> +</p> + +<p> +In every case in which the interests of woman came before +Jesus, he took her side. At that time woman was the suppressed +half of humanity. The attitude of historic Christianity +has been a mixture between his spirit and the spirit +of the patriarchal family. Today Christianity is plainly prolonging +the line of respect and spiritual valuation to the point +of equality between men and women—and beyond. +</p> + +<p> +From the beginning an emancipating force resided in Christianity +which was bound to register its effects in political life. +But in an age of despotism it might have to confine its political +morality to the duty of patient submission, and content +itself with offering little sanctuaries of freedom to the oppressed +in the Christian fraternities. Today, in the age of +democracy, it has become immoral to endure private ownership +of government. It is no longer a sufficient righteousness +to live a good life in private. Christianity needs an +ethic of public life. +</p> + +<p> +It was said of old <q>Thou shalt not commit murder.</q> It +is said to us, <q>Ye shall not wear down life in the young by +premature hard labor; nor let the fear of poverty freeze the +fountain of life; and ye shall put a stop to war.</q> +</p> + +<p> +It was said of old, <q>Thou shalt not steal.</q> It is said to us, +<q>Ye shall take no unearned gain from your fellows, but pay +to society in productive labor what ye take from it in goods.</q> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='092'/><anchor id='Pg092'/> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +This matter of raising the moral standards of society is +preeminently an affair of the young. They must do it or it +will never be done. The Sermon on the Mount was spoken +by a young man, and it moves with the impetuous virility of +youth. The old are water-logged physically. They are mentally +bound up with the institutions inside of which they have +spent a lifetime, and they want to enjoy in peace the wealth +and position they have attained. We shall be just the same +forty years from now. But while we are young is the time +to make a forward run with the flag of Christ, the banner +of justice and love, and plant it on the heights yonder. We +must not only be better men and women than we are now. +We must leave a better world behind us when we are through +with it. Whatever we affirm in our growing years will work +out in some fashion in our years of maturity and power. If +fifty thousand college men and women a year would range +themselves alongside of Jesus Christ, look at our present +world as open-eyed as he looked at his world, see where the +social standards of conduct are in contradiction with his spirit +and with modern need, and work to raise them, the world +would feel the effect in ten years. And those who would +strive in that way would live by faith in the higher commonwealth +of God and have some of its nobility of spirit. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>Living Up to the Old Standards</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What would happen if a college community began to +live up to the standards of work and honor which all +acknowledge? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does human nature welcome a moral advance? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>The Ethical Program of Jesus</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What advance does Jesus' program make necessary? +State the main principle in Matt. 5:17-48, and the six applications +<pb n='093'/><anchor id='Pg093'/> +made by Jesus himself. How was this principle +connected with his idea of the Kingdom? +</p> + +<p> +2. Can we agree with the principle? How far can we +go with Jesus in his application? +</p> + +<p> +3. Would a man get more or less satisfaction out of +life if he obeyed these maxims in private life? +</p> + +<p> +4. How far could a man hold his own if he obeyed them +in a reasonable way in business or in public life? If a +man loved his enemies and turned the other cheek, would +he be everybody's doormat or everybody's friend and +refuge? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Raising the Standards Today</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. On what ethical questions have we come to the point +where the moral standards accepted by society can be and +must be raised? +</p> + +<p> +2. If you could purchase one single advance by your +life, what would you choose? +</p> + +<p> +3. How does an expansion of the area of full social +obligation operate to raise the standards of conduct? +Who is my neighbor, and who is not? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. A new intellectual age has opened with the rise of +modern science; what new moral standards should be the +result of our new knowledge? +</p> + +<p> +2. A new economic age opened with the invention of +power machinery and the social organization of labor; +what new moral standards should have been the result of +the new wealth of civilization? +</p> + +<p> +3. A new political era opened with the rise of democracy; +what new moral standards should be achieved in the +life of States and cities? +</p> + +<p> +4. A new era began in world-wide relations with the +beginning of steam-carried commerce; what new standards +are needed for international and inter-racial relations? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='097'/><anchor id='Pg097'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part III. The Recalcitrant Social Forces</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VII. Leadership For Service</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Ambition Must Get Its Satisfaction by Serving +Humanity</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The Kingdom of God was an ideal. If it was to be turned +into concrete realities, it would encounter the recalcitrant +and stubborn instincts of human nature and the conservative +forces of society. Where did Jesus locate the obstacles? +At what points was he aware of resistance? Did he realize +the force of ambition and the love of power? Did he gauge +the pull of the property instinct? Did he feel religion as a +help or a hindrance in realizing the Kingdom of God? These +questions we shall follow up in three lessons. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Trustee</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And Peter said, Lord, speakest thou this parable +unto us, or even unto all? And the Lord said, Who +then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his +lord shall set over his household, to give them their +portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant, +whom his lord when he cometh shall find so +doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will set +him over all that he hath. But if that servant shall +say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and +shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, +and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; +the lord of that servant shall come in a day when +he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth +not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion +<pb n='098'/><anchor id='Pg098'/> +with the unfaithful. And that servant, who knew +his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according +to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; +but he that knew not, and did things worthy of +stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to +whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be +required: and to whom they commit much, of him +will they ask the more.—Luke 12:41-48. +</quote> + +<p> +The preceding verses (v. 35-40) dealt with the faithfulness +of the rank and file; this parable deals with the responsibility +of official position and sketches the alternative of +selfish and serviceable leadership. The head steward had +charge of a great estate, directing the labor of workmen +and maids, dealing out supplies, and controlling the welfare +and happiness of all. The absence of the master made his +authority for the time absolute. Would he use it for the +good of all? If so, wider scope and higher honor would +come to him. Or would he become intoxicated with power, +take things easy, boss his fellow-servants around, and become +a petty tyrant? If so, he would get what was coming to +him. Every man's duty is measured by his knowledge and +by his power. If, therefore, a man rises to leadership, and +finds his elbow-room enlarging, let him stiffen his sense of +duty to correspond, or there will be trouble. Degeneration +by power is written all over history. +</p> + +<p> +The functions of a head steward belong to the age of great +landowners. How would you modernize this parable to express +the same ideas? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: Preparing for the Use of Power</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness +to be tempted of the devil. And when he had +fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward +hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him, +If thou art the Son of God, command that these +stones become bread. But he answered and said, It +<pb n='099'/><anchor id='Pg099'/> +is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but +by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of +God. Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; +and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and +saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself +down: for it is written, +</p> + +<p> +He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: +and, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>On their hands they shall bear thee up,</l> +<l>Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.</l> +</lg> + +<p> +Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou +shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. Again, +the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, +and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, +and the glory of them; and he said unto him, All +these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down +and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get +thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship +the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou +serve.—Matt.4:1-10. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The baptism of Jesus was an act of dedication to the coming +reign of God, and it brought him a deep spiritual experience. +He came out of it with the sense of an immediate +mission, of being called to a supreme leadership, and with +the consciousness of power to correspond with his destiny. +At once he confronted the question: How would he employ +his Messianic power? By what means would he obtain +leadership? In the desert his mind was concentrated on these +problems. This story displays the temptations of a leader, +and sums up his settlement on three points: first, he realized +that he must not swerve aside for personal gratification, but +must serve the will of God only; second, he must not debase +his power by playing for popularity by means of spectacular, +miraculous display; third, he must not win his leadership by +methods that would mortgage him to the prince of this world, +for instance by the use of force. +</p> + +<p> +How would these points apply to a young man seeking +political office, intellectual eminence, or artistic achievement? +</p> + +<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Have we ever had a time of religious concentration to consider +the problems of our future leadership?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The New Principle of Leadership</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee +with her sons, worshipping him, and asking a +certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What +wouldest thou? She saith unto him, Command that +these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, +and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. But Jesus +answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are +ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? +They say unto him, We are able. He saith unto them, +My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to sit on my right +hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but +it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of +my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were +moved with indignation concerning the two brethren. +But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know +that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and +their great ones exercise authority over them. Not +so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become +great among you shall be your minister; and +whosoever would be first among you shall be your +servant: even as the Son of man came not to be +ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life +a ransom for many.—Matt. 20:20-28. +</quote> + +<p> +This passage is fundamental for our subject. It is the +clearest formulation of the social principle involved in leadership. +It contrasts two opposite types of leadership throughout +human history. Salome and her sons thought Jesus was +going to Jerusalem to inaugurate his Kingdom. They asked +for an advance pledge assuring them of the chief place. +Jesus replied that that place would not go by favoritism. +There is a price to be paid for leadership in his reign, and +God alone will allot the final honors. He felt in their request +a relapse into conceptions that he detested. In all political +organizations he saw the tyrannical use of power over +<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/> +the people. There must be an end of that in the new social +order. Ambition must seek its satisfaction by distinguished +service, and only extra-hazardous service shall win honor. He +himself proposed to be a leader of that new type, and to give +his life as a ransom for the emancipation of the people. +</p> + +<p> +Our Master here offers each of us the conscious choice +between two principles of action. <hi rend='italic'>Have we made our choice?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +He offers a norm for estimating the real value of men in +public life. <hi rend='italic'>Have we ever tried to apply it?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: The History of a Governing Class</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Hear another parable: There was a man that was +a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a +hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and +built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went +into another country. And when the season of the +fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, +to receive his fruits. And the husbandmen +took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, +and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants +more than the first: and they did unto them in +like manner. But afterward he sent unto them his +son, saying, They will reverence my son. But the +husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among +themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, +and take his inheritance. And they took him, and +cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. +When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, +what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say +unto him, He will miserably destroy those miserable +men, and will let out the vineyard unto other husbandmen, +who shall render him the fruits in their +seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read +in the scriptures, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The stone which the builders rejected,</l> +<l>The same was made the head of the corner;</l> +<l>This was from the Lord,</l> +</lg> + +<p> +And it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say +I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken +<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/> +away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing +forth the fruits thereof. And he that falleth on +this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever +it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust. And +when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his +parables, they perceived that he spake of them. And +when they sought to lay hold on him, they feared +the multitudes, because they took him for a prophet.—Matt. +21:33-46. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +A delegation of the chief priests, lawyers, and elders challenged +the authority of Jesus to act as he did. He replied +by challenging their authority to act as they did. The vineyard +parable sums up his view of the moral history of the +governing class in his nation. It was like a group of men +who had rented a vineyard on shares, but took advantage of +the owner's absence to embezzle his share, insolently to beat +up his representatives, and to put themselves in possession +of the farm. Every demand of God for righteousness in the +history of Israel had been resisted by those in power. What +title, then, did they have to the rights they claimed? Unless +they fulfilled the function of true leaders, why should they +not be put out of power and brought to justice? In this +passage, then, we have a characterization of leaders who take +the profits and honors of leadership, without performing its +higher duties to God and humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Is there any connection between this challenge of Jesus, +and the functional theories of society and the evolutionary +conception of history? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: An Indictment of a Governing Class</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, +saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on +Moses' seat, all things therefore whatsoever they +bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after +their works; for they say, and do not. Yea, they +bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and +lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves +<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/> +will not move them with their finger. But all their +works they do to be seen of men: for they make +broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of +their garments, and love the chief place at feasts, +and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations +in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, +Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your +teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man +your father on the earth: for one is your Father, +even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: +for one is your master, even the Christ. But +he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. +And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; +and whosoever shall humble himself shall be +exalted. +</p> + +<p> +But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against +men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye +them that are entering in to enter.—Matt. 23:1-13. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The invective against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23) +is a characterization of selfish leadership in the field of religion. +Its fundamental elements have remained the same +in all religions and through all history: fine talk and little +action; religion turned into a law and a burden, in order to +hold the people in obedience to the interests of the leaders; +pride and ambition exploiting religion to get honors. Jesus +tells the people to revolt against the titles in which this +domination had found decorative satisfaction. He demands +democracy, humility, brotherliness. +</p> + +<p> +Does this description justly apply to the Christian ministry +today, or has there been a great historical change by which +that profession has become a profession of service? +</p> + +<p> +Where in modern social life would the invective of Jesus +against selfish leadership still be true? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Lost Leader</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of +<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/> +the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of +persons gathered together, about a hundred and +twenty), Brethren, it was needful that the scripture +should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before +by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who +was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered +among us, and received his portion in this +ministry. (Now this man obtained a field with the +reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst +asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. +And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; +insomuch that in their language that field +was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.) +For it is written in the book of Psalms, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>Let his habitation be made desolate,</l> +<l>And let no man dwell therein:</l> +</lg> + +<p> +and, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>His office let another take.—Acts 1:15-20.</l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<p> +The character and motives of Judas remain an unsolved +riddle. The Gospels leave no doubt that money played a part +with him. But could a man whom Jesus selected and trusted +be actuated by so sordid a motive alone? Was he perhaps +embittered because he had staked his ambition on the Galilean +Messiah and Jesus failed to act the part assigned to +him? Was he hoping to force him to revolutionary action? +We may be sure that Judas was no slinking thief only. In +Rubens' picture of the Last Supper at Milano Judas has a +strong and noble face, but troubled and restless eyes, telling +of a hurt soul. The other disciples were deeply impressed +by his betrayal of the Master and of the common cause. +Judas is the type of the lost leader. <q>Just for a handful of +silver he left us, just for a ribbon to stick in his coat.</q> Some +leaders blunder and learn better; some sag to lower levels +but plod on; some sell out. Judas could not bear to live. +Read James Russell Lowell's <q>Extreme Unction.</q> +</p> + +<p> +Have you known of cases today of men who have abandoned +or betrayed a cause to get office or income? Any +<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/> +who abandon humanity itself to get thirty pieces for themselves? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The New Order of Leaders</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, +teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the +gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of +disease and all manner of sickness. But when he +saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion +for them, because they were distressed and scattered, +as sheep not having a shepherd. Then saith he unto +his disciples, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but +the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord +of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his +harvest. +</p> + +<p> +And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and +gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them +out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner +of sickness. +</p> + +<p> +Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: +The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew +his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his +brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and +Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, +and Thaddæus; Simon the Cananæan, and Judas +Iscariot, who also betrayed him.—Matt. 9:35-10:4. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +We have studied part of this passage before as an expression +of the social feeling of Jesus. Note now that it +was their leaderless condition which impressed him. Plenty +of priests, lawyers, and experts on the Bible, but no friendly +shepherds for the people. When he created the apostolate, +he initiated a new order of leadership, a band of men who +would serve and not exploit. Read the instructions he gave +them (Chap. 10), and see how carefully he fences out selfish +gain. Service versus exploitation, that is one of the tests +of all who claim leadership in his name. We realize that in +the field of religion. But why should not the same test be +<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/> +made in professional, political, and business life? Predatory +action may not be as glaringly shameful there, but is it any +the more moral? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Now what about you and me?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +The desire to lead and excel is natural and right. Because +men are gregarious, they need leadership for their +social groups, and social progress depends largely on securing +adequate leaders. Those who have the natural gifts for +leadership—and also those who merely think they have—usually +have a keen desire for its satisfactions. College life +is a miniature world of criss-cross ambitions and of contrivances +for trying out leaders. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus did not demand self-effacement and the suppression +of ability. He welcomed evidences of noble self-assertion. +His own Messianic call was a summons to the highest leadership. +His temptations were the settlement of leadership +problems. His final lament over the city of Jerusalem was +a burst of sorrow because he had failed to win his people +to follow him. +</p> + +<p> +Now, in moving about among men to win them for the +Kingdom, Jesus encountered the leaders who were on deck +before he came—the wealthy men who controlled the economic +outfit; the official groups who held what political +power was left to the Jews; and the lawyers, theologians, +priests, and zealots who dominated the religious life of a very +religious people. These classes overlapped; together they +constituted the oligarchy of his nation. Both sides soon +realized that there were fundamental antagonisms between +them. The conflict grew acute, until it headed up in the +great duel of the last days at Jerusalem. His experiences +in this conflict with hostile leadership are recorded in the +passages which we have studied and others like them. +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +In the fundamental reply to James and John he formulated +his observations in a great political generalization: <q>Ye +know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them and +their great men hold down the rest by force.