I liE^H DO' \ X' ^^/(?RiA. sl-^^# BR 115 .S6 D5 1922 Diefendorf, Dorr Frank. The Christian in social relationships LIFE AND SERVICE SERIES STUDIES IN THE PARABLES OF JESUS HALFORD E. LUCCOCK HEART MESSAGES FROM THE PSALMS RALPH WELLES KEELER AMOS, THE PROPHET OF A NEW ORDER LINDSAY B. LONGACRE ELEMENTS OF PERSONAL CHRISTL^NITY WILLIAM S. MITCHELL THE CHRISTIAN IN SOCLA.L RELATIONSHIPS DORR FRANK DIEFENDORF LIFE AND SERVICE SERIES Edited by HENRY H. MEYER The Christian in Social Relationships By DORR FRANK DIEFENDORF THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright, 1922, by DORR FRANK DIEFENDORF Printed in the United States of America. The Bible text used in this volume ia taken from the" American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sana, and ifl used by permission. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Life and Service Series 6 I. The Social Emphasis in Christianity 7 11. The Christian and Public Education 16 III. The Christian and the Wage Problem 26 IV. The Christian and Working Conditions . . 36 V. The Christian and Public Health 45 VI. The Christian and Public Amusement .... 54 VII. The Christian and Commercialized Evil. . 63 VIII. The Christian and the Treatment of Criminals 72 IX. The Christian's Political Responsibility . 81 X. The Christian and AVorld Progress 90 XI. The Christian and World Brotherhood. . . 99 XII. The Christian and the Efficient Church . 108 XIII. The Kingdom of God a Practical Ideal. . . 117 LIFE AND SERVICE SERIES Incheasingly both young people and adults in the Sun- day school are manifesting an interest in special study courses. As the number of organized classes has grown and their attendance increased the desire frequently has been expressed for a variety of courses from which choice may be made. In response to this demand the Life and Service Series, in common with a number of other series of studies, is offered. It will be noted that this series in itself offers con- siderable variety in subject matter of courses. It includes studies in selected portions of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, Christian doctrinal teachings, practical ethics, social service, and other subjects of special interest. The present volume is one of a group of four which may be studied to advantage in consecutive order as follows: Elements of Personal Christianity; Characteristics of the Christian Life; The Christian in Social Relationships; Fundamentals for Daily Living. Taken together, the four constitute a years study on the Christian in Daily Life, a fairly comprehensive series of studies in foundation principles and teachings of Christianity applicable to pres- ent-day conditions. Studied either as one of this group of courses, as suggested, or separately as an independent short course, it is believed that The Christian in Social Relationships will be found to be an informing, thought- provoking and religiously stimulating discussion. It should aid earnest men and women in discovering what Christianity teaches as to social duties and responsibilities. The Editors, 6 CHAPTER I THE SOCIAL EMPHASIS IN CHRISTIANITY For reference and study: Isa. 1. 10-17; Matt. 7. 1-12; 25. 31-46; Luke 10. 25-37; 16. 19-31; Acts 2. 44-47; 4. 32-37; Rom. 13. 8-10; 1 Cor. 12. 12-31. The Example and Teaching of Jesus 1. Jesus our Saviour. — Jesus was not so much a re- former as a Saviour. His first concern was with the individual. But the individual is a member of a family, he is the citizen of a community, he belongs to a church, he has innumerable associations in the world of business and of social life. He never stands alone. If he is to be saved, the social environment of which he is a part must also be saved. If the society of which he is a part is saved, "his own salvation becomes just that much more certain. Jesus was trained in the Old Testament Scriptures. As a member of a devout Jewish household his mind was steeped in the teachings of the prophets and sages of his race. Such a passage as Isa. 1. 10-17 would point him away from empty formalism in religion toward a life of human service. When the prophet, as the spokesman of God, says, "Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek jus- tice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow," we hear a note that echoes and reechoes in the message of Jesus. In such words the prophet has the vision of a redeemed society before his mind. Such toacli- ing forms the background of tlie ministry and message of Jesus. 2. The method of Jesus. — The New Testament shows us that Jesus delivered few if any formal discourses or ser- mons. His favorite method of teaching was to tell a story. The* most of his saving principles and ideals are 7 8 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS thus set forth. But in the Sermon on the Mount we have an utterance that seems to form an exception. Here we have a more extended discourse dealing with the principles and purposes of the kingdom he came to establish in the earth. Matt. 7. 1-12 is a typical section of this sermon. No- tice how in this passage we have echoes of the words just quoted from Isaiah. But also notice how much further Jesus goes. Here is the proclamation of the Golden Rule. And while we must admit that this rule has not yet been very widely applied to life, progress has been and is being constantly made. Eecently a splendid Canadian soldier gave some of his life blood to save an Austrian who a short time before had confronted him as his enemy. And we are told that this was done after several of the Aus- trian's own kinsmen had refused to make this sacrifice. It is this practical application of Jesus' teaching about doing to others as we would that they should do unto us which helps forward the work of the regeneration of human society. The story of the good Samaritan and the scene of the Last Judgment, as portrayed by Jesus, emphasize the social aspects of his teaching. The Jew hated the Samari- tan and the Samaritan hated the Jew. But in the gospel of love, the gospel of redemption, there is no place for the kind of disposition that leads us to neglect to perform the services we owe our fellow men. The good Samaritan binds up the wounds of his unfortunate fellow traveler and provides for him as if he were his dearest friend. But very recent history shows us how hard it is to cultivate and manifest this spirit. A good Christian woman re- cently remarked of the starving women and children of a former enemy countr}^, "Let them starve: they have brought it all on themselves." Even patriotism must be brought into conformity with the principles of Jesus, or else it retards instead of helping the building of the kingdom of God in the earth. Are there not in your own community some striking instances of what happens when persons take seriously the words of Jesus, '^Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these EMPHASIS IN CHRISTIANITY 9 my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me"? Groups of Christian workers have organized themselves about these words and, week by week, carry on beneficent activities the value of which is much greater than can be measured. Can you not think of many instances in your own life in which these words have led you to do what otherwise you might have neglected? Jesus did what he exhorted others to do, and more. His treatment of Zacchaeus, his interview with the Samari- tan woman, his way of dealing with the Syrophoenician woman, are striking examples of his own practice. 3. The kingdom of God. — The social message of Jesus culminates in his teaching concerning the kingdom of God. It is not our purpose to consider that teaching here. More than a hundred times, even in the brief record we have, the words "kingdom of God," or their equivalent, are used by Jesus. But if God is to rule, he must have subjects. The subjects of his rule must live in social relations with each other. There are interests they have in common and activities they follow in common. There are sins that cannot be traced to one person here or an- other there, but which belong to the whole group involved. There is righteousness that must be achieved in common effort. The gospel of the Kingdom is the gospel of the common life. It affects and includes every one of us. The Example and Teaching of the Early Chuech 1. After Jesus, Paul. — The apostle to the Gentiles had much to do with the development and trend of early Christianity. After his conversion on the Damascus road he gave his life to the work of carrying the message of Jesus near and far. He was especially solicitous for those outside the pale of Judaism, although he never over- looked the members of his own race. It is true that Paul was deeply concerned with the gospel as a system of thought. He was himself a thinker and he devoted a large part of his life to building up a system of truth which would stand the most searching intellectual testing. But in all his most striking utter- ances we have the mind of his Master and ours. 10 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS In Rom. 13. 8-10, after an enumeration of the com- mandments that seek to regulate our conduct toward our "neighbor/^ Paul sums up, "Thou shalt love thy neigh- bor as thyself . . . love ... is the fulfillment of the law.^' In the love poem of the New Testament we have an outburst from the fervent heart of this Christ-filled man which far surpasses any other similar utterance. The social gospel finds its creed in 1 Cor. 13. Although faith and hope abide, the place of primacy belongs to love. But love is a social virtue; it grows out of the relations we bear to each other. Its absence indicates breakdown and failure. Its presence indicates the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ. 2. The early church. — The teaching of Jesus and Paul was followed with great fidelity by the early church. The members of this new fellowship regarded themselves as brethren and they obeyed the law of brotherhood as they understood it. Two striking passages stand out from the incomplete record. Acts 2. 44-47 and 4. 32-37 bring before us a pic- ture of almost id3'llic conditions. New Testament schol- ars are not entirely agreed as to the exact interpretation of these passages. But it is perfectly plain that if any member of that early Christian community suffered want or need, all the others felt obligated to relieve it. They did not wait for any outside agency to act for them. Their love for each other regulated the use and administration of their possessions. They recognized the dangers of worldly possessions. Then, as now, things might easily take the place of more important considerations. Jesus had said, "It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The early Chris- tians took these words seriously and were minded not to lose their souls through selfish devotion to worldly goods. Brotherhood meant more to them than selfish possession. Human service was better than isolated enjoyment and ease. They filled the life of their community with the spirit EMPHASIS IN CHRISTIANITY 11 of Jesus — "the love that never tires in the endless tasks of kindness." Should we try to reproduce the exact conditions we find described in these passages, or is there a better way to follow the example of the early church? Have you ever seen a Christian community trying as seriously as did this early community to practice the social gospel among its own members, not to speak of those outside? Outstanding Social Movements in Christianity 1. Throughout the centuries. — The Christian Church has always had a social outlook. In its most selfish periods it has never entirely forgotten the social message of the Great Teacher. Nor has it failed in some measure to prac- tice this teaching. There has always been great possibility of improvement, and there is to-day. But the centuries are filled with social movements that have sought the re- demption of humanity. Christian missions arose and have been continued in response to the command of Jesus to evangelize the whole world. And from the first they have sought to redeem the whole life of individuals and nations. There has been far more narrowness in the thinking of some Christians regarding Christian missions than in the missions them- selves. From the apostle Paul to the last young man or young woman who went out under the auspices of the Cen- tenary movement life has been given for the purpose of helping to build a world-order in which Christ shall rule. The biography of Dr. W. J. Grenfell reads like a tale of adventure. And such it is — an adventure for God and mankind. There in Labrador, among the deep-sea fisher folk, a new way of life has been established, and it would hardly be wide of the truth to say that a new order of civilization has been ushered in. And it may be well to note in passing that it was wdien Spurgeon was one night urging his hearers to take their religion as the serious con- cern of their lives that this noble servant of the cross regis- tered his decision that has led to such heroic doing in the name of Christ. 2. Mediaeval times. — Monasticism and the mendicant 12 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS orders of the Middle Ages have something to teach us concerning the application of Christian principles of serv- ice to the world in which we live. Benedict of Nursia, born in 480, founded the order that bears his name. Prayer, fasting, manual labor, and learn- ing were the occupation of the members of this order. "The Benedictines were the great road makers of the Middle Ages. They cleared away the forests, drained dikes and filled in swamps, and reclaimed to fertility val- uable lands. They were also the pioneers of agriculture. ... In a turbulent and warlike time they were the teachers of the dignity of labor and the fruitful arts of peace. The reclaiming of the Eiver Thames to commerce and history is a notable instance of the triumph of the 'Benedictines.^ ^' Francis of Assisi was aroused from his selfish way of living by hearing those words of Christ: "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out de- mons.^' The members of the order he founded followed him in his life of poverty and unrewarded service. With his own hands he ministered to the lepers, as did Father Damien in a later day. Sabatier says of him, "He went not to the whole, who needed no physician, but to the sick, the forgotten, the disdained/' 3. The Protestant Reformation. — We do not ordinarily think of the Protestant Eeformation as primarily a social movement. Luther's chief concern was with the individual. Eeligious freedom from the intolerable yoke of ecclesias- tical oppression and abuse was his aim. Yet by asserting the essential equality of all men before God he was true to the principles of social values, which underlie all Christian sacrifice and service. If some men are free, while others are bound, the kingdom of God cannot come. If some are to have privileges that others cannot enjoy, peace and good will cannot be permanently established. 4. Methodist beginnings. — The Wesleyan Eevival is one of the outstanding movements of history. John Wesley possessed the social vision of the gospel. No man of his day surpassed him in this respect; few in any day have EMPHASIS IN CHRISTIANITY 13 gone beyond him. Many of his followers have trailed on far behind him in spite of the education and enlightenment of later times. Wesley always dealt with the individual, but he told him that it was unthinkable that he should go to heaven alone. Redemption began in the heart of the believer, but it included all human relationships within its purpose. Consequently, it is not strange to read that Wesley estab- lished the first dispensary in London, that he founded a home for the poor, that he organized a system of relief for the industrious poor who were being bled by the money lenders, that he instituted a Strangers' Society to minis- ter to the friendless. The Centenary movement of the present time, in its out- reach toward all lands and all kinds and conditions of men, is true to the spirit of the founder of our branch of the Christian Church. The Moderit Emphasis 1. The new social emphasis. — In recent years the social emphasis of Christianity has been stressed as never before. There have been many reasons for this. The mind of the Master has been recovered. For many years much of the best thought of the church was concerned with controversy over debatable intellectual and theological questions. But with the development of industrial conditions throughout the world and the greater pressure of economic and closely allied questions upon all persons a natural shift of interest took place. And then, too, with the increase in the facili- ties of communication and travel the world became a much smaller place. We saw that we were all much more closely related to each other than many had supposed. Infected rats from foreign countries could be guarded against, but it was better to go to the sources of infection and do away with them. The pouring in through our gates of multitudes of im- migrants accentuated the social aspect of the gospel. How could we expect to build a nation out of these diverse strains and elements unless a Christianizing process as well as an Americanizing process was carried on? 14 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS Then came the Great War, and everything in the civil- ized world was changed. Men who had been sleeping sud- denly woke up to the fact that apart from the principles and ideals of Jesus there is no hope for a humane order of life. Peace and brotherhood have no chance in the earth unless Jesus is Lord. Where grace abounds, sin will much more abound unless Jesus is Saviour. Eedemption and the fortunes of all men in the future are interlocked. The whole of human society and the whole of the individual life are involved. Questions of right and wrong are at stake in all such human interests and activities as education, health, amuse- ment, housing, and labor conditions. The message of Jesus furnishes us with the principles by which our think- ing, planning, and action must be guided as we seek for the right. If we neglect this message we are sure to go wrong. Unfortunately, there are still many persons in the world who do not much care about these matters be- cause they do not realize how deeply they themselves are involved. But that number is diminishing. The social gospel is challenging the interest of the keenest minds and the warmest hearts throughout the breadth of the entire Christian communion. Not to be interested is to confess that the procession has moved forward and left us behind. To be interested is so far to give evidence of the spirit of Jesus. 2. The fellowship of the churches. — Nearly all the great Christian communions have taken a forward-looking atti- tude toward the social proclamation of the gospel. Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Epis- copalian, and Roman Catholic have found a certain meas- ure of unity, if not union, in their social creeds and simi- lar utterances. More than thirty of the larger Christian denominations have become affiliated in the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. The platform of this Council stands for the fair and fearless application of the teachings of Jesus to modern conditions and all human relationships. No one class is to be favored above another, but a way of life is to be followed which in time shall EMPHASIS m CHRISTIANITY 15 minimize, if not entirely eliminate, class divisions of all sorts. No one group is to escape the application of the social gospel. Human values are to receive first considera- tion. These are even more sacred than property values when there is any sharp conflict as between the two. In- dustry for service, and not primarily for profit, is the goal to be reached. True democracy of the Christian type is to permeate all departments and sections of life. The kingdom of love and the rule of the King are to prevail universally. Is this too large a program ? Not if all Christian people make it theirs, as it was and is their Lord's, as it was and is that of the great leaders of our holy religion in all past centuries and in the present. Questions for Discussion 1. Why does Isaiah condemn religious assemblies and ceremonies ? 2. What should be the effect of worship upon the indi- vidual and upon society through the individual ? 3. Do you know of an instance of the application of the Golden Eule on a fairly wide scale? What was the re- sult? 4. How may church members show their concern for the welfare of each other? 5. Should organized Christianity or should other social agencies undertake to-day such work as the church in the Middle Ages did? 6. Are Christian people generally becoming more socially minded ? 7. What is your church doing to help the fuller coming of the kingdom of God in the earth? CHAPTER II THE CHRISTIAN AND PUBLIC EDUCATION For reference and study: Deut. 6. 6-9; Prov. 1. 1-6; 3. 13-26; Matt. 28. 18-20; Luke 1. 1-4; 2. 52; Acts 7. 22; 10. 1-35; 17. 16-34. Education in the Peogeam of Jesus 1. Jesns as a teacher. — To say that Jesus had a program of public education such as that of the school board of your town would be wide of the mark. Indeed, we must always be careful how we use the word "program" in connection with the life and ministry of Jesus. But Jesus did want the minds of the people to be enlightened. He taught the men of his time and the men of all time some of the deepest truths ever proclaimed. Luke says of Jesus that "he grew in wisdom." And this must mean that Jesus learned just as all others have learned — by study, by observation, by contact with the world of human life, by communion with God. That Jesus attended the s}Tiagogue school or that he ever received for- mal instruction, we do not know; but we do know that his mother was deeply instructed in the Hebrew Scriptures, that she was in the habit of pondering the deep things of God in her own heart. We may be sure that Jesus learned many a great truth from her before he came to the period of his own later and independent development. A title often used by the disciples in addressing Jesus was "Teacher." This indicates that they regarded them- selves as learners and that thej' looked upon him not only as concerned for their instruction but as giving them in- struction in the wisdom he himself possessed. For the most part they were untutored men — ignorant men, we should say, — so far as schools and books are concerned. But their minds were prepared for the great truths im- planted by Jesus. They were learners in his school — the 16 PUBLIC EDUCATION 17 school of the inner life. They learned so well that as his representatives they have been instructing men ever since. 2. The great coininission. — Matt. 28. 18-20 is a very in- structive passage. There Jesus commands his disciples to go into all the world to make other disciples, to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all things according to his commands. This clearly indicates two things: that Jesus desired an instructed following among men and women and that he expected his disciples to take upon themselves a meas- ure of responsibility for the education of the people. Ig- norance has no place in the program of Jesus. His gos- pel will stand all the light there is. Faith and devotion are based upon knowledge. This command still stands. The Christian must be con- cerned with education — his own and that of other persons. A man was once heard to remark that education was a purely secular affair, that the church had no concern with it, and that an educated ministry would mark the decline of the ministry. Does such a position rightly interpret the mind of Christ? 3. The prologue of Luke.— In opening his Gospel and in dedicating it to Theophilus, Luke declares that he writes in order that his friend may know the certainty of the things wherein he has been instructed. An educational purpose stands at the forefront of this gospel. In this Luke is true to the mind of Jesus. From such a beginning the interest of the Christian Church in education has developed. Ignorance and illiter- acy are the enemies of a pure faith. The schoolhouse and college, as well as the church, are sacred. And Christians have been following the purpose of Jesus in organizing centers of instruction for the people in all lands. Do you know how many of the foremost educational institu- tions of xA.merica were founded either by ministers or by the church? Public Education and Public Welfare 1. The hope of democracy. — We do not always reaKze 18 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS how closely public welfare and public education are bound together. In a recent striking article a Chinese scholar denies this. He alfirms that the public should not be taught, that only those of exceptional intellectual gifts should have the opportunities of education. This is at sharp variance with the Christian view. It is opposed to the method and purpose of Jesus. If the view of this Chinese scholar were to prevail, what hope would there be of the continuance and development of democracy? Of course he is not interested in that sort of a development, for he probably thinks that nothing worse could happen than to see a real democracy estab- lished here or anywhere else. To us as Christians "de- mocracy^' and "the kingdom of God in the earth'' are almost interchangeable terms. In a democracy each citizen must bear his part. Com- mon responsibilities are to be shared. Intelligent under- standing of the issues and intelligent cooperation in meet- ing them are essential. Ignorance saps the strength of the foundations of a democratic order. In such countries as China and Mexico the progress of democracy is retarded by the great mass of illiteracy that overspreads these lands. In spite of leaders who have their faces toward the light the rank and file are still under the power of superstition and tradition. To obey the com- mand of Jesus means to build schools and send teachers among such peoples, that they may know the truth that makes men free. 2. Necessary to efficiency. — The efficient man is he who knows how to do some piece of work necessary to the carry- ing on of civilization. Our country is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. These cannot be utilized for the good of all of us except as trained intelligence is applied to their development. Factories must be built, machinery must be invented, scientific processes must be employed. Ignorance means waste and underproduction. Education of the right sort means the utilization of the vast stores of possible good for the blessing of mankind. The telephone, the telegraph, the automobile, the air- PUBLIC EDUCATION 19 plane, are the forerunners of an expanding civilization. The head of a great industry, employing thousands of men, recently remarked that the elimination of the telephone would make it necessary to close the plant. Education for efficiency and then efficiency in the use of knowledge are indispensable. 3. Preparation for service. — Ignorance is the enemy of the highest type of service. There are persons in the world whose impulses are of the best. The sad fact is they do not know enough to be able to express themselves in ways productive of the most good to themselves and to others. Selfishness is not to be explained on the ground of ignorance, but ignorance is a strong ally. Acts 7. 22 helps to explain why Moses could play such a great part in leading his people toward their wider destiny. 4. Relation to character. — A man may be an educated rascal, and his rascality will be all the more harmful. Probably many men behind the bars of our prisons are well educated. Not long ago the writer received a letter from such a man in which he requested that copies of lit- erary works of highest merit be sent to him. Oscar Wilde is a case in point. But it is nevertheless true that educa- tion of the right type is a high incentive to noble charac- ter and that it outlines the features of the strongest and most useful life. Something more than education is re- quired to make a Christian, but an educated Christian is worth more to the world than one of equal intelligence but uneducated. Paul, from the University of Tarsus, was used of God as he never could have been had he been a man of equally devoted purpose but with an untrained mind. Ignorance is the enemy of social progress. A program of moral reform cannot be successfully carried out unless the people are sufficiently educated to understand and value its meaning. The vicious elements in society prey upon the ignorant and find in them their dupes and tools. Al- though moral enlightenment and education, as the term is ordinarly used, are not the same, there is a close rela- tionship between them. Social improvement, moral pro- gress, the advancement of ideals, the growth of true reli- 20 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS gion, are all retarded by ignorance and greatly accelerated by genuine education. Some Essential Factors 1. Comnmnity interest. — Public education i8 the con- cern of the entire community. If the people are interested in this question, if they give it the same consideration they give to health and amusement questions, progress is certain to be made. There must be a thoroughly awakened and intelligent public spirit. In one city it was proposed to build a new stadium in an athletic field connected with one of the schools. The pupils were aroused. The citizens were fired with inter- est. A representative committee was appointed. A large sum of money was almost immediately subscribed. The plan was carried through. This shows what can easily be done when public spirit is aroused in connection with a minor although important matter. Would there have been the same interest in something less directly associated with popular athletics? Let us hope so. At any rate public education is not likely to rise higher in any community than the public spirit of the citizens carries it. If the men and women are more interested in the ^^movies" than in the conduct of the schools, if the "screen star*' who happens to be holding the center of the stage is thought to be a more important person than the superin- tendent of public education, there is something wrong. In a certain semisuburban community it took years to bring the men and women to vote for a new high-school building. Many said: "We got our education in the old building. It is good enough for the boys and girls to-day.'' In that same community the success of the local baseball nine was a matter of great pride. The standing of the town was very generally thought to hinge upon the success of that team in its contests with the teams from sur- rounding towns. If the same public spirit could have been shown toward education as was shown toward base- ball, it would have been better for all concerned, and, quite possibly, a better baseball team might have been shortly PUBLIC EDUCATION 21 organized ; for a trained mind is not a liability in a base- ball player. 