Day 26 - 40 Days of Focus: Evangelism
History of the Social Gospel
The Social Gospel is a label most often associated with the early 20th century American movement which sought to, “work in this world to establish a Kingdom of God with social justice for all.” Nearly 100 years ago optimism about the human social condition was at an all time high. From politics to industry the world was changing in unforeseen ways. People were overcoming decades of class distinctions, illiteracy and political persecution and were discovering prosperity, freedom and comfort like never before. Many church leaders believed that the Judeo-Christian ethics of the Western world were the key to building God’s Kingdom on earth. If everyone were to worship and think like we do, they thought, things will just continue to get better and better until they reach perfection.
Famous professor of economics, Richard T. Ely. declared that, “the church, the state, and the individual must work together under the guidance of science to fulfill the kingdom of God on earth.”
In his book CHRISTIANITY AND THE SOCIAL CRISIS, Rauschenbusch wrote of the Social Gospel:
“Will the twentieth century mark for the future historian the real adolescence of humanity, the great emancipation from barbarism and from the paralysis of injustice, and the beginning of a progress in the intellectual, social, and moral life of mankind to which all past history has no parallel? It will depend almost wholly on the moral forces which the Christian nations can bring to the fighting line against wrong, and the fighting energy of those moral forces will again depend on the degree to which they are inspired by religious faith and enthusiasm.”
The Social Gospel of 2011 bears little resemblance to the Social Gospel of 1911. Education, government programs, soup kitchens and Christian Social Programs have failed to change the root of the problem which, as it turns out is the heart of sinful man. The Social Gospel of the early 20th Century was not the Gospel of the Bible. Our goal should never be to create heaven on earth but rather to help earth understand the way to heaven.
The Social Gospel is a label most often associated with the early 20th century American movement which sought to, “work in this world to establish a Kingdom of God with social justice for all.” Nearly 100 years ago optimism about the human social condition was at an all time high. From politics to industry the world was changing in unforeseen ways. People were overcoming decades of class distinctions, illiteracy and political persecution and were discovering prosperity, freedom and comfort like never before. Many church leaders believed that the Judeo-Christian ethics of the Western world were the key to building God’s Kingdom on earth. If everyone were to worship and think like we do, they thought, things will just continue to get better and better until they reach perfection.
Famous professor of economics, Richard T. Ely. declared that, “the church, the state, and the individual must work together under the guidance of science to fulfill the kingdom of God on earth.”
In his book CHRISTIANITY AND THE SOCIAL CRISIS, Rauschenbusch wrote of the Social Gospel:
“Will the twentieth century mark for the future historian the real adolescence of humanity, the great emancipation from barbarism and from the paralysis of injustice, and the beginning of a progress in the intellectual, social, and moral life of mankind to which all past history has no parallel? It will depend almost wholly on the moral forces which the Christian nations can bring to the fighting line against wrong, and the fighting energy of those moral forces will again depend on the degree to which they are inspired by religious faith and enthusiasm.”
The Social Gospel of 2011 bears little resemblance to the Social Gospel of 1911. Education, government programs, soup kitchens and Christian Social Programs have failed to change the root of the problem which, as it turns out is the heart of sinful man. The Social Gospel of the early 20th Century was not the Gospel of the Bible. Our goal should never be to create heaven on earth but rather to help earth understand the way to heaven.
posted by pastordan at 4:33 PM
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