</q> In its earlier +and cruder forms, the State is a contrivance of a victorious +group to hold down the conquered, and exploit them. If +anyone has not yet read political history as an account of +systematic exploitation of nation by nation and class by class, +he has some education still coming to him. +</p> + +<p> +Even where political leadership has not been plainly predatory +but rested on real service, humanity has often had a +heavy price to pay for it. Successful military leaders were +able to perpetuate a royal dynasty and perhaps fasten a race +of hereditary incapables on a nation, to be maintained in +royal splendor. The feudal nobility performed useful work +in the earlier, turbulent times, but it continued to take rent +and tribute for centuries after its useful functions had lapsed. +Modern business men who have organized public service +corporations have often served the nation well, but they now +own the highways and fundamental outfit of the nation, and +if their descendants or assignees collect tribute, perhaps on +inflated capitalization, for generations to come, it looks like +rather costly service. The obligations of power have a +curious way of getting lost in the shuffle of time, but titles, +rank, legal privileges, rent, and interest are carefully groomed. +If one man loses them, some other man nurses them, and +the people always pay. +</p> + +<p> +The Kingdom of God sets a fraternal and righteous social +order against the predatory and unrighteous order which +humanity has inherited from the past. The new order must +have a new dynasty of leaders, for every social order has its +own kind of aristocracy. Jesus does not propose to abolish +leadership, but he proposes a new basis for greatness which +is sharply opposed to the old: <q>Whoever has ambition to be +a great man among you, let him be your servant; and whoever +<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/> +is ambitious to rank first among you, let him be your +bondservant. Just as the Son of Man did not come to have +others serve him, but to render service and to give his life +as a ransom for many.</q> Ability and ambition are still to +lead, but they are to be yoked to the service of all. Not he +who kills and subjugates, but he who makes life safe and +happy, shall have the statue set up in his honor. Not the +great warrior and killer, but the great healer and the man +who multiplies the blades of grass and the ears of wheat +and the size of potatoes shall be the great names treasured. +The higher the honor craved, the more strenuous must be the +service; if a man wants first prize, he must get down to +voluntary slavery. The old way to leadership was to knock +others down and climb up on them; the new way is to get +underneath and boost. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +Jesus put himself under this law of leadership. We see +from his words that the cross was the outcome of a consistent +principle adopted by him. The rules he laid down for +his apostolate were meant to bar out selfish acquisition: +<q>Freely ye received, freely give. Get you no gold, nor silver, +nor brass in your purses; no wallet for your journey, neither +two coats, nor shoes, nor staff; for the laborer is worthy of +his food.</q> It is a significant fact that again and again religious +leaders who really cared for the condition of the people, +have tried to create a genuine leadership for them along +the same lines; Francis of Assisi gathered his <q>little +brothers</q>; Peter Waldus his Bible teachers; Wycliffe his +<q>poor preachers</q>; John Wesley his local preachers and itinerants; +William Booth his ensigns and captains with the big +bass drum; and the entire foreign mission propaganda calls +for leaders who will go to the people and offers them nothing +but enough to live in health. Today practically the entire +Christian ministry, one of the most important bodies of men, +has come under the law of leadership for service. It was +once, at least in its upper-class sections, rich with unearned +<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/> +incomes, pervaded by graft, and domineering in spirit; it is +now a clean and plain-living profession; whatever its shortcomings, +graft and extortion are not of them. +</p> + +<p> +The question is now, whether other professions will go +through the same historical process of cleansing. The religious +spirit has pioneering qualities; under its impulse men +blaze the trail which broad social movements or historical +developments follow later. Greedy leadership first seemed +intolerable in the Church; after a time it may become intolerable +in politics and business. The trend of civilization +is toward intelligent service on plain pay. Educators, judges, +scientists, doctors are on that basis now. It has become dishonorable +for them to use their positions for a holdup. The +great discoverers in the line of sero-therapy might have taken +toll in golden streams, but they did not. It would have been +contrary to the ethics of their profession. That means that +their profession is on a Christian basis. Where graft is taken +out of politics, officials become devoted public servants. The +reproach has been made against a man of great ability that +at the end of his life his name is not connected with any +great cause or measure for the welfare of the people. +Whether the judgment was just or not, that point of view is +the one to take. +</p> + +<p> +Can business be brought under the law of service? Or is +commerce constitutionally incapable of it? There are many +indications that a conscious spiritual change is coming over +those men in business who have enough intellect and character +to look beyond immediate needs. The type of business +leadership which took millions out of filthy factory towns, +wore out women and took the youth out of children, cleared +twelve per cent from slum tenements, kept men and women +from marriage by underpayment, and kept the cradle empty +by high prices and fear of the future—this type of leadership +is antiquated. It belongs to a pre-Christian and pagan +age. It is only a question whether business leaders will +voluntarily turn their back on such misuse of power or have +a change forced on them. Those who mark time on the old +<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/> +methods will become moral derelicts, and their wealth will +not forever screen their moral obtuseness. +</p> + +<p> +The nation needs leaders who will persuade conservative +farmers to use scientific methods; who will teach our wasteful +people the value of self-restraint, and the beauty of cooperative +buying and selling; who will teach our communities +that it is a sin to rob our own children by leaving soil, +water, and forests poorer than we found them; who will +give the people good housing without taking the unearned +increment; who will organize the dangerous industries for +safety; who will place the relations of leaders and workers +in industry on a basis of justice and goodwill so that industrial +peace can be attained. Is such an object satisfying +to a young man of business capacity, or does he want to build +a million dollar house and populate it with one child? It is +confessed that civilization has been succeeding on the technical +side and failing on the ethical. The more the machinery +of life is concentrated in the hands of a limited group of +business leaders, the more important does the social enlightenment +and moral objective of these leaders become to +society. To which of the two types do we belong? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +Will a life of service satisfy the capable and call out their +best powers for the service of humanity? Men will play the +game according to the rules of the game. If humanity changes +the rules, its strong men will still let out their energies, because +they can not help it, and they will like themselves all +the better for being on the side of their fellow-men. There +is no pleasure in being isolated, eyed with resentment, and +conscious of hardness. If ten per cent net means long hours, +low wages, and repression, and if six per cent would mean +good will and contentment, it might pay the leaders of industry +to take less in dividends and take it out in the higher +satisfactions. +</p> + +<p> +For men of great ability this is the chance for enduring +<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/> +fame. Who will remember the men that did nothing but +amass wealth? Who of our presidents are remembered and +loved? Those who suffered with and for the people. +</p> + +<p> +The leadership of service validates its rightness by its intellectual +results. Predatory and parasitic classes become intellectually +sterile and ignorant of real life. A man who +wants to serve men, must get close to them. If we carry +a load uphill, we have to choose our footing, and will perforce +become intimately acquainted with the law of gravitation. +Nothing develops the intellect like heading a just cause +and fighting for it. +</p> + +<p> +Here, then, we have another social principle of Jesus. The +ambition of the strong must be yoked to the service of +society. Power and honor must be earned by distinguished +and costly service. Progress along this direction marks the +progress of the Kingdom of God. Extortionate and +domineering leadership must be superseded where the Kingdom +of God moves forward. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>V</head> + +<p> +Does the life of our colleges and universities square with +this principle? College men and women crave honor from +their fellows, or their fraternities crave it for them vicariously. +How do the <q>big men</q> in college win it? Do they +win it by raising the standards of intellectual work for all? +By making fun clean and honorable through the power of a +clean public opinion? By creating a college spirit which will +put manhood into every generation of Freshmen that +plunges into it? Or do they win honor by organizing parties, +by intoxicating themselves and others with frothy <q>social</q> +successes, by acting for the gallery to see and applaud, and +by wasting the dynamics of youth on shooting rockets that +look like stars and come down like sticks? Such men are +essentially selfish; even their service is self-seeking and deserves +no honor from others. The more talented and attractive +they are, the more damage do they do. They perpetuate +<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/> +their kind. If fraternities or honorary societies honor +and reward that sort of leadership, they force individuals +into futility, and reenforce the natural temptation to shallow +work and display by the powerful pressure of socialized +public opinion. +</p> + +<p> +What has just been said applies to the inner life of the +college group during its brief command over young men and +women. But meanwhile the outside life is waiting for them. +Society creates and finances the colleges and universities +from the social fund created by those who work. A college +man who toys with his work and fights those who want to +make him work, ought to be demoted and his chance given +to some workingman who has intellectual hunger and would +use it. But even of the able and efficient college men +society has a right to inquire whether it is training enemies +and exploiters or friends and leaders. This question will +be asked more and more insistently by democracy as it becomes +intelligent. Christianity anticipates this inquiry by its +appeal to the individual conscience. Every college man and +woman should choose the principle on which he proposes to +exercise leadership in case he wins it. Are we willing to +gain wealth by impoverishing others? Are we willing to get +pleasure by degrading others? Are we willing to gain power +and freedom for ourselves by making others powerless and +unfree? Jesus distinguishes three kinds of men who are interested +in the sheep—the robber, the hireling, and the shepherd. +You can tell the presence of the robber by the death +of the sheep; the hireling by his cowardice; the true leader +by his valor and love. +</p> + +<p> +A special word should be said to college women. In her +book on <q>Woman and Labor,</q> Olive Schreiner has pointed +out that as families rise to wealth, the women slip into +parasitism more readily than the men. They cease to do +productive work, accept the luxuries of life as their right, +and fall in with upper-class pretensions. The means of +leadership—time, wealth, social resources—are at their command. +How will they use them? The number of women +<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/> +with unearned incomes is increasing rapidly in America. +Now, if much is given them, much will be required. Can +they produce enough social values to justify what they consume? +The least we can do is to give as much as we get. +Anything less is immoral. +</p> + +<p> +What kind of influence do college girls exert on able young +men who turn toward them in love? Nothing will shrivel the +idealistic conceptions of life in a young man as thoroughly +as love for a selfish woman. The world is full of eyeless +Samsons, grinding the money-mills, and whipped to a quicker +pace by smiling grafters—who would not recognize this +description of them if they saw it. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Need of Leadership</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Does the need of leadership diminish with the spread +of democracy? With the growth of education? +</p> + +<p> +2. Do we need leadership more or less in America today +than fifty years ago? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Jesus on the Problems of Leadership</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Give proof that Jesus consciously confronted the +problem of social leadership. +</p> + +<p> +2. What elements did he condemn in the old leadership +of his nation? +</p> + +<p> +3. What principle of leadership did he lay down for +the new social order? +</p> + +<p> +4. What body of leaders did he create, and what standards +of special honor did he impose on them? +</p> + +<p> +5. What do we think of the historic effectiveness of +the leadership he created? What is the true interpretation +of Judas Iscariot? +</p> + +<p> +6. What evidences are there in Jesus' career that he +was true to his ideals of leadership? +</p> + +<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Problem of Leadership in History</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How have the great leaders in the field of religion +attacked the problem of leadership in the Church? What +does the Protestant Reformation signify from this point of +view? +</p> + +<p> +2. How have the landed aristocrats of the past met the +Christian test of leadership? +</p> + +<p> +3. Give examples from history and from modern life +of men who exercised power in the way Christ condemned. +Give examples of others who exercised it according to +Christ's law. +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>The Problem of Leadership in Modern Life</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. In what professions is ambition now securely tied +up with service, so that a man must serve well in order +to rise? +</p> + +<p> +2. In what positions can a man still gain power and +wealth by exploiting society? +</p> + +<p> +3. Is the consciousness that they are public servants +spreading among business men? If so, to what is this due? +</p> + +<p> +4. Is society paying too big a price for the leadership +of the industrial aristocracy today? +</p> + +<p> +5. When the interests of the stockholders are set over +against the health of women and children, and the safety +of employes, which consideration determines the wages +paid? +</p> + +<p> +6. How have the social leaders of the past mortgaged +the economic resources of nations to their own families? +To what extent is this true of our country? +</p> + +<p> +7. How can society protect itself against exploitation +under present conditions? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. A corporation has averaged 24 per cent to its stockholders. +It pays twelve dollars a week to its ordinary +<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/> +workmen. Would you call this predatory leadership? +Where do you draw the line? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does the salary of teachers in our country indicate +that we give honor according to service rendered? +</p> + +<p> +3. How does the increasing size of business undertakings +and their importance for public welfare emphasize the +ethical importance of right leadership? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter VIII. Private Property And The Common Good</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Private Property Must Serve Social Welfare</hi> +</p> + +<p> +A glance across history or a simple acquaintance with +human life in any community will show us that private +property is at the same time a necessary expression of +personality and stimulator of character, and, on the other +hand, a chief outlet and fortification of selfishness. Every +reformatory effort must aim to conserve and spread the +blessings of property, and every step toward a better social +order will be pugnaciously blocked by its selfish beneficiaries. +</p> + +<p> +What were Jesus' convictions about private property? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Rival Interest</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he spake to them many things in parables, +saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and +as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and +the birds came and devoured them: and others fell +upon the rocky places, where they had not much +earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they +had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was +risen, they were scorched; and because they had no +root, they withered away. And others fell upon +the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked +them: and others fell upon the good ground, and +yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some +thirty.... When any one heareth the word of the +kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the +<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/> +evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been +sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the +way side. And he that was sown upon the rocky +places, this is he that heareth the word, and straight-way +with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in +himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation +or persecution ariseth because of the word, +straightway he stumbleth. And he that was sown +among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; +and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of +riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. +And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is +he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who +verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a +hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.—Matt. 13:3-8; 19-23. +</quote> + +<p> +This parable was intended to explain to the disciples why +the Kingdom was not coming with a rush, as they expected. +The story embodies the practical experiences of Jesus in his +propaganda. He saw his work as a duplication of the sower's +work on a higher level. The success of both depends on +the receptiveness of the soil. The sower encounters hard +trodden ground, rocky patches, and spots where hardy thorns +or thistles drain the soil and where his work produces only +empty ears and futile beginnings. So Jesus met the stolid +conservative and also the emotional type. But the climax +of his difficulties was a mind preoccupied by property worries, +or lured by the illusions of wealth. He early found, then, +that devotion to property is likely to be a rival to the higher +interests and the common good. +</p> + +<p> +How do modern social groups line up when measured by +spiritual receptiveness? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Accumulator</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And one out of the multitude said unto him, +Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with +me. But he said unto him, Man, who made me a +<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/> +judge or a divider over you? And he said unto +them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all +covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the +abundance of the things which he possesseth. And +he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground +of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; and +he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, +because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And +he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and +build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain +and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou +hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine +ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, +Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of +thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose +shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for +himself, and is not rich toward God.—Luke 12:13-21. +</quote> + +<p> +Most men today would have no fault to find with this +man. He was only doing what the modern world is unanimously +trying to do. Having made a pile, he proposed to +make a bigger pile. Meanwhile he slapped his soul on the +back and smacked his lips in anticipation. To Jesus the fat +farmer was a tragic comedy. In the first place, an unseen +hand was waiting to snuff out his candle. To plan life as +if it consisted in an abundance of material wealth is something +of a miscalculation in a world where death is part of +the scheme of things. In the second place, Jesus saw no +higher purpose in the man's aim and outlook to redeem his +acquisitiveness. The man was a sublimated chipmunk, gloating +over bushels of pignuts. If wealth is saved to raise and +educate children, or achieve some social good, it deserves +moral respect or admiration. But if the acquisitive instinct +is without social feeling or vision, and centered on self, it +gets no respect, at least from Jesus. +</p> + +<p> +Unlimited acquisition used to be considered immoral and +dishonorable. How and when did public opinion change on +this? +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: Quit Grafting</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And the multitudes asked him, saying, What then +must we do? And he answered and said unto them, +He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that +hath none; and he that hath food, let him do likewise. +And there came also publicans to be baptized, +and they said unto him, Teacher, what must we do? +And he said unto them, Extort no more than that +which is appointed you. And soldiers also asked him, +saying, And we, what must we do? And he said +unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither +accuse any one wrongfully; and be content with your +wages.—Luke 3:10-14. +</quote> + +<p> +The social teachings of John the Baptist were so close +to those of Jesus that we can safely draw on them in this +passage. +</p> + +<p> +John told the people that a new era was coming and they +would have to get a new mind and manner of life as an outfit +for it. The people asked for specifications. John's suggestions +ran along two lines. He encouraged the plain working +people to be neighborly and friendly, and share with a man +who was hard up. With powerful individuals, like hired +soldiers and Roman tax-farmers, he insisted that they must +quit using their physical force and legal power as a cinch +to extort money. In other words, they must quit grafting. +In the Kingdom of God the <q>big, black book of graft</q> will +be closed, and men will no longer eat their protesting fellow-men. +The more we realize that some form of graft is at +the bottom of most easy incomes, the more good sense will +we see in this kind of evangelism. +</p> + +<p> +Have we ever been a victim of extortion? How did it +feel? Did it sour the milk of human kindness in us? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: God versus Mammon</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, +where moth and rust consume, and where thieves +<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/> +break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves +treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust +doth consume, and where thieves do not break +through nor steal: for where thy treasure is there +will thy heart be also. The lamp of the body is the +eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body +shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy +whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore +the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the +darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either +he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he +will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot +serve God and mammon.