2. Adequate equipment. — The buildings and equipment should be the best the community can possibly afford. As soon as there is need for personal economy, some cut off the subscription to the church. The need for com- munity economy sometimes leads the authorities to cut down the money spent on the schools and their upkeep. In both instances such economy is very costly. On a purely commercial basis dollars and cents cannot be better in- vested. There has been a distinct advance throughout our coun- try in this respect. Good buildings and adequate equip- ment are the order of the new day; yet much remains to be desired. Men who live in good homes and who insist that their offices and factories shall be up to the minute in the matter of equipment are sometimes inclined to take a less progressive view of the needs of the schools. 3. Teaching as a vocation. — Those who teach should be men and women who regard their tasks in the light of a divine vocation. A young woman wlio was taking the normal course for teachers was heard to remark that teaching was about as respectable and easy a way of mak- ing a living as she knew. If that viewpoint were general, the work of the schools would deteriorate, and the general level of intelligence would rise very slowly if at all. A public-school principal, a man who miglit have made a success as a business man, declared that he gave himself to his work just as a minister enters the service of the church. The very large turn-over in the ranks of the teachers would seem to indicate that many do not regard teaching as the noble vocation that it really is. Which view seems to prevail in your community ? Is teaching just a way to make a living — one way among many? Is teaching a vo- cation to which a person gives himself for the good of those he teaches and for the good of the commonwealth? Is teaching a business? Is teaching a calling? No one who is not a person of high moral and spiritual standards should be permitted to teach in our public 23 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS schools. A person without any high ideals may be able to teach the multiplication table, but even that simple duty will be performed better by the person with ideals. There is no such book as a Christian history or a Christian scien- tific treatise, but only a person of Christian standards is fit to teach and interpret either history or science to the developing mind of the oncoming generation. Individual initiative should mark the members of the teaching force if the best results are to be secured. The goose step may have served the purpose of the Grerman army on its way to overwhelming catastrophe, but there is something better than standardization and systemization that crush all the initiative out of the teachers and the taught. In the former days more frequently than now the children in an orphanage dressed just alike, with hair cut and combed just alike, and, treated just alike in all matters of discipline, were really pitiable little objects, however good the intentions of those responsible for the system may have been. Teachers and pupils as much alike as peas in a pod are not the finest product of our school system. Personality, individuality trained toward high ideals and productive services, this is one of the greatest needs of the time. f 4. Ideals of the pupils. — The boys and girls themselves are essential factors in this process. They may not fully ^realize it, but the schools are conducted for them. Vast sums of money are spent, the buildings are erected, the teachers are engaged, the curriculum is arranged, all with the purpose of giving them a chance to become educated citizens of our great republic. How will they meet this opportunity ? If pla3^s, dances, athletics, and social affairs take the first place in their thought, they are not taking the attitude the community has a right to expect them to take. "All work and no play" — yes, we all admit what that implies. But turn the old saying around and con- sider what happens when it is all play and no work. An educator of high standing recently gave it as his opinion that the boys and girls of the student body under his observation were never more devoted to the real business of the school period. If this holds true generally, it argues I PUBLIC EDUCATION 23 well for the future of our country and for the kingdom of Christ in the world. What Can the Christian Do? 1. Individual initiative. — The Christian can exert his influence on the side of every attempt to elevate the stand- ards of education in his community; initiate something or heartily second something that seeks the spread of intel- ligence among all the people. Lecture courses of the right sort are popular. Intellec- tual stimulus is welcomed by many who do not seem to have any particular interest in the larger questions of the da3^ One city church prepared a lecture-course and sold tickets at a price just large enough to cover the cost. A few interested persons agreed to stand by in case of a deficit. The course paid its own way, and the mental life of many who would have felt little of that kind of influence was broadened and quickened. 2. Guard the schools. — The system of public education should be guarded from every sort of hurtful political or sectarian influence. In many communities there are in- fluences at work which will seriously cripple — if, indeed, they do not eventually undermine — the best work of the schools. Sectarianism in any form, whether it be of the Protestant or the Eoman Catholic type, should be ban- ished. If there are politicians who, by means of under- ground methods, are seeking to gain control either of the local or the national system of education for either in- dividual or party purposes, they should be resisted by an enlightened public opinion and by the most drastic meas- ures to be devised by that opinion. On the other hand, there are many forces at work in our communities which seek to draw all people together in their support of education. These should be heartily sec- onded by the Christian citizen. Divisive forces are to be resisted, but the forces that draw men together in the unity of a fine community purpose are to be conserved and used to the full extent of their power. Democracy of the Christian type is dependent on the intelligent loyalty and purposeful service of our citizens. 24 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS Any influence that prevents the system of public educa- tion from making its full contribution to the development of the present and future citizens of the land is working against all that we hold dear. The Christian has a fine opportunity to second and support every attempt to make the system realize its own highest ideals. 3. Religious education. — To-day as never before the Christian has the opportunity of stressing the value of religious education. Eeligious education is very different from training in sectarian doctrine and practice. It is chiefly concerned with the development of the minds and Iiearts of the younger generation toward God and aU the real things of the world of the spirit. The schools and colleges may be much more closely related to the churches and the church schools than is the case to-day. These agencies are complementary. The day school or the col- lege has its own definite task, so has the church school. Without in any way infringing the principle of the sep- aration of state and church there is a great opportunity for cooperative eSort in the field of education, which all right-thinking citizens — Protestant, Jew, and Catholic — will support. The superintendents of three of the large schools in an Eastern city were recently invited to come before the congregation of an influential church and tell the people how, in their Judgment, church and school could the better cooperate in the community task of public edu- cation. Such meetings might well be multiplied through- out the country. They help to form public opinion of the right sort. They are the forerunners of cooperative effort. Questions tor Discussion" 1. Are we better Christians and better citizens if we are trained in the truths our fathers have followed and cher- ished ? 2. In what respect is the condition of the man in- structed in the wisdom of the past more favorable than that of the uninstructed ? 3. Why do not men generally value wisdom as highly as the writers of the wisdom books of the Old Testament ? PUBLIC EDUCATION 25 4. What chance is there of building the kingdom of Christ if Christ's command to teach all people is neglected ? 5. Find some of the qualities of the true teacher in the incident of Acts 10. 1-35. 6. What is the ideal of Christian education ? 7. What contribution to religious education is being made by your school ? CHAPTER III THE CHRISTIAN AND THE WAGE PROBLEM For reference and study: Deut. 24. 14-15; Jer. 22. 13- 17; Matt. 7. 12; 20. 1-15; Luke 10. 7; Eph. 4. 31-32; 6. 5-9 ; Col. 4. 1 ; Philemon 8-20 ; James 5. 1-4. How TO Measure the Value of Labor 1. Valuation of life. — Jesus lived in a time when society- was not organized as it is to-day. Men lived in the open. There were no great cities in Palestine, with their con- gested districts and crowded tenements. There were no slums and no fine residence districts as far removed as possible from the haunts of wretchedness and vice, such as we know to-day. Agriculture and the raising of sheep, cattle, and other livestock were the chief occupations of the men of his time, and such work as was done in the large towns was done chiefly in the homes of the people, and not in large shops and factories. Jesus placed the first value upon life. Human life was of supreme value in the thought of God. And we may be sure that if he were among us to-day, living and teach- ing in such conditions as we know, his emphasis would be the same: it would fall upon men rather than upon things and dollars. He one day said to his hearers, "How much better is a man than a sheep \" That was a standard of comparison that had meaning to those who heard him. To-day he would say, "How much better is a man than a shop or an office, a railroad or a mine !" Always he would think first of men, women, and children. We must remember this when we come to measure the value of labor. We must first get our eyes on the man or the woman or the child who is doing the work instead of first considering the work the person happens to be per- forming. We must have in mind the idea that human 26 THE WAGE PROBLEM 27 values come first before we try to think of how much a given service is worth. The service may be very import- ant, like that of directing a great industrial enterprise, or it may be very humble, like that of sweeping a street; but a human being is performing it, and we must think of his value to God and to society and to himself and his family before we try to fix finally upon the value of the work he is doing. 2. Essential service. — We must also consider how so- cially useful or even necessary the work is. There are some forms of labor without which society could not go for- ward from day to day. We who live in cities would starve to death if it were not for the men and women on the farms who raise the food we eat. If there were no means of transportation by which to ship the food to us, if there were no system of exchange by which' we might come into possession of it, we should be helpless. On the other hand, life for those on the ranches and farms in the remote sec- tions of the land would be sadly impoverished if it were not for the automobiles, the telephones, the victrolas, the news- papers, and a thousand other things that circulate freely to-day throughout the country. How essential the service of the physician in time of sickness ! What an important contribution to human well-being the teacher and the edi- tor make ! Some forms of service do not seem to be so essential to the carrying on of life. Often these are more highly re- warded than labor that is far more essential. And what- ever we may think of these less useful forms of work we must be fair and just enough to make it our aim to place upon every essential form of human service its full value. We must not be blinded by the more showy services and think less highly than we should of those who are doing very important but oftentimes menial work in human society. Notice how Paul, in his letter to Philemon, emphasizes this point. How highly he speaks of the slave Onesimus ! He greatly values what this otherwise unnoticed man had done for him and he sends him back to his master with a letter filled with the spirit of Christian love. He urges 28 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS Philemon to receive him no longer as a mere bondservant but as a brother beloved. 3. Labor values.— In fixing the value of labor we must think of the work and of its service to society and we must also consider the social relationship within which the worker lives. If he is the father of a family he has a right to the chance to make good as the support of those dependent upon him. The Christian will be interested to see that such conditions do not obtain as make it neces- sary for the wife and mother to go to work to help eke out a Uving for the family. The children will have their chanoe at an education before they become recruits within the ranks of the workers. Social workers are frequently face to face with condi- tions in which, try as a worker may, he cannot earn enough to support himself and his family. Eecent years have m.arked improvement in these respects, and a good deal of the improvement has been due to the activity of Christian men and women of social conscience. Much remains to be done. It is evident that it is not a simple matter to measure the value of labor. No one man is able to do this. No one group of men can do this. The question is at bottom a social question, and we are all involved. The Living Wage axd Profit Sharing 1. Living-wage plan. — The plan is an attempt to fix a standard below which the wages in a given industry shall not fall. For several years the government has been investigating living conditions in different communi- ties, and has endeavored to find out how much money a person must receive in return for honest work if he is to be able to buy the necessaries of life for himself and those dependent on him. A number of independent inquiries of this same sort have been carried on. To-day it is possible for you to find out about how much of an income a person must have if he is to maintain an American standard of life in your community. Here is a subject which you may be interested to investigate. THE WAGE PROBLEM 29 We all know that to live in a good home, to eat good food, to wear suitable clothing, to enjoy some of the privi- leges of intellectual and spiritual growth and of recreation, to be able to contribute toward good enterprises, requires money. If we have never had to earn any of it for ourselves, this lesson may not yet have been strongly impressed upon us. But the vast majority of persons do have to earn it for themselves or go without it. And we are all learning that we cannot afford to have persons living in our communities who cannot meet the requirements of the standard of life. Unless the community prevents that sort of thing, the level of the life of all of us is lowered. Perhaps the living-wage plan is not so modern as it seems. Study Matt. 20. 1-15 and see if you do not find the principles that underlie such a plan. Equal pay for unequal labor is not the fact to fasten your attention upon so much as the other fact that no man was allowed to receive less than a fixed return for his labor. 2. Profit sharing. — This is another attempt to reach equity in distributing the earnings of men working to- gether at a common task. Employers and investors have recognized the fact that if it were not for the skill and energy of the manual workers there would be no profits. Organizing talent is necessary, managerial ability is re- quired, and so is the labor of the men and women who work with their hands. Examine 1 Cor. 12 for a clear statement of some underlying principles. All those who work together to win prosperity should share in that prosperity, and with as much equity as possible. The captain on the bridge of an ocean liner is essential to the safety and comfort of the passengers, but so is the stoker. And there has been a growing tendency in the in- dustrial world to give every worker his due. Brains are necessary, but so is brawn. Indeed, it is a superficial mis- take to draw any sharp distinction between them when both are required if progress, prosperity, and a more Christian social order are to be achieved. We must not overdraw the picture. Some employers and 30 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS shareholders resist every such plan as those sketched. They are still engaged in the process described by the prophet Jeremiah (22. 13-17). We must not think that without vigilance and continuous effort on the part of all right- thinking persons social justice will be done. But it is good to be able to say that the majority of industrial leaders are faced in the direction of principles and plans that contemplate a more equitable distribution of human wealth. The Christian Workman and the Labor Union 1. The labor union. — Manual workers have attempted to solve the knotty problems of our industrial order by the formation of labor unions. These have gathered together the workers of a given occupation and in common action have formulated the principles and the rules according to which a trade is to be governed. The living-wage and the profit-sharing plans have usually arisen outside the ranks of the manual workers. Sometimes these schemes have had the approval, som.etimes the disapproval of the workers. The lal)or union is the creation of the manual workers. Its rise and development in England and Amer- ica constitute a most instructive chapter in the economic progress of two great nations. That labor has the right to organize is to-day generally conceded. Fair-minded men claim that employers have a right to organize, that stockholders and consumers have a right to organize. They accord this same right to manual workers. But in every instance the organization must work toward the common good. The test of its righteous- ness and usefulness is found here. 2. Christian leadership. — Many Christian workmen are members of the labor unions. In England for many years some of the chief leaders in the ranks of labor have been devoted members of the Christian Church. Arthur Hen- derson, a local preacher of the Wesleyan Church, is an example. In this country we have had no such conspicu- ous figure as he, but many Christian workers have exerted a deep influence upon the labor movement. THE WAGE PEOBLEM 31 In the union the Christian workingman has a strategic position. He may interpret the spirit and purpose of the Christian Church to the workers outside the influence and membership of any Christian group. For a long time in one of our important industrial cities a highly influential publication of organized labor was largely molded as to its policy and program by a man of fine Christian char- acter. The Christian member of the labor union has the oppor- tunity of interpreting the spirit and purpose of labor to those within the church who gain most of their informa- tion from somewhat inadequate sources. A Christian labor leader one day spoke to a group of Christian citizens and by the breadth and fairness of his utterances exerted a great influence, making for understanding and conciha- tion throughout a wide territory. His influence will work in both directions. Sometimes the labor organization stands for a wrong policy. We had an example of that a few years ago in the city of Boston, when the policemen went on strike and left the city open ta the attacks of ruffians and rowdies. Sometimes those not members of the ranks of the man- ual workers stand for wrong views, as, for example, in some of the bitter condemnation of the workingmen re- cently heard on account of their unusually high wage demands, when this criticism has failed to take into account the greatly increased cost of housing and of the basic necessities of life. The Christian workman will stand for justice and fair- ness in his union and for the same principles in his church. He will not permit his own conscience to be stifled nor will he be a party to any policy or opinion that tends to lower human ideals. 3. The Christian in the ranks.— The Christian work- man will give a fair day's work for a fair return and will use his influence in favor of such a policy in all the coun- cils of his trade. He knows that the question of production is prior to that of wages, hours, and distribution of the product. He knows that the man who scamps his job, the man who fails to keep the machinery of production going 32 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS forward at normal speed, is not contributing to his own weKare nor to the welfare of anyone else. He will recognize the place and power of religion in the labor movement. In September, 1919, an International Conference on Labor and Eeligion was held in Browning Hall, London. The records of that Conference are prof- itable reading to all who believe that the fundamental principles of Christianity must be reckoned with in any attempt to work out a thoroughly Christian social order in the earth. The Solution of the Problem 1. The Christian solution. — We must be careful how we speak of the solution of any great human problem. As conditions of life change, and the world moves onward, the old-time problem reappears, although its form and garb may be new. But a question may find a solution, good for all time, so far as it goes — a solution that will pre- vent certain features of the problem from reappearing, and which will help those who come after us to move in the direction of greater human good. Speaking in this sense, we may say that tliere is a Christian solution of the labor problem. The principles and purposes of Jesus Christ give us the only sure and enduring basis of a real solution. If men and women can be brought to see this so that the words mean something more to them than words, a great step forward will be taken. Do you know any persons who still think that religion has nothing to do with such matters? Do you know any good Christian people who say, "Better not mix up our Christian preaching and teaching with these questions" ? The Christian Church, the church school, all the edu- cational agencies of the church, have no greater obliga- tion and opportunity today than to teach with full con- viction that there is a Christian solution for the problems that vex the world. If the young men and women of the coming generation can be sent out into life with this conviction deeply fixed in their minds, future years will THE WAGE PEOBLEM 33 record a marvelous progress in establishing the rnle of God in the earth. 2. Fundamental principles. — These are some of the principles that point the way toward the Christian solu- tion : (a) Human values have first place. The employer who conducts his business upon the assumption that it is his chief aim to make goods or profits, or to make anything else than better men and a better order of society, is dis- regarding a fundamental principle of the religion of Jesus. The manual worker who thinks it his first business to secure a satisfactory arrangement as to wages and hours, without much regard as to what he is obligated to give in return, is equally guilty of overlooking primary prin- ciples. The story is told of a slave who came north by the ^^underground railway.'^ He was being questioned by a judge in the town to which he had escaped. He told the judge that his former master gave him good food and clothes and shelter. The judge expressed his surprise that the slave should have run away. The black man told the judge that the place vfas still vacant, and that undoubtedly he could get it if he applied. Food, clothes, dividends, profits, wages, hours, are all important, but all less im- portant than the men, women, and children involved in the process of producing them and made or broken by that process. (b) The giving rather than the getting instincts of our natures are to have their superiority acknowledged. Serv- ice, although a badly worn word, is still the keyword in all industrial and professional activities. To create some- thing or to help create something that adds to the true wealth of life — a picture, a poem, an airship, a railroad, a house — is of far greater importance than to seize all that the hands will hold and defend it against all contest- ants. An officer of the American army related that in Armenia a starving child, when she received her potato and little cup of cocoa, rushed out of the bread line and away to an older brother, too weak and emaciated to stand in tlie line himself, to share with him her pitiful allow- 34 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS ance. The world of industry, in all its departments of organization and operation, needs to absorb the truth in the words of Jesus : "I came not to be ministered to, but to minister/' Scientists, physicians, teachers, social workers, have gen- erally adopted the principle of service for their own lives. They are ordinary human beings like the rest of us, but they have an unusual outlook upon the real things of life. Why should not all who contribute in any way to the well- being of the world follow their example? The shop, the office, the factory, offer just as fine an opportunity for self-giving. A recent writer has called attention to the fact that while we have called a man a "soldier of the Lord" we have never named a man a "banker of the Lord" ; but why not ? (c) Every person must lead a productive life. The physically and mentally disqualified are the only excep- tions. To every other person the talent has been given. Society has a right to demand that it be employed, and in such a way as to add to the well-being of all. The idle rich and the idle poor have no place in a Christian order of things. The coming of the Kingdom is delayed by every person who lives an unproductive life. (d) Cooperation, rather than ruthless competition and destructive conflict, is the organizing principle upon which the progress of the human order depends. A football team teaches us that the right sort of competition may take place on the basis of cooperation. To fight for the good things of life as men contend for the spoils of battle is to pervert a worthy instinct, which, if put to work in the realm of the ideal, will prove to have enormous creative power. Questions foe Discussion 1. Cite instances of the interest of both Old and New Testament writers in such subjects as the heading of this chapter. 2. Give some of the reasons why men do not alv/ays place as high a value upon human life as Jesus did. THE WAGE PROBLEM 35 3. How do the principles declared by Paul tend to eliminate slavery, in all its phases, from society? 4. Can you find an instance of the application of the principle of the living wage or of profit sharing ? Describe the result. 5. Does any other institution than the church so unself- ishly proclaim the principle of the "square deaP' for all ? 6. Has the war lowered or heigthened our ideas of hu- man values? 7. If all parties concerned are not willing to share in self-sacrifice, how can right ideals be applied to the wage problem ? CHAPTER IV THE CHRISTIAN AND WORKING CONDITIONS For reference and study: Exod. 5. 1-21; Deut. 15. 1-18; Matt. 11. 28-30; 25. 14-30; Eph. 6. 5-8; Phil. 2. 1-4; Col. 3. 22-25. The New Emphasis Upon Envieonment 1. Influence of environment. — We are all greatly influ- enced by our surroundings. If we live in a pleasant neigh- borhood, among pleasant people, in a comfortable home up to the standard of modern requirements, we have a much better chance in life than if conditions are the opposite. If we work in clean, well-lighted, well-ventilated surround- ings, w^e are likely to be better workers and to do better work than in less favorable conditions. Our environ- ment, whatever it may be, has a profound influence upon our character and upon the output of our lives. It influ- ences our viewpoint. History abounds in examples of those who have risen above their environment to a noble plane of living; but this does not alter the fact that the average person is very largely determined by his surroundings. This principle applies to the working world, and es- pecially to working conditions. Sweatshops such as ex- isted in our leading cities until very recently, living quar- ters in the slums in which great numbers of workers were crowded together, factories without any provision for sani- tary needs, destroyed men and women even though they poured forth their contributions to the wealth of the world. When the workers themselves began to be considered with more Christian thought, some of the worst of these conditions were corrected. It was the desire to give the workers a chance to live normal lives quite as much as the desire to improve the quality and increase the quantity 36 WORKING CONDITIONS 37 of their product that led to many of the changes for the better. 2. Working conditions. — To-day it is possible to visit great industrial plants where the working conditions are all that could be desired. The effect of such environment upon the workers is very marked. A recent investigation showed that two great factories in which marked attention had been given to the working conditions had set a new standard in efficiency and productiveness. This result was largely due to the improved morale of the workers brought about by improved conditions. Look up, in your own community, the shop or factory that stands out as a conspicuous example of the best work- ing conditions. Visit that factory. Then visit a factory of the opposite kind, if you are so unfortunate as to be able to find one in your community, and then ask yourself where the Christian character, where Christian ideals, would have the better chance. Consider the effect of con- ditions upon the output. In Exod. 5. 1-21 we have a picture of intolerable working conditions. Autocratic demands were made upon defense- less men and women. God raised up a great leader to lead his people from bondage into freedom. Did Pharaoh's cruel treatment of the Hebrews have anj^thing to do w^ith God's righteous judgment upon him? Does the moral order of the world include industry and industrial condi- tions, and will God vindicate this order? Some Effects of Working Conditions 1. Social effects. — Working conditions affect not only the workers but all the members of society. The most direct effect is of course upon the workers themselves. A social worker one day found a young boy who deliberately committed a minor crime in order that he might be com- mitted to the reformatory, because, as he said, conditions there were so much better than the only ones he knew else- where. Truly a mistaken judgment, but one perfectly nat- ural in that particular case. In another instance a group of philanthropic persons was raising a sum of money for a man broken by his working conditions. The burden of his 38 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS support fell back upon right-minded persons. Attention to conditions on the part of right-minded employers would have prevented the situation from developing. On the other hand, in one of the great industrial plants of the Middle West a young man who had risen from an obscure place to one of great trust in the production de- partment of the business told how the excellent working conditions had been one of his strongest incentives to be and to do his best. The managers of that plant in that one instance have reaped a dividend abundantly justifying their expenditure, not to speak of the higher ends served by their Christian policy. 2. Moral effects. — Good and bad working conditions have a decided moral effect upon both the workers and society. Men and women cannot live and work without ideals any more than they can exist without bread. What sort of ideals can be maintained in foul, depressing condi- tions? Bodily fiber is weakened and moral powers are sapped. Good conditions tend to elevate the ideals of life. Much of the soap-box oratory in New York City, with its protest against the existing order of society, is the revolt of souls starved to death in conditions falling far below the level of human, not to say Christian standards. Men cannot work in cheerless quarters, in stifling atmosphere, for a bare subsistence, without turning against those whom they hold to be responsible. But the other side of the picture presents a marked contrast. Working within good conditions, a large group of unskilled workmen recently gathered at the noon hour to listen to an address of deep moral and religious import. Their leader was a man high in the management of the concern. Eight conditions had helped to establish right relations between those at the bottom and those at the top of the process. The great wheels of industry stopped for the voice of song and prayer. 3. Influence upon home life. — Working conditions have a strong influence upon the home life of the workers. Here too the influence by no means stops with the workers. Nothing affects society for good or ill more profoundly than the home life of the people. Think of the number WOEKING CONDITIONS 39 of hours spent by the average worker at his task. In com- parison his waking hours in his home are few. If he returns after a long day's work enfeebled in body and broken in spirit by devitalizing surroundings, what inter- est and strength will remain for the building up of the kind of home life essential to the welfare of the republic? Cleanliness, order, wholesome working conditions, will carry over into the life of the home by an unconscious process. All social workers will testify to the direct influ- ence of good or bad working conditions upon the family life of our cities and industrial communities. 4. The price of inhuman conditions. — Crime, disease, de- pendency, are a part of the toll paid by the workers and eventually by society for the privilege of maintaining inhu- man working conditions. The entire bill cannot be charged to this cause, but the proportion is so large that thinking persons may well ask themselves how long such conditions are to be tolerated in any civilized community. An influ- ential writer recently declared that the need of America just now is that a policy of "enlightened selfishness" be put into operation. It is rather late in the day for that kind of talk. But what the writer undoubtedly meant was that the time had come for society to consider the effect upon all the men, women, and children of any practice it follows, any policy it adopts. As the charges of industry are eventually passed on to the consumer, would it not be better for us to pay the costs of wholesome working conditions and pay less for the upkeep of jails, hospitals, and almshouses? Looked at as a purely economic question, would not this be preferable? The kind of mutual cooperation and understanding set forth in Eph. 6. 5-8 will be greatly accelerated by giving due attention to the conditions of labor. The worker is to give an honest service, and the man in the position of greater authority is to treat all those under him with the consideration due those for whom Christ died. The Christian Attitude Toward Working Conditions 1. Christian concern. — From the first the teaching of Jesus has caused men and women to take an interest in 40 SOCIAL EELATIOXSHIPS matters that did not directly affect themselves. Paul was not a slave, yet he took a deep interest in the welfare of Onesimus, who was a slave, and wrote to Philemon regard- ing his welfare. John Wesley was not unable to secure medical advice and attendance if he needed it, but his con- cern for the poor led him to open the first dispensary in London. The Christian centuries are crowded with self-denying services on the part of those who have had nothing directly to gain from their devotion. And perhaps our religion has no greater marvel to report than this: it makes people interested in all that affects, for good or ill, the members of our human family. Large numbers of Christian people are not directly con- cerned with this question of the conditions of labor. They themselves and the members of their families live and work somewhat removed from the area of toil within which the pressure of industrial surroundings is felt. It is the plain duty of such to get into sufficiently close contact with the question to feel its immense significance to un- counted numbers of their fellow human beings. The Chris- tian attitude is not one of unconcern and aloofness. A Christian minister was one day speaking upon such a question when he was reminded by one of his hearers that the subject was no concern of his. The minister at once replied that, as questions of right and wrong were involved, it ivas a concern of his ; that he had hardly any other con- cern than to deal with such questions when their bearing upon the coming of the kingdom of God was considered. 2. Duty of the capitalist. — The Christian stockholder, the Christian employer, owes it to himself, to society, to the church, to get the right attitude toward working con- ditions. Just to remember how much of life is lived within these conditions by the toilers should be enough to make every right-minded person desire that such conditions should be the best possible in the circumstances. Here is an outstanding instance where human rights should have precedence over property rights whenever the issue between the two arises. Profits and dividends are a legitimate concern of indus- WORKING CONDITIONS 41 trial enterprise, but if these are gained at the cost of right conditions of work for those who, by the output of their strength and skill, do so much to make them possible, the plainest teachings of Jesus are being disregarded. 3. Duty of the laborer. — The Christian workingman must take the right attitude toward this question. He is sometimes the victim of misinformed, misguided leader- ship. It is not always the case that he realizes the diffi- culties in a given situation. Frequently he seems to be quite as intolerant of the desires and even the needs of others as are those whom he so bitterly condemns. Let us admit that time and again he has had cause to complain bitterly of the treatment he has received. But he must believe in the right purpose of those who are trying to second his efforts toward better things and must himself apply the Christian principle that he expects and has a right to demand that others shall obey. The Christian's Opportunity 1. Sympathy and understanding.— It has already been suggested that sympathy and mutual understanding must be cultivated. All who are directly concerned and all who are indirectly concerned must cooperate to create an atmos- phere within which conciliation and good" will may flourish. The members of a "case committee" organized by one of the important philanthropies of a great city were drawn from all the churches of a community. Protestant, Catho- lic, and Jew were represented. Week'by week these people met to consider cases of human need, many of them arising out of bad industrial conditions. Crowded and unsanitary quarters, dust-laden atmosphere, unguarded machinery, had taken their toll of human misery. But this was discovered : In every instance headway was made if conditions of sympathy and mutual understanding could be established. All the fault was not on one side, for sometimes the workers had failed to avail themselves of the opportunities for betterment which had been provided. Sometimes the employer had the wrong viewpoint, some- times the worker was at fault in this respect. But the members of the committee, by means of their unfailing 42 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS sympathy with all those concerned and by their sincere efforts to understand the situation in its entirety, contrib- uted toward the well-being of men and women and greatly helped forward some radical changes in conditions. With- out such sympathy and mutual understanding this result would never have been possible. 2. The social survey. — Survey work is not very popular just now. The last few years have seen so much of this undertaken and so little by comparison accomplished that some have come to think it a waste of time and effort. This is a wrong conclusion. Social conditions are so im- portant to the welfare of the whole community that they must become a matter of common knowledge. If the w^orking conditions of industry are what they ought to be, that fact should be made known. It is a great asset of the community. If they are not right, they are not likely to be made so until the minds and consciences of men are stirred by the facts. It is usually rather difficult to get volunteers for survey work. People know that time and labor are involved. They know that some rather unpleasant experiences await them. But if as Christians we serve the community in only those ways which are easy and congenial, we are not heed- ing the call of duty. One entire community was lifted to a new level of social life by means of a thorough survey of its working and other conditions and the constructive action following. 3. Welfare work. — Another opportunity to the Chris- tian who would find socially useful activity is offered by welfare work. It may be sometimes the case that such work is undertaken as a substitute for something more costly and more radical. If welfare work ever takes the place of an honest effort to improve conditions essentially bad; if its purpose is to make the workers a little less restive in such conditions, it deserves condemnation. But if undertaken with the right purpose and in the right spirit, it is of immense social usefulness. Welfare work must never savor of paternalism. Self- respecting persons do not want those who are in more favored material conditions than themselves to patronize WORKING CONDITIONS 43 them. Welfare work as a fad is an offense to God and man. It savors of the very thing that Christianity seeks to destroy. But welfare work undertaken as a sincere attempt to make life more liveable and work more enjoy- able and profitable to all concerned has a large place in modern industry. If we have talents or gifts or graces which we desire to share with the manual workers, just as we desire to share them with our closest friends; if we can go into the shop and factory just as we go into the parlor or drawing room, to contribute something toward the enjoyment of all, we may send out influences for good far and wide. But in every instance the work should be carried on as a cooperative enterprise. Employers, workers, and social secretaries and those who help in carrying on the pro- gram, whatever it may be, should work together in mutual sympathy and understanding. 4. Public opinon. — Legislation is required in many in- stances to correct bad working conditions. But the legis- lation is hopeless or largely inoperative unless it has grown out of and is sustained by an intelligent public opinion. Perhaps if the public opinion were as strong as it should be, the legislation would be largely uncalled for. The Christian must help to arouse and form that opinion. He must help to sustain it, for good people get tired. He must be fair and just and generous to all the parties con- cerned, but very firm in his stand for human rights. In the legislature of an Eastern State a group of en- lightened churchmen was largely responsible for the pass- ing of laws that improved the working conditions of multi- tudes of workers who did not even know that the church- men had the slightest interest in their welfare. Questions for Discussion 1. Give one or two Old Testament laws for the protec- tion of the less favored. How do such laws restrain men in their use of power for selfish ends? 2. What are some of the effects of home and school sur- roundings upon character? 3. If the profits of an industry must be reduced in order U SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS to establish right working conditions, what should be the course of Christian employers ? 4. How may the less intelligent and responsive workers be helped to make a good use of the privilege of a whole- some environment? 5. Cite instances of Christ's special care for the weak and heavy laden. 6. If a man who openly disregards Christian principles in dealing with manual workers seeks church membership, what course should be followed ? 7. Trace out the direct influence of the church upon the environment within which you live. CHAPTEE V THE CHRISTIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH For reference and study: Gen. 4. 9-10; Exod. 20. 13; 2 Kings 4. 38-41; Matt. 8. 1-4; Mark 1. 21-45; John 5. 1-9 ; James 5. 13-15. Health in the Ministry of Jesus 1. The Good Physician. — It is not surprising that one trained in the religion of the Old Testament should realize the importance of physical well-being. Health regulations fill a large place in the legislative enactments^ and in some of the ceremonial observances the health of the people, quite as much as the formal worship of God, is considered. Eeverence for life is fundamental to both Old Testament and New. Exod. 20. 13 proclaims a commandment of far-reaching application. From the opening of liis ministry Jesus cared for the sick bodies and minds of men. He stands forth from the pages of the Gospels as the Good Physician. In Mark 1. 21-45 we have a somewhat full and detailed account of his activity as the bringer of health to men. It is undoubtedly true that Jesus was himself a person of abounding physical health and vitality. Representa- tions of him to the contrary have slight if any basis in the writings. x\nd it is almost unthinkable that he should have spread the contagion of health as he did had he not himself been a person of large and deep physical as well as spiritual reserves. Make a list of the most striking examples of the activity of the Good Physician as recorded by Luke and see if this does not justify the deep modern interest in questions of health. 2. Early Christian practice. — Early Christians followed the example and teaching of Jesus. In James 5. 13-15 we undoubtedly have the reflection of a common method 45 46 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS of healing. This exhortation would have been quite mean- ingless had it not been the case that prayer and anointing were much in use for the healing of the sick. For long the healing arts, such as they were, were prac- ticed by the church, and people came generally to think of religion as being concerned with the body quite as much as with the soul. Asceticism, with its slight regard for bodily conditions, was a protest against what had possibly taken too large a place in the thought and practice of the times; but a truer emphasis will give the body its due and insist that questions of physical well-being are closely bound up with questions of spiritual well-being. Find one or two examples in which the apostles wrought works of healing. Modern Interest in Health 1. Present-day interest. — Health questions of all sorts are topics of absorbing interest to-day. These have to do not only with the physical well-being of the individual but with the health of society. The Christian religion, with its emphasis upon the value of life, has widened the interest in this subject, until to-day it embraces mankind. The experience of the nation during the war emphasized this question. It was discovered that a large percentage of the young manhood of the nation was physically unfit. The herding of great numbers of persons in the centers of population, unhealthful conditions of living and work- ing, devitalizing amusements, constantly increasing ner- vous strain and tension, were found to be pouring forth a stream of consequences into society which threatened to pollute life at its source and all along its way. For many years there has been a multiplication of so- called religions and philosophies dealing with the question of health and how to obtain and keep it. 2. Public health. — This interest has carried over into the world of social and industrial relations. States and communities have been aroused from torpor and indiffer- ence to a serious concern for the physical well-being of the population. Social practices and industrial organizations PUBLIC HEALTH 47 have been considered from the same viewpoint. A man cannot any longer do what he will with that which belongs to him if he infringes the rights and requirements of public health. An industry in most enlightened communi- ties makes its strongest appeal to the public by a policy of enlightened regard for the physical well-being of the workers. One of the most serious charges which can be laid against any industrial practice to-day is that it tends to destroy the health of the workers. Wages and hours and working conditions have their place in the interest of right- minded people. But these do not have the same power of appeal as questions involving the health of the workers, especially of the young. The Christian- Especially Concerned 1. The abundant life.— The Christian of all persons sees or should see the scope of the redemptive purpose of Christ. Salvation is to him a term of familiar use. He understands by that term a saving purpose broad enough to cover the whole of life and the whole of human society. To be fully saved is to possess fullness of bodily, mental, moral, and spiritual health. The mission of Jesus to the world is fully defined in his own words : "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly .^^ 2. Body and spirit.— The Christian understands the su- preme value of the soul. And just because of that he rightly values the importance of the body. He knows that in its own place the physical life is just as important as the spiritual life, and that in the great majority of cases the life of the spirit has a much better chance for its development and expression if the bodily health is sound. While there are examples of frail and broken invalids who for sheer beauty of soul and splendor of spirit have no peers, the Christian knows that Jesus himself would not have spent so much time in a ministry to the physical needs of men if bodily health were unimportant. It is the value of the soul that leads him properly to see the value of the body. 3. Christian concern.— The Christian's broadened hu- man sympathies give him an especial concern for the physi- 48 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS cal well-being of others. When he hears the statement made that "more than sixty thousand lives are needlessly sacrificed every year in the L^'nited States from diseases which modern science knows how to prevent" he is not unmoved. When he realizes that the dread of sickness and disease hangs like a dark pall over the lives of multitudes of the unprivileged, his sympathies are stirred. And when he learns — as learn he must if he give the matter any seri- ous attention — that much of this waste and misery is rooted in man^s inhumanity to man, he enlists as a "good soldier of Jesus Christ" to make war upon the enemies of mankind's health, happiness, and usefulness. Some Closely Eelated Questions 1. The housing problem. — The question of the health of the individual and of society does not stand alone. There are many other matters so closely related to this one that they cannot be overlooked. Unless these interests are properly cared for, health cannot become the general pos- session and the usual condition of the members of society. First among these is the question of housing. Many of us live in communities where the housing question is not an issue; but if we dwell within or near the limits of a large city, we have not far to go to discover conditions that make the possession of sound bodily health almost impossible. At great cost we equip hospitals and mobilize a splendid corps of doctors and visiting nurses to care for physical and mental breakdown, but often we do not go to the source of the trouble and compel property owners and landlords to make sanitary provisions for their tenants. A city pastor was called to visit a sick boy. He found him in a narrow hall bedroom without any natural light and with no direct ventilation. Was the duty of that pastor discharged when he offered prayer for the recovery of the sick and spoke words of consolation to the mother? We are told by investigators that in some districts so great is the congestion of the living quarters of the work- men that one shift of men uses sleeping quarters by day, and another shift of men the same quarters at night. PUBLIC HEALTH 49 What chance has the body, mind, or soul in such condi- tions ? Much has recently been done to improve such condi- tions and to make their continuance impossible. Old tene- ments have been pulled down and suitable buildings erected in their stead. Some large industrial plants have taken the lead in such work by building model dwellings for their workpeople, which are rented to them at fair rates and without any suggestion of paternalism. 2. Pure food. — Pure food and clean drinking water are essential to good health. Usually the well-to-do and the rich have a great advantage over the poorer residents of our larger communities ; yet in a land of such abundance as our own it is easily possible that such conditions for the distribution of wholesome food should be established as to give every honest worker a fair opportunity. In one large city it was discovered that unclean milk was being sold to the poorer people, and that the babies in their families were dying of preventable diseases. A group of philanthropic persons largely recruited from the churches took up the matter and showed the members of the city council how great was the wrong being done those unable to defend themselves. A sanitary and practicable method was outlined. Finally a small appropriation was secured, and a few milk stations were opened. An import- ant bureau of the department of public health grew out of that experiment. Thousands of lives were saved, and the tone of public health throughout a large section of the city was greatly improved. In 2 Kings 4. 38-41 we have an example of the close connection between questions of food and bodily well-being. The prophet was evidently the possessor of a knowledge the others did not have. He made good use of that knowl- edge to save the lives of his associates. 3. The transportation problem.— Questions of trans- portation are vital in any consideration of the health of large aggregations of the people. If transportation facili- ties are not adequate, if rates are so high that only those in comfortable circumstances are able to pay them, great numbers of people are compelled to herd themselves to- 60 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS gether in such quarters as they can find, near their work, and often in the most overcrowded sections. The result is every way bad for the physical well-being of the entire community. Sunlight and pure air are as essential to health as pure food and water. The more these blessings are restricted in their possession and enjo}Tnent, the farther away are we from the coming of the reign of God in the earth. So we see there may be a very close connection between trolley and jitney service, cheap railway accommodations, and the creating of that empire in which love and life are to reflect the purpose of God. 4. Public amusements. — Although it is to receive sepa- rate consideration the amusement question must have a paragraph in connection with the question of public health. The way the people play has much to do with their physical ill-being or well-being. Certain popular forms of so-called recreation are condemnable, if not on moral grounds or for reasons of good taste, then on the ground of their hurtful- ness to the health of those who engage in them. The Christian should also consider the physical well-being of those whose lives are largely spent in providing amusement for him. Sometimes he may escape without harm, but what of the others who are compelled to make a living catering to his enjoyment? So^kiE Forms of Christian Cooperation 1. Recreational ministry. — The buildings of the churches may be used far more widely than at present to promote the physical well-being of the people. Movements like the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts should find hearty cooperation on the part of Christian people. We are all familiar with the story of the church official who is reported to have told Saint Peter that he helped to save the carpets of the church but was com- pelled to admit that he had not done very much to save the boys. Happily that type is disappearing. One large city church found that its social work had out- grown its recently enlarged accommodations. The time came to vote whether the chapel should be altered and PUBLIC HEALTH 51 partially dismantled so that it could offer enlarged facili- ties for athletics to a large group of boys, or whether the boys should be told to find their accommodations else- where. Every member of the official body of the church voted in favor of making the changes in the buildino-, as much as some of them regretted those changes, rather than turn away these groups. Large numbers of boys, some of them of rather restricted opportunities, have rea- son to remember that church with gratitude not only for its religious teaching and moral inspiration but for its direct contribution to their bodily well-being. In the same neighborhood pool rooms of a very question- able character, but operating legally, made a bid for these same boys. AVhere were the boys more likely to find the bodily and mental invigoration needed — in the chapel play- ing basketball or in the poolroom ? A church should investigate vsdiether "street-corneritis^^ is epidemic among the young men of the neighborhood and, in the interest of public health quite as much as public morals, seek ways of ministering to the bodies of youth, to build them up for right living. 