—Matt. 6:19-24. +</quote> + +<p> +Acquisition may operate on different planes. A man may +accumulate material stuff, or he may acquire spiritual faculties, +memories, and relations. In a balanced life the two work +side by side in peace, and each may aid the other. But the +experience of all spiritual teachers shows that practically +the acquisition of property often becomes a passion which +absorbs the man and leaves little energy for the higher pursuits. +Most men who have used up their life to acquire +wealth look back with homesickness to some idealistic aspiration +of their youth as to a lost Edenland. Jesus felt the +antagonism of private wealth and the Kingdom of God so +keenly that he set God and Mammon over against each +other, and warned us that we must choose between them. +Placed in this connection, the saying about the darkening of +the inner light seems to refer to the influence of money-getting +on the higher vision of the soul. This entire passage +is fundamental and will explain other sayings which follow. +</p> + +<p> +Do God and money come into flat collision in college life? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: The Divisive Influence of Riches</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Now there was a certain rich man, and he was +clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously +every day: and a certain beggar named Lazarus was +laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed +<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/> +with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; +yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And +it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was +carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: +and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in +Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and +seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. +And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy +on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of +his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am +in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, +remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy +good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: +but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. +And besides all this, between us and you there is a +great gulf fixed, that they that would pass from +hence to you may not be able, and that none may +cross over from thence to us. And he said, I pray +thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him +to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that +he may testify unto them, lest they also come into +this place of torment. But Abraham saith, They have +Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And +he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them +from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto +him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither +will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.—Luke +16:19-31. +</quote> + +<p> +Why does Jesus send the rich man to hell as if it were a +matter of course? No crimes or vices are alleged. It must +be that a life given over to sumptuous living and indifferent +to the want and misery of a fellow-man at the doorstep +seemed to Jesus a deeply immoral and sinful life. Jesus +exerted all his energies to bring men close together in love. +But wealth divides. It creates semi-human relations between +social classes, so that a small dole seems to be a full discharge +of obligations toward the poor, and manly independence +and virtue may be resented as offensive. The sting +of this parable is in the reference to the five brothers who +<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/> +were still living as Dives had lived, and whom he was vainly +trying to reach by wireless. See verse 14 in explanation. +</p> + +<p> +Is it fair to call the relations between the selfish rich and +the dependent poor <q>semi-human relations</q>? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: Get a Plank for the Deluge</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he said also unto the disciples, There was a +certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same +was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods. +And he called him, and said unto him, What is this +that I hear of thee? render the account of thy stewardship; +for thou canst be no longer steward. And +the steward said within himself, What shall I do, +seeing that my lord taketh away the stewardship +from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am +ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I +am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me +into their houses. And calling to him each one of +his lord's debtors, he said to the first, How much +owest thou unto my lord? And he said, A hundred +measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy +bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then +said he to another, And how much owest thou? +And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He saith +unto him, Take thy bond, and write fourscore. And +his lord commended the unrighteous steward because +he had done wisely: for the sons of this world are +for their own generation wiser than the sons of the +light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves +friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; +that, when it shall fail, they may receive you +into the eternal tabernacles.—Luke 16:1-9. +</quote> + +<p> +This is one of the wittiest stories in the Bible and must +be read with some sense of humor. The tenant farmers of +a great estate paid their rent in shares of the produce. This +elastic system offered the steward a chance to make something +on the side. He was found out and discharged, but +while he was closing up his accounts he still had a short spell +<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/> +of authority. Things looked dark. He did not care to +blister his white hands with a hoe-handle, nor his social pride +by begging. So he grafted one last graft, but on so large +a scale that the tenants would be under lasting obligations +to him. The scamp was a crook, but at least he was long-headed. +Jesus wished the children of light were as clever in +taking a long look ahead as the children of this world. In +that case men would get ready for the new age, in which +mammon loses its buying power, by making friends with it +now, and their friends would take them in as guests after +the great reversal. +</p> + +<p> +How do you like the humorous independence of Jesus? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: Stranded on His Wealth</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good +Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? +And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? +none is good, save one, even God. Thou knowest +the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not +kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor +thy father and mother. And he said, All these +things have I observed from my youth up. And when +Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou +lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute +unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in +heaven: and come, follow me. But when he heard +these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for +he was very rich. And Jesus seeing him said, How +hardly shall they that have riches enter into the +kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to +enter in through a needle's eye, than for a rich man +to enter into the kingdom of God.—Luke 18:18-25. +</quote> + +<p> +A fine young man, of clean and conscientious life, but +with unsatisfied aspirations in his soul. Jesus invites him +to a more heroic type of excellence, cutting loose from his +wealth and devoting himself to the apostolate of the Kingdom +of God. It was a great chance for a great life. He +<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/> +might have stood for God before kings and mobs, and ranked +with Peter, John, and Paul as a household name. He did +not rise to his chance. What held him? Jesus felt it was +his wealth. A poor man would have had less to leave, and +might have left it cheerfully. So Jesus sums up the psychological +situation in the saddened exclamation that it is exceedingly +hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom where +men live in justice, fraternity, and idealism. +</p> + +<p> +Have you noticed that in recent years an increasing number +of this man's grandsons are trying to cut loose and find the +real life, eternal life? Can you name any? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +Evidently the dangers connected with property were much +in the mind of Jesus. He seems to have emphasized them +more fully and frequently than the evils of licentiousness or +drunkenness. The modern Church has reversed the relative +emphasis. Why? +</p> + +<p> +Of course we must not look for the methods or viewpoints +of political economy in his teachings. His concern +was for the spiritual vitality and soundness of the individual, +and for the human relations existing among men. He was +interested in property only in so far as it corrupted the higher +nature or made fraternity difficult. But let no one underestimate +the importance of these considerations. These things +are the real end of life. All the rest is scaffolding. We +should be farther along if the economic and social sciences +had kept these fundamental questions more sternly in sight. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +Plainly Jesus felt that the acquisitive instinct, like the sex +instinct, easily breaks bounds and becomes ravenous; there +is even less natural limit to it. It absorbs the energies of +intellect and will. As with the rich fool, the horizon of life +is filled with chances to make the pile grow bigger. Life +seems to consist of money, and the problems of money. +</p> + +<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/> + +<p> +People are valued according to that standard. Marriages +are arranged for it. Politics is run for it. Wars are begun +for it. Creative artistic and intellectual impulses are shouldered +aside, fall asleep, or die of inanition. Property is +intended to secure freedom of action and self-development; +in fact, it often chains men and clips their wings. This +is what Jesus calls <q>the deceitfulness of riches</q> and <q>the +darkening of the inner eye.</q><note place='foot'>See the chapter on +<q>The Tragedy of Dives</q> in Rauschenbusch, <q>Christianizing +the Social Order,</q> p. 291.</note> +</p> + +<p> +In addition to the blight of character, wealth exerts a desocializing +and divisive influence. It wedges apart groups +that belong together. Dives and Lazarus may live in the +front and rear of the same block, but with no sense of +solidarity. Dives would have been deeply moved, perhaps, +if one of his own class had punctured a tire in the Philistian +desert and gone for two days without any food except +crumbs. The separation of humanity into classes on the +lines of wealth is so universal and so orthodox that few +of us ever realize that it flouts all the principles of Christianity +and humanity. +</p> + +<p> +In the case of the young ruler Jesus encountered the fact +that wealth bars men out of the world of their ideals. The +question was not whether the young man could get to heaven, +but whether he could have a share in the real life, in the +kingdom of right relations. It is hard to acquire great +wealth without doing injustice to others; it is hard to possess +it and yet deal with others on the basis of equal humanity; +it is hard to give it away even without doing mischief. +</p> + +<p> +We have seen that Jesus believed profoundly in the value +and dignity of human life; that he sought to create solidarity; +that he was chiefly concerned for the saving of the lowly; +and that he demanded an heroic life in the service of the +Kingdom of God. But wealth, as he saw it, flouted the value +of life, dissolved the spiritual solidarity of whole classes, +and kept the lowly low; the wealthy had lost the capacity for +an heroic life. +</p> + +<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/> + +<p> +This is radical teaching. What shall we say to it? Jesus +is backed by the Old Testament prophets and the most +spiritual teaching of the Hebrew people, which condemned +injustice and extortionate money-making even more energetically +than did Jesus. Medieval Christianity sincerely +assented to the principle that private property is a danger to +the soul and a neutralizer of love. Every monastic community +tried to cut under sex dangers by celibacy, and property +dangers by communism. This was an enormous misinterpretation +of Christianity, but it shows that men took the teachings +on the dangers of private property seriously. The +modern Christian world does not. It has quietly set aside the +ideas of Jesus on this subject, lives its life without much +influence from them, and contents itself with emphasizing +other aspects. +</p> + +<p> +Has the teaching of Jesus on private property been superseded +by a better understanding of the social value of +property? Or has his teaching been suppressed and swamped +by the universal covetousness of modern life? <q>Our moral +pace-setters strike at bad personal habits, but act as if there +was something sacred about money-getting; and, <emph>seeing that +the master iniquities of our time are connected with money-making</emph>, +they do not get into the fight at all. The child-drivers, +monopoly-builders, and crooked financiers have no +fear of men whose thought is run in the moulds of their +grandfathers. Go to the tainted-money colleges, and you +will learn that Drink, not Graft, is the nation's bane</q> +(Edward A. Ross, <q>Sin and Society, an Analysis of Latter-day +Iniquity,</q> p. 97—the italics are his). +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +The machinery for making money which Jesus knew, was +simple, crude, and puny compared with the complicated and +pervasive system which the magnates of modern industry +have built up. There was probably not a millionaire in all +Palestine. What would he have said to our great cities? +</p> + +<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/> + +<p> +We need a Christian ethics of property, more perhaps than +anything else. The wrongs connected with wealth are the +most vulnerable point of our civilization. Unless we can +make that crooked place straight, all our charities and religion +are involved in hypocrisy. +</p> + +<p> +We have to harmonize the two facts, that wealth is good +and necessary, and that wealth is a danger to its possessor +and to society. On the one hand property is indispensable to +personal freedom, to all higher individuality, and to self-realization; +the right to property is a corollary of the right +to life; without property men are at the mercy of nature +and in bondage to those who have property. On the other +hand property is used as a means of collecting tribute and +private taxes, as a club with which to extort unearned gain +from laborers and consumers, and as the fundamental tool +of oppression. +</p> + +<p> +Where do we draw the line? Is it true that property +created by productive labor is a great moralizer, and that +property acquired without productive labor is the great demoralizer? +Is it correct that property for use is on the whole +good, and property for power is a menace? +</p> + +<p> +What is the relation between property and self-development? +At what point does property become excessive? At +what point does food become excessive and poisonous? At +what point does fertilizer begin to kill a plant? Would any +real social values be lost if incomes averaged $2,000 and +none exceeded $10,000? +</p> + +<p> +To what extent does a moral purpose take the dangers out +of acquisition? +</p> + +<p> +Is any life moral in which the natural capacities are not +sincerely taxed to do productive work? If a man's wealth +is destined to cut his descendants off from productive labor, +is it a blessing? What is the moral difference between +strenuous occupation and labor? How large a proportion of +our time and energy can be devoted to play and leisure +without softening our moral fiber? +</p> + +<p> +At what points does private property come to be anti-social? +<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/> +If we could eliminate the monopoly elements and +the capacity to levy tribute, would there be much danger in +the remainder? +</p> + +<p> +Does private property, in the enormous aggregations of +today and in control of the essential outfit of society, still +correspond to the essential theoretical conception of private +property, or have public properties and public functions fallen +under private control? <q>Much that we are accustomed to +hear called legitimate insistence upon the rights of property, +the Old Testament would seem to call the robbery of God, +and grinding the faces of the poor</q> (The Bishop of Oxford). +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +The religious spirit will always have to call the individual +farther than the law can compel him to go. After all unjust +and tainted portions have been eliminated from our property, +religion lays its hands on the rest and says, <q>You are only +a steward over this.</q> In the parables of the talents, the +pounds, and the unjust steward, Jesus argues on the assumption +that our resources are a trust, and not absolute property. +We manage and control them, but always under responsibility. +We hold them from God, and his will has eminent +domain. But the will of God is identical with the good +of mankind. When we hold property in trust for God, we +hold it for humanity, of which we are part. We misuse the +trust if by it we deprive others of health, freedom, joy, +hope, or efficiency, for instance, by overworking others and +underworking our own children. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Love of Money</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Define graft. What is wrong in it? Where do we +see it? Where are we myopic about it? +</p> + +<p> +2. Why did Jesus have so much to say about money +and so little about drink? Why does Paul call the love +of money <q>the root of all evil</q>? +</p> + +<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Jesus' Fear of Riches</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. On what ground does Jesus fear the influence of +riches and of their accumulation? +</p> + +<p> +2. Summarize Jesus' teachings regarding wealth. +</p> + +<p> +3. In what respects is his attitude different from the +ordinary viewpoint of the modern world? +</p> + +<p> +4. Was Jesus opposed to the owning of farming tools +or fishing smacks? Where would he draw the line between +honest earnings and dangerous wealth? +</p> + +<p> +5. Was his teaching on wealth ascetic? Was it socialistic? +</p> + +<p> +6. To what extent should we recognize his insight on +this question as authority for us? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Problem of Wealth in the Modern World</hi> +</p> + +<p> +I. Are the "master iniquities" of our age located in sex +life, politics, or business? +</p> + +<p> +2. Distinguish between <q>property for use</q> and <q>property +for power.</q> +</p> + +<p> +3. What are the moral evils created by mass poverty? +By aggregations of wealthy families? +</p> + +<p> +4. Why has the modern world set aside Jesus' teachings +about wealth? To what extent have we substituted a +better understanding of the social value of property? +How far should we be satisfied with our present adjustment +of the property question? +</p> + +<p> +5. What methods of money making are condemned by +the common sentiment of the Church? Is there anything +which ought to be included in this condemnation? If so, +what? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>The Christian Attitude Toward Property and Wealth +Under Modern Conditions</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. At what point does the amassing of private property +become contrary to the principles of Jesus? +</p> + +<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/> + +<p> +2. What legalized property rights are antagonistic to +Jesus' principles? +</p> + +<p> +3. How can society accumulate wealth without the +injustice and social divisions which now accompany the +amassing of private fortunes? +</p> + +<p> +4. If a man has an invested income, has he the right +to live a life of leisure? When is it right to be a non-producer? +</p> + +<p> +5. How rich has a Christian a right to be? In a Christian +society what is the minimum limit of income? +</p> + +<p> +6. Would economic democracy eliminate or enforce the +doctrine of stewardship? +</p> + +<p> +7. How can we pluck the sting of sin out of private +property? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Are millionaires a symptom of social disease or a +triumph of civilization? +</p> + +<p> +2. Should social science reckon with the influence of +wealth on personal character? +</p> + +<p> +3. What moral conviction is expressed in the condemnation +of usurious interest and of rack-rent? Should +excessive profit be included? +</p> + +<p> +4. How could industry be financed if there were no +wealthy investors with accumulations? +</p> + +<p> +5. When is a college student a parasite? +</p> + +<p> +6. If college communities had less money would they +breed better men and women? +</p> + +<p> +7. How have the successes of predatory finance affected +the outlook and morality of college students? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter IX. The Social Test Of Religion</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Religion Must be Socially Efficient</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The teaching of Jesus dealt with three recalcitrant forces, +which easily escape from the control of social duty and +become a clog to spiritual progress: ambition for power and +leadership, and the love of property, have been considered. +How about religion? Is it a help or a hindrance in the progress +of humanity? Opinions are very much divided today. +No student of society can neglect religion as a social force. +What did Jesus think of it? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: Worship is not Enough</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? +saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings +of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I +delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of +he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who +hath required this at your hand, to trample my +courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is +an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, +the calling of assemblies,—I cannot away with iniquity +and the solemn meeting. Your new moons and +your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a +trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them. And +when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine +eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I +will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash +you, make you clean; put away the evil of your +doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; +<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/> +learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, +judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.—Isa. 1:11-17. +</p> + +<p> +Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow +myself before the high God? shall I come before +him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? +will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or +with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my +first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my +body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, +O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require +of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, +and to walk humbly with thy God?—Micah 6:6-8. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +These two passages are classical expressions of a note +which runs through all the prophetic teaching of the Old +Testament. There was a fundamental antagonism between +those who saw the service of God in the inherited ritual and +sacrificial action, and those who felt that the essential service +of God is righteousness of life. The prophets wanted a +religion that would change social conduct, and repudiated +religious doings that had no ethical value. They held that +worship alone is not enough. God wants life and conduct. +</p> + +<p> +Suggest parallels from the history of the Christian or the +non-Christian religions. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Test of Social Value</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And it came to pass, that he was going on the +sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples +began, as they went, to pluck the ears. And +the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they +on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And +he said unto them, Did ye never read what David +did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and +they that were with him? How he entered into the +house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and +ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat +<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/> +save for the priests, and gave also to them that were +with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath +was made for man; and not man for the sabbath: +so that the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath. +</p> + +<p> +And he entered again into the synagogue; and +there was a man there who had his hand withered. +And they watched him, whether he would heal him +on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. +And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, +Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it +lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do +harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their +peace. And when he had looked round about on +them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of +their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth +thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand +was restored.—Mark 2:23-3:5. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The Mosaic law intended the Sabbath to be a haven of rest +for all who were driven, the slave, the immigrant, even the +cattle. It was a precious institution of social protection. +But the strict religionists of Jesus' time had made a yoke of +tyranny of it, so that hungry men could not rub the kernels +from ears of grain without being charged with threshing, +and Jesus could not heal a poor paralytic without getting +black looks. A fine institution of social welfare and relief +had been turned into an anti-social regulation. Jesus fell +back on the fundamental maxim of the prophets, <q>I desire +kindness and not sacrifice,</q> and laid down the principle that +<q>the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the +Sabbath.</q> The religious institution of the Sabbath must +have social value; this is the essential test even in religion. +</p> + +<p> +Is the Sabbath more useful to society now than in Puritan +times? +</p> + +<p> +From which do we suffer more today, from excessive +strictness or excessive looseness in Sabbath observance? +</p> + +<p> +How is the social value of the rest-day frustrated for the +working class? +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: Natural Duty above Artificial</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why +walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of +the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands? +And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of +you hypocrites, as it is written, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>This people honoreth me with their lips,</l> +<l>But their heart is far from me.</l> +<l>But in vain do they worship me,</l> +<l>Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.</l> +</lg> + +<p> +Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast +the tradition of men. And he said unto them, Full +well do ye reject the commandment of God, that +ye may keep your tradition. For Moses said, Honor +thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh +evil of father or mother, let him die the death: +but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his +mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been +profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God; +ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father +or his mother; making void the word of God by your +tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such +like things ye do.—Mark 7:5-13. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Contemporary Jewish religion was full of taboos, defilements, +and purifications. Read Mark 7:1-23. Jesus was so +indifferent about the religious ablutions that he was brought +to book for it by the pious. He replied that these regulations +were not part of the divine law, but later accretions +the product of theological casuistry, and that they tended to +obscure the real divine duties. He cited a flagrant case. +By eternal and divine law a man owes love and support to +his parents. But the scribes held that if a man vowed to +give money to the temple, this obligation, being toward God, +superseded the obligation to his parents, which was merely +human. To Jesus this seemed a perversion of religion. +Ecclesiastical claims were made to stifle fundamental social +duty. To Jesus the latter had incomparably higher value. +Religion had become a social danger through such teaching. +</p> + +<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/> + +<p> +Give proof from modern history that religious institutions +may become injurious to social morality and welfare. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: Religion Which Obscured Duty</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have +left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, +and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have +done, and not to have left the other undone. Ye +blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow +the camel! +</p> + +<p> +Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the +platter, but within they are full from extortion and +excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside +of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof +may become clean also.—Matt. 23:23-26. +</p> + +<p> +Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; +and when he is become so, ye make him twofold +more a son of hell than yourselves.—Matt. 23:15. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The great invective of Jesus against the scribes and Pharisees +(Matthew 23) deals wholly with the perversions of +religion. In these verses he emphasizes the fact that the +solemn importance attached to external minutiæ turned the +attention of men from the really fundamental spiritual duties, +such as justice, mercy, and good faith. As the blood was +supposed to be the sacred element of life, it had to be +drained off in butchering, and a drowned animal could not +be eaten. Jesus wittily describes the Pharisee filtering out +drowned gnats from the drinking water, but bolting some +camel of a sin without blinking. The outside of the cup was +kept scrupulously scoured, but the inside was filled with the +products of rapacity and the material for luxurious excess. +When religion had become of such a sort, even missionary +activity became an actual damage, for the converts were +turned into fanatical sticklers on trifles. In all this we can +<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/> +see him striking out for a kind of religion that would result +in righteous conduct and have social value. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Have we had any experience of religion which obscured +duty to us? Have we had any experience of religion which +revealed duty to us?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Religious Wonders and Social Realities</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying +him asked him to show them a sign from heaven. +But he answered and said unto them, When it is +evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the +heaven is red. And in the morning, It will be foul +weather to-day: for the heaven is red and lowering. +Ye know how to discern the face of the heaven; but +ye cannot discern the signs of the times. An evil +and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and +there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of +Jonah. And he left them, and departed.—Matt. 16:1-4. +</quote> + +<p> +This demand for a miracle pursued Jesus all through his +teaching activity. He settled with it on principle in his desert +temptation; he would not leap from the pinnacles of the +temple, or do anything to turn his work into a holy circus. +But the demand followed him to his death: <q>If thou art the +Son of God, come down from the cross.</q> A good, stunning +miracle seemed a short cut to faith, the most convincing way +of furnishing proof of his divine mission. Also, it would be +mighty interesting. But he never catered to the demand. +His power was only for the relief of suffering. He tried to +keep his acts of healing private. In this passage he advised +his opponents to use their intellect in more useful directions +than stargazing for signs from heaven. They were weather-wise. +Let them read the signs of the times. Storms were +brewing on the horizon. Forty years later Titus destroyed +Jerusalem and broke the back of the Jewish nation. The +prophetic mind of Jesus saw it coming (Luke 19:41-44). +</p> + +<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/> + +<p> +If they had accepted his teaching of peace instead of getting +intoxicated by the visions of revolutionary apocalypticism, +the doom might have been averted. He was trying to bring +their feet to the ground, turn their mind to realities, and +make their religion socially efficient. +</p> + +<p> +Would the sight of a miracle have effected a moral change +in a Pharisee? +</p> + +<p> +How would religion be affected, if miraculous demonstrations +could be furnished at will? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: When Religion Separates Men</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And as Jesus passed by from thence, he saw a man, +called Matthew, sitting at the place of toll: and he +saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and +followed him. +</p> + +<p> +And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, +behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat +down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the +Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why +eateth your Teacher with the publicans and sinners? +But when he heard it, he said, They that are whole +have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. +But go ye and learn what this meaneth, I desire +mercy, and not sacrifice: for I came not to call the +righteous, but sinners.—Matt. 9:9-13. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +The Jewish community, religious at the core, had a fringe +of people who had failed to live up to the requirements of +the Law. They came under the condemnation of the respectable +people and of their own conscience, and drifted +into the despised and vicious occupations. These were the +<q>publicans and sinners,</q> the <q>publicans and harlots,</q> to whom +the Gospels refer. A socially efficient religion would have +prompted the good people to establish loving and saving +contact with these people. Actually religion so accentuated +the social divergence that the Pharisees were shocked when +Jesus mingled in a friendly way with this class and even +<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/> +added one of them to his traveling companions. The parables +of the lost coin, lost sheep, and prodigal son were +spoken in reply to the slur, <q>This man receiveth sinners, and +eateth with them</q> (Luke 15). The elder brother of the +prodigal pictures this loveless and censorious religion. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus crossed the line of demarcation and established social +contact and friendliness, through which salvation could come +to these religious derelicts. He quoted again the old saying +of the prophets, <q>I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.</q> God +was not as much concerned about correct religious performances +as the Pharisees thought, and a great deal more +concerned about mercy for the fallen, and the simple human +qualities which bring the strong and the weak together. +</p> + +<p> +What experiences have we had of refusal to associate? +Was the cleavage along lines of race, wealth, education, +morals, or religion? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Has religion with us been an impulse toward men, or +away from men?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: Be Useful or Die</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he spake this parable; A certain man had a +fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking +fruit thereon, and found none. And he said unto +the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come +seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it +down; why doth it also cumber the ground? And +he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone +this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: +and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou +shalt cut it down.—Luke 13:6-9. +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus evidently had some interest in scientific agriculture. +Both the owner and the vine-dresser in this parable were out +for agricultural efficiency. The owner hated to see soil and +space wasted; the vine-dresser was reluctant to sacrifice a +tree, and proposed better tillage and more fertilizer. Taking +this parable in connection with what precedes, we see that +<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/> +Jesus was concerned about the future of his nation and its +religion. Both would have to validate their right to exist; +God could not have them cumber the ground. They must +make good. This is the stern urge of the God whom we know +in history and evolution, with the voice of Christ pleading +for patience. But it is agreed between them that ultimately +the law of fitness must rule. Religion can not bank on claims +of antiquity alone. Every generation must find it newly efficient +to create the social virtues then needed. Remember that +this was spoken by a Jewish patriot and the supreme exponent +of the Hebrew religion. +</p> + +<p> +Give historical instances of the permanent downfall or +decline of nations. Trace the connection between their fate +and their religion. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +Jesus Christ was the founder of the highest religion; he +was himself the purest religious spirit known to us. Why, +then, was he in opposition to religion? The clash between +him and the representatives of organized religion was not +occasional or superficial. It ran through his whole activity, +was one of the dominant notes in his teaching, culminated in +the great spiritual duel between him and the Jewish hierarchy +in the last days at Jerusalem, and led directly to his crucifixion. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +The opposition of Jesus was not, of course, against religion +itself, but against religion as he found it. It was not directed +against any departure from the legitimate order of the priesthood; +nor against an improper ritual or wrong doctrine of +sacrifices. In fact, it did not turn on any of the issues which +were of such importance to the Church in later times. He +criticized the most earnest religious men of his day because +their religion harmed men instead of helping them. It was +unsocial, or anti-social. +</p> + +<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/> + +<p> +The Old Testament prophets also were in opposition to the +priestly system of their time because it used up the religious +interest of the people in ceremonial performances without +ethical outcome. It diverted spiritual energy, by substituting +lower religious requirements for the one fundamental +thing which God required—righteousness in social and political +life. They insisted over and over that Jehovah wants +righteousness and wants nothing else. Their aim was to +make religion and ethics one and inseparable. They struck +for the social efficiency of religion. +</p> + +<p> +At the time of Jesus the Jewish sacrifices had lost much +of their religious importance. During the Exile they had +lapsed. They were professional performances of one class. +The numerous Jews scattered in other countries perhaps saw +the temple once in a lifetime. Modern feeling in the first +century was against bloody sacrifices. The recorded sayings +of Jesus hardly mention them. On the other hand the daily +life of the people was pervaded by little prescribed religious +actions. The Sabbath with its ritual was punctiliously +observed.<note place='foot'>Edersheim, <q>Life and Times +of Jesus, the Messiah,</q> Appendix XVII, give +a detailed account of Sabbath regulations.</note> +There were frequent days of fasting, religious +ablutions and baths, long prayers to be recited several times +daily, with prayer straps around the arm and forehead, and +a tasseled cloth over the head. The exact performance of +these things seemed an essential part of religion to the most +earnest men. +</p> + +<p> +We have seen how Jesus collided with these religious +requirements and on what grounds. If men were deeply +concerned about the taboo food that went into their bodies, +they would not be concerned about the evil thoughts that +arose in their souls. If they were taught to focus on petty +duties, such as tithing, the great ethical principles and obligations +moved to the outer field of vision and became blurred. +The Sabbath, which had originated in merciful purpose +toward the poor, had been turned into another burden. +Religion, which ought to bring good men into saving contact +<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/> +with the wayward by love, actually resulted in separating the +two by a chasm of religious pride and censoriousness. A man-made +and artificial religious performance, such as giving +toward the support of the temple, crowded aside fundamental +obligations written deep in the constitution of human society, +such as filial reverence and family solidarity. +</p> + +<p> +Other reformers have condemned religious practices because +they were departures from the holy Book or from +primitive custom. Jesus, too, pointed out that some of these +regulations were recent innovations. But the real standard +by which he judged current religious questions was not +ancient authority but the present good of men. The spiritual +center on which he took his stand and from which he judged +all things, was the Kingdom of God, the perfect social order. +Even the ordinances of religion must justify themselves by +making an effective contribution to the Kingdom of God. +The Sabbath was made for man, and its observance must +meet the test of service to man's welfare. It must function +wholesomely. The candle must give light, or what is the +use of it? The salt must be salty and preserve from decay, +or it will be thrown out and trodden under foot. If the +fig-tree bears no fruit, why is it allowed to use up space and +crowd better plants off the soil? This, then, is Christ's test +in matters of institutional religion. The Church and all +its doings must serve the Kingdom of God. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +The social efficiency of religion is a permanent social +problem. What is the annual expense of maintaining the +churches in the United States? How much capital is invested +in the church buildings? (See U. S. Census Bulletin +No. 103, of 1906.) How much care and interest and loving +free-will labor does an average village community bestow +on religion as compared with other objects? All men feel +instinctively that religion exerts a profound and subtle influence +on the springs of conduct. Even those who denounce +<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/> +it, acknowledge at least its power for harm. Most of us +know it as a power for good. But all history shows that this +great spiritual force easily deteriorates. <foreign lang='la' rend='italic'>Corruptio +optimi pessima.</foreign> +</p> + +<p> +Religion may develop an elaborate social apparatus of its +own, wheels within wheels, and instead of being a dynamic +of righteousness in the natural social relations of men, its +energies may be consumed in driving its own machinery. +Instead of being the power-house supplying the Kingdom of +God among men with power and light, the Church may +exist for its own sake. It then may become an expensive +consumer of social wealth, a conservative clog, and a real +hindrance of social progress. +</p> + +<p> +Live religion gives proof of its value by the sense of +freedom, peace, and elation which it creates. We feel we +are right with the holy Power which is behind, and beneath, +and above all things. It gives a satisfying interpretation of +life and of our own place in it. It moves our aims higher +up, draws our fellow-men closer, and invigorates our will. +</p> + +<p> +But our growth sets a problem for our religion. The +religion of childhood will not satisfy adolescent youth, and +the religion of youth ought not to satisfy a mature man +or woman. Our soul must build statelier mansions for itself. +Religion must continue to answer all our present needs and +inspire all our present functions. A person who has failed +to adjust his religion to his growing powers and his intellectual +horizon, has failed in one of the most important +functions of growth, just as if his cranium failed to expand +and to give room to his brain. Being microcephalous is a +misfortune, and nothing to boast of. +</p> + +<p> +Precisely the same problem arises when society passes +through eras of growth. Religion must keep pace. The +Church must pass the burning torch of religious experience +from age to age, transmitting the faith of the fathers to +the children, and not allowing any spiritual values to perish. +But it must allow and aid religion to adjust itself. Its +inspiring teaching must meet the new social problems so +<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/> +effectively that no evil can last long or grow beyond remedy. +In every new age religion must stand the test of social +efficiency. Is it passing that test in Western civilization? +</p> + +<p> +Religion is a bond of social coherence. It creates loyalty. +But it may teach loyalty to antiquated observances or a +dwarfed system of truth. Have you ever seen believers rallying +around a lost cause in religion? Yet these relics were +once a live issue, and full of thrilling religious vitality. +</p> + +<p> +Society changes. Will religion change with it? If society +passes from agriculture and rural settlements to industry +and urban conditions, can the customary practices of religion +remain unchanged? Give some instances where prescientific +conceptions of the universe, embodied in religion, have +blocked the spread of scientific knowledge among the people. +The caste distinctions of Hinduism were the product of a +combination between religion and the social organization of +the people; can they last when industrialism and democracy +are pervading India? The clerical attitude of authority was +natural when the Catholic clergy were the only educated class +in the community; is it justified today? Protestantism won +the allegiance of industrial communities when the young +business class was struggling to emancipate itself from the +feudal system. It developed an individualistic philosophy of +ethics. Today society tends toward solidaristic organization. +How will that affect religion and its scheme of duty? Thus +religion, by its very virtues of loyalty and reverence, may +fall behind and lose its full social efficiency. It must be +geared to the big live issues of today if it is to manifest its +full saving energies. +</p> + +<p> +How does this problem of the efficiency of religion bear +on the foreign missionary movement? How will backward +or stationary civilizations be affected by the introduction of +a modern and enthusiastic religion? +</p> + +<p> +We may feel the defects of our church life at home, but +there is no doubt that the young men and women who go +out from our colleges under religious impulses, are felt as +a virile and modernizing force when they settle to their work +<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/> +in Turkey or Persia. Christian educational institutions and +medical missions have raised the intellectual and humane +standards of young China. Buddhism in Japan has felt the +challenge of competition and is readjusting its ethics and +philosophy to connect with modern social ideals. The historical +effects of our religious colonization will not mature +for several generations, but they are bound to be very great. +The nations and races are drawing together. They need a +monotheistic religion as a spiritual basis for their sense of +human unity. This is a big, modern, social task. It makes +its claim on men and women who have youth, education, and +spiritual power. Is the religious life of our colleges and +universities efficient enough to meet the need? +</p> + +<p> +Here are the enormous tasks of international relations, +which the Great War has forced us to realize—the prevention +of armed conflicts, the elimination of the irritant causes +of war, the protection of the small nations which possess +what the big nations covet, the freedom of the seas as the +common highway of God, fair and free interchange in commerce +without any effort to set up monopoly rights and the +privilege of extortionate gain, the creation of an institutional +basis for a great family of nations in days to come. +These are some of the tasks which the men and women who +are now young must take on their mind and conscience for +life, and leave to their children to finish. What contributions, +in your opinion, could the spirit of the Christian religion +make to such a program, if it were realized intelligently and +pressed home through the agencies of the Christian Church? +In what ways has American religion shown its efficiency since +the war broke out? +</p> + +<p> +Christianity has been a great power in our country to +cleanse and fraternalize the social life of simple communities. +Can it meet the complex needs of modern industrialism in +the same way? It can not truthfully be claimed that it has +done so in any industrial country. Its immense spiritual +forces might be the decisive element, but they have been +effectively organized against a few only of the great modern +<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/> +evils. On the fundamental ethical questions of capitalism +the Church has not yet made up its own mind—not to speak +of enforcing the mind of Christ. Nor have the specialists +in the universities and colleges supplied the leaders of the +Church with clear information and guidance on these questions. +We can not make much permanent progress toward +a just social order as long as the masses of the working +people in the industrial nations continue in economic poverty +and political helplessness, and as long as a minority controls +the land, the tools, and the political power. We shall +linger on the borders of the Inferno until a new accession +of moral insight and spiritual power comes to the nations. +How will it come? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +What could the churches in an average village community +accomplish if they intelligently directed the power of religion +to foster the sense of fraternal unity and to promote the +institutions which make for unity? How could they draw the +new, the strange, and the irregular families into the circle of +neighborly feeling? In what way could they help to assimilate +immigrants and to prevent the formation of several +communities in the same section, overlapping, alien, and perhaps +hostile? How would it affect the recreational situation +if the churches took a constructive rather than a prohibitive +attitude toward amusements, and if they promoted the sociability +of the community rather than that of church groups? +</p> + +<p> +With the rise of land prices and the control of transportation +and markets, the rural population is moving toward +a social crisis like that which transformed the urban population +in the industrial revolution. Agriculture will become +capitalistic, and the weaker families will drop to the position +of tenants and agricultural laborers. Cooperation is their +way of salvation. Its effectiveness has been amply demonstrated +in older countries. It requires a strong sense of +solidarity, loyalty, and good faith to succeed. It has made +so little headway in America because our national character +<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/> +has not been developed in these directions. What could the +churches do to save the weaker families from social submergence +by backing cooperation and developing the moral +qualities needed for it? +</p> + +<p> +The strong religious life of our people might be more +effective if the churches were less divided. Their economic +and human resources are partly wasted by useless competition. +Our denominational divisions are nearly all an +historical heritage, imported from Europe, and coming down +from a controversial age. Their issues all meant something +vital and socially important in the midst of the social order +of that day; but in many cases the real significance has +quietly crumbled away, and they are not really the same +issues that deeply engaged our forefathers. We are all +<q>tithing mint, anise, and cummin,</q> and forgetting the weighty +matters, such as social justice and Christian fraternity. Everybody +is ready to acknowledge this about every denomination +except his own. We need a revaluation of our religious +issues from the point of view of the Kingdom of God. +That would bring us into harmony with the judgment of +Jesus. Nothing else will. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +The social efficiency of religion—what call is there in that +to the college men and women of this generation? Shall +they cease to worship and pray, seek the salvation of society +in ethics and sociology, and abandon religion to stagnation? +Or shall they seek a new experience of religion in full +sight of the modern world, and work by faith toward that +reign of God in which his will shall be done? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>When the Salt Loses its Savor</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What is the individual to do when religion becomes +a hindrance to religion? +</p> + +<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/> + +<p> +2. What types of revolt against inherited religion have +you met in college? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Prophetic Religion Against Traditional Religion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What did the prophets criticize in the religion of +their day? +</p> + +<p> +2. What was Jesus' test of religion? +</p> + +<p> +3. Give instances in which he found religion to be a +hindrance to the highest welfare. How did religion obscure +duty? +</p> + +<p> +4. What was the essential cause of the clash between +Jesus and the religious leaders of his day? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Historic Reformation of Religion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. In studying history, what sins or failures of the +Church have impressed you most? +</p> + +<p> +2. What did the Protestant Reformation contribute to +make religion efficient? +</p> + +<p> +3. Has the Church been a rival or a feeder of the Kingdom +of God? +</p> + +<p> +4. Give historical examples of the failure of religion +to meet the changed requirements of a new epoch. +</p> + +<p> +5. What contributions has the Church made to social +progress? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>Religion Today</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What have Christian missions done to change the +social conditions in non-Christian countries? +</p> + +<p> +2. How do you rate the social service value of a first-class +minister in a community? On what does his value +depend? +</p> + +<p> +3. Of what social value to a community is a costly and +beautiful church building? +</p> + +<p> +4. What investment in capital and annual expenditure +does the maintenance of the churches in your community +<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/> +entail? Does the social return to the community justify +the investment? +</p> + +<p> +5. Are the issues which divided the Protestant denominations +in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries still +vital enough to justify the continuance of the divisions? +Summarize the evils of the divisions and their counter-balancing +good. +</p> + +<p> +6. Is the ordinary criticism of the churches fair? Are +ministers overpaid or underpaid? Do the churches graft? +How do the churches compare in social efficiency with other +similar social institutions? +</p> + +<p> +V. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Why did the reformation of the Church historically +precede the reform of politics and industry? +</p> + +<p> +2. Do the unsolved social problems of Christian nations +prove the social inefficiency of religion? Could religion +alone change the maladjustment of society? +</p> + +<p> +3. Why has religion been more effective in the field of +private life than of public life? +</p> + +<p> +4. If you had full control of the churches in a given +country or village community, on what aims would you +concentrate their forces? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +</div> + + +<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Part IV. Conquest By Conflict</head> + +<div> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter X. The Conflict With Evil</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>The Kingdom of God Will Have to Fight for Its +Advance</hi> +</p> + +<p> +The great objective is the Kingdom of God. In realizing +the Reign of God on earth three recalcitrant forces have +to be brought into obedience to God's law: the desire for +power, the love of property, and unsocial religion. We have +studied Christ's thought concerning these in the foregoing +chapters. The advance of the Kingdom of God is not simply +a process of social education, but a conflict with hostile forces +which resist, neutralize, and defy whatever works toward +the true social order. The strategy of the Kingdom of God, +therefore, involves a study of the social problem of evil. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Consciousness of Sin in the Lord's Prayer</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven +our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, +but deliver us from the evil one.—Matt. 6:12, 13. +</quote> + +<p> +The Lord's Prayer expresses the very mind and spirit of +the Master. It begins with the Kingdom of God; it ends +with the problem of sin. As we stand before God, we realize +that we have loaded up our life with debts we can never +pay. We have wasted our time, and the powers of body +and soul. We have left black marks of contagion on some +whose path we have crossed. We have hurt even those who +loved us by our ill-temper, thoughtlessness, and selfishness. +</p> + +<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/> + +<p> +We can only ask God to forgive and give us another chance: +<q>Forgive us our debts.</q> Looking forward we see the possibility +of fatal temptations. We know how fragile our +power of resistance is. <q>Lead us not into temptation, but +deliver us from evil.</q> Thus the consciousness of sin is written +across this greatest of all prayers. +</p> + +<p> +Is a sense of unworthiness an indication of moral strength +or of weakness? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Where do we draw the line between a normal and abnormal +sense of sin?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: Evil Embodied in Character</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or +make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the +tree is known by its fruit. Ye offspring of vipers, +how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out +of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. +The good man out of his good treasure bringeth +forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil +treasure bringeth forth evil things. And I say unto +you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they +shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. +For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy +words thou shalt be condemned.—Matt. 12:33-37. +</quote> + +<p> +Character is formed by action, but after it is formed, it +determines action. What a man says and does, he becomes; +and what he has become, he says and does. An honest and +clean-minded man instinctively does what is kind and honorable. +But when a man for years has gone for profit and +selfish power, you can trust him as a general thing to do what +is underhanded and mean. Since selfish ability elbows its +way to controlling positions in business, politics, and society, +the character reactions of such men are a force with which +the Kingdom of God must reckon. They are the personal +equipment of the kingdom of evil, and the more respectable, +well-dressed, and clever they are, the worse it is. +</p> + +<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/> + +<p> +What man or woman of our acquaintance would we single +out as the clearest case of an evil character? +</p> + +<p> +Why do we so judge him? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The Social Pressure of Evil</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he said unto his disciples, It is impossible but +that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe +unto him, through whom they come! It were well +for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, +and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that +he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.—Luke +17:1, 2. +</quote> + +<p> +A sex story lodging in a young mind, an invitation to +companionship and a drink, a sneer at religion which makes +faith look silly—such things trip us up. They are stumbling-blocks, +like wires stretched across a path in the dark. Just +because we are social and easily influenced by friendship, +admiration, or persuasion, one man's suggestion or example +draws the other man on. Jesus knew that social solicitation +and pressure toward sin was inevitable. It is the price we +pay for our social nature. But, all the same, it is a terrible +thing to contaminate a soul or steer a life toward its ruin. +This saying about the millstone is one of the sternest words +ever uttered. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Three men went out one summer night,</q></l> +<l>No care they had or aim,</l> +<l>And dined and drank. <q rend='pre'>Ere we go home</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>We'll have,</q> they said, <q>a game.</q></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l>Three girls began that summer night</l> +<l>A life of endless shame,</l> +<l>And went through drink, disease, and death,</l> +<l>As swift as racing flame.</l> +<l>Lawless and homeless, foul they died;</l> +<l>Rich, loved, and praised the men;</l> +<l>But when they all shall meet with God,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>And justice speaks—what then?</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/> + +<p> +Let us enumerate to our own minds cases where others +drew us into wrong, and cases where we were a cause of +evil for others. About which do we feel sorest now? Why? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: Moral Laziness</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +No man having drunk old wine desireth new; for +he saith, The old is good.—Luke 5:39. +</quote> + +<p> +This is a chance remark, but a keen observation. In wine-raising +countries an expert tongue and nice discrimination +between the fifty-seven varieties is one of the most coveted +talents. A man who would prefer some recent stuff to the +celebrated vintage of 18—, would commit +intellectual <foreign rend='italic'>hari-kari</foreign>. +It is said that in some of the celebrated vaults of +France they breed spiders to cover the bottles with webs +and dust to convey the delicious suggestion of antiquity. +Jesus uses the preference for old vintage to characterize the +conservative instinct in human nature. This is one of the +stickiest impediments to progress, one of the most respectable +forms of evil-mindedness. <q>The hereditary tiger is in us all, +also the hereditary oyster and clam. Indifference is the +largest factor, though not the ugliest form, in the production +of evil</q> (President Hyde). Men are morally lazy; +they have to be pushed into what is good for them, and the +<q>pushee</q> is almost sure to resent the pushing. The idea that +men ardently desire what is rational and noble is pernicious +fiction. They want to be let alone. This is part of original +sin. +</p> + +<p> +Was the above written in haste, or will it stand? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: Satanic Frustration of Good</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Another parable set he before them, saying, The +kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed +good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy +came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and +<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/> +went away. But when the blade sprang up and +brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. +And the servants of the householder came and said +unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy +field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto +them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants +say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather +them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye +gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. +Let both grow together until the harvest: and in +the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, +Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles +to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.—Matt. +13:24-30. +</quote> + +<p> +Here we encounter the devil. There is more in sin than +our own frailty and stupidity, and the bad influence of other +individuals. There is a permanent force of organized evil +which vitiates every higher movement and sows tares among +the grain over night. You work hard on some law to reform +the ballot or the primary in order to protect the freedom +and rights of the people, and after three years your +device has become a favorite tool of the interests. You +found a benevolent institution, and after you are dead it becomes +a nest of graft. Even the Church of Jesus was for +centuries so corrupt that all good men felt its reform in +head and members to be the greatest desideratum in Christendom. +Evil is more durable and versatile than youth and +optimism imagine. The belief in a satanic power of evil expresses +the conviction of the permanent power of evil. In +early Christianity the belief in the devil was closely connected +with the Christian opposition to the idolatrous and +wicked social order of heathenism. In the Apocalypse the +dragon who stands for Satan, and the beasts who stand for +the despotic Roman Empire, are in close alliance. +</p> + +<p> +What are the satanic social forces today? +</p> + +<p> +The parable of the tares grew out of a personal experience. +<hi rend='italic'>Has our observation ever furnished anything similar?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Irrepressible Conflict</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: +I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came +to set a man at variance against his father, and the +daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law +against her mother in law: and a man's foes shall be +they of his own household. He that loveth father +or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and +he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not +worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross +and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that +findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his +life for my sake shall find it.—Matt. 10:34-39. +</quote> + +<p> +Into a world controlled by sin was launched the life of +Christ. The more completely he embodied the divine character +and will, the more certain and intense would be the +conflict between him and the powers dominating the old +order. He accepted this fight, not only for himself but for +his followers. It would follow them up into the intimacies +of their homes. Any faith that takes the Kingdom of God +seriously, has its fight cut out for it. Unless we accept our +share of it, we are playing with our discipleship. But when +the fight is for the Kingdom of God, those who dodge, lose; +and those who lose, win. +</p> + +<p> +Which involves more conflict, a life set on the Kingdom +of God on earth, or a faith set on the life to come? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Does the idea of a fighting faith attract us?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Would this serve as a <q>substitute for war</q>?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: Militant Gentleness</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +But I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray +for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons +of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his +sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth +rain on the just and the unjust.—Matt. 5:44, 45. +</p> + +<p> +Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought +for things honorable in the sight of all men. But +<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/> +if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give +him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals +of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but +overcome evil with good.—Rom. 12:17, 20, 21. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: +if my kingdom were of this world, then would my +servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the +Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate +therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus +answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this +end have I been born, and to this end am I come +into the world, that I should bear witness unto the +truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my +voice.—John 18:36, 37. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +When we call out the militant spirit in religion, we summon +a dangerous power. It has bred grimness and cruelty. +Crusaders and inquisitors did their work in the name of +Jesus, but not in his spirit. We must saturate ourselves with +the spirit of our Master if our fighting is to further his +Kingdom. Hate breeds hate; force challenges force. Only +love disarms; only forgiveness kills an enemy and leaves a +friend. Jesus blended gentleness and virility, forgiving love +and uncompromising boldness. He offered it as a mark of his +Kingdom that his followers used no force to defend him. +Wherever they have done so, the Kingdom of heaven has +dropped to the level of the brutal empires. His attack is by +the truth; whoever is won by that, is conquered for good. +Force merely changes the form of evil. When we <q>overcome +evil with good,</q> we eliminate it. +</p> + +<p> +What did Paul mean by saying that acts of kindness to +an enemy heap coals of fire on his head? +</p> + +<p> +How about moral crusades that aim to put joint-keepers +and pimps in prison? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +All great religious teachers have had a deep sense of the +power of evil in human life. Jesus apparently was not interested +<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/> +in the philosophical question of the origin of evil, +but accepted the fact of evil in a pragmatic way, and saw his +own life as a conflict with sin and wrong. +</p> + +<p> +Some facts, as we have seen, were clearly written in his +consciousness: the frailty of our will; the consolidation of +evil in men of bad character and the automatic output of +lies and distortions coming from such; the power of social +pressure by which the weak are made to trip and fall; and +the pervasive satanic power of evil which purposely neutralizes +the efforts leading toward the Reign of God. +</p> + +<p> +The fact that Jesus realized evil in individuals and society, +that he reckoned with it practically, and that he set himself +against it with singleness of purpose, constitutes another of +his social principles. Any view of life which blurs the fact +of evil would have seemed to him an illusion. He would +have foretold failure for any policy based on it. His great +social problem was redemption from evil. Every step of approach +toward the Kingdom of God must be won by conflict. +</p> + +<p> +Modern science explains evil along totally different lines, +but as to the main facts it agrees with the spiritual insight +of Jesus. Psychology recognizes that the higher desires are +usually sluggish and faint, while the animal appetites are +strong and clamorous. Our will tires easily and readily yields +to social pressure. In many individuals the raw material of +character is terribly flawed by inheritance. So the young, +with a maximum of desire and a minimum of self-restraint, +slip into folly, and the aging backslide into shame. Human +nature needs a strong reenforcement to rouse it from its inherited +lethargy and put it on the toilsome upward track. It +needs redemption, emancipation from slavery, a breaking of +bonds. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +Evangelism is the attack of redemptive energy in the +sphere of personal life. It comes to a man shamed by the +sense of guilt and baffled by moral failure, and rouses him to +a consciousness of his high worth and eternal destiny. It +<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/> +transmits the faith of the Christian Church in a loving and +gracious God who is willing to forgive and powerful to save. +It teaches a man to pray, curing his soul by affirming over +and over a triumphant faith, and throwing it open to mysterious +spiritual powers which bring joy, peace, and strength +beyond himself. It sets before him a code of moral duty to +quicken and guide his conscience. It puts him inside of a +group of like-minded people who exercise social restraint +and urge him on. +</p> + +<p> +When all this is wisely combined, it constitutes a spiritual +reenforcement of incomparable energy. It acts like an emancipation. +It gives a sense of freedom and newness. The +untrained observer sees it mainly in those cases where the +turn has come in some dramatic form and where the contrast +between the old and new life is most demonstrable. But the +saving force is at work even when it seeps in through home +influences so quietly that the beneficiary of it does not realize +what a great thing has been done for him. +</p> + +<p> +The saving force has to attack the powers in possession. +Only those who have helped in wresting men free from sin +can tell what a stiff fight it often is. Here is an intellectual +professional man who goes off for a secret spree about once +in sixty days; a respectable woman who has come under the +opium habit; a boy who is both a cigarette fiend and sexually +weak; a man who domineers and cows his wife and family; +a woman who has reduced her husband to slavery to supply +her expensive tastes; a girl who shirks all work and throws +the burden of her selfish life on a hard-worked mother; a +college man whose parents are straining all their resources +and using up their security for old age to keep him at college, +and who gambles—complete the catalogue for yourself. +To make these individuals over into true citizens of the +Kingdom of God and loyal fellow-workers of their fellow-men +means constructive conflict of a high order. It has been +done.<note place='foot'>See, for instance, Begbie, <q>Twice Born Men.</q></note> +</p> + +</div> + +<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +The problem of evil becomes far more complicated when +evil is socialized. The simplest and most familiar form of +that is the boys' gang. Here is a group of young humans +who get their fun and adventure by pulling the whiskers of +the law. They idealize vice and crime. Leadership in their +group is won by proficiency in profanity, gambling, obscenity, +and slugging. The gang assimilates its members; there is +regimentation of evil. It acts as a channel of tradition; the +boy of fifteen teaches the boy of twelve what he has learned +from the boy of eighteen. +</p> + +<p> +How is the problem of evil affected when the powers of +human society, which usually restrain the individual from +vice and rebellion, are used to urge him into it? Should +the strategy of the Kingdom of God be adjusted to that +situation? It is not enough to win individuals away from +the gangs. Can the gang spirit itself be christianized and +used to restrain and stimulate the young for good? Has +this been done, and where, and how? Is Christian institutional +work sufficient to cope with the problem? What readjustments +in the recreational and educational outfit of our +American communities are needed to give a wholesome outlet +to the spirit of play and adventure, and to train the +young for their life work? Would such an outfit do the +work without personal leadership inspired by religion? +</p> + +<p> +Christian evangelism in the past has not had an adequate +understanding of the power of the group. In what connections +has the Church shown a true valuation of the social +factor in sin and redemption? At what points has its strategy +been ineffective in dealing with socialized evil? What contributions +can social science make to the efficiency of evangelism? +Would a correct scientific analysis of the constructive +and disintegrating forces in society be enough to do +saving work? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +The bad gangs of the young are usually held together by +<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/> +a misdirected love of play and adventure. The dangerous +combinations of adults are consolidated by <q>the cohesive +power of plunder.