2. Loan fund. — In almost every parish there are those who lack for the necessary things" of life at some time in their experience. Sickness or slack work is often responsi- ble. The poor fund, as it is often called, is, except in very exceptional cases, an out-of-date way of showing our Chris- tian solicitude. All that people ordinarily want is a chance to get on their feet. A loan fund will be found of great usefulness to tide such persons over many a hard place. Of course the fund will be administered without publicity and without interest charges. A certain church has done some fine Christian service in an unostentatious way by thus assisting some of its members to buy coal at the same favorable prices as those who are able to order in larger quantities. The credit of a church is usually very good, when often the credit of an individual may be just as good but not recognized by a trading company. Let the churcli take the place of the company and, in the interests of bodily well-being, supply the lack of its own worthy members. Many a period of ill 52 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS health in the life of wage-earners may be warded off by an experiment as simple as this, and while it does not reach down to the root of any deep trouble, it suggests a worthy form of Christian ministry. 3 Cooperation with social agencies.^ — Cooperation with ex- isting agencies must be freely given by the members of the church group. It is especially desirable that some of the younger members should be drawn into such forme of activity. Sometimes the complaint is heard that health activities in a community have gotten so far away from the churches as to lose all suggestion of Christian purpose and spirit. If this is ever true, the fault lies at the door of Christian people who have either neglected or refused to cooperate with such agencies. Of course nothing narrowly sectarian or denominational can be introduced, nor should it be per- mitted. But the right kind of cooperation with existing agencies of public health may be and often is a very definite type of Christian service. A community usually knows when the members of Christian groups are withholding or giving this form of service. There is always a marked reac- tion upon the church. Scientists tell us that the white plague may be destroyed. In many communities Red Cross seals are offered for sale at least once a year. Why should not the members of a young people's society be enlisted in such a service as the sale of these stamps and be told that they are engaged in a public health crusade in the name of the Great Physi- cian? The Christian should hate preventable disease as he hates sin, and he should make a relentless war upon both. They are, as a matter of fact, very closely inter- related. 4. Appreciation of service, — Let the church constantly remember those who are giving their lives for the health of the people. There are many ways of showing an appre- ciation of this large group of disinterested public servants. One church has for several years invited the nurses from near-by hospitals to spend two or three social evenings during the winter in its social rooms as its guests. Cath- olics and Jews along with Protestants have accepted the PUBLIC HEALTH 53 invitation and enjoyed the hospitality offered. There has never been the slightest effort to serve any ulterior pur- pose. Just one thing was attempted : to show a group of servants of the community that a Christian church appre- ciated what was being done for the good of all the people of that community in matters of public nealth. Questions for Discussion 1. In what sense is one man responsible for the well- being of another? 2. What would be likely to be the attitude of Jesus, if he were here to-day, toward those whose bodies are broken and whose minds are sick? 3. Has the nation a greater asset than the health of its children ? 4. If it is a question between immediate material profits and costly provisions for the health of the people, what should be the decision ? 5. How will the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amend- ment affect the health of the people ? 6. What place is there in the church for a movement seeking to discover and proclaim the laws of highest physi- cal and mental well-being ? 7. Is the usual interpretation of the term "salvation^' as wide as the ministry of Jesus ? In what respects does it come short? CHAPTER VI THE CHRISTIAN AND PUBLIC AMUSEMENT For reference and study: Deut. 16. 13-17; Neh. 8. 9-13; Zech. 8. 5; Matt. 11. 16-lT; Mark 10. 13-16; John 2. 1- 11; 1 Cor. 8. 1-13; 9.34-27. The Play Instinct 1. Significance of play. — The play instinct is a part of our equipment. It manifests itself in infancy and it lives on through the years. In the boy of seven it is more vigorously alive than in the boy of seventy, but in a normal life it never dies. Pitiable indeed is the condition of the person who has lost it. This instinct is not naturally Christian, but which one of the instincts is ? Not the hunting instinct, for a man may grow up to lead a predatory life. Not hunger, for a man may become a glutton. But the play instinct, like every other instinct, may be put to a Christian use. It may become a powerful force in the building of a good life and a good community. It may be perverted, but its Christian possibilities have been realized by few. Joseph Lee defines the play instinct as "the instinct toward an ideal.'' He discovers in the play of the children the reaching out toward something that they dimly see, but which they have not yet realized. The boy when he dresses himself in Indian clothes is something more than a boy having a good time. The little girl when she cares for her dolls is not engaged in a meaningless pastime. Both are reaching out toward qualities and habits that will come into use later in life. They are laying hold upon the future in the interests of a broader life than they now possess. Tliis is not only true of the earliest years of life but of the play of individuals and communities in later develop- 54 PUBLIC AMUSEMENT 65 ment. Without play great realms of the ideal are never entered, individual and common gains never won. 2. Present-day conditions. — We are living in a time that emphasizes the place of play in life. It may be shown with good reason that play is in danger of filling too large a place in the program of the individual and the com- munity. Other important interests may suffer, yet we can readily see some reasons for what is taking place. The terrible strain and tension of the war years have been relaxed. Action and reaction are just as truly laws in the realm of the spirit as in mechanics. Life cannot be sustained upon one level. This is a fact with which we must not quarrel. But we must learn how to make use of that fact in the interest of a development that for the moment may seem to have suffered a setback. The crowded and congested conditions of modern living are in part responsible for what we see. It has been pointed out that play is nature's way of compensating for over- strain. Work in unnatural or abnormal conditions takes so much out of people that it is not surprising that they should go to unwarranted extremes in seeking release and recreation. There is a strong tendency toward community action. The old-time activities are no longer maintained under the roof-tree of the home. The old-time interests of family life are not, as formerly, cared for by the members of the family group. Eestaurants, theaters, department stores, apartment houses express community tendencies. This same force drives people out and away from the home and gives a great impetus to the desire for amusement. Is Amusement Ever Christian ? 1. Religious festivals.— There are Christians who think it a sin to have a good time. Just how such a notion should have gotten into their minds it would be hard to say. Tliey certainly did not derive it from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. He was brought up in a religion that made much of its feasts and festivals. If the Chris- tian religion demanded as much of time and interest for such celebrations as the Jewish religion in the time of 66 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS Christ, many would protest. But Jesus found no fault with his countrymen on this score. He himself kept the feasts of his time. Deut. 16. 13-17 gives us a light upon the practice of the people. Nehemiah showed himself to be master in his understanding of the human heart when (8. 9-12) he told the people just after they have been called to a strict performance of the duties enjoined by the law, *'Go your way, eat the fat, and drink, . . . and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared." 2. The practice of Jesus. — Jesus himself countenanced many of the social practices of his own generation. He attended wedding ceremonies and he v^as a g-uest at feasts even when these were not spread by those who passed as correct religionists in the community. On at least one occasion he saved his host from great embarrassment and contributed directly to the joy of all those attending the feast (John 2. 1-11). Indeed, so free and genial was his own social life that they called him a "glutton and a wine- bibber" — words we know to have been wholly false, yet words that indicate to us that he never took up the attitude of an ascetic toward the social customs of his own time. 3. Is amusement Christian? — Amusement is Christian when it contributes to the Christian purpose of life. Does amusement contribute, may it be made to contribute, to the building of the kingdom of God in the earth? He would indeed be a rash man who would say that it does not and cannot. The evidence is against him. Indeed, in many of the instances of those who are perverting the true and normal play instinct there is the underlying purpose to find a life that is fuller and richer than the one pos- sessed. It is the privilege of the church not to cry out against the play instinct and try to eradicate it from nor- mal human nature but to show how it, like all the rest of the equipment of our bodily and spiritual nature, may be made to fulfill God's purpose of good for the individual and society. A little Negro boy from a home of poverty was romping at a Christmas party given by a church school for more than a hundred children, drawn for the most part from families of the same sort, when he was heard to exclaim. PUBLIC AMUSEMENT 57 "God bless this church!" That cry sounded as good to the ears of the pastor as the same wish fervently expressed by a saintly man in the prayer service a night or two before. 4. Unchristian amusement.— Tested by the principle we have laid down, much of the amusement of the present day is not Christian. It fails to serve the Christian purpose. It makes harder the realization of that purpose by the individual and by society. But this is because the partic- ular type in question is not what it ought to be, not because amusement itself is out of place in the program of the Christian and the church. Prohibitions and railing denunciations will accomplish little to correct the condi- tions we deplore. They often have exactly the opposite ef- fect. This is an opportunity for the church to show how much of the constructive imagination it has in dealing with a matter of immense social significance. The Value of Community Amusements 1. Community amusements.— these are of two sorts — those carried on by the community itself for the sake of all the members of the community, like a community chorus or a^ block party, and those carried on by certain groups within the community for those to whom they make a specially strong appeal, like the Young Men's Christian Association or church enterprises. They may be further characterized in this way: some of them are organized for a special financial or philan- thropic purpose, like the support of the Eed Cross or the relief of the starving; some of them have a chiefly social significance, like a May party for the children. Some of these community amusements, now such only in name, have fallen into the hands of men who promote them for their own financial gain. This leads us to see that we cannot form a sweeping judgment as to the value of community amusements any more than we can form such a judgment as to public eating places. Each amusement so undertaken and con- ducted must be judged on its own merits. In one community a chorus has been conducted for sev- 58 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS eral years. It has passed through the experimental stage and now seems to be a settled feature of the common life. The advantages to the entire community have been very great. An interest in good music has been cultivated, some of the great musical productions have been given, important events in the life of the community have been celebrated in song and festival. Apart from community interest and action these results never could have been reached. 3. Motion pictures. — If we regard the motion-picture theater as a form of community amusement, not because it is conducted by the community for the community, but because all the people — old, middle-aged, and young — re- sort to it and are interested in it, then we introduce a very large question into our discussion. In every community you will find some who are sure that the motion-picture theater has been of great value to the community. Others will record an opposite judgment. When persons of right purpose and sound mind differ, what is one who wants to know to do ? Let him carefully think out what the community ought to be. He will have to turn to the teaching of Jesus if he wants to form a mental picture of community life which does not leave out the ideal values. He will think of persons first, and then he will think of conditions. The community is to be Chris- tian. The persons who live in it are to be Christian, the conditions of living are to be Christian. Such qualities as love, righteousness, justice, will take precedence of all others. Now, what about your amusement? Does it in- crease these or decrease them? Does it help men and women to embody them or make it more difficult? What about home and school life ? What about other community interests ? Are these made more nearly what they ought to be, or do influences go forth from the amusements the community permits which have to be met and counteracted before Christian standards of life can be set up ? The consensus of opinion in a group of Christian per- sons of breadth of view and judgment would be very likely to be right upon this question in a given case and community; yet in the face of such opinion the Christ- PUBLIC AMUSEMENT 59 informed conscience of the individual has its rights, which must not be denied. But in all cases the legitimate needs and interests of the community come before the opinions or even the convictions of any one individual. The Christ- informed mind and conscience, if dominant in a com- munity, may be safely trusted to settle the question of the value of community amusements — to prohibit those which devitalize, to encourage those which build up. Dangers of Community Amusements 1. **Spectatoritis." — The dangers are easily pointed out but not so easily corrected. There is the danger that we shall come to have in all our communities a group of those who never take part themselves in any form of recreational life. "Spectatoritis," as it has been called, is a menace to the physical and mental well-being of many. It is so easy to-day to buy the amusement we want. Or if the community is engaged, the number of those taking part must almost always be restricted. The result is we have two groups — the entertainers and the entertained. Community recreations then choke out individuality and minister to artificiality, and the cultivation of the latter trait does not make for the fuller life of the group. The play instinct is not really satisfied unless the per- son in question "does something" himself. Too many of our attempts to give recreation to the people through the me- dium of the churches have this fault standing against them. Public playgrounds are doing much to train boys and girls away from such a deadening attitude toward the opportunities of recreation offered by modern life. 2. Commercialization. — There is always the danger of commercialization. Someone is ready to capitalize every interest we have. No matter what the form of play or sport, someone wants to make money out of it. Often the offender in this respect is the church. It is just as bad for the church to commercialize the amusements of the people as for any other group in the community to do so. If the community is not constantly on its guard, the most innocent recreations of the people are in danger of 60 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS falling into the hands of those who will exploit them for their own gain. When we consider that the motion-picture industry is now said to be the fourth, if not the third, commercial en- terprise in this country we see what a rich field for ex- ploitation the amusement interests of the people are. 3. A false perspective. — Some of the most popular amusements of the time are giving a false view of life and its values to those who patronize them. Life is not what many of the pictures thrown upon the screen would lead the young to think it is. Love and marriage are not shown as they are in millions of instances but as they are among a comparatively small number of those who have played fast and loose with some of the most sacred rela- tionships of life. A Christian woman one day left a motion-picture theater as a false presentation of sacred relationships was being given and protested to the management. The showing of the film was immediately stopped. Jesus constantly inculcated the principle of respect for the personality of others in his followers. No one is com- mon or unclean in the sight of God. Community amuse- ments sometimes lower our respect for others. They some- times take from us the keen sense of what we owe others because of what they are or may be. No Christian can afford to be "amused" by that which degrades some other person, even though that person may not object to being degraded. Community amusements must heighten our respect for all God's children. A Christian Program 1. Not ready made. — Such a program cannot be here given in detail. But one or two principles and ideals can be indicated. The reason that a detailed program cannot be given is that the program must grow out of the community instead of being forced down upon it. A church wdll sometimes make this mistake. Without trying to find out what those whom it would serve are interested in it makes its pro- gram and invites people to come, and then wonders why PUBLIC AMUSEMENT 61 they are not enthusiastic. Let the persons who are to be "recreated" make their own program. The church will help to guide them in their choices and to give them op- portunity to carry them out. This was tried in one downtown church, from which most of the people had moved away. An important w^ork among the boys of the neighborhood was started. But no one went into the work with any preconceived notions as to what ought or ought not to be done. The boys were to have their chance. The leaders soon found out what they wanted to do and their program was set up, with the result that more than one thousand of them became interested in various forms of recreation. The Christian purpose underlying all such work has been steadily main- tained. 2. Church cooperation. — Interchurch action will in many instances keep Christian ideals before the community in its recreative program. It is often surprising to see how quickly those who do not themselves follow such ideals will take up w^ith the lead if given by others. A com- munity chorus has been of great service in promoting all that is best, because the leaders of the movement have high Christian ideals. A Jewish motion-picture operator was found to be willing to accede to the wishes of Christian people with regard to certain practices they condemned. A great community work conducted very largely among non-Christian boys exerted a powerful Christian influence because of the active and aggressive but never obtrusive Christian idealism of the leader. In all these instances, in addition to individual action, there has been a measure of collective action. Groups of people representing different churches and different branches of the church have been organized and, through their united interest and effort, much good has been accom- plished. 3. Responsibility of the church. — The church must be the foremost agency in the community in seeking to con- struct a recreational program for its own young people and in providing for them the facilities to carry out the program. 62 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS The chnrch undertakes such work not as one competitive agency among others but as the one institution of the community having the privilege of ministering to the entire life of those whom it serves. The irrational division between the sacred and the secular is fading away as men increasingly see the essen- tial sacredness of every form of ministry and activity which makes life more nearly what it ought to be. The recreational activity of the church will promote Christian idealism, it will inculcate Christian truth, it will train the oncoming generation in cooperative activity and mutual service. If the church ignores the play instinct, if it seeks to devitalize and crush it, it will miss one of its God-given opportunities to do a work for its young people in the most effective way in which lasting impressions for good and intelligent training in Christian character may be made. Expensive equipment and extensive facilities are not re- quired. A start may be made in any church, in any com- munity, and something worth while accomplished. Questions for Discussion 1. Is there a place for play in the "abundant life'' of which Jesus spoke? 2. Which of the Christian ideals does public amusement in your community serve? From which of them does it depart ? 3. Can you suggest a way by which some of the worst evils attendant upon commercialized amusement may be avoided ? 4. Should the church make use of motion pictures in its services? In its educational and recreational activities? 5. Is the modern trend in amusement away from or toward the development of "spectatoritis" ? Do you re- gard this desirable or undesirable? 6. Why has the church so often looked upon what we termed "worldly amusements" with disfavor? 7. Is there a tendency on the part of the church to con- sider recreation a normal part of its service of the com- munity ? CHAPTEE VII THE CHEISTIAN AND COMMERCIALIZED EVIL For reference and study : 2 Kings 23. 7 ; Isa. 5. 1-23 • 49. 5-7; Hab. 2. 12-15; Matt. 5. 13-16; 10. 1, COMMEECIALIZED AMUSEMENT AND COMMERCIALIZED EviL 1. Commercialized recreation. — Is there any opportimity in your community for amusement aside from such as is offered by those who are prompted by their desire to make money? There may be a public playgi'ound open to all. Possibly you discover a well-equipped Young Men's or Young Women's Christian Association. Perhaps you are so fortunate as to have in your community a church that maintains a real recreational program. But is it not the case that the men who want to make money out of your desire to have a good time are back of most of the amuse- ment enterprises ? From the earliest times men have seen the opportunity for private gain in serving the recreational needs and desires of the people. This is not wholly to be criticized. Much money has been invested, much time and labor and creative thought given, and opportunities of amusement have been presented to the people which would otherwise have been impossible. A motion-picture house recently showed an educational film of great interest and beauty, into the making of which a very large sum of money had gone. Everyone who saw the film was not only entertained but instructed. A view of some of the most important opera- tions of society was given which broadened the social out- look of every spectator. It was entirely legitimate that those who had ventured so much to produce the film should receive a financial return. But frequently the commercialization of amusements does not take that turn nor produce that kind of result. The desire to make money out of amusement projects leads 63 64 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS men to exploit the community in ways of evil. In fact, a large part of the evil in society to be traced to the dance halls, the amusement parks, and evil resorts is due to the greed for gain on the part of selfish, unsocially minded men and women. 2. Love of money. — The dangers to the individual and to society in amusement, as soon as it becomes commer- cialized, are greatly increased. The sad fact is that the temptation to make money cannot be resisted by a good many persons who would otherwise be unwilling to harm their fellow men. Before the saloon was abolished, a respected citizen of a fine city community was looked upon as a distinct asset to the neighborhood. His home life was above reproach, his dealings with his neighbors were commendable. It was not generally known that he was the owner of a saloon in another section of the city some miles from where he lived. Had it not been for the oppor- tunity of making money out of his evil business, he prob- ably never could have been persuaded to stand for anything which would harm any person. In one of the finest suburban communities one of the most beautiful homes was occupied by the family of a man who made his money out of race-track gambling. In most respects the man himself was a model citizen, a de- voted husband and father. He could be counted upon to support all the philanthropic enterprises of the community. It is very doubtful whether his own children had the slight- est idea of the occupation of their father. They merely knew him to be a commuter to the big city a few miles distant. His love of a fine home, a stylish equipage, travel and all the luxuries of life, and his ability to gratify his tastes and the desires of his family with the money made out of his particular form of commercialized evil was too strong for him. His business opportunity blurred what- ever social and ethical vision he may have had. 3. Social dangers. — The dangers to society from com- mercialized amusement cannot be estimated unless it is remembered that large combinations of brain power and capital have been effected for the exploitation of the people in this respect. During the days when the prohibition COMMERCIALIZED EVIL 65 agitation was at its height in this country we gained some idea of the enormous resources in men and money of the liquor interests. Probably nothing was more effective in hastening the determination of the American people to abolisli the traffic in strong drink than the revelation of the gigantic combinations that had been made to keep the nation *"wet." It seems to be the case that, no matter how low and degrading a form of amusement may be, there are men and women who are willing to provide it in return for money. And men of great respectability are often willing to permit themselves to be bought up by the great interests that make their profits out of the shame of the people. A young lawyer in an Eastern city suddenly showed marks of unusual prosperity for one just starting out. The fact developed that the liquor interests had noted his unusual ability and had made him an offer which he was not strong enough to resist. With his brains he was willing to make it harder for the people to rid themselves of an unspeak- able curse. The golden bait was too tempting. In 2 Kings 23. 7 we have the suggestion of what ap- pears to be about as ugly an evil as could infect society. Then, as now, the love of gain was the impulse which led to terribly corrupting practices. Outstanding Commercialized Evils 1. Its widespread extent. — Many persons lead such shel- tered lives that they have but little realization of the organ- ized operations of profitable evil. If all hope of financial gain could be taken away from those who promote these enterprises, many of them would cease to exist. It is often because men prefer to make money out of the degradation of others rather than meet the demands of honest and pro- ductive toil, with its smaller and less certain gains, that they follow their unrighteous purposes. There probably is not a community of any considerable size which is not in some way reached by the enterprise of commercialized evil. There can be no question as to the outstanding evil of 66 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS the white-slave traffic, and that it is highly organized is proved beyond question by many municipal and other investigations. The representative of a society existing to aid those in distress in our larger centers of population recently said that large numbers of girls are drawn away from their homes by promises that seem fair and tempting, not at all realizing the lives of shame upon which they are setting out. The traffic in habit-forming drugs is carried on under cover. A Christian minister was invited by the chairman of a city committee to sit with him one afternoon to hear the stories told by the victims of those who were engaged in this nefarious business. The recital was a tale of horror too pitiable to be repeated. Sometimes, under the cover of advertisements that promise health and strength to the purchaser, innocent and unsuspecting persons are started upon the formation of drug habits that are sure to wreck happiness and life. Gambling is a business conducted oftentimes by men of conspicuous ability. In some communities children are permitted in the name of some worthy philanthropy, to sell chances on valuable articles for a nominal sum. The hope of getting something for nothing leads many persons against their better conscience to fall in with such prac- tices. Surely many must be trained by this sort of thing to become the victims of those who on a large scale conduct the gaming business in our larger centers. 