</q> That makes them a far more difficult +proposition. +</p> + +<p> +Any local attack on saloons and vice resorts furnishes a +laboratory demonstration of socialized evil. The object of +both kinds of institutions is to make big profit by catering +to desires which induce men to spend freely. Music and +sociability are used as a bait. The people who profit by this +trade are held together by the fear of a common danger. +Since the community uses political means of curbing or suppressing +the vice business, the vice group goes into politics +to prevent it. It seeks to control the police, the courts, the +political machines by sharing part of its profits. Lawyers, +officials, newspaper proprietors, and real estate men are linked +up and summoned like a feudal levy in case of danger. Drugstores, +doctors, chauffeurs, messenger boys, and all kinds of +people are used to bring in trade and make it secure. The +exploded fictions of alcoholism are kept circulating. Like a +tape-worm in the intestines, these articulated and many-jointed +parasitic organizations of vice make our communities +sick, dirty, and decadent. +</p> + +<p> +We have learned to read the sordid trail of the drink and +vice traffic in American communities. There is another kind +of organized evil, even more ancient, pervasive, and deadly, +which few understand, though it has left a trail sufficiently +terrible. +</p> + +<p> +Wherever we look in the history of the older nations, we +see an alignment of two fundamental classes. The one is +born to toil, stunted by toil, and gets its class characteristics +by toil. The other is characterized by the pleasures and +arts of leisure, is physically and mentally developed by +leisure, and proud and jealous of its leisure. This class is +always class-conscious; its groups, however antagonistic, always +stand together against the class of toil. Its combination +of leisure and wealth is conditioned on the power of +taking tribute from the labor of many. In order to do this +<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/> +with safety, it must control political power, the military outfit, +the power of making, interpreting and executing the laws, +and the forces forming public opinion. +</p> + +<p> +Before the advent of industrialism and political democracy, +it secured its income by controlling the land and the government +of nations; and the effects of its control can be read in +the condition of the rural population of Russia, Austria, +Eastern Germany, Italy, France before the Revolution, England, +and especially Ireland. The development of industry +has changed the problem of economic and political control; +but the essentials remain, as we can see in the condition of +industrial communities and the history of labor legislation. +</p> + +<p> +The fundamental sin of all dominant classes has been the +taking of unearned incomes. Political oppression has always +been a corollary of economic parasitism, a means to an end. +The combination of the two constitutes the largest and most +continuous form of organized evil in human history. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus used the illustration of pegs maliciously driven into +the path to make men stumble and fall. It would require +some illustration drawn from modern machinery to express +the wholesale prostration of bodies and souls where covetousness +has secured continuous power and has been able to +get in its full work. Anyone who has ever looked with +human understanding at the undersized and stupid peasants +of countries ruled by their landlord class, or at the sordid +homes and pleasures of miners or industrial workers where +some corporation feared neither God nor the law, ought to +get a comprehension of the power of evil that has rested like +an iron yoke on humanity. +</p> + +<p> +We think most readily of the children of the poor as a +product of exploitation; underfed and overstimulated, cut +off from the clean pleasures of nature, often tainted with +vice before knowledge has come, and urged along by the +appetites and cruel selfishness of older persons, they are a +standing accusation against society itself.<note place='foot'>See Jane Addams, +<q>A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil.</q></note> Jesus would have +<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/> +felt that the children of the rich are an even worse product +of exploitation than the poor. When <q>society</q> plays, it burns +up the labor of thousands like fireworks. The only possible +justification for the aggregations of wealth is that the rich +are to act as the trustees and directors of the wealth of +society; but their children—except in conspicuous and fine +exceptions—are put out of contact with the people whom they +must know if they are to serve them, so that it takes heroic +effort on the part of noble exceptions to get in contact with +the people once more, and to discover how they live. In all +nations the atmosphere of the aristocratic groups drugs the +sense of obligation, and possesses the mind with the notion +that the life and labor of men are made to play tennis with. +The existence of great permanent groups, feeding but not +producing, dominating and directing the life of whole nations +according to their own needs, may well seem a supreme proof +of the power of evil in humanity. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +If evil is socialized, salvation must be socialized. The +organization of the Christian Church is a recognition of the +social factor in salvation. It is not enough to have God, +and Christ, and the Bible. A group is needed, organized on +Christian principles, and expressing the Christian spirit, which +will assimilate the individual and gradually make him over +into a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Salvation will rarely +come to anyone without the mediation of some individual or +group which already has salvation. It may be very small +and simple. <q>Where two or three are gathered in my name, +there am I in the midst of them.</q> That saying recognizes +that an additional force is given to religion by its embodiment +in a group of believers. Professor Royce has recently +reasserted in modern terms the old doctrine that <q>there is +no salvation outside of the Church,</q> calling the Church <q>the +beloved community.</q> Of course the question is how intensively +Christian the Church can make its members. That +<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/> +will depend on the question how Christian the Church itself +is, and there's the rub. +</p> + +<p> +The Church is the permanent social factor in salvation. +But it has cause to realize that many social forces outside +its immediate organization must be used, if the entire community +is to be christianized. +</p> + +<p> +In the earliest centuries Christianity was practically limited +to the life within the Church. Being surrounded by a hostile +social order, and compelled to fence off its members, it created +a little duplicate social order within the churches where it +sought to realize the distinctively Christian social life. Its +influence there was necessarily restricted mainly to individual +morality, family life, and neighborly intercourse, and here it +did fundamental work in raising the moral standards. On +the other hand, it failed to reorganize industry, property, and +the State. Even if Christians had had an intelligent social +and political outlook, any interference with the Roman Empire +by the low-class adherents of a forbidden religion was +out of the question. When the Church was recognized and +favored under Constantine and his successors, it had lost its +democratic composition and spirit, and the persons who controlled +it were the same sort of men who controlled the +State. +</p> + +<p> +The early age of the Church has had a profound influence +in fixing the ideals and aims of later times. The compulsory +seclusion and confinement of the age of persecution are supposed +to mark the mission of the Church. As long as the +social life in our country was simple and rural, the churches, +when well led, were able to control the moral life of entire +communities. But as social organization became complex +and the solidarity of neighborhood life was left behind, the +situation got beyond the institutional influence of the churches. +Evidently the fighting energies of Christianity will have to +make their attack on broader lines, and utilize the scientific +knowledge of society, which is now for the first time at the +command of religion, and the forces set free by political and +social democracy. We can not restrict the modern conflict +<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/> +with evil to the defensive tactics of a wholly different age. +Wherever organized evil opposes the advance of the Kingdom +of God, there is the battle-front. Wherever there is any +saving to be done, Christianity ought to be in it. The intensive +economic and sociological studies of the present +generation of college students are a preparation for this +larger warfare with evil. These studies will receive their +moral dignity and religious consecration when they are put +at the service of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Natural Drift</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. If left alone, which way do we tend? Does a normal +and sound individual need spiritual reinforcement to live +a good life? +</p> + +<p> +2. How do you account for the fact that the noblest +movements are so easily debased? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Jesus and Human Sin</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Did Jesus take a friendly or a gloomy view of human +nature? How did the fact of sin in humanity impress him? +</p> + +<p> +2. Why did he condemn so sternly those who caused the +weak to stumble? Estimate the relative force of the natural +weakness of human nature, and of the pressure of socialized +evil, when individuals go wrong. +</p> + +<p> +3. Do you agree with the exposition in the Daily Reading +for the Fourth Day? Do men want to be let alone? +Is this an evidence of sinful tendency? +</p> + +<p> +4. What personal experiences of Jesus prompted the +parable of the tares? Was the conception of Satan in +Jewish religion of individual or social origin? When did +it have political significance? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Irrepressible Conflict</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Why did Jesus foresee an inevitable conflict if the +<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/> +Kingdom of God was to come? Has history borne him +out? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does mystical religion involve a man in conflict? +Does ascetic religion? Which books him for more conflict +with social evil—a life set on the Kingdom of God on earth, +or a faith set on the life to come? +</p> + +<p> +3. What form does the conflict with evil take in our +personal life? What reinforcement does the Christian +religion as a spiritual faith offer us? What personal experience +have we of its failure or its effectiveness? +</p> + +<p> +4. What is meant by evil being socialized? In what +ways does this increase the ability of evil to defend and +propagate itself? +</p> + +<p> +5. What are the most dangerous forms of organized +evil today? How do they work? +</p> + +<p> +6. What are the most disastrous <q>stumbling blocks</q> +today for working people? For business men? For students? +</p> + +<p> +7. The Church sings many militant hymns. Is the +Church as a whole a fighting force today? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. How should an individual go about it to fight concrete +and socialized evils in a community? +</p> + +<p> +2. How can a church get into the fight? Should the +Church go into politics? Why, or why not? +</p> + +<p> +3. Would Christianity be just as influential as a social +power of salvation if the Christian Church did not exist? +</p> + +<p> +4. Will the fight against evil ever be won? If not, is it +worth fighting? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XI. The Cross As A Social Principle</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Social Redemption is Wrought by Vicarious Suffering</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Prophetic Succession</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +And he began to speak unto them in parables. A +man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, +and digged a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, +and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another +country. And at the season he sent to the +husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from +the husbandmen of the fruits of the vineyard. And +they took him, and beat him, and sent him away +empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; +and him they wounded in the head, and handled +shamefully. And he sent another; and him they +killed: and many others; beating some, and killing +some. He had yet one, a beloved son: he sent him +last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. +But those husbandmen said among themselves, This +is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance +shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, +and cast him forth out of the vineyard. What therefore +will the lord of the vineyard do? he will come +and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard +unto others.—Mark 12:1-9. +</quote> + +<p> +The vineyard parable was meant as an epitome of Jewish +history. By the servants who came to summon the nation +to obedience, Jesus meant the prophets. The history of the +Hebrew people was marked by a unique succession of men +<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/> +who had experienced God, who lived in the consciousness +of the Eternal, who judged the national life by the standard +of divine righteousness, and who spoke to their generation +as representatives of God.<note place='foot'>Why not give +a fresh reading to the Hebrew prophets? Read them as if +they had just been dug up in the East. Read them with the insight into +social life developed by economic and sociological work in college. Read +them with the critical social and political situations in mind. Read entire +books at a sitting to absorb the spiritual valor of the prophets and their sense +of God and of righteousness. George Adam Smith's <q>The Book of the Twelve +Prophets</q> has fine social understanding, and gives the necessary historical +background.</note> The spirit of these men and the +indirect permanent influence they gained in their nation give +the Old Testament its incomparable power to impel and +inspire us. They were the moving force in the spiritual progress +of their nation. Yet Jesus here sketches their fate as +one of suffering and rejection. +</p> + +<p> +Have other nations had a succession of men corresponding +to the Hebrew prophets? +</p> + +<p> +Are there any in our own national history? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Suffering Servant of Jehovah</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our +sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of +God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our +transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the +chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with +his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have +gone astray; we have turned every one to his own +way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us +all. +</p> + +<p> +He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he +opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the +slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers +is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression +and judgment he was taken away; and as for his +generation, who among them considered that he was +cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression +of my people to whom the stroke was due?—Isaiah +53:4-8. +</p> +</quote> + +<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/> + +<p> +In the latter part of Isaiah are a number of sections describing +the character and mission of <q>the servant of Jehovah.</q> +Whom did the writer mean? A single great personality? +The suffering and exiled Hebrew nation? A +godly and inspired group of prophets within the nation? +The Christian Church has always seen in this servant of +Jehovah a striking prophecy of Christ. The fact that the +interpretation has long been in question indicates that the +characteristics of the servant of Jehovah can be traced in +varying degrees in the nation, in the prophetic order, in +single prophets, and preeminently in the great culminating +figure of all prophethood. Isaiah 53 describes the servant +of Jehovah as rejected and despised, misunderstood, bearing +the transgressions and chastisement of all. It is the first +great formulation of the fact of vicarious suffering in +humanity. +</p> + +<p> +Why and how can the sins of a group fall on one? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: A Contemporary Prophet</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And as these went their way, Jesus began to say +unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye +out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken +with the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man +clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft +raiment are in kings' houses. But wherefore went ye +out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and +much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it +is written, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,</l> +<l>Who shall prepare thy way before thee....</l> +</lg> + +<p> +But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It +is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who +call unto their fellows and say, We piped unto you, +and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not +mourn. +</p> + +<p> +For John came neither eating nor drinking, and +they say, He hath a demon. The Son of man came +eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous +<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/> +man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans +and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works.—Matt. +11:7-10; 16-19. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +To Jesus prophetism was not merely an historic fact, but +a living reality. He believed in present-day inspiration. He +and his contemporaries had seen one great prophet, fearless, +heroic, with all the marks of the type, a messenger of God +inaugurating a new era of spiritual ferment (vs. 12, 13). +But John had to bear the prophet's lot. He was then in +prison for the crime of telling a king the truth, and was +soon to die to please a vindictive woman. The people, too, +had wagged their heads over him. Like pouting children on +the public square, who <q>won't play,</q> whether the game proposed +is a wedding or a funeral, the people had criticized John +for being a gloomy ascetic, and found fault with Jesus for +his shocking cheerfulness. There was no way of suiting +them, and no way of making them take the call of God to +heart. Long before electricity was invented, human nature +knew all about interposing nonconductors between itself and +the truth. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Have we ever noticed students interposing a general criticism +between themselves and a particular obligation?</hi> +</p> + +<p> +Can it be that one of the uses of a higher education is +to furnish greater facility in fuddling inconvenient truth? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: Looking Forward to the Cross</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh +come that he should be received up, he stedfastly +set his face to go to Jerusalem.—Luke 9:51. +</p> + +<p> +In that very hour there came certain Pharisees, +saying to him, Get thee out, and go hence: for +Herod would fain kill thee. And he said unto them, +Go and say to that fox, Behold, I cast out demons +and perform cures to-day and to-morrow, and the +third day I am perfected. Nevertheless I must go +on my way to-day and to-morrow and the day following; +<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/> +for it cannot be that a prophet perish out +of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth +the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto +her! how often would I have gathered thy children +together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood +under her wings, and ye would not!—Luke 13:31-34. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Jesus early knew that the decision was going against him. +He saw the cross on the horizon of his life long before +others saw it. Painters have pictured him in his father's +carpenter shop, with tools on his shoulder, gazing down at +his shadow shaped like a cross. He accepted death consciously +and <q>stedfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem,</q> +though he knew what was awaiting him. Jerusalem +had acquired a sad preeminence as the place where the +struggles between the prophets and the heads of the nation +were settled. He saw his own death as part of the prophetic +succession. He went to it, not as a driven slave, but as a +free spirit. That jackal of a king, Herod, could not scare +him out of Galilee. His time was in his Father's hand. Today, +tomorrow, and the day following, he would work, and +then he would be perfected. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: New Prophets to Follow</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! +for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish +the tombs of the righteous, and say, If we had +been in the days of our fathers, we should not have +been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. +Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye +are sons of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up +then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye +offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment +of hell? Therefore, behold, I send unto you +prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them +shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye +scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city +to city: that upon you may come all the righteous +blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the +<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/> +righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, +whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the +altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall +come upon this generation.—Matt. 23:29-36. +</quote> + +<p> +This is the climax of the great invective against the religious +leaders of the nation. The last count in the indictment +is that they were about to complete the record of +their fathers by rejecting and persecuting the prophets of +their generation. The fact had sunk into the public mind +that former generations had been guilty of this. <q>If we had +been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been +partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.</q> Jesus +promises to make a test of this and foretells that they will +go the old way and so declare their spiritual solidarity with +the sins of the past. We see here that he thought of his +disciples as moving in the prophetic succession. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against the +land?</q></l> +</lg> + +<lg> +<l><q>Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed by.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Cross for All</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, +that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer +many things of the elders and chief priests and +scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. +And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, +Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be +unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get +thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block +unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, +but the things of men. Then said Jesus unto his +disciples, If any man would come after me, let him +<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/> +deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. +For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and +whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find +it.—Matt. 16:21-25. +</quote> + +<p> +When the tide was turning against Jesus, he tested the +attitude of the inner circles of his disciples, and drew from +Peter on behalf of all a ringing declaration of faith and +loyalty (vs. 13-16). <q>From that time</q> Jesus began to share +with them his outlook toward death. Peter expressed the +shock which all felt and protested against the possibility. +The vehemence with which Jesus repelled Peter's suggestion +gives us a glimpse of the inner struggles in his mind, of +which we get a fuller revelation in his prayer in Gethsemane. +But instead of receding from his prediction of the cross, he +expanded it by laying the obligation of prophetic suffering +on all his disciples. Their adjustment toward that destiny +would at the same time be the settlement of their own salvation. +When the Kingdom of God is at stake, a man saves +his life by losing it and loses his life by saving it, and the +loss of his higher self can not be offset by any amount of +external gain. +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Looking ahead to the profession which we expect to enter, +where do we foresee the possibility of losing our lives by +trying to save them, or of saving our lives by apparently +losing them?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Consolations of the Prophet</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of +wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless +as doves. But beware of men: for they will +deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues +they will scourge you; yea and before governors +and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a +testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when +they deliver you up be not anxious how or what ye +shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour +<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/> +what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, +but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in +you.—Matt. 10:16-20. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read the scriptures, +</p> + +<lg> +<l>The stone which the builders rejected,</l> +<l>The same was made the head of the corner;</l> +<l>This was from the Lord,</l> +<l>And it is marvellous in our eyes?—Matt. 21:42.</l> +</lg> + +<p> +Blessed are they that have been persecuted for +righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of +heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach +you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil +against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be +exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: +for so persecuted they the prophets that were before +you.—Matt. 5:10-12. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +These three passages express three great consolations for +those who share prophetic opposition with Christ. They +will have to face great odds; numbers and weight will be +against them. But there will be a quiet voice within to prompt +them and sustain them: <q>It is not ye that speak, but the +Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The second consolation is that the higher court will reverse +the verdict of the lower. The stonemasons may look +a stone over and conclude that it will not fit into the building; +but the architect may have reserved that stone for the +head of the corner. The prophet rarely lives to see his own +historical vindication, but faith knows it is inevitable. +</p> + +<p> +The third consolation is contained in the last of the +Beatitudes. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' +sake may well rejoice for the company they are in, for the +Leader whose name they bear, and for the Kingdom of God +which is now and ever shall be their heritage. +</p> + +<p> +Imagine two classmates in the same profession, reaching +the end of their career. The one has attained success, wealth, +eminence, together with a reputation of never having done a +<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/> +courageous and self-sacrificing action, and with the consciousness +that his soul has grown small as he has grown +old. The other has been a fighter for the right, a conspicuous +man, but has kept out of office, tasting poverty and +opposition with his family, yet with the consciousness that +he has had the salt of the earth for his friends and that he +has put in some mighty good licks for righteousness. <emph>Which +would we rather be?</emph> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +Christian men have differed widely in interpreting the +significance of Christ's suffering and death, but all have +agreed that the cross was the effective culmination of his +work and the key which unlocks the meaning of his whole +life. The Church has always felt that the death of Christ +was an event of eternal importance for the salvation of mankind, +unique and without a parallel. It has an almost inexhaustible +many-sidedness. We are examining here but one +aspect. We have seen in the passages studied this week that +Jesus himself linked his own suffering and rejection with +the fate of the prophets who were before him and with the +fate of his disciples who would come after him. He saw a +red line running through history, and his own life and death +were part of it. He himself generalized the social value of +his peculiar experience, and taught us to see the cross as a +great social principle of the Kingdom of God. He saw his +death as the highest demonstration of a permanent law of +human life. +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +Evil is socialized, institutionalized, and militant. The Kingdom +of God and its higher laws can displace it only by +conflict. <q>Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on +the throne.</q> This clash involves suffering. This suffering +will fall most heavily on those who most completely embody +the spirit and ideas of the Kingdom, and who have the +necessary boldness to make the fight. +</p> + +<p> +In most men the eternal moral conflict gets only confused +<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/> +understanding. Sometimes they are aroused by sentimental +pity or indignation, but soon tire again. If their own +interests are affected they fight well. But there are men +and women whose minds have been made so sensitive by +personal experiences or so cleansed by right education and +by the spirit of God that they take hold of the moral issues +with a really adequate understanding. Living somehow on +the outskirts of the Kingdom of Heaven, they have learned +to think and feel according to its higher ways, and when +they turn toward things as they now are, of course there is +a collision; not this time a collision of interests, but a clash +of principles, of justice with wrong, of truth with crafty +subterfuges, or of solidarity with predatory selfishness. +</p> + +<p> +The life and fate of these individuals anticipates the issues +of history. This is the prophetic quality of their lives. +Working out the moral and intellectual problems in their +minds before the masses have realized them, they become the +natural leaders in the fight, clarify the minds of others, and +thus become, not only forerunners, but invaluable personal +factors in the moral progress of the race. <q>The single living +spirits are the effective units in shaping history; all common +tendencies working toward realization must first be condensed +as personal forces in such minds, and then by interaction +between them work their way to general recognition</q> +(Lotze). Lowell's <q>Present Crisis</q> is perhaps the most +powerful poetical expression of the prophetic function in +history. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>Count me o'er earth's chosen +heroes—they were souls that stood alone,</q></l> +<l>While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone,</l> +<l>Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline</l> +<l>To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine,</l> +<l>By one man's plain truth to manhood and to God's supreme design.</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/> + +<lg> +<l>"By the light of burning heretics Christ's bleeding feet I track,</l> +<l>Toiling up new Calvaries ever with the cross that turns not back,</l> +<l>And these mounts of anguish number how each generation learned</l> +<l>One new word of that grand Credo which in prophet-hearts hath burned</l> +<l><q rend='post'>Since the first man stood God-conquered +with his face to heaven upturned.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +During the centuries when the Church was herself in need +of redemption and her purification was resisted by the +dominant ecclesiastical interests, such prophetic spirits as +Arnold of Brescia, Wycliffe, Huss, and Savonarola were +most frequently found battling for the freedom of the +Church from the despotic grafters inside and outside of the +hierarchy, and for the purity of the gospel. The Church was +a chief part of the social order, and the reform of the Church +was the preeminent social problem. Today the Church is +on the whole free from graft, and as openminded as the +state of public intelligence permits it to be. Therefore the +prophet minds are now set free to fight for the freedom of +the people in political government and for the substitution +of cooperation for predatory methods in industry, and the +clash is most felt on that field. +</p> + +<p> +The law of prophetic suffering holds true as much as +ever. Probably no group of men have ever undertaken to +cleanse a city of profit-making vice without being made to +suffer for it. In the last thirty years this country has watched +eminent men in public life in various great cities making a +sincere drive to break the grip of a grafting police machine, +or of a political clique, or of public service corporations. For +a while such a man has public sentiment with him, for all +communities have a desire to be moral. But when it becomes +clear that he really means what he says, and that important +<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/> +incomes will be hurt, powerful forces set on him with abuse +and ridicule, try to wreck his business or health, and sidetrack +his political ambitions. An eminent editor in the Middle +West, speaking before the Press Association of his State +several years ago, said: <q>There is not a man in the United +States today who has tried honestly to do anything to change +the fundamental conditions that make for poverty, disease, +vice, and crime in our great cities, in our courts and in our +legislatures, who, at the very time at which his efforts seemed +most likely to succeed, has not been suddenly turned upon +and rent by the great newspaper publications.</q> A volume of +truthful biographical sketches of such leaders would give us +a history of the cross in politics, and would tell us more +about Christianity as an effective force in our country than +some church statistics. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +Jesus took the sin of throttling the prophets very seriously. +It is sin on a higher level than the side-stepping of frail +human nature, or the wrongs done in private grievances. +Since the Kingdom of God is the highest thing there is, +an attempt to block it or ruin it is the worst sin. Our hope +for the advance of the race and its escape from its permanent +evils is conditioned on keeping our moral perceptions +clear and strong. Suffocating the best specimens of moral +intelligence and intimidating the rest by their fate quenches +the guiding light of mankind. Is anything worse? +</p> + +<p> +Jesus held that the rejection of the prophets might involve +the whole nation in guilt and doom. How does the action +of Caiaphas and a handful of other men involve all the rest? +By virtue of human solidarity. One sins and all suffer, +because all are bound together. A dominant group acts for +all, and drags all into disaster. This points to the moral +importance of good government. If exploiters and oppressors +are in control of society, its collective actions will be guided +and determined by the very men who have most to fear +<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/> +from the Kingdom of God and most inclination to stifle the +prophetic voices. +</p> + +<p> +But the same solidarity which acts as a conductor of sin +will also serve as a basis to make the attack of the righteous +few effective for all. If the suffering of good men puts +a just issue where all can see and understand, it intensifies +and consolidates the right feeling of the community. The +suffering of a leader calls out passionate sympathy and loyalty, +sometimes in a dangerous degree. In the labor movement +almost any fault is forgiven to a man who has been in prison +for the cause of labor, and death for a popular cause will +idealize the memory of very ordinary or questionable characters. +But if the character of a leader is pure, suffering +accredits him and gives him power. The cross had an incomparable +value in putting the cause of Christianity before +the world. It placed Jesus where mankind could never forget +him, and it lit up the whole problem of sin and redemption +with the fire of the greatest of all tragedies. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>The cross, bold type of shame to homage turned,</q></l> +<l><q rend='post'>Of an unfinished life that sways the world.</q></l> +</lg> +</quote> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +But not all righteous suffering is socially effective. A good +man may be suppressed before he has won a following, or +even before he has wrought out his message in his own mind, +and his suppression leaves only a few bubbles on the waters +of oblivion. In that case his life has failed to discharge the +redemptive force contained in it. It only adds a little more +to the horror and tragedy of a sinful, deaf, and blood-stained +world. Many of the men whose lives ebbed away +behind the cruel silence of the walls of the Spanish Inquisition, +were such men as Spain needed most. What saving effect did +their death exercise? The uncounted patriots whose chains +have clanked on the march to Siberian exile, have not yet +freed Russia from its blind oligarchy. Our faith is that their +<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/> +lives were dear to God, and that their sorrows and the bitter +tears of those who loved them are somehow part of an +accumulating force which will one day save Russia. But this +is religious faith, <q>a conviction of things not seen.</q> We can +not prove it. We can only trust. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile it is our business to see that no innocent blood +is wasted. Pain is a merciful and redemptive institution of +nature when pain acts as an alarm-bell to direct intelligent +attention to the cause of the pain. If pain does not force +the elimination of its own cause, it is an added evil. The +death of the innocent, through oppression, child labor, dirt +diseases, or airless tenements, ought to arrest the attention +of the community and put the social cause of their death in +the limelight. In that case they have died a vicarious death +which helps to redeem the rest from a social evil, and anyone +who utilizes their suffering for that end, shows his reverence +for their death. We owe that duty in even higher measure +to the prophets, who are not passive and unconscious victims, +but who set themselves intelligently in opposition to evil. +The moral soundness of a nation can be measured by the +swiftness and accuracy with which it understands its prophetic +voices, or personalities, or events. The next best +thing to being a prophet is to interpret a prophet. This is +one of the proper functions of trained and idealistic minds, +such as college men and women should possess. The more the +Kingdom of God is present, the less will prophets be allowed +to suffer. When it is fully come, the cross will disappear. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>V</head> + +<p> +The social principle of the cross contains a challenge to +all who are conscious of qualities of leadership. Let the +average man do average duties, but let the strong man +shoulder the heavy pack. It is no more than fair that persons +of great natural power should deliberately choose work involving +social hardships. At present the theory seems to be +that the strong have a right to secure places where they will +<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/> +be freed from the necessity of exerting themselves, and can +lay their support on the shoulders of the poor. That is the +law of the cross reversed. Our semi-pagan society has +always practiced vicarious suffering by letting the poor bear +the burdens of the rich in addition to their own. Instead +of encouraging the capable to hunt after predatory profit +and entrusting public powers to those who have been most +successful in preying, we ought to encourage solidaristic +feeling, and give both power and honor to those who are +ready to serve the commonwealth at severe cost to themselves. +</p> + +<p> +What has the principle of the cross to say to college men +and women? If they have an exceptional outfit, let them do +exceptional work. A knight in armor was expected to charge +where others could not venture. A college education entitles +a Christian man to some hard knocks. It seems contemptible +for us to walk off with the pleasures and powers of intellectual +training, and to leave the work of protecting children +and working girls against exploitation to men and women +without education, without leisure, and without social standing, +who will have to pay double the tale of effort for every +bit of success they win. In some European countries foreign +mission service has been left mainly to men and women of +the artisan class. In our country college men and women +have volunteered for it. That is as it ought to be. On the +other hand, in the struggle for political liberty the European +universities have taken a braver and more sacrificial part +than has ever fallen to our lot. +</p> + +<p> +Those who are conscious of a prophetic mission have a +redoubled motive for a clean, sober, and sincere life. Especially +in its initial stages an ethical movement is identified +with its leaders and tested by their character. A good man +can get a hearing for an unpopular cause by the trust he +inspires. His cause banks on his credit. The flawed private +character or dubious history of a leader is a drag. It is +worse yet if a man whose name has long been a guarantee +for his message, backslides and brings doubt upon all his +previous professions. Cases could be mentioned where noble +<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/> +movements were wrecked for years because a leader forfeited +his honor. Constant fighting against evil involves subtle +temptations. To stand alone, to set your own conviction +against the majority, to challenge what is supposed to be +final, to disregard the conventional standards—this may lead +to dangerous habits of mind. If we propose to spread a lot +of canvas in a high wind, we need the more ballast in the +hold. Through the thin partitions of a summer hotel, a +man heard Moody praying God to save him from Moody. +Imagine what it must be to lose standing and honor among +your fellow men by secret weakness. Imagine also the +poignant pain if your disgrace pulls down a cause which +you have loved for years and which in purer days you vowed +to follow to its coronation. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>Vicarious Suffering and Social Progress</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Does suffering benefit humanity? Titus crucified +thousands of Jews during the destruction of Jerusalem. +Did their death have any saving effect? +</p> + +<p> +2. What is the connection between vicarious suffering +and social salvation? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Prophetic Suffering</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What was the fate of the Old Testament prophets? +What was their influence in the life of Israel? To what +extent is Mark 12:1-9 a fair epitome of the treatment of +the prophets by the Hebrew nation? +</p> + +<p> +2. What is the significance of Isa. 53:4-8? Why and +how can the sins of a group fall on another? +</p> + +<p> +3. Where did Jesus see the continuity of prophetic suffering +in his own times? +</p> + +<p> +4. What place did he give to vicarious suffering in the +life of his followers and in the conquest of the Kingdom? +How does the law of the Cross connect with the fact of +solidarity? +</p> + +<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/> + +<p> +5. In what respects was Christ's Cross unique? In what +respects does it express a general spiritual law? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>Vicarious Suffering Today</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Give instances of persons in public life today whose +careers were wrecked because they assailed socialized evil +or graft. How does this differ from the fate of the +prophets? +</p> + +<p> +2. Are the sacrifices of prophetic leaders ever useless +and actually ineffective? Do you feel an inward protest +against that? On what ground? +</p> + +<p> +3. To what extent is the call to be a Christian a challenge +to vicarious suffering? What social significance, +then, would Christian baptism have? +</p> + +<p> +4. Is there anything wrong with a Christian life which +does not incur suffering? +</p> + +<p> +5. Would suffering be normal in the religious life of +the young? +</p> + +<p> +6. Why does this social principle apply especially to +college men and women? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What qualities constitute a man a prophet? +</p> + +<p> +2. Are there embryonic prophets? Or spent prophets? +Is a prophet necessarily a saint? +</p> + +<p> +3. Do prophets arise where religion deals with private +life only? What is the social value of prophetic personalities? +</p> + +<p> +4. Name men in secular history and literature who have +the marks of the prophet. Any in recent times? +</p> + +<p> +5. Does learning create prophetic vision or blur it? +</p> + +<p> +6. Does the ordinary religion today put a man in line +for the Cross or for a job as a bank director? +</p> + +<p> +7. Can you think of anything that would bring the +Cross back into the life of the churches today? +</p> + +<p> +8. Would vicarious suffering diminish if society became +Christianized? +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/> + +<div rend='page-break-before: always'> +<index index='toc'/> +<index index='pdf'/> +<head>Chapter XII. A Review And A Challenge</head> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>The Social Principles of Jesus Demand Personal +Allegiance and Social Action</hi> +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='smallcaps'>Daily Readings</hi> +</p> + +<div> +<head>First Day: The Social Mission of Christians</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Ye are the salt of the earth.... Ye are the +light of the world.—Matt. 5:13, 14. +</quote> + +<p> +<q>Jesus speaks here with the consciousness of an historic +mission to the whole of humanity. Yet it was a Nazarene +carpenter speaking to a group of Galilean peasants and +fishermen. Under the circumstances, and at the time, it was +an utterance of the most daring faith—faith in himself, faith +in them, faith in what he was putting into them, faith in faith. +Jesus failed and was crucified, first his body by his enemies, +and then his spirit by the men who bore his name. But that +failure was so amazing a success that today it takes an +effort on our part to realize that it required any faith on +his part to inaugurate the Kingdom of God and to send +out his apostolate.</q><note place='foot'><q>Christianity +and the Social Crisis,</q> p. 415.</note> +</p> + +<p> +If the antiseptic and enlightening influence of the sincere +followers of Jesus were eliminated from our American communities, +what would be the presumable social effects? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Second Day: The Great Initiator of the Kingdom of God</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank +thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou +<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/> +didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, +and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, +Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. +All things have been delivered unto me of my +Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the +Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the +Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to +reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and +are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my +yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and +lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. +For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.—Matt. +11:25-30. +</quote> + +<p> +This is one of the most thrilling passages in the Bible. It +has always been understood as a call to intimate religion, as +the appeal of a personal Saviour to those who are loaded +with sin and weary of worldliness. But in fact it expresses +the sense of a revolutionary mission to society. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus had the consciousness of a unique relation to the +Father, which made him the mediator of a new understanding +of God and of life (v. 27). This new insight was +making a new intellectual alignment, leaving the philosophers +and scholars as they were, and fertilizing the minds of +simple people (v. 25). It is an historical fact that the +brilliant body of intellectuals of the first and second centuries +was blind to what proved to be the most fruitful and +influential movement of all times, and it was left to slaves +and working men to transmit it and save it from suppression +at the cost of their lives. +</p> + +<p> +Then Jesus turns to the toiling and heavy laden people +about him with the offer of a new kind of leadership—none +of the brutal self-assertion of the Cæsars and of all conquerors +here, but a gentle and humble spirit, and an obedience +which was pleasure and brought release to the soul. +</p> + +<p> +These words express his consciousness of being different, +and of bearing within him the beginnings of a new spiritual +constitution of humanity. +</p> + +<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/> + +<p> +When individuals have really come under the new law +of Christ, does Jesus make good? +</p> + +<p> +Would he also make good if humanity based its collective +life on the social principles which we have studied? +</p> + +<p> +If the choice is between Cæsar and Christ, which shall it be? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Third Day: The Kingdom of Truth</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Pilate therefore entered again into the Prætorium, +and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the +King of the Jews? Jesus answered, Sayest thou this +of thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning me? +Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation +and the chief priests, delivered thee unto me: what +hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is +not of this world: if my kingdom were of this +world, then would my servants fight, that I should +not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom +not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, +Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest +that I am a king. To this end have I been born, +and to this end am I come into the world, that I +should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that +is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto +him, What is truth? +</p> + +<p> +And when he had said this, he went out again +unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no crime +in him.