2. The liquor evil. — Until very recently the liquor inter- ests would have stood at the head of the commercialized evils in this country. It would be impossible to form any adequate estimate of the brains and money invested in this business. The intertwinings of this snake with the banking and industrial interests of our cities were so subtle that no one realized how completely, in many instances, they held us in their grip. Even our churches did not escape. The lips of some prominent church officials were sealed. In a few instances ministers became the spokes- men of interests that secretly they must have loathed. The passing of the prohibitory amendment to the Con- stitution of the United States has changed all this. But COMMERCIALIZED EVIL 67 let us not think that society has nothing further to fear from this source. A good deal of that which used to do business in the open has been driven underground. A man generally regarded as a respectable citizen was reported recently to have boasted of the fortune that he had made in smuggling contraband liquor into this country and dis- posing of it at a fabulous sum. One man could not carry out that sort of thing. Many others must have been parties to the crime. A brewer has recently made the statement that in certain States, which he named, the breweries are making beer just as they have done for years. Revelations made in some of our cities since the enforcement of the Volstead Act was undertaken seem to indicate that an extensive underground organization exists to defeat the will of the great majority of the people of this country as expressed in the prohibitory legislation. Complexity of the Problem 1. Our mixed population. — The mixed character of our population helps to make this problem complex. We have men and women from many different racial groups. They have different moral standards. They bring with them traditions and customs that often make it hard for them to adapt themselves to the land of their adoption. Many of them are illiterate. All too often they have been griev- ously sinned against. They have been induced to come here by tempting offers of financial gain only that they might be exploited by a ruthless commercialism. They have not been assimilated by our common life. Frequently they become the prey of the agents of commercialized evil and prove to be a profitable source of gain to those who think more of money than of character. In many instances the need of these unfortunate persons becomes the oppor- tunity of the evildoer. Let it be remembered, on the other hand, that many of the most outspoken champions of all that is best in our national life have come from among those who have come from other lands. Both the nation and the church have largely failed to realize the vast possibilities of highest €8 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS intelligence and moral worth to be found among our for- eign-born citizens. 2. The complicated situation. — The condition reflected in Christ's parable of the wheat and the tares adds to the complexity of the problem. It is seldom the case that the line between the good and the evil is so clearly drawn that it may be followed, even by men of thoroughly right- eous purpose, without injuring interests or persons in- volved. Sometimes the distinction is clean cut, and there is just one thing to do. But the outreachings of the forces of organized evil are so broad, the intertwinings with human affairs so subtle, that frequently the issue is com- plicated before the minds of good people, and they are un- certain as to just the course that their Christian conduct should follow. Then, too, there is the man higher up. Sometimes he is a prominent citizen, the main influence of whose life is good. Sometimes he is an outstanding member of the church, known far and wide for his profession of interest in the affairs of the Kingdom. Sometimes, in spite of great difficulties and strong temptations to personal gain, he is honestly trying to discharge the obligations of an en- lightened conscience. To give every man his due but no more than his due should be the aim of every person trying to help make Christian ideals effective in modern society. There will be no cringing before wealth, no fawning upon power, no soft-soaping of the guilty; but in many fields the fact that the v/heat and the tares are growing together will form an added complication in dealing with the situation. 3. A divided church. — The sectarian and sometimes partisan divisions of the Christian Church must also be noted. So long as organized evil sees a divided Chris- tianity it knows that it has little to fear from the attack of Christian forces. Not long ago when an attempt was being made in the Legislature of one of our States to defeat legislation that sought to curb the activities of a prosperous form of organized evil, the leader of the lobby- ists said to a Christian minister that if the forces of the church were organized as were the forces in opposition, it COMMERCIALIZED EVIL 6^ would be possible for Christian people to have whatever they wanted. He may have overestimated the power of concerted action, but his opinion is worth noting. What the Christian Can Do 1. As an individual. — The Christian can wake up to the conditions as they are, and not allow himself to live in any sort of a fool's paradise. Ignorance of social conditions is at the root of much of the inactivity of the individual Christian. He is not directly touched by what is going on, he is not brought face to face with many of the worst forms of evil, and he often lulls himself into the comfort- able belief that the kingdom of God is making progress in the earth, that it is bound to grow from more to more, and that he is excused from any sharp sense of personal responsibility. He will not become a crank or a faddist ; he will guard against the role of the special pleader; but he will thor- oughly inform himself, first, as to conditions in his own community; and then, so far as he is able, he v/ill extend the scope of his inquiry that he may be better informed as to the fortunes of the kingdom of God among men. One of the most intelligent and effective surveys ever under- taken in one of our great cities was largely due to the interest of one person who would not give up until he won the support of others far less interested than himself. One Christian minister took active steps toward the organiza- tion of Christian sentiment in his own community. Jews and Catholics were drawn into a movement for better things. At least ten liquor saloons were denied licenses because of the activity of this group, and conditions in the motion-picture theaters were greatly improved. 2. Through the church. — There should be a wide-awake and thoroughly informed committee to deal with such mat- ters in every local church. This committee should be some- thing more than a nominal group. It should hold regular meetings at stated intervals and should carry on a con- tinuous study of social and other conditions underlying the activities of the interests opposed to the ideals of the Chris- tian Church. 70 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS The time will come, if it has not already arrived, when the local church will see that it is just as much its busi- ness to carry on an active campaign against the forms of commercialized evil established and operating in its com- munity as it is to hold regular services of worship. We have divided that which should be united in the program of the church. A special work should be done among the young people of the parish, giving them every possible help in their fight for good character. For their sake an active propaganda in favor of all that is good and wholesome in community life should be continuously supported. 3. Through existing social agencies. — The police power of the community may usually be counted upon to express the will of the community. If there is a strong public sentiment in favor of law enforcement, order and decency will usually prevail. If it is known that the community will not be satisfied except all those — even those higher up — in the promotion of commercial evil are detected and punished, the machinery will usually work. There are other agencies inside and outside the church which should have the generous support of all persons who desire to see the reign of righteousness in the earth. We often leave those who are conducting this fight to spend a large part of their time gathering funds for the carrying on of their work. We expect them to forge their own weapons and then conduct the fight. We criticize them if results are not immediately forthcoming. The next few years will mark either a decided moral advance or a distinct moral decline in the life of this nation. If the prohibitory legislation is to be flouted either by the forces of organized evil or by individuals who are otherwise law-abiding citizens, the results will be far-reaching. Eespect for all law will be weakened, and the number of those who think that law is made to be evaded or broken when it conflicts "with their individual wiU or wish will be greatly increased. 4. The vote. — Organized evil fears nothing quite so much as the ballot. So long as the promoters of profitable wickedness know that the members of the political parties COMMEECIALIZED EVIL 71 can be played off against each other they are contented. Christian citizenship has a greater claim upon us than loyalty to any political party. The ballot is held in trust for the kingdom of God. Righteousness and brotherhood in the earth may be mightily hindered or helped by the man or the woman in the voting booth. Questions for Discussion 1. Against what evils do the prophets most frequently warn the people? 2. In the light of their warning do modern conditions indicate a moral advance ? 3. In your judgment has the desire for wealth decreased or increased since ancient times? How do you explain this? -^ ^ 4. Should a man who secretly — or, for that matter, openly— follows some gainful form of evil but in other respects is a person of fine character be counted a good citizen? 5. Should such a person be received into the church if he should desire to join ? Give a reason for your answer. 6. Is our country likely to reverse its action on the pro- hibitory amendment? What danger in this direction is to be feared? 7. Can a divided or united Christendom the better meet the forces of organized evil and win a sweeping victory for righteousness and the good life ? CHAPTER VIII THE CHRISTIAN AND THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS For reference and study: Matt. 18. 21-35; 25. 31-46; Luke 12. 41-48; 16. 1-13; 22. 54-62; 23. 39-43. Who Are the Criminals? 1. Antisocial attitude. — Because a person breaks a law, it does not follow that he is a criminal. There probably is not a person in society who at some time has not broken a law. That does not put him in the criminal class. When the sign at the entrance to the bridge forbids a man to drive his car across at a rate of speed faster than five miles an hour, he does not become a criminal if he care- lessly fails to heed that ordinance. It would be better for him and for society if he gave a careful obedience to that kind of a law. For the criminal starts with disrespect for law. To him law seems to stand in the way of that to which he thinks he has a right. It may be that he thinks he has been unfairly dealt with. He may carry a grudge against society. His disregard of law grows out of an antisocial attitude of mind. The criminal is a man who is out against society. He is first and all the time for himself. His own con- duct is a law unto itself. For the social enactments, laws, and statutes that safeguard the interests of society he has no respect. He sets up his own will against the expressed will of his fellow men and follows a course that is destructive of individual and collective well-being. 2. Social responsibility for crime. — Some criminals seem to be born such. For many years careful students have investigated this question. They have reached the conclu- sion that numbers of children are born into this world with a predisposition toward crime. Usually they are the 72 THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS 73 children of fathers and mothers who are themselves defec- tive, morally, mentally, physically. But many more criminals are made. This is not to say that the persons who go wrong have no responsibility for what they do ; but it is to place a heavy burden of responsi- bility upon those who have helped to make the conditions within which the criminals were developed. That means that all of us share this responsibility. For society has it within its own power largely to eliminate the condi- tions that make it easy for some of its members to ,<^a wrong. '^ A notorious section in a great city was cleaned up. It took an immense amount of publicity and great deter- mination on the part of a group of citizens to get the clean- ing-up process in motion. The neighborhood had contrib- uted a large quota to the law-breaking element of that section. An almost marvelous improvement followed. 3. The perversion of instinct.— A great deal of the wrongdoing that finally lands men and women in the criminal class is due to the perversion of instincts and de- sires that are themselves right. The perversion of the pos- sessive instinct may make a man a thief. Perversion of some of the noblest social instincts leads to some of the most repulsive wrongdoing. Even the desire for an unre- strained "good time" may start a gang of city boys on the road that leads toward the reformatory and the prison. A bright boy who was reclaimed by the remedial agencies of the church started on his wrong course by the theft of apples from a freight-car standing on a siding. That initial act was not prompted by a criminal spirit. But the later developments showed how quickly one wrong step may lead to another. Poverty, depressed spirits due to unemployment, the nursing of real or imaginary grievances against society, unrestrained desire for excitement and a life of pleasure, contribute toward the making of the criminal in modern society. 4. Immigrants and crime.— Let it not be supposed that our immigrants furnish an undue proportion of the crim- inal group in our country. That is not the case, as many U SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS investigations go to prove. As a matter of fact, a recent investigation in a large city carried on among the juvenile offenders showed that many of them came from American homes, had passed through some of the grades of the public schools, and in many instances had had some sort of connection with religious agencies. Christian Ideals in the Treatment of Criminals 1. The Christian attitude. — There is far more of an attempt to-day to apply Christian ideals in the treatment of criminals than ever before. Some still cry down as shallow sentimentalism any attempt on the part of men to apply the idealism of Jesus to this situation, but the results of such attempts are so fruitful in good that the criticism is largely ineffective. There is still much to be desired, but in our most enlightened communities great progress has been made. In Matt. 18. 21-35 our Lord in a striking parable incul- cates the principle of mercy in dealing with those who are deserving of punishment. The king was minded to give his servant a chance to meet his obligation. Again, in Matt. 25. 31-46 we have the commendation of Jesus upon those who refused to treat the prisoner as an outcast but went to him and ministered to him. Consider these and other passages as the source of Chris- tian ideals for the treatment of individual and social offenders. 2. Indeterminate sentence and probation. — The system of the indeterminate sentence and the probation plan seek to temper justice w^ith intelligent mercy. Under the for- mer scheme the offender himself determines whether he shall find his way back into society after a longer or shorter stay in a penal institution. The chance of his regaining his freedom is a great incentive to good behavior and moral reform. Under the plan of probation sentence is suspended, and the offender is required to report to some designated person at stated intervals. Frequently the payment of a sum of money is required. If there is evidence of a desire to do right, the period is shortened; but if there is added evi- THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINALS 75 dence of wrongdoing, the ollender is sentenced and pun- ished. How much more Christian this way of dealing with those who have done wrong than such methods as were for- merly employed ! This has largely come about through the pressure of Christian principle and idealism. Under the probationary system a man who had done great wrong was restored to his family and to an honor- able place of employment in society. The local church with which his family was connected was largely responsi- ble for the outcome. The youngest members of that family may never know of their father's crime. If he had been compelled to spend a long term of years in prison, how dif- ferent would have been the effect upon himself, his family, and upon society ! A young woman, now the wife and mother of a family, was saved in the same way. Had it not been for the ap- plication of Christian principles, she would to-day un- doubtedly be far along the way of an evil career. 3. Brothering the boy. — The Big Brother movement is so well known in all our communities, and its effects for good so far-reaching that it stands forth as a preeminent agency in the treatment of juvenile wrongdoers. One of the chief promoters of this movement told the story of a boy whose "big brother" was a prominent man in the financial operations of the city where he lived. He took this boy into his home, gave him the privilege of a Chris- tian environment, and wrought a transformation in his character such as even the man himself had not believed possible. An attempt has been made to organize the boys of the underworld somewhat after the manner of a Boy Scout or Young Men's Christian Association organization. This work has gone forward in the metropolis of our laud. Many influential citizens have become interested in it. They are taking hold of the gang spirit and making a good use of it in promoting good character and right living. Recently at a meeting of men in one of our churches two young fellows, gangsters and adepts in crime, told the story of their reclamation. 76 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS The story is too long to be told in detail. Juvenile courts, truant and probation officers, reformatories that reform, homes of mercy that fulfill a Christian mission, correctional farms and industrial activities, proclaim the coming of a new day in the treatment of the criminal or the person who seems to have the making of one. No chapter of the story of life building shows a more deter- mined attempt to apply Christian ideals to human rela- tionships. Wherein Society Falls Shoet 1. Perversions of justice. — The Christian ideal proclaims justice to all men irrespective of race, religion, or condi- tion. While it is undoubtedly attempted in most com- munities to follow this ideal, there are glaring evidences of its denial. There have been instances in recent years in which it has appeared that money has given advantages to those accused of crime or those sentenced for crime which poor persons would not have had. This is not to suggest that bribes have been given and received, or that the course of justice has been directly perverted by a wrong use of gold; but if large means had not been possessed, the system under which we live would not have given cer- tain offenders the chance their money was able to procure for them. This condition of affairs is intolerable in a Christian democracy or in a society of men and women which aspires to be that. We can hardly claim that race and color have no bearing upon our treatment of the accused and the criminal. It is all too plain that certain terrible perversions of justice have been permitted in enlightened communities because of racial or other prejudices. The Christian ideal of equality of all men before the law is disregarded and tra- duced in all such instances. 2. Convict labor. — The treatment of criminals by some States and in some institutions is still far below the level of what a human being in a Christian land has a right to expect from society. Take the matter of payment for convict labor. A man commits a crime. He is locked up THE TEEATMENT OF CRIMINALS 77 in prison and set to work. Often he receives next to nothing for his work and at the end of his term is com- pelled to make a new start in life without any financial resources. But the members of his family are the worst sufferers. If they are not so circumstanced as to be able to support themselves, they become a public charge. One group of charity workers found it necessary to raise large sums of money for the support of a dependent family of little children. The father was an experienced shoe- maker. In the institution where he was confined he was doing work from which the State derived a considerable profit. The return to him for the benefit of his family was a miserable pittance, so small that his family would have starved had it not been for the help given. In the particu- lar State where this incident occurred the condition has since been improved. 3. The released criminal.— Perhaps the failure of society to apply Christian ideals to its treatment of the criminal is nowhere so glaring as after the release of the offender. In some communities it is impossible for a man who has been in a penal institution to regain any standing whatever. A spirit of Pharisaism controls the attitude of the citizens toward him. It is not admitted that a man may do wrong and be converted from the error of his way and do right. The basic truth of our Christian religion is denied, at least so far as any practical recognition of it is concerned. A Christian minister found it almost impossible to dis- cover anyone willing to give a man who had served a State's prison term a chance. Most of those approached had very plausible reasons for declining. One or two spoke out frankly what was in the minds of all the rest and said that they would have nothing to do with a criminal, that they were not conducting reform schools, and more of that same order. Yet these were Christian men, professing to believe in the gospel of the redeemed life and the fair opportunity. Opportunities of Christian Service 1. A fair trial. — We must remember that Jesus himself was a prisoner. He was charged with crimes he never 78 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS committed and he was most shamefully treated. His own experience in many respects is repeated over and again in the cases of others. In nearly every community there is need that public sentiment should be aroused in favor of giving the micondemned man every chance to get justice. In our country a man is counted innocent until he is proved guilty. The burden of proof is always upon those who bring the accusation. No man is ever required to prove that he is innocent. Practical conditions and treat- ment do not always reflect this principle. Study the treat- ment given Jesus and see whether anything of a similar spirit and nature is ever evident in your community. A man was accused of a serious crime. Before he was tried, a large part of the community had made up its mind as to his guilt. His trial failed entirely to sub- stantiate the accusation. But because of the prejudgment of his case it was exceedingly difficult for him to establish himself in the community. This is in direct contradiction of Christian principle. 2. Confession and sympathy. — Jesus himself had deal- ings with criminals. He was crucified between two male- factors. His treatment of them is instructive. Luke 23. 39-43 gives us the story. One of these men railed on Jesus; the other sought the remembrance of mercy. The love of the Saviour of men never shone out more trium- phantly than in that experience upon the cross. If Jesus had not had the heart of eternal love, it would have been easy for him to turn a deaf ear to the words of the wrong- doer. We should learn our lesson from that incident. If a man has done wrong, and we know it, and the community knows it, his condition is usually pitiable in the extreme. We all seem to forget the cardinal principles of our own religion. In a certain city a prominent citizen feared to stand for public office which he would have been eminently qualified to fill because he had good reason to believe that political enemies would make use of facts of wrongdoing in his early Hfe. The wrong was committed years before. It had been abundantly atoned for. Many years of up- right citizenship did not serve to give this man the clean THE TEEATMENT OF CRIMINALS 79 bill of health to which he was entitled. Literature gives many examples of the extreme difficulty with which wrong- doers have made their way to honor and usefulness. Victor Hugo's picture of Jean Valjean reflects conditions far from Christian. In a certain influential church a man was making this uphill fight for character and a fair chance. Had it not been for the determination of a few who stood resolutely back of him, he might have failed. There was little warmth of sympathy, little help from the majority of those who knew about his case. 3. Prison reform. — One of the crying needs of American society is for prison reform. While great strides forv/ard have been made, conditions are still far from ideal. In some communities they are a standing rebuke to organized Christianity. For some reason those who give themselves to this work are often regarded as open to a peculiar tvpe of suspicion and a virulent criticism. A few years ago a striking attempt was made to reform conditions in Sing Sing. Probably no servant of his kind ever called doTO upon himself more bitter criticism than the leader of that movement. He was accused of every mean and despicable thing of which his enemies could think. Some of the charges brought against him would have made it appear that he was worse than the men behind the bars for whom he was so unselfishly working. The better type of judge is in favor of the sort of reform work in prison conditions and administration which helps to accomplish the saving purpose for which the law exists. 4. Redemptive punishment.— The Christian above all others must stress the purpose of our punitive system. He must clearly understand this himself and he must help others to see it. The fundamental purpose of punishment is the redemption of the offender. The treatment by Jesus of the criminal upon the cross shows this. True,*^a man must be punished if he has wronged society. There is also a deterrent eft'ect to be expected from the punishment of crime, although students of the situation are pretty gen- erally agreed that this effect is not very great. But what- ever secondary effect may be sought, the reclamation of the 80 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS offender to a good life is the aim society should always have in mind. There is still so much of the lust of revenge in human hearts that men easily lose sight of this redemptive pur- pose. Punishment for its own sake becomes the end sought. This is to pervert justice and to bring to nothing the operations of the remedial agencies which at so great a cost society has established. One church made a real contribution at this point by inviting a judge to set forth this view at one of its social meetings. Influences were there set in motion which helped to bring about a series of practical reforms in the practice of one of the penal institutions of the county. Questions foe Discussion 1. Should we be extremely careful in applying the term *^criminar' to any member of society ? Is every wrongdoer a criminal ? 2. Cite instances in history of men being regarded and treated as criminals by one generation and lauded as benefactors by the next? 3. Is the antisocial spirit confined exclusively to any one group or section of society? 4. How may men sin against the welfare of society without breaking any law of the land ? 5. What does the method of Jesus in his treatment of a criminal suggest to us as to right procedure to-day ? 6. Bo you know of any way in which your own church group might more effectively carry out the teaching of Matt. 25 regarding the social offender ? 7. What has the church done to help create a truly hu- mane spirit in dealing with lawbreakers? Has any other agency had anything like the same amount of good influ- ence? CHAPTER IX THE CHRISTIANAS POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY For reference and study: Exod. 18. 21-23; Deut. 16. 18-20; 17. 8-20; Neh. 1. 1-11; Matt. 22. 15-22; John 19. 8-11; 1 Pet. 2. 13-17. Has the Chkistian" any Business in Politics? 1. Christian leadership. — Religious leaders have always been concerned with politics. Moses the lawgiver, Samuel tlie seer, David the king, Isaiah the prophet, are the fore- runners of a glorious company of men and women who "have followed in their train.'* The Christian citizen takes his place in this goodly succession and finds that he too is responsible for what nation. State, and city are and do. To say that the Christian has no business in politics is to misconceive the plainest teaching of Christ concerning our human duties and obligations. How can any person "render unto Caesar the things that are CsesarV if he takes no interest in political affairs? The type of other-worldliness which those seek to promote who attempt to draw a line between what they call religious and secular affairs is strangely foreign to the mind of Christ. Sometimes, by no means always, the real reason for this insistence that the Christian shall take no part in politics is that evildoers fear the results of the aroused, intelligent Christian conscience. It was intimated to a Christian citizen that if he would cease his attacks upon certain vested evils that had powerful support in the political organization of his community, it would be greatly to his advantage. The citizen was not feared, but the effect of his insistence that the evil should be righted was feared. The awakened public conscience is usually the forerunner of better political conditions. 2. Christian influence. — It is because Christians have gone into politics that many notable gains for the common 81 82 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS life have been secured. Oliver Cromwell stands forth as the protagonist of freedom and democracy in government. He led his hosts in their fight against the tyranny of kings and helped to bring in a better day for England and for the world. His character and deeds still live. Greorge Washington was a Christian soldier and statesman. Our own early history gives him a place of unique importance in the winning and establishing of our civil rights as an independent people. Your own community must furnish you with the name and example of some Christian citizen whose political ac- tivities have had a most wholesome influence upon the common life. Is it difficult to believe that just because of the Christian profession of this citizen his loyal service was largely what you know it to be ? Within recent years in more than one city of America a Christian mayor has broken the power of corrupt political groups and established an order of political righteousness. Run your eye over the list and see how many of the Presidents of our nation have been men of clean-cut Chris- tian profession. 3. Religion and citizensliip. — The separation between church and state does not mean a similar separation be- tween our duties as members of the church and citizens of the state. That would be to introduce a fatal division into life itself. The church as such must not enter into politics in the sense of engaging in any kind of political activity. The state as such must not invade the precincts of the church and attempt to prescribe creed, message, and form of worship. But the citizen must remember his obligation to the state even in his hours of worship, and the worshiper must go forth from the temple to engage in all his duties as a citizen, not shirking or evading any respon- sibility. Above all, he will never use his religion as a pre- tense for failing to take his full part in the political activi- ties of his community. The Christian View of the State 1. Guardian of the order of society. — The state is not an end in itself. It does not exist for its own sake. It is POLITICAL KESPONSIBILITY 83 because such views were taught for a generation to the youth of Germany that the World War became a certainty. Tlie state is the servant of the people. It is an instrument by which the people set up and maintain the order of democracy, which guarantees our freedom and our oppor- tunity. There is little choice between glorifying the na- tion as an end in itself and deifying a ruler. Both notions are rapidly disappearing from the minds of men. Un- doubtedly the spread of Christian ideals and principles is hastening the process. The state as the instrument or agency created by the citi- zens guards the order of society. If order is heaven's first law, it is also the first law of any government worth the name. Society must be established in order. It must proceed in order. Its changes must proceed in orderly fashion. By means of the army and navy, policemen, and other public servants the state seeks to maintain order. But these agencies would find their task incalculably more difficult were it not for that other great agenc}^ main- tained by the state — the public school. Here boys and girls are trained in our best traditions and ideals, they are filled with the spirit of an intelligent and progressive patriotism. In a democracy such as ours order should not rest pri- marily upon force but upon the intelligent devotion of the citizens to the ideals and purposes which safeguard the highest interests of us all. The churches contribute greatly toward this end. But as they are not maintained by the state they do not come under our consideration in this connection. Is it possible for the state as the guardian of social order to resort to practices of compulsion and repression which prevent the free discussion of questions of public concern ? Where should the line be drawn? If the state oversteps its bounds, is it really the guardian of social order? Consider how the ideals of freedom and order may be harmonized. Eead Deut. 17. 8-20 with the idea of drawing from it principles that inculcate respect for authority. 2. The agency of righteousness. — What do you think of the action of those States which just now are seeking to find M SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS a way of nullifying the force of the Eighteenth Amend- ment? If the state is the servant of righteousness, can such action be justified? And if the state fails to set forward the cause of righteousness in the land, what is the outlook ? A good deal of old political machinery has been scrapped during recent years and new built in its place. It is in- structive to notice that much of this is for the express pur- pose of helping the cause of righteousness forward. Note the Children's Bureau connected -with the federal govern- ment, juvenile courts and commissions in many of our States, reform schools that really train for life and the duties of citizenship. Much recent legislation contributes to the extension of righteousness throughout the land. Laws that protect women and children from work and hours that tend to lower the standard and practice of morality, laws that pro- hibit gambling and put out of business the type of pool room which fosters gambling, the very general outlawry of racetrack gambling and prize lighting, — these are in- stances. The adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment is believed by many to be a distinct step forward not only in political practice but in righteousness. The granting of the fran- "Chise to women injects a new element into politics. In one of our Eastern States a drastic law for the enforcement of prohibition bears the name of one of the first women to be elected to the Legislature. The brave, forceful way in which Lady Astor has recently spoken out against the liquor interests in Great Britain in the face of ingrained custom and immeasurable opposition gives us an idea of what may often be expected in days to come. In view of maoy recent developments it is interesting to inquire how far righteousness may be promoted by law. It is also of profit to ask how far the state has taken over certain functions in this matter which really rest back upon such a moral and spiritual agency as the church for their potency. Deut. 16. 18-20 throws an instructive light upon the organization of the Hebrew people for purposes of justice. POLITICAL EESPONSIBILITY 85 the highest form of righteousness, in the administration of law. 3. A means of promoting the kingdom of God.— We must be careful how we use these words in this connection. The}^ must not suggest to our minds an order of society distinct from the one we know as citizens. The kingdom of God comes in nation, State, and city as the will of God becomes the law of life of the citizens, the organizing principle of their action in common. The kingdom of God comes as the rule of righteousness spreads. If the state helps an employer to deal more justly with his employees the state is promoting the kingdom of God. If the state makes it easier for the manual workers not only to receive what is their due but to con- tribute toward the general welfare what society has a right to expect from them it is helping forward the kingdom of God. The public schools may become and in many instances are agencies to promote the highest interests of the Kingdom. All legislation such as we have just noted directly contributes toward setting up such conditions as favor rather than hinder the forward movement of God's rule in human society. In recent years the nation has made an immense contri- bution to the Kingdom in the work of reconstruction and the relief of misery among the lands and people devastated by the war. Great agencies of government have given their aid to this work. From the President to the least import- ant official in our smallest political division a personal interest has been taken in this work. Think of "the Christ- mas ship" and what it meant to the children whose parents and homes had been killed and destroyed in the war. This was not an enterprise of the government but it was helped forward in many ways by the government. The great funds that have been raised could not have been admin- istered as they were apart from the aid of government officials and machinery. Every time the nation does an}'- thing that helps to bring men more closely together in mutual understanding and helpfulness it contributes toward the progress of the rule of God in the earth. Single out one or two instances in which your own local 86 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS government has recently taken some action which, from your Christian viewpoint, you have the right to interpret as promoting the kingdom of God in your own community. We sometimes think the churches are the only agencies of society engaged in such work. When the Roman government threw about the apostle Paul its strong protecting arm (Acts 22. 22-29) it was doing far more than the chief captain knew to advance the reign of God in the earth. Some New Factors in the Political Situation 1. The independent voter. — He is not altogether new but, because of his increasing numbers, he has an altogether new place of power. During the last Presidential election the greatest efforts were made by the political parties to gain his support. It was remembered that a few years before he had determined the result of the election. This is a wholesome sign of the times. Doubtless in our country the party system is necessary to the orderly pro- gress of our political practice; but when party loyalty becomes an unthinking subserviency to those who hold political power it is bad for the free development of the people. Candidates need to be considered with utmost care. The enforcement of many of our best laws lags because the man elected to office does not fulfill his preelection pledges. The mayor of a certain city recently remarked that those who had supported him because they thought he would follow a certain course in law enforcement were about to have their eyes opened. The independent voter is the only person feared by such an officeholder. On the other hand, the independent voter has made it possible for many high-minded officials to fulfill their pre- election pledges. They know that a strong body of intelli- gent sentiment would back them against the machinations of the politicians. One of the greatest services of our schools and colleges is the training of a large body of men and women to think independently upon the important questions of the time. 2. Women in politics. — The advent of women into poll- POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY 87 tics has already been referred to. Here is a large and incalculable element. Those who have supported the cause of universal suffrage are of the firm belief that this new element in the political situation prophesies well for the future. Women are usually closer to the needs of the homes of the people than the men. Matters that bear heavily upon those needs will be considered by them. And when it is remembered that they constitute a large body of property owaiers and wage earners they may be counted upon to do their own thinking upon the economic questions now be- fore us. Already the platforms of the political parties make a larger place for human and social matters than formerly. This is partly due to the presence of women in their councils. Are the girls of America preparing themselves for the larger responsibilities that aAvait them as citizens with the power of the ballot in their hands ? Peinciples That Should Guide the Cheistian Citizen 1. Meet his obligations. — The purely political activity of the average Christian citizen will not consume a great part of his time. Unless he is connected with the organization and administration of one of the political parties or an officeholder he will live most of his life in an atmosphere remote from purely political considerations. This very fact must put him on his guard. He may easily come to think that his political duties as such are of little im- portance. The Christian citizen will not make this blunder. He will faithfully discharge every obligation to the state. In the use of his ballot he will proceed with care and conscience. A man was heard to boast of the fact that he had not voted in a certain number of years. He de- clared that he could spend his time in a better way when election day came round. For him the day was one of recreation. Such a view if generally entertained would wreck the state. The Christian citizen will pay his taxes without evasion. One day in conversation a professedly Christian man was 88 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS heard to express the wish that he could find some way to evade the payment of his taxes. He was a man who had prospered abundantly. The state had given him the se- curity and freedom within which he had achieved his pros- perity. He seemed to see no obligation to the state in return. The costs of government are great, and the right- minded citizen will want to contribute his just share. 2. Support righteous officials. — He will give support to officeholders who are trying to do that which is right. There is a vast amount of abuse of public officials and all too little commendation. Christians often forget how much more quickly the rule of God would come among men if they would heartily back up the public servants who are standing for right things. The men's club of a strong city church invited as the guest of honor a man who had just been elected to a very important office in the city government. He made almost his first public pronouncement after election on that occa- sion. When made to feel that he could count upon that group for support he at once took a stand for right in the administration of the affairs of his office. On another occasion an officeholder bitterely complained because the right-minded people who wanted him to follow a certain course gave him no tangible support. The member of a State Legislature was heard to remark that the church people could have what they wanted if only they would get together and support the men who wanted to promote the things in which they were interested. 3. Engage in public service. — The Christian citizen will not evade any public service for which he may be drafted. A group of business men spent the large part of an even- ing telling each other how impossible it was for any one of them, for business reasons, to undertake a duty greatly needing to be performed. They may have been as busy as they tried to make themselves believe they were, but the Kingdom goes forward by the sacrifices of men who are willing to give time that might be spent in money-making or social enjoyment to unrewarding service for the common good. The Christian citizen will be swayed by ethical considera- POLITICAL KESPONSIBILITY 89 tions. The good of the community will be his objective. That which hurts the common life is bad ; that which helps the common life is good. This principle will be applied by him in considering men and measures. Questions por Discussion- 1. "Why do men think the Christian has no business in politics ? 2. Would you care to live in a community where that view was general? 3. Why do so many persons evade political issues and duties ? 4. Give instances of the deep interest taken by Jesus in the common affairs of daily life. 5. Does a truly Christian man or woman have any chance in politics ? 6. Is there any real chance of the growth of the rule of Christ in the earth apart from the political action of Christian people? 7. What have you done to back up the righteous efforts of faithful public servants? CHAPTER X THE CHRISTIAN AND WORLD PROGRESS For reference and study: Isa. 2. 2-4; 42. 1-4; 49. 6; 50. 4-9; 52. 13; 53. 12; 61. 1-3; Matt. 13. 31-33. The world is moving toward better conditions. Pro- gress is real. It may not always be measured from year to year; but if the centuries are considered, progress is evi- dent. It is true that new evils appear. Old wrongs are corrected only to make way for new iniquities. But ideal- ism grows, and the determination to push forward the highest welfare of our humankind becomes stronger with the passing of time. There is a fine vision of optimism in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. The book of Isaiah is especially marked by this spirit. The writer believed firmly in the triumph of justice, in the removal of all oppressions. The reign of peace was to be established in the earth through the instrumentality of the Anointed of Jehovah. One of the most splendid utterances is Isa. 42. 1-4. The New Testament catches up this note. Jews and Gentiles are to move forward toward a world order in which the ideals of truth, justice, and peace are to be ex- alted. The shoot is to grow until the branches of the tree offer a hospitable shelter to the birds of the air. The leaven is to permeate the whole mass (Matt. 13. 31-33). To question the reality of progress is to take an attitude toward affairs which is non-Christian if not anti-Christian. To insist that progress shall move in the direction of Christian goals is to work in harmony with the concep- tion of the world-wide reign of God. Factobs Making fob Wobld Pbogeess 1. Commerce. — It is inspiring simply to notice some of the factors working toward a better world. Commerce may 90 WORLD PROGRESS 91 be mentioned. The buying and selling of goods bring those who are parties to the operation into closer relations with each other, thus tending toward better understand- ing. Walls of exclusion, whether erected in the name of tariff or political considerations, should be built with ut- most care. It is important to consider not only what we shut in but what w^e shut out. If we cut ourselves off from free intercourse with other peoples, we are preventing a powerful factor of progress from operating for the benefit of mankind. Consider where the articles of food and clothing used by you in a single day have come from. Then think of the way in which the commerce necessary to bring those articles within your reach has contributed toward a better understanding of the countries from which they have come and a closer sympathy among the men who have been engaged in that process. Most of the racial hatreds out of which hurtful mis- understanding and war have come may be traced to a lack of acquaintance and sympathy on the part of groups of people separated by natural or artificial barriers. Com- merce helps to level these barriers. It promotes an order of life in which good will and peace may more easily predominate. 2. Industry. — This is so closely related to commerce that it needs only a single further Avord. But when we remem- ber that the great majority of men and women in every county is composed of manual workers we understand how powerful is any activity or interest that helps to draw them more closely together. Industry in all lands and among all peoples leads men and women the world over to see that their aims and interests lie along the way of mutual understanding and cooperation. Industry helps the workers of England to understand the manual workers of America, and the workers of America to realize that there are strong ties binding them to the workers of France. Anything that promotes a sense of the solidarity of the human family ordinarily makes for human progress. 3. Development of natural resources. — Just now there is a great struggle for the possession of some of the most 92 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS valuable natural deposits in Europe. On this side of the water many eyes are turned toward Mexico. Silesia is a very rich held for the development of natural resources. It is not difficult to understand why men should naturally struggle for the possession of these resources when we con- sider how much the upkeep of our civilization is dependent on them. What would become of civilization without the coal and iron, the copper, oil, and gold? In our own country we have seen great stretches of bar- ren country turned into rich farms and fertile gardens by the harnessing of the natural resources so freely be- stowed by God upon men. Great dams and waterways have been constructed. Irrigation schemes of great magnitude have been carried forward. Lands have been redeemed from barrenness. Human good has been greatly increased. Some of the great discoveries of the future will lie along the way of the further development and use of the natural resources of air and earth. It seems an idle dream to suggest the harnessing of the winds and tides and the belt- ing of their mighty energies to the wheels of progress, but scientists and other practical experimenters are working patiently and unceasingly, and great gains may be confi- dently predicted. The discovery of one oil well in Texas placed a great income at the service of a church. Be it said to the credit of those concerned, this unexpected wealth was directed toward the progress of Christian work. Here is a striking illustration of the way the development of natural re- sources contributed to the Kingdom. The connection is not always so evident. 4. Transportation. — Think of the times of Jesus and of the difficulty that men had in going from place to place. Even then, had it not been for the fine roads of the Roman Empire, the gospel would have gone forth very slowly into that comparatively small world. But to-day, with air- planes and automobiles, railroads and steamships, how quickly one part of the world is brought into connection with every other part! A great modern newspaper pub- lishes from week to week a list of its agencies. Hardly an important section of the habitable globe is overlooked. WORLD PROGEESS 93 And the bodies and commerce of men are transported al- most as easily and quickly as their ideas. It cannot be too often stressed that men must know each other if they are to live in harmonious relations. Suspicion, mistrust, and even hatred flourish in the soil of ignorance. Just to visit another section of your own State is to gain an enlarged understanding of life. But to be able to go from part to part of the nation and the world is to gain many of the advantages of contact and association which even a liberal education in the schools could not import. If it is true that the automobile has helped to "depopu- late" some of the congregations of our city churches, it has brought new life and enterprise to many rural and country churches by making it possible for the people to get back and forth easily and with little loss of time. 5. International politics. — For many months the mind of .America has been agitated by the question of our poli- tical relationship to the rest of the civilized world. This is not the place to present the question of a league or association of nations. But the very fact that the minds of our people and the minds of the people of Europe have been considering such a question proves that we are inter- related to-day as never before in human history. The rise and fall of governments, the coming and going of presidents and kings, democracy and monarchy, free trade and protection, — all such matters have become of concern not only to the country directly involved, but to the world. A speech in our Senate may have as profound an effect beyond the seas as in our own country. A decision of the Supreme Court may have a bearing upon inter- national questions of greatest importance. Here again we have a powerful factor of progress at work in the common life of the time. We are all deeply affected by the political organization under which we live. The disappearance of some of the selfish considerations that have so often moved men, such as "My country right or wrong,'^ provided there is enough of armed force to back up its position, helps to set forward the life of all peoples. 94 SOCIAL EELATION SHIPS 6, Missionary enterprise. — Even according to the testi- mony of critics missionary enterprise has been of incalcu- lable benefit to the progress of the world. An evidence of this is the honors bestowed by non-Christian governments and peoples upon faithful and efficient missionaries. While it has always been the aim of the missionaries to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the souls of men, that aim has been interpreted in the light of all that a full statement of the gospel implies. Minds and bodies are so closely knit together that one may not be over- looked except to the hurt of the other. Think of a Christian hospital in a non-Christian land simply as a factor of progress. Think of a great Christian school or college. It is not surprising to learn that the age-long customs of backward peoples have been changed overnight, and that missionaries themselves have found it quite impossible to keep up with the demands made upon them by the rapidity of the growth of the souls of the people to whom they have ministered. In one Eastern city a Christian work for all the people of the neighborhood has proved to be a civilizing force great beyond all measure. This is freely recognized by the authorities, many of whom are not commonly supposed to be in sympathy with the Christian purpose underlying the work. 7. Science and education. — These have contributed greatly to the progress of the world. The story of the ad- vance of science reads like a fairy tale. While the develop- ment of education has not been attended by such striking results, its remarkable achievements make an interesting chapter in the progress of humanity. One practical adaptation of scientific discovery, such as the telephone, has made a contribution to progress touching every field of human activity. The dissemination of com- mon knowledge in the elementary schools and the extended course of the higher schools and colleges places the key of the future in the hands of those using these wonderful opportunities. To read the life story of Booker T. Wash- ington is to be impressed with the inspiring power of edu- WORLD PROGRESS 95 cation, not only to awaken the soul of an individual but to exert a molding influence upon the soul of a people. Progress Christian or Non-Christian? 1. Direction of progress.— But what direction is pro- gress taking? And how much of the total life of an in- dividual and a people does it embrace? These are ines- capable questions. That progress is being made from decade to decade in all the fields of material achievement and mechanical art and invention no one can deny. But toward what is it tending ? That great scientific and edu- cational gains have been made is plain. But what about the inner life of the people ? A ^ thoughtful student of affairs recently uttered the opinion that progress was all on the outer side of life, that it did not touch the natures of men. We may be going, and going faster than ever before, but where are we going? One of the popular songs of the war indicates that the boys of the army used to ask a similar question. It is a good one to ask with regard to either trifling or momentous affairs. There are at least two views of progress which we should have before our minds. One of them emphasizes the im- portance of material things to the comparative neglect of spiritual considerations; the other emphasizes the prime importance of moral and spiritual values and places much less emphasis upon material gains. The first of these is non-Christian, not necessarily anti-Christian ; the second is Christian. 2. Purpose and ideals.