—John 18:33-38. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +All kingdoms rest on force; formerly on swords and +bayonets, now on big guns. To overthrow them you must +prepare more force, bigger guns. Jesus was accused before +Pilate of being leader of a force revolution aiming to make +him king. He claimed the kingship, but repudiated the force. +To his mind the absence of force resistance was characteristic +of his whole undertaking. Instead, his power was +based on the appeal and attractiveness of truth. When +Pilate heard about <q>truth</q> he thought he had a sophist +before him, one more builder of metaphysical systems, and +expressed the skepticism of the man on the street: <q>What is +<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/> +truth?</q> But Jesus was not a teacher of abstract doctrine, +whatever his expounders have made of him. His mind was +bent on realities. If we substitute <q>reality</q> for <q>truth</q> in +his saying here, we shall get near his thought. +</p> + +<p> +Which is more durable, power based on force, or power +based on spiritual coherence? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fourth Day: A Mental Transformation</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies +of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, +acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. +And be not fashioned according to this world: but +be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, +that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable +and perfect will of God.—Rom. 12:1, 2. +</quote> + +<p> +In the first century the Christians were a new social group, +confronting the social order of the Roman Empire with a +new religious faith, a revolutionary hope, and a powerful +impulse of fraternity. Those who had come out of pagan +society still felt the pull of its loose pleasures and moral +maxims, and of its idolatry. Paul here challenges them to +submit fully to the social assimilation of the new group. It +involved an intellectual renewal, a new spiritual orientation, +which must have been searching and painful. It involved the +loss of many social pleasures, of business profit and civic +honor, and it might at any time mean banishment, torture, +and death. The altar symbol of sacrifice might become a +scarlet reality. Yet see with what triumphant joy and assurance +Paul speaks. +</p> + +<p> +If a student should dedicate himself to the creation of a +Christian social order today, would it still require an intellectual +renewing? +</p> + +<p> +Would it cramp him or enlarge him? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Fifth Day: The Distinctive Contribution of Christ</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +There was the true light, even the light which +<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/> +lighteth every man, coming into the world. He was +in the world, and the world was made through him, +and the world knew him not. He came unto his +own, and they that were his own received him not. +But as many as received him, to them gave he the +right to become children of God, even to them that +believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, +nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, +but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt +among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the +only begotten from the Father), full of grace and +truth. For the law was given through Moses; grace +and truth came through Jesus Christ.—John 1:9-14, 17. +</quote> + +<p> +Here is the tragedy of the Gospel story, seen from a long +perspective and stated in terms of Greek philosophy. The +Light which lighteth every man, the <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>Logos</foreign> +through whom God had created the <foreign lang='el' rend='italic'>kosmos</foreign>, +had come to this world in +human form, and been rejected. But some had received +him, and these had received a new life through him, which +made them children of God. They had discovered in him +a new kind of spiritual splendor, characterized by <q>grace +and truth.</q> Even Moses had contributed only law to +humanity; Christ was identified with grace and truth. +</p> + +<p> +How would you paraphrase the statements of John to +express the attitude of nineteen centuries to Christ? +</p> + +<p> +What has he in fact done for those who have received him? +</p> + +<p> +What would be the modern equivalent of <q>grace and +truth</q> to express the distinctive contribution of Christ to +human history? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Sixth Day: The Master of the Greatest Game</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed +about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside +every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset +us, and let us run with patience the race that is +set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and +<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/> +perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was +set before him endured the cross, despising shame, +and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne +of God. For consider him that hath endured such +gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not +weary, fainting in your souls.—Heb. 12:1-3. +</quote> + +<p> +The man who wrote the little treatise from which this is +quoted saw the history of humanity summed up in the live +spirits who had the power of projection into the future. +Faith is the quality of mind which sees things before they +are visible, which acts on ideals before they are realities, and +which feels the distant city of God to be more dear, substantial, +and attractive than the edible and profitable present. +Read Hebrews 11. So he calls on Christians to take up +the same manner of life, and compares them with men +running a race in an amphitheatre packed with all the generations +of the past who are watching them make their record. +But he bids them keep their eye on Jesus who starts them +at the line and will meet them at the goal, and who has set +the pace for good and fleet men for all time. +</p> + +<p> +What is the social and evolutionary value of the men of +<q>faith</q> in the sense of Hebrews 11? +</p> + +<p> +<hi rend='italic'>Have we left Jesus behind us by this time?</hi> +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Seventh Day: The Beginning of the Greatest Movement +in History</head> + +<quote rend='display'> +<p> +Now after John was delivered up, Jesus came +into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, +The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at +hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel. +</p> + +<p> +And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw +Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a +net in the sea; for they were fishers. And Jesus +said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make +you to become fishers of men. And straightway they +left the nets, and followed him. And going on a +little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and +<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/> +John his brother, who also were in the boat mending +the nets. And straightway he called them: and they +left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired +servants, and went after him.—Mark 1:14-20. +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +Here we have the beginning of organized Christianity. +This is the germinal cell of that vast social movement of +which foreign missions, the establishment of the American +Republic, and the modern labor movement are products. It +began with repentance, faith, and self-sacrificing action, and +it will always have to advance by the same means. To those +four men Jesus was an incarnate challenge. He dared them +to come, and promised to put their lives on a higher level. +He stands over against us with the same challenge. He +points to the blackened fields of battle, to the economic injustice +and exploitation of industry, to the paganism and +sexualism of our life. Is this old order of things to go on +forever? Will our children, and their children, still be +ground through the hopper? Or have we faith to adventure +our life in a new order, the Kingdom of God? +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Study for the Week</head> + +<p> +Has our study of the <q>Social Principles of Jesus</q> revealed +a clear and consistent scheme of life, worthy of our respect? +</p> + +<div> +<head>I</head> + +<p> +We have seen that three convictions were axiomatic within +Jesus, so that all his reasoning and his moral imperatives +were based on them, just as all thought and work in physics +is based on gravitation. These convictions were the sacredness +of life and personality, the solidarity of the human +family, and the obligation of the strong to stand up for +all whose life is impaired or whose place within humanity is +denied. +</p> + +<p> +It can not be questioned that these convictions were a +tremendous and spontaneous force in the spirit of Jesus. +That alone suffices to align him with all idealistic minds, +<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/> +to whom man is more than matter, more than labor force, +a mysterious participant of the spiritual powers of the universe. +It aligns him with all men of solidaristic conviction, +who are working for genuine community life in village and +city, for a nation with fraternal institutions and fraternal +national consciousness, and for a coming family of nations +and races. It aligns him with all exponents of the democratic +social spirit of our day, who feel the wrongs of the +common people and are trying to make the world juster and +more fraternal. +</p> + +<p> +The best forces of modern life are converging along these +lines. There is no contradiction between them and the spirit +of Jesus. On the contrary, they are largely the product of +his spirit, diffused and organized in the Western world. He +was the initiator; we are the interpreters and agents. Nor +has he been outstripped like an early inventor and discoverer +whose crude work is honored only because others were able +to improve on it. Quite the contrary; the more vividly these +spiritual convictions glow in the heart of any man, the more +will he feel that Jesus is still ahead, still the inspiring force. +As soon as we get beyond theory to life and action, we know +that we are dependent for the spiritual powers in modern +life on the continued influence of Jesus Christ over the lives +of others. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>II</head> + +<p> +We saw in the second place that Jesus had a social ideal, +the Reign of God on earth, in which God's will would be +done. This ideal with him was not a Utopian and academic +fancy, but the great prize and task of life toward which he +launched all his energies. He called men to turn away from +the evil ways of the old order, and to get a mind fit for the +new. He set the able individuals to work, and put the spirit +of intense labor and devotion into them. He proposed to +effect the transition from the old order to the new by expanding +the area of moral obligation and raising the standards +of moral relationships. +</p> + +<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/> + +<p> +By having such a social ideal at all, he draws away from all +who are stationary and anchored in the world as it is; from +all who locate the possibility of growth and progress in the +individual only; and from all whose desire for perfection +runs away from this world to a world beyond the grave. +</p> + +<p> +By moving toward the new social order of the Kingdom +of God with such wholeness of determination, he is the +constant rebuke for all of us who are trying to live with a +<q>divided allegiance,</q> straddling between the iniquities of force, +profit, and inhumanity, and the fraternal righteousness of +the Gospel we profess to believe. Jesus at least was no time-server, +no Mr. Facing-both-ways, no hypocrite; and whenever +we touch his elbow by inadvertence, a shiver of reality and +self-contempt runs through us. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>III</head> + +<p> +We saw in the third place that Jesus dealt with serious +intelligence with the great human instincts that go wrong. +</p> + +<p> +The capacity for leadership and the desire for it have +fastened the damning institutions of tyranny and oppression +on humanity and tied us up so completely that the rare +historical chances of freedom and progress have been like a +tumultuous and brief escape. Yet Jesus saw that ambition +was not to be suppressed, but to be yoked to the service of +society. In the past, society was allowed to advance and +prosper only if this advanced the prosperity and security of +its ruling classes. Jesus proposed that this be reversed, so +that the leaders would have to earn power and honor by +advancing the welfare of society by distinguished service at +cost to themselves. +</p> + +<p> +The desire for private property has been the chief outlet +for selfish impulses antagonistic to public welfare. To gain +private wealth men have slaughtered the forests, contaminated +the rivers, drained the fertility of the soil, monopolized +the mineral wealth of the country, enslaved childhood, double-yoked +motherhood, exhausted manhood, hog-tied community +<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/> +undertakings, and generally acted as the dog in the manger +toward humanity. Jesus opposed accumulation without moral +purpose, the inhumanity of property differences, and the fatal +absorption of money-making. Yet he was not ascetic. It is +probably safe to say that he would not be against private +property in so far as it serves the common good, and not +against public property at all. +</p> + +<p> +Like ambition and the property instinct, the religious impulse +may go wrong, and subject society to its distortions or +tyranny. Jesus always stood for an ethical and social outcome +of religion. He sought to harness the great power of +religion to righteousness and love. With a mind so purely +religious we might expect that he would make all earthly and +social interests subservient to personal religion. The fact +that he reversed it, seems clear proof that he was socially +minded and that the Kingdom of God as a right social +organism was the really vital thing to him. +</p> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>IV</head> + +<p> +We have seen, finally, that Jesus had a deep sense of the +sin and evil in the world. Human nature is frail; men of +evil will are powerful; organized evil is in practical control. +Consequently social regeneration involves not only growth but +conflict. The way to the Kingdom of God always has been +and always will be a <foreign rend='italic'>via dolorosa</foreign>. +The cross is not accidental, +but is a law of social progress. +</p> + +<p> +These conceptions together seem to shape up into a consistent +conception of social life. It is not the modern scientific +scheme, but a religious view of life. But it blends incomparably +better with modern science than the scholastic +philosophy or theology of an age far nearer to us than Jesus. +It is strange how little modern knowledge has to discount +in the teachings of Jesus. As Romanes once pointed out,<note place='foot'>G. J. +Romanes, <q>Thoughts on Religion,</q> p. 157.</note> +Plato followed Socrates and lived amidst a blaze of genius +never since equalled; he is the greatest representative of +<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/> +human reason in the direction of spirituality unaided by +revelation; <q>but the errors in the dialogues reach to absurdity +in reason and to sayings shocking to the moral sense.</q> +</p> + +<p> +The writer of this little book has come back to an intensive +study of Jesus at intervals of years, and every time it was +like a fresh revelation, leaving a sense of mental exhilaration +and a new sense of joy in truth. Never was there a feeling +that Jesus was exhausted and had nothing more to say. +</p> + +<p> +For a true valuation of his intellectual contribution to mankind +we must remember that we have not a page of his own +writing. We are dependent on the verbal memory of his +disciples; so far as we know, nothing was written down for +years. The fragments which survived probably had to stand +the ordeal of translation from the Aramaic to the Greek. +Simply from the point of view of literature, it is an amazing +thing that anything characteristic in Jesus survived at all. +But it did. His sayings have the sparkle of genius and personality; +the illustrations and epigrams which he threw off +in fertile profusion are still clinchers; even his humor plays +around them. Critics undertake to fix on the genuine sayings +by internal evidence. Only a mind of transcendent originality +could win its way to posterity through such obstructions. +</p> + +<p> +But we ought not to forget the brevity of our material +when we try to build up a coherent conception of his outlook +on society. There is little use in stickling on details. The +main thing is the personality of Jesus, his religious and +ethical insight into the nature and needs of the social life +of mankind, the vital power of religious conviction which +he was able to put behind righteousness, and the historical +force which he set going through history. +</p> + +<p> +From the indirect influences which Jesus Christ set in +motion, no man or woman or child in America can escape. +We live on him. Even those who attack the Christian Church, +or who repudiate what they suppose Christ to stand for, +do so with spiritual weapons which they have borrowed +from him. But it does make a great difference whether the +young men and women of our day give their conscious and +<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/> +intelligent allegiance to Christianity or hold aloof in misunderstanding. +Without them the Christian movement will +mark time on old issues. With them it will dig new irrigation +channels and string the wires for new power transmission. +</p> + +<p> +In return, Christianity can do more for students than +they themselves are likely to realize in youth. Men grow +tired. Their moral enthusiasm flags. Scientific sociology +may remain academic, cold, and ineffective. We need inspiration, +impulse, will power, and nothing can furnish such +steady accessions of moral energy as living religion. Science +and the Christian faith combined are strong. Those who +succeed in effecting a combination of these two without +insincerity or cowardice are the coming leaders. +</p> + +<p> +If a student's mind has given inward consent to the teachings +of Jesus in this course of study, that constitutes an +appeal for personal discipleship. Can we go with Christ in +living out these principles, and meanwhile draw on his spiritual +wealth to build up our growing life? If there is a +student who can not at present affirm all that the Christian +Church holds concerning the nature of Christ, why should +he not approach him as the earliest disciples did, by personal +love and obedience, following him and cooperating with him +in the business of the Kingdom of God, and arriving in +time at full faith in his Messiahship? A great and firm +faith is the product and prize of a lifetime of prayer and +loving action. <q>Light is sown to the righteous.</q> As we +gather the wisdom of life, and find that while we move +from knowledge to knowledge, we are also advancing from +mystery to mystery, many of us will be ready and glad to +join in the highest affirmation of faith about Jesus Christ, +in whom we have learned to see God. +</p> + +<quote rend='display'> +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>If Jesus Christ is a man,</q></l> +<l>And only a man, I say</l> +<l>That of all mankind I cleave to him,</l> +<l>And to him I cleave alway.</l> +</lg> + +<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/> + +<lg> +<l><q rend='pre'>If Jesus Christ is a God,</q></l> +<l>And the only God, I swear</l> +<l>I will follow him through heaven and hell,</l> +<l><q rend='post'>The earth, the sea, and the air.</q></l> +</lg> + +<p> +—<hi rend='smallcaps'>Richard Watson Gilder.</hi> +</p> +</quote> + +<p> +If Christianity henceforth is to discharge its full energy in +the regeneration of social life, it especially needs the allegiance +of college men and women who have learned to understand +to some degree the facts and laws of human society. +The development of what is called <q>Social Christianity</q> or +<q>the social gospel,</q> is a fusion between the new understanding +created by the social sciences, and the teachings +and moral ideals of Christianity. This combination was +inevitable; it has already registered social effects of the +highest importance; if it can win the active minds of the +present generation of college students, it will swing a part of +the enormous organized forces of the Christian Church to +bear on the social tasks of our American communities, and +that will help to create the nobler America which we see +by faith. +</p> + +<p> +Christians have never fully understood Christianity. A +purer comprehension of its tremendous contents is always +necessary. Think what it would signify to a local community +if all sincere Christian people in it should interpret +their obligation in the social terms which we have been +using; if they should seek not only their own salvation, but +the reign of God in their own town; if they should cultivate +the habit of seeing a divine sacredness in every personality, +should assist in creating the economic foundations for fraternal +solidarity, and if, as Christians, they should champion +the weak in their own community. We need a power of +renewal in our American communities that will carry us +across the coming social transition, and social Christianity +can supply it by directing the plastic force of the old faith +of our fathers to the new social tasks. +</p> + +<p> +Jesus was the initiator of the Kingdom of God. It is a +real thing, now in operation. It is within us, and among +<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/> +us, gaining ground in our intellectual life and in our social +institutions. It overlaps and interpenetrates all existing organizations, +raising them to a higher level when they are good, +resisting them when they are evil, quietly revolutionizing the +old social order and changing it into the new. It suffers +terrible reverses; we are in the midst of one now; but after +a time it may become apparent that a master hand has turned +the situation and laid the basis of victory on the wrecks of +defeat. The Kingdom of God is always coming; you can +never lay your hand on it and say, <q>It is here.</q> But such +fragmentary realizations of it as we have, alone make life +worth living. The memories which are still sweet and dear +when the fire begins to die in the ashes, are the memories of +days when we lived fully in the Kingdom of Heaven, toiling +for it, suffering for it, and feeling the stirring of the godlike +and eternal life within us. The most humiliating and crushing +realization is that we have betrayed our heavenly Fatherland +and sold out for thirty pieces of silver. We often +mistake it. We think we see its banner in the distance, when +it is only the bloody flag of the old order. But a man learns. +He comes to know whether he is in God's country, especially +if he sees the great Leader near him. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div> +<head>Suggestions for Thought and Discussion</head> + +<p> +I. <hi rend='italic'>The Social Principles of Jesus</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Sum up the social principles of Jesus which we have +worked out in this course. +</p> + +<p> +2. Do they seem incisive? Would they demand far-reaching +social changes? What changes? +</p> + +<p> +3. What conceptions acquired in philosophical and social +science studies connect fruitfully with the principles of +Jesus? Do any scientific conceptions conflict with the +essential ideas of Jesus? +</p> + +<p> +II. <hi rend='italic'>Social Salvation</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. What is your frank estimate of the value of the social +<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/> +principles of Jesus as a religious and ethical basis for the +regeneration of society? +</p> + +<p> +2. Does the spiritual development of modern life tend +toward the position of Jesus or away from it? +</p> + +<p> +3. What opportunities and methods does modern life +offer for carrying out these principles in our social order? +</p> + +<p> +4. If society cannot be saved under the spiritual leadership +of Jesus, how can it be saved? +</p> + +<p> +III. <hi rend='italic'>The Leader</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. As this course proceeded, has our respect or reverence +for Jesus Christ increased or diminished? In what +ways? +</p> + +<p> +2. Would it be possible to join the forward Christian +forces in working for the Kingdom of God even if the +theological questions are still unsolved in our minds? +</p> + +<p> +3. What seem now the best methods of carrying out +these principles in our own community and in the world? +</p> + +<p> +IV. <hi rend='italic'>For Special Discussion</hi> +</p> + +<p> +1. Does the salvation of society seem to make the salvation +of the individual unnecessary or trivial? Have you +lost interest in it? +</p> + +<p> +2. How should social and personal salvation connect? +</p> + +<p> +3. What would a loyal religious dedication to Christ +and Christianity mean to our scientific social intelligence? +</p> + +<p> +4. What would it mean to the course of our life? +</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> +</body> +<back rend="page-break-before: right"> + <div id="footnotes"> + <index index="toc" /> + <index index="pdf" /> + <head>Footnotes</head> + <divGen type="footnotes"/> + </div> + <div rend="page-break-before: right"> + <divGen type="pgfooter" /> + </div> +</back> +</text> +</TEI.2> |