— We have enumerated a long list of factors contributing to the progress of civihzation ; but it by no means follows that this progress will of necessity take the direction of a Christian civihzation. Commerce, industry, political relationships are very real factors in the everyday life of men. They have it in their power not only to increase the sum of material good in the world, but to give humanity a distinct impetus toward a thor- oughly Christian type of civilization. Whether or not they do this depends on the purposes and the ideals of the men 96 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS and women who are living at a given period of the worid^s history. If commerce is concerned solely with dollars and goods and thinks little, if at all, of the human values involved, it misses the way of highest progress. If international politics considers only the material advan- tage of one racial or national group to the neglect of the other groups involved, it adds to the confusion and diffi- culty of life for the citizens of all countries and utterly fails to promote the rule of God in the earth. We have been considering mighty forces holding much of good or evil in their operation. They may destroy the highest values while they increase the lower values. They may increase the wealth in goods and dollars of a people while they destroy the souls of men. Or they may work to elevate the life of a people toward noblest ideals of rela- tionships and service and at the same time promote their material well-being. In the field of politics think of the course followed by our nation in dealing with China and with Cuba. Un- doubtedly great gains for a civilization destined to become more and more truly Christian were made. The Chinese students educated in part by the indemnity money of the Boxer rebellion may well prove to be the leaven leavening the whole mass. Directing Peooress Towaed Cheistian Ends 1. Progress through effort. — Many good people in the world comfortably believe that progress is necessarily and naturally Christian. They go to sleep at night thinking that possibly they may wake up to find the world truly Christian. Just as they expect the natural forces to carry the world through the procession of the seasons they expect other natural forces at work among men to set up the rule of God in the earth. They point with pride to our rec- ords of material expansion and scientific advance and confidently believe that, with little or no help on their part, everything will grow better and better, until the Prince of Peace occupies the throne of the world. The sooner all such people are disillusioned the better. The solemn warnings of the Old Testament prophets, their WORLD PROGRESS 97 powerful exhortations to moral effort, need to be pondered in the light of present-day needs and opportunities. The teaching of Jesus concerning man's own responsibility for his character and acts needs to be strongly emphasized. The first duty of the Christian is to get the viewpoint of the New Testament. What really constitutes progress ? What is the purpose of civilization? What are these mighty factors which enter into the life of the time sup- posed to be doing ? Is life or are the things of life the great objective? Is character or are circumstances the aim? If material wealth increases, does it matter what the social relations of individuals and nations are? To see the problem of progress in true Christian perspective is essential. Recently a man of large affairs expressed the opinion that it is the first business of industry to produce material wealth. Another man, an authority in the prac- tical affairs of the world, has just given it as his opinion that prosperity and progress are interlocked with the moral and spiritual development of a people. Where do you stand ? 2. Every man's task.— Every person in active life has some personal relation to one or more of these factors of progress. He must do his utmost to make his own activity the expression of his own conviction that ideal values count for more than any or all others. He can himself put a little of the spirit of true Christian progress into the daVs work. He can be guided by Christian considera- tions as a producer, a seller, a distributer, a consumer of the world's goods. He will realize the power of cooperative action in all such matters. ^ The church group, the employers' association, the labor union, may be influenced in the right direction by the action of just such persons as himself. 3. World outlook.— The Christian citizen will cultivate the world outlook. Provincialism in outlook and purpose is not easily overcome. Alien peoples look like enemies from a distance. The pressure of immediate needs and problems at home obscures our vision of the wider relationships of society. The breadth of the purpose and vision of Jesus must be cultivated. 98 SOCIAL KELATIONSHIPS Questions foe Discussion" 1. Give one or two instances of progress made by society in recent years. 2. Name the principal factors contributing to this result. 3. If we have nothing but individual progress here and there, will the highest aims of society ever be reached? If not, why not ? 4. Can you think of forces making for progress other than those named? 5. If society goes round and round in a circle, can the redemptive purpose of Jesus ever be accomplished? State that purpose. 6. How can the forces against progress be met and over- come by those who follow the lead of the Captain of salva- tion? 7. Is the church doing all that it should to bring separated groups of people together ? If races and nations hold apart in mutual hostility, can we ever have the kingdom of God in the earth? CHAPTER XI THE CHEISTIAN AND WOELD BROTHERHOOD For reference and study : Jonah, chapters 3 and 4 ; Matt. 12. 46-50; Luke 10. 25-37; John 10. 16; Acts 2. 5-42; 10. 1-35. The Christian Ideal of World Brotherhood 1. The Great War. — This ideal has survived the shock of the Great War. Before that gigantic conflict we were in the habit of thinking and speaking as if its realization were just around the corner. But we had a rude awaken- ing. We found the dift'erence between admiring high prin- ciples and ideals and "doing'' them (see Matt. 7. 24, 25) not only as individuals but as nations. Perhaps we were too complacently devoted to the arts of material prosperity. However, the war has not destroyed that ideal. Indeed, a good many persons are coming to believe that the war has cleared the ground for a closer approximation to it than ever before. Whether this shall prove to be so largely rests with Christian people and those who without acknowl- edging the name of Christ are actuated by Christian pur- poses. The war brought to light the fact that while one great nation was sinning against the truth of human brotherhood to an immeasurable degree, other nations, which at heart entertained the cause of brotherhood, were not sufficiently active in its propagation and support. 2. A pre-Christian missionary.— In pre-Christian times there is a clear glimpse of this ideal in the prophecy of Jonah (chapters 3 and 4). Here is a man of wide vision who sees the place of a people outside the pale of Israel in the purpose of God. From the viewpoint of human brotherhood Jonah was one of the first to proclaim the truth that later found so much fuller statement in the gospel of Jesus. Jonah did not himself maintain the high ground 99 100 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS which at first he took. But it is remarkable that among a people of such strong racial prejudices he should have been so much of a universalist. He saw that the mercy of God covered others than those of his own race, and that aa alien people might be well worth saving. 3. The teaching of Jesus. — The teaching of Jesus con- stantly overleaps all racial bounds and proclaims a saving truth for the nations of the earth. In Matt. 12. 46-50 he announces a principle of relationship on the basis of the loyal doing of God's will. This obedience draws men to- gether in an association which suggests the closeness of a blood relationship. Again, when he tells the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10. 25-37) he sets aside the strong- est racial traditions and views and holds up as an example to be imitated a man from an alien group especially un- pleasing in the e3^es of the Jew. Paul in Athens (Acts 17. 26) sets forth a principle of human solidarity which must have been almost unthink- able to the cultured pagans whom he addressed. The division between the Jew and Gentile was no deeper than that between the Greek and barbarian. Paul calmly ig- nores such a view and proclaims the oneness of humanity. The Basis of World Beotheehood 1. The Christian basis. — This is to be found in the teach- ing of the New Testament. Jesus plainly declared from the opening of his public ministry that he came into the world to establish and extend the rule of God. Men as men were caUed into the fellowship of this purpose. No one was ever refused on racial grounds, but Jew and Gen- tile were freely offered the gracious opportunities of en- rollment and service. Jesus freely recognized the ordinary patriotisms that bind men to the country of their birth or adoption. In the best sense of the word he promoted these. "Eender unto Caesar the things that are Ca^sar's.^' But he declared the truth that the kingdom he came to establish overleaps all national barriers, all racial separations, and unites men in a federation of filial loyalty to God and to each other. WORLD BROTHERHOOD lOl We find in such an utterance as that quoted from Paul the clearest sort of an echo of the teaching of the Master. "^Tien we consider the life of the earliest Christian com- munity we find that many persons of different racial strains were actually drawn together in a community that as closely approximated a human brotherhood as anything this earth has ever seen. We have a beautiful picture of the practice of that community in the book of Acts (2 5-42). ^ ' All through the Christian centuries the voice of the church has been lifted in behalf of the teaching of Jesus and his early followers concerning world brotherhood. One of the greatest inspirations of the missionary enterprise has been the conviction that the men and women living in the unprivileged conditions of non-Christian lands were our brethren. The more vividly that human solidarity has been realized, the stronger has been the devotion of Christian people to this w^orld-embracing task. 2. Basis in nature. — Human nature proclaims the possi- bility, even the necessity, of world brotherhood. There is a basis for such an ideal in the constitution which makes us what we are. It may be affirmed with truth that there is just as much in unregenerate human nature to make men quarrel and fight over their differences as there is to sug- gest the reconciliation and cooperation of brotherhood ; but that is only one side of the story. So far as we know races and groups have never been found which were incapable of making any advance toward peace and mutual understand- ing as soon as ideals were taught and opportunity was given. A striking instance may be found in the history of the Pilgrims and their relations with the Indians. Here were humans with nothing in ancestry and experience in common, yet from the first the red man responded to fair and generous treatment. He proved himself capable of entering into mutually helpful relations with the strange folk cast up on his shores. The Pilgrims never had any continued and serious difficulty with the Indians. For the most part they were guided by Christian ideals in their dealings with them. Our history affords more recent examples of those who 102 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS were in bitter antagonism reaching a new viewpoint of mutual help and becoming partners in the activity neces- sary to the fullest development of life and society in the Union of the States. 3. Basis in social need. — The requirements of human society to-day seem to establish the possibility of a human and world-wide brotherhood. It is a law of life and growth that a real need always meets with a response. The needs of our physical and mental natures find their satisfaction in the world of nature and of human association. There is no fundamental need of our natures for which there is no provision in the creation within which our lives are set. Well, here is a fundamental need of human society. Law has not been sufficient to hold society together and prepare the way for its orderly development. When men are driven by their baser passions, law goes by the board, and even a sacred treaty becomes *'a scrap of paper." Force is not adequate. Force may be necessary. It may play a great part when affairs have got so badly tangled that there seems to be no way of peaceful solution. But a world order built upon force would be a very unstable affair. The ideals and principles of world brotherhood yet re- main to be tried. The ideal subdues and controls the souls of men. The principle guides their action among them- selves and in the larger groupings of society. This in every instance presupposes the voluntary consent on the part of those following the ideal and obeying the principle. And there is enough slumbering idealism in the hearts of men nov/, enough real devotion to principles of human under- standing and cooperation to make a distinct advance toward that better order of human society which indicates an approach to the realization of the ideals of world broth- erhood. The vast need of the world is an eloquent declaration of the fact that brotherhood may be established in something more than sentiment and name. Factors Making fob International Good Will Anything that helps us to see how much all the peoples of the earth have in common, anything that helps us to WORLD BROTHERHOOD 103 understand each other, may become a factor making for in- ternational good will. 1. International interests. — Many of the most important interests of the day are already organized on an inter- national basis. Commerce, in its various forms, and labor have pioneered the way. Sports have not been far behind. International meetings and meets are now the order of the day. The man who wins signal honors in his own country is speedily challenged to defend his title against a foreign competitor. The peace league among the churches of the world, the international court at The Hague, indicate how far men have gone in their efforts to promote a good will which shall girdle the earth. Ecumenical conferences and coun- cils proclaim the solidarity of our interests. In this general connection the work of the Student Vol- unteer Movement should be especially noted. The colleges and universities of the world have met in the lives of the finest young men and women, w^ho, under the inspiration of that movement, have volunteered for service under the all-embracing flag of the cross of Christ. 2. Interchange of teachers and students. — The inter- change of teachers on the part of the leading universities of America and Europe promotes international good will. Those who have gone out from our own shores have worthily represented the mind and heart of our land. They have corrected false views and impressions gained from contact with other citizens who have been actuated by very different desires. And we too have learned to look differ- ently upon some of our relatives beyond the seas after one of their number has come among us to open up intel- lectual and spiritual treasures. When recently a noted surgeon from Vienna performed a series of operations upon children who had never walked and gave them the oppor- tunity of entering into a new life he not only performed a great human deed but he did much to help us see the beauty of service unconfined by narrow bounds. Groups of students from the East have been trained in our schools and colleges, and students from our land have enjoyed similar opportunities in Europe. Representatives 104 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS of such groups from time to time appeared before a group of ministers in our Eastern metropolis for the purpose of interpreting to them the real ideals of the peoples from whom they were sprung. 3. War relief. — The terrible devastation of the war has called out a response in men, money, and other gifts un- paralleled in human history. Fathers and mothers and children who perhaps were unable to understand the ora- tory of statesmen perfectly understood the love and kind- ness that intervened between them and death by starvation and exposure. Red Cross nurses and chaplains, representatives of the mission boards of the various churches, have sown the seeds of mutual understanding and good will over a vast terri- tory. An abundant harvest is sure to follow. It may easily be the case that in some future time some one who gained his first true impression of this great land and people from such ministry will, from some high position of power and influence, shape affairs in harmony with the ideals of world brotherhood, because that ideal was first inter- preted to him in Jesus' own way of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. 4. The missionary enterprise. — The missionary activity of the churches has been a tremendous factor in this field. That activity is now, through our Centenary movement, taking on new life. Many of the ablest of the young men and women of our churches and colleges are offering them- selves for some form of life service. Think of the oppor- timity of such workers to promote the cause of world peace and brotherhood. They are stepping forth into the line of a noble succes- sion. The war came not because the heralds of the cross had been untrue to their task, but because the rest of the world was not yet ready to accept the principles of the Christ they proclaimed. An unparalleled opportunity now awaits the new recruits for this service. Our President is nobly declaring to the young men graduated from the naval school at Annapolis that he hopes they will never be compelled to fire a gun. This expresses the desire of every person who believes in the Christian message of WORLD BROTHEEHOOD 105 right human relationships. What a chance to help make that desire come true is given to every life undertaking the great task of instructing untutored minds in the way of Christ and helping to show more advanced minds the workableness of the plan of Jesus for the redemption of human society! Possible Individual Contributions 1. The fraternal spirit. — The individual must first i^eek the fraternal spirit. In a world of sharp conflict this is not so easy to do. We look off toward remote conditions and peoples and think how easy it would be to establish the fra- ternal life in such an environment, but often miserably fail when the opportunity lies at our very door. The fact is that large numbers of persons w^ho praise fraternity and speak in glowing terms of world brotherhood do not them- selves possess the fraternal spirit. Every day we hear certain members of our community spoken of in a way that demeans the speaker and casts an unpleasant reflection upon those referred to. It is difficult for the average person to take the fraternal atti- tude toward persons of different social standing, different color of skin and racial lineage. Much of the bad feeling that exists in some communities, and which finds some reflection in all our minds, has no deeper basis than these superficial considerations. A man was recently heard to condemn a whole race because he had had an unpleasant experience with one single representative. The pastor of a church confessed that he had advised a prospective mem- ber of alien race to connect himself elsewhere because of the absence of that fraternal spirit which would rise above racial prejudice. 2. Interchnrch fraternalism. — The individual may pro- mote the spirit of brotherhood among the groups that al- ready have the greatest number of interests in common. Why should not our churches move into closer relation- ships? Why should not Christian organizations and asso- ciations begin to give to the world a clearer example of what brotherhood means and stands for ? Some good per- sons seem to think that the reason for different denomina- 106 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS tions is the promotion of denominational rivalry. We have heard of the man who when asked as to the condition of his church replied that it was not very flourishing; but he added that he thanked God that the condition of the five rival churches of his community was no better. This may be a caricature, but there is enough in common thought to give it point. In a recent conference of Christian workers in one of the prominent communities of the land the pastors and lay- men representing the different denominations constantly emphasized the fact that the individual church owed some- thing to the community which could not be paid by any measure of isolated success. That spirit is increasing. It indicates that true fraternity is pervading the Christian groups, and that the beginnings of brotherhood among such groups are already well advanced. The individual must connect with some agency in his community or his wider environment standing avowedly for the purpose of helping to create world brotherhood. The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America is such an agency. This is not the only purpose for which it exists, but it does exert a great influence in favor of such an aim. Working alone, no matter how good his intentions, how constant his effort, he would accomplish little. Join- ing himself to a movement wide in scope and strong in influence, he multiplies the effect of his own loyalty to a ^reat ideal. The local church as an organization should support such an agency. Sometimes strong opposition to such an align- ment is to be met. But usually to-day the saner counsel will prevail, and the church will be led to take a broader and worthier relationship to human society as a whole. 3. Economic principles. — The individual must support such economic principles as favor world brotherhood. In this field to-day there is a great variety of opinion and prac- tice. But it is well to remember that society never goes back; it always moves forward. The real question before us is not whether we shall return to theories and prac- tices that have been passed by in the development of society. The question is. Among these contending theories and WOKLD BROTHERHOOD 107 practices which of them make for the peace and prosperity of the world according to the Christian ideal of things? Selfishness in any form, no matter what may be its im- mediate return, is against the spirit of true fraternity. It makes for the undoing of the work of Christ as the Re- deemer of men. 4. Broad-minded leaders. — The individual must support political leaders and policies broad enough and far-visioned enough to envisage world brotherhood as the end to be reached. Much of our political thinking is done for us. We have only a small part in directly influencing the prac- tice and policy of our nation. But we are favored in that we have some political leaders who see the larger goal^ of human effort. They do not overlook and discount matters of local and immediate concern. But they see beyond these to the larger interests of humanity. They are worthy of the support of Christian men and women. There is a special obligation upon the women of America, the new voters, those about to be. The coming generations will settle many issues now very confused and confusing. Christian influence never counted for more, far and near, in the affairs of the world. QuESTio^^s FOR Discussion" 1. Do men very generally regard the teaching of the prophets and of Jesus regarding human fellowship as so much poetry incapable of realization? Why? 2. In your opinion has the war advanced or retarded this ideal? 3. When personal prejudices are involved is it possible to rise above them and practice the ideals of Jesus ? 4. What progress has been made in our own country toward removing racial antagonisms? 5. Name some factors working against those considered in the text as making for international good will. 6. How may the church exert more influence than any other agency toward the realization of this ideal ? 7. If materialism or militarism wins out in the future policy and practice of our own people, what is likely to happen to the ideal of world-wide brotherhood ? CHAPTER XII THE CHRISTIAN AND THE EFFICIENT CHURCH For references and study: Matt. 16. 13-28; 18. 5-10; Luke 4. 16-31; 1 Cor. 1 and 2; Phil. 2. 12-18; Rev. 2. 1- 3; 22. What Should the Chuech Do? Outwardly the church is an organization. It is com- posed of those who confess the Saviourhood and Lord- ship of Christ and desire to see his purpose set forward in the world. Whether or not it is efficient will be deter- mined accordingly. The church is to do something. If it does it well, it is efficient; if poorly or not at all, it is inefficient, and nothing will make up for its fatal lack in this respect. When we consider the other organizations and institu- tions of society we see that they should be doing some- thing. We judge them accordingly. If a school or college had magnificent buildings and fine equipment but failed to do the real business for which it exists, it would be counted a failure. The buildings and equipment might be relatively poor, but tlie school might be a great and lasting success. A hospital must minister to the sick. A fire- engine company must prevent the town from burning up. The church too has a job — more important than that of any other single organization. What is it? To answer that question correctly as far as we go is now our aim. 1. Worship. — Clearly it is the business of the church to provide the facilities of worship and to train the people in their use. The first emphasis falls here. No matter how important some other part of the task of the church may be, this one will always come first. There must be a place in society where men, women, and children have the opportunity of approaching and fellow- shiping with God as nowhere else. This they must do collectively, 108 THE EFFICIENT CHURCH 109 We are always meeting the man who tells us that he can worship God better in the open spaces, under glorious skies, than in any "house made with hands/' But as a matter of fact he seldom does this thing, whether or not we admit the truth of his assertion. At any rate he misses the contact with his fellow men in worship which is one of its essential privileges and requirements. In Luke 4. 16-21 we have an account of what J'esus did and said as a worshiper. If he needed the privileges of the synagogue for the development of his spiritual life and the expression of one side of his nature, surely we have that need. Here is the first measure of the efficient church : Does it help tlie persons who enter it to worship God — the God and Father revealed in Christ? 2. Preaching of the truth. — The church must maintain a preaching ministry. The course of Jesus just referred to is instructive at this point. He was moved to utter a message to his fellow worshipers. And the church with- out a living message is indeed dead. The question of its efficiency cannot even be raised. We may know as much as the preacher, or think we do, we may pride ourselves upon our knowledge of the gospel message; but the fact is that we need, and other per- sons need, from time to time and after the lapse of regular intervals, to be brought face to face with the claims of the Christian gospel. To-day the church needs especially to emphasize the preaching aspect of its work. And this because our time greatly needs to hear the message of truly prophetic voices. With the principles of the gospel of Jesus the average per- son in a Christian community may be fairly familiar. But the application of these principles varies from age to age. And just as the prophets of ancient Israel instructed the people in the application of the principles and ideals of their religion to the life of their time, so do we need the ministry of prophetic voices to teach us the application of the more searching principles and ideals of Jesus to our time. Pause a moment to think of one or two big modem qnes- 110 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS tions that have come before the minds of men in a new way during the last five years. Is it not the task of a true prophet of God to help us all to see what the gospel of Jesus requires of us as we seek to apply it to such ques- tions and the conditions out of which those questions have come? 3. Teaching. — The church must teach. In Matt. 18, 5-10 we have pointed out to us our duty toward those who are immature and inexperienced in the faith. And whether these be actually children in years or children in develop- ment, the duty remains the same. When Jesus gave his great commission to his disciples, they were told that they must "teach.^^ Perhaps we have somewhat neglected this aspect of our task, although it is to be remembered that no department of our church life has made greater progress within the past few years. The church school occupies a unique place in the present- day organization and program of a live church. We are all learning that it is just as important to plant seed truths at the right time in the soil of the mind as to plant our gar- dens and fields at the right time if we expect a harvest. The demand for competent leaders in this field of church work far outruns the supply to-day. This is a very good sign of the awakening of the church to this large oppor- tunity. 4. Recreation. — This also must have its place in the program of the church. Jesus had little to say upon this topic, probably because the conditions of life did not give it the importance that it has to-day. The folk he addressed lived in the open. They did not toil for long hours in shops and factories. They were not shut up within the walls of great office buildings. They did not know the kill- ing strain and fatigue of work as many living to-day. Life then was simpler, its conditions were not so exhausting. But Jesus recognized the place of recreation when he called his disciples apart into a place remote from life's activity, that they might rest. He was an honored guest at more than one feast. Our own church at its last General Conference recog- THE EFFICIENT CHURCH 111 nized the importance of this feature of our program by providing for a director of social and recreational life in those churches desiring such an arrangement. This is good. It insists that the Christian is to be a normal person with normal enjoyments and interests. It means that in our judgments and practice we must discriminate between the good and the evil. It acknowledges that use, and not abuse, is the secret of a Christian program of recreation. 5. Service. — It is the business of the church to serve. And it needs to be remembered to-day, when we hear so many critical voices asking whether the church is doing anything in the world, that the church has always acknowl- edged this part of its mission. From the day that Jesus called his hrst disciple into his fellowship, or, to move a little farther down the years, from the day that the first company of Christian believers organized themselves into a fellowship of faith human service has been the order of things. When we say that the church has not done what it should, that it is not to-day meeting all its obligations to society as it should, we must not overlook all that has been done. The church has always been in the world as the servant of humanity. One of the best things of the time is the growth of the vision of service. Such a movement as the Centenary would have been impossible if social-mindedness on the part of the people were not increasing. Such an offering of young life for the service of the Kingdom as we have most recently seen would have been out of the question if Jesus' ideals of living for others had not taken hold of great numbers of minds. Some think this duty of service may come to be over- emphasized. But this cannot happen if the other items in the program of the efficient church are given their due place. The danger is still on the other sidel Meeting These Requirements We may now have before us some idea of what the church must be and must be doing if it is to merit the judgment of efficiency. 112 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 1. Application of the standard. — We must be careful in applying this standard of measurement. One Sunday af- ternoon, in a little white schoolhouse hidden away in the forest bordering a great lake, a group of four or five adults and perhaps twice as many children demonstrated that efficiency is not merely a question of buildings, pro- gram, and staff of workers. The standard that we have found must be applied to churches in the light of their opportunity. A church of small numbers and few facili- ties should never become discouraged because it cannot do all that someone writing from a distance may suggest. But a church with large opportunities and ample facilities should feel a sense of shame and shortcoming if it is mak- ing no real effort to organize and conduct its work on the highest possible level of productiveness. One small church in a great city made truly heroic efforts to provide its young people with the most meager kind of social facilities. At the same time a much stronger church less than two miles distant was dwindling in membership and activity because it was making no real effort to adapt its service to changing conditions. Which of these churches was the more efficient? 2. What is the answer? — With such qualifications as we noted we should make a thorough application of such a standard of efficiency to the church with which we happen to be associated. Worship and preaching are undoubtedly emphasized as they should be. But is the worship worship- ful? And what constitutes the difference? A worshiper recently remarked that in his church there was so much noise and confusion that there was little to bring the soul into closer fellowship with the unseen realities. Is the preaching touched with the prophetic quality? If not, is it the fault of the preacher or the congregation? Some congregations, under the plea that nothing but the simple gospel be preached, very "efficiently" stifle any tendency in that direction. And this often means the particular views of the man who happens to make the demand. When we think of education and recreation how do mat- ters stand? To fail to attempt anything because every- thing cannot be done is to invite stagnation. The condi- \ THE EFFICIENT CHURCH 113 tions do not exist in which something may not be done to help the church to square with this part of its task. The danger is that some very good people may not realize how important it is that the church to-day should engage in such work. With that danger out of the way progress can always be made. How many enterprises — far-distant, it may be, or in your own community — would feel a sense of loss if your church should close its doors? Service in the direction pointed out to us by the official organizations of the church is given. And this is as it should be. But unless there is some close and vital contact with human needs very near home, something is missing from the program of the truly efficient church. A philanthropic agency in a cer- tain city received an unsolicited check from one of the churches. The treasurer of the board telephoned the min- ister to know if some mistake had not been made. He said that it was the first time in his experience that any- thing of the sort had happened. That particular church did not make the contribution out of its "superfluity.'' What May We Do? The only embarrassment in answering this question is to keep the answer within bounds. There is so much that may be done. Some of us do not realize how deeply human society needs the church to-day. We have the notion that organizations have been duplicated until in the average community there is no place for the church to take hold. 1. Right perspective. — The first thing to be done is to get the right perspective. A large part of the work of other organizations would not be done at all if it were not for the churches. Results in many instances would come to nothing were it not for the continuous ministry of the church. One campaign for a large sum of money revealed the fact that more than 70 per cent of the fund had been contributed by church members. An important philan- thropy of wide reach in its service recently appealed to the ministers of a certain city to back it up as never before. The representative stated that there were no other per- sons in the community, except the church people, who were 114 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS capable of "holding on^' until the job was done. Never was the church more essential to society. But the essen- tial church is the efficient church. 2. Right attitude. — Help to create the right attitude in your own church toward the full program of an efficient organization. Oftentimes one or two tactful leaders can change the attitude of a church group. A group of young men met and decided that they would present in writing to the official group of the church a statement of what they thought the church should undertake in the way of an enlarged recreational program. They indicated how they were willing to cooperate. Their action was the beginning of better things. Above all try to see clearly yourself and then help others to see that the church is not a narrow sectarian institution existing for any narrowly denominational aim, but that it is God's chief agency for the building of the kingdom of Jesus Christ in the earth. Nothing that really helps to lift things just a little toward the level of a redeemed society is foreign to the program of the church. Both the individual and the wider society of which he is a part must have due consideration in the activity of every Christian group. 3. Community contacts. — Then consider the community. Every time a point of contact between the church and the community is established, there is just so much more chance of doing effectively the work for which the church exists. We have many such points of contact to-day, but they need to be multiplied. Changing conditions greatly affect the home and family life of great numbers. Study out ways and means of connecting with those who have recently come into your community. Link up with just as many agencies of the right sort as possible. Some persons are afraid to cooperate with an- other church in doing a good piece of work, and to some others all social agencies are anathema. But the key- note of the time is mutual understanding and cooperation. Many of our tasks are so big that we cannot undertake them successfully alone. Discover some one definite piece of Christian work for THE EFFICIENT CHURCH 115 which you assume a special responsibility. One group of young persons became really interested in a fresh-air home. Before, it had been only a name. In one year their contributions increased many times over. They came to feel that a part of the failure or success of that work was chargeable to them. Do every legitimate thing to foster cooperation between the churches. In some communities church inefficiency may be traced directly to the competition of the churches. That sort of thing helps to defeat the purpose for which the church exists. The denomination that does most to foster the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation has the key to the future. The world is moving in that direction. 4. Civic responsibility. — The church must look beyond its community. It is and must be one of the chief agencies serving the highest interests of the State. If the com- munity in which you live is a favored one, you may be inclined to forget that other communities are less favored. Because there is no immediate problem or opportunity in your neighborhood (although this is seldom if ever the case ) , it does not follow that your church has no particular social obligation. Often the churches of a given community need the back- ing of public opinion of other parts of the State to accom- plish some result that ultimately benefits all. If all respon- sibility for bringing the pressure of Christian opinion to bear upon the Legislature of a State is turned over to the churches of the community within which the Legislature happens to meet, not much will be accomplished. A unified Christian demand will work wonders. Many reform and humanitarian movements are to-day organized on a State basis. The church in the smallest community needs a vision broad enough to see its own vital relation to such movements. It is all too easy to shift heavy responsibilities to those who seem to be nearer to them. 5. World service. — Recent developments have brought the whole world before our minds. We realize as never be- fore that we do not and cannot live unto ourselves. In wor- ship, in education, in service, the church with the smallest 116 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS resources is really touching world problems and helping to mold world conditions into conformity with the high pur- pose of the redeeming Christ. Missionary endeavor of all kinds to-day emphasizes the fact that we are trying to share our best with the least privileged of God's children. Questions for Discussion 1. Is it right or wrong to apply the standard of "effi- ciency" to such a spiritual agency as the church? 2. Do Christian people very generally have a clear idea of what the church ought to be doing beyond maintaining its own services? 3. Name other essential activities of the efficient church which are not stressed in the text. 4. Is the average church living up to its opportunity? If not, why not ? 6. Do the young people of your church realize how much they may contribute toward the efficiency of its real work ? If not, how will you explain this ? 6. Is there a smaller or larger place than ever before in society for the church that is alive and is doing the work of Christ? 7. How may some of the commonest hindrances to effi- ciency be removed ? CHAPTER XIII THE KINGDOM OF GOD A PEACTICAL IDEAL For reference and study: Matt. 5. 1-9; 28; 13. 1-52; Acts 1. 6-8; Eph. 6. 10-20. Jesus' Ideal of the Kingdom This in its main outline is not hard to discover if we turn to his teaching. There was no one subject upon which he had so much to say. Directly and indirectly the King- dom was his constant theme. 1. Qualities of character. — In Matt. 5. 1-9 we have a list of the qualities of character which make men fit mem- bers of this kingdom. Purity, mercy, love of justice and peace, — these are outstanding. Are they the sort of quali- ties that men generally are most eager to make their own ? On the other hand, do not the characters that impress you as strongest and most serviceful always embody them? Can you think of any type of life fit for citizenship among men, fit for the kingdom of eternal life, if it does not in- clude such qualities? They are not all that need to be cultivated but they are all essential. In other places in the teaching of Jesus we have a pre- sentation of other qualities that the men and women of the Kingdom must embody. There must be love for and obedience to the truth, willingness to sacrifice, heart sor- row for sin and wrongdoing, earnestness in the endeavor to make right the wrongs we have done, and an uncom- promising purpose to follow the path of goodness. Faith, hope, love, — these three, with strong emphasis upon the greatest of them. Even such a brief glance toward the ideal of Jesus for the characters of those who constitute the membership of his kingdom must show us how broad, strong, and varied the Christian type of life is. Life ideals as found in the ' " 117 118 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS message of Jesus are never narrow and dwarfing, but just the reverse. Self-denial, and even asceticism of a rational type, have their place; but they do not stand in their own name and right. They are means to an end — the bringing of our personal powers and appetites into the service of the ideal Christian character. Perversions and distortions of the teaching of Jesus at this point have driven many away from his fellowship. They have been made to see a Christ who does not exist and a type of life to which he never called any one. The correction for this sort of thing is the closer study of his own words and life. 3. A Christian social order. — But this ideal is concerned with more than the individual. It embraces the individual in right relations with God and man. Jesus aims at a Christian society. He proclaims the possibility of an order of living in which not only one man here and another there shall be established in these right relations, but all men everywhere shall be thus established. The rule of God shall extend over the whole field of human life and affairs. Love is the law of this rule. A redeemed individual and a redeemed society suggest to us the scope of the ideal of Jesus for us and our world. Matt. 13. 1-53 gives us many a suggestion of the way in which this ideal of Jesus is to be worked out in human society. It is like the growth of the abundant harvest from the sowing of the good seed. The leaven is to leaven the whole lump. The tree springing from the tiniest of all seeds is to grow until the birds of the heavens find lodg- ment in its outspreading branches. But the process is not to go forward without the help of its friends and the at- tempt on the part of many an enemy to thwart it. Jesus' Emphasis Upon the Kingdom 1. His central message. — To see this for yourself take any one of the synoptic Gospels and make a note of all that Jesus had to say upon this subject. Then compare what you have found with his teaching upon any other one subject. This theme is the center of his message. All A PEACTICAL IDEAL 119 the teaching of Jesus proceeds from or converges upon this great matter of the establishing of the rule of God in human hearts and over all human conditions. The death of Jesus upon the cross has its highest signifi- cance in this: it is for the sake of bringing men out of their sins into a right relation with God the Father and with each other. In other words, Jesus follows his own ideal to its last requirement of sacrifice. He serves with his own life the divine cause that brought him into our world. Nothing more could be done. 2. A neglected emphasis. — The emphasis of Jesus upon this subject has not always been heeded in the teaching and practice of the church. Had it been we should be farther on our way toward the realization of the ideal of redemption. Progress has been made. Not least import- ant is the fact that our own day is recovering and reexpress- ing the emphasis of Jesus upon this subject. Jesus taught us that the individual does not live for himself. He taught us that the Christian fellowship does not exist for its own sake nor for the exclusive joy and comfort of those composing it. The present-day Christian discipleship is gladly following Jesus not only in the state- ment of these truths, derived as they are from his own message, but in an attempt to put them into practice on a scale never hitherto attempted. What Would It Mean? 1. The brotherhood of man. — He would be a bold person who should attempt to answer the question. What would it mean if the kingdom of God were established in the earth? The question embraces every human life and fel- lowship, every human purpose and activity. It really girdles the whole of human society. And it has a differ- ent meaning for every part of humanity. It would mean something different in our United States from what it would mean in China, something different in our crowded cities from what it would mean in our rural districts. Wrong is not just the same the world over. Righteousness does not demand just the same thing of men ever3rwhere. Goodness, beauty, and wisdom, justice, and love have such 120 SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS a wealth of meaning that they can never be exactly de- scribed and measured. Yet fundamentally the meaning would be the same the world over. The Prince of Love would rule throughout the world. God would everywhere be recognized as the Father of mankind. Men would everywhere acknowledge them- selves to be brothers. 2. Human personality sacred. — But, looking at the mat- ter more closely, we can all see that certain conditions would be established, certain principles written into the common life and the social order. For one thing human personality would everywhere be regarded as the most sacred thing in human society. All kinds of material possessions would be counted of lesser worth. The color of the man's skin, the social position he occupied, the size of his bank account, would be mat- ters of secondary concern. They would not determine hu- man relations as they so often do to-day. Human resources would be developed and used with ref- erence to this principle. The abundance of good things with which God has stocked this world would be seen to exist for the sake of making all our human relations more worthy, and human life itself more livable for every child of our race. It would not be necessary if the Kingdom were here, but if it were necessary, there would be more men in high station to speak out, as the governor of one of our South- ern States has recently spoken, in favor of giving every man his chance and making certain that justice is done in every human situation. Think, yourself, of some of the changes that would take place in our industrial, political, and social order if the value of human personality as we see it in the ideal of Jesus should be made the principle of practice. 3. International peace. — War as a method of settling human disputes would be done away. When the President of the United States stands before the graduating class at Annapolis and expresses the wish that no man in that group should ever be called upon to fire a gun in taking human life, what is that but to express the hope that the A PRACTICAL IDEAL 121 future holds a much fuller realization of the kingdom of God in the earth than we have yet seen ? When the leading statesmen of the foremost nations begin to express the wish that their representatives should confer with refer- ence to the possibility of decreasing armaments and limit- ing naval and military expense, what is that but to indicate that the time has come to ask if some definite thing may not be done to push society along toward the realization of the ideal of peace and good will which we have in the mes- sage of Jesus ? War has been necessary in the past. It may be again in the future. But war is justified only when the appeal to force is the only way of preventing worse evils from coming upon humanity. Many who read these lines will be among those who gave gallant service to our cause in the recent World War. The country will never forget its gratitude to them. It will never tire of telling the story of their heroic service and suffering. The gold stars on the service flags will be held in constant remembrance by future generations. But those who have been through the horrors of the recent war are the first and foremost to proclaim the necessity of finding a better way for the settling of human disputes, the adjustment of international differences. That way is the way of Jesus. His ideals are more powerful than all the battle fleets and forces of the world. His principles will batter down oppositions which could withstand the onslaught of any attacking force. 4. Brotherhood of the nations.— The different sections of the human family would live together on terms of mutual understanding and service. The ideal of the Eangdom not only includes the hum- blest individual who lives; it also includes the nations of the earth. It paints before our minds the picture of an all-inclusive kingdom of love and good will. But before this picture can become the pattern of reality nations must learn, just as must individuals and smaller groups, that service and sacrifice are the secret of all true human growth and progress. Mexico would not be looked at with covetous eyes because 122 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS of the incalculable wealth stored in her mountains and wells. Korea would not be considered the vassal of a dom- inant power. One part of the world would not regard almost every other part with suspicion and mistrust. The only real competition would be that of serving the ends of justice and good will unto the very ends of the earth. And progress is being made. We are not altogether proud of the way we have treated the red man. If we had it all to do over again, no sort of plea of material or political necessity could persuade us to repeat history in every detail. We do not glory in the inequalities that still hamper the opportunities of the Negro in most if not all our communities. If we think of perpetrating some act that offends against the highest moral judgment, en- lightened by the conscience of Christ, we seek out some high-sounding explanation. Similar signs among other enlightened peoples are not lacking. Can the Ideal Be Realized? 1. The answer of history. — The fact that we have to ask this question indicates that our minds are still far below the level of the mind of Christ. He certainly had no doubt upon this point. If he had he was a trifler — a supposition incredible. He did not give us a task which we cannot accomplish. He did not set before us ideals that simply mock us and convict us of our own moral and spiritual inefficiency. Yet good men are still asking this question. It is im- possible to avoid the idea that some ask it to excuse them- selves for doing so little to help towards the building of the Kingdom. Let history suggest to us the line along which we must look if we want a rational answer. You do not have to go back very far to come to a time when men would have told you that it was impossible to banish human slavery from this land. Some of the best and wisest men who ever lived thought and said that. Even to attempt the thing was to invite the ruin of our pohtical and economic structure. But suppose a man of light and leading should talk that way to-day: what would be thought of him? The aboli- A PRACTICAL IDEAL 123 tion of the liquor traffic and its grossest attendant evil, the saloon, is another illustration of the progress of the Kingdom in the earth. Many of us have repeatedly heard men whose opinions were worth considering declare that this never could be done. There was too much money in- vested, political influences were too strong, the invasion of "personal liberty" would never be tolerated. We heard it all again and again, but the traffic has been outlawed. The old-time corner saloon has gone. And although the law of the land is being broken every hour of every day, time and the growth of right human sentiment will correct this. The young men and women in our church schools will see to it, now that they all have the ballot, that former conditions are never restored. The extension of the suffrage makes for the progress of the Kingdom. All fundamental inequalities must go be- fore the Kingdom can come. Here too the battle was a long ! and hard one, but, once won, it is a permanent gain for humanity. The dire evils predicted have not come, neither has the easily prophesied millennium; but gain has been made. God's purposes move slowly, but they never go backward. 2. The future struggle. — It needs to be pointed out that we are mo\'ing over the ground where the real battles of the future are to be fought. This harmless question about the Kingdom really means this : Can the moral principles and ideals of Jesus Christ be applied fully to human society? There is no question as to their application to the individ- ual. We know that a sinning individual can be saved. We know that an evil character can be redeemed. And we all rejoice over the finding of the one sheep which had strayed away from the fold. There is no conflict about all that. But regarding this extension of the ideals of Jesus to include the w^hole of human society there is the sharpest division of opinion. Battle grounds change from genera- tion to generation. There is comparatively little conflict to-day over the question of the most careful and scientific study of the Bible. The boys and girls in our church schools are having the advantages of approved methods 124 SOCIAL EELATIONSHIPS and apparatus of study. But the battle for the ideals of Jesus as including society as well as the individual has not yet been won. So a man will sometimes vote for a candidate who does not come anywhere near being the sort of person likely to promote the reign of God among men. A man will complacently accept profits that have violated the principle of the worth of human personality. He will think one way of his obligation as a church member, an- other way of his obligation as a business or professional man. The ethics of Jesus touch us where we live six days of the week. For long we have known that they had something to say about one day of the week. The Peivilege and Duty of the Christian 1. To know the truth. — The Christian must live with the teaching of Jesus until he comes to have a clear idea of what it is. Then he will realize how utterly reasonable it is. He will see that no other way than Jesus' way is rational. The appeal of its own truth and duty will cap- ture his intelligence, his interest, his personal power. He will come to know that he has found a great cause to which he may dedicate his life. This does not mean that he will necessarily enter some special field of service. The fact is, the cause is as broad as the whole field of human action. We need ministers and missionaries, but we need Christian merchants and factory operatives, politicians and editors. For every legi- timate occupation is to be brought under the sway of the ideal kingdom. It can be done only by those who know what that ideal is and believe that it can be established in the hard, actual conditions of human affairs. 2. To be tolerant. — Many good men honestly doubt whether the ideal of the Kingdom is anything more than an ideal. Just how they establish their devotion to Christ on a reasonable basis, it is hard to see. But the facts are as they are. Patience does not mean that we have any doubt as to the validity of our own conviction. A toler- ance that seeks to see the truth in the view of a man who differs from us is very often the means of giving us a A PRACTICAL IDEAL 125 fresh hold upon the truth to which we have committed ourselves. Sometimes men grow impatient and harshly blame others for what seems to be their acceptance of things as they are, for the sake of personal ambition and material gains. Little is gained by that temper of mind. Especially do those young in years need to remember this truth. Take the method of Jesus himself as your pattern. 3. To pay the price. — Be prepared to pay the cost of your service of Christ and humanity. Someone has paid the cost of our liberties and privileges: why should not we in turn be willing to pay a part of the price of the great- ening good of the world? Jesus himself told us that his service requires the payment of a price. He heroically met the test himself and paid the price. Evil and sin are still abroad in the earth. They are very powerful. They are often intrenched where we least expect to find them. But the kingdom of God in the earth is bound to win out. Let us take our part as good soldiers of Jesus Christ in the warfare by which peace and good will are to be established throughout a worldwide dominion. Questions for Discussison 1. What qualities of the citizen of the Kingdom are most difficult to cultivate to-day? 2. Name some of the facts about modern society which make it hard to apply the principles of the Kingdom. 3. Why do men believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to redeem not only the individual but human society? 4. If individuals are saved, one at a time, will this fulfill the expectation and purpose of Jesus? 5. Do you know of any situation, historically or from your own observation, in which the ideals of the Kingdom have been very fully realized ? 6. Why should the church take an open stand against those who oppose the application of the principles of Jesus to the social order? 7. Is it reasonable to expect marked progress of the Kingdom ideal in this generation? In what directions? Date Due F 22'38 my .« - '43 f