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California Ave. Church of Christ
Are you preaching a Social Gospel ???
The Social Gospel
Some do not understand what is meant by the negative use of "social gospel." For sure, the early Christians were gregarious and, in this sense, social (Acts 2: 46). The gospel also addresses matters social in nature (cp. Rom. 12: 18). However, the designation "social gospel" alludes to something different. The social gospel is a system that places the emphasis on the present and physical. The social gospel is more interested in telling man how to enhance his physical, economic, and mental state than it is regarding his soul and life ever after. Churches that have embraced the social gospel have as their primary mission the feeding and filling of men's stomachs rather than the providing for man's spiritual needs and salvation. There was a period in American history when there was a developing social consciousness. Labor movements and unions began to address social injustices. It was during this period that the social gospel, as we know it, was born.
In a study of the inception, evolution, and present status of the social gospel, such names as Washington Gladden (1836-1918) and Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918) are encountered as major movers in the advancement of the social gospel. Gladden and Rauschenburse had a different view of the Kingdom of God than did their contemporaries. Author Robert Handy wrote the following regarding Washington Gladden:
"Washington Gladden, a Congregational minister who had been much influenced by Horace Bushnell, became an outspoken advocate of the right of labor to organize during a long pastorate in Columbus, Ohio. He was also a champion of liberal theology, advocating the historical approach to the scriptures and preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God in history in the near future. Often called 'the father of the social gospel,' he developed a Christian version of progressive economic and social views that by the turn of the century was a rising force in the churches" (A history of the Churches in the United States and Canada, pp. 299-302).
Williston Walker succinctly outlines the circumstance and development of the social gospel:
"Early nineteenth-century Protestantism had expressed its social concerns largely in individualistic terms, stressing charity and moral reform, but the social gospel focused attention on the corporate aspects of modern life and on the achievement of social justice. Great attention was devoted to the relations between capital and labor, and the movement influenced the shortening of the working day. Dedicated to the building of the Kingdom of God on earth, the social gospel was especially prominent in the life and work of the Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists of the North, and among Congregationalists and Episcopalians. Courses on social ethics were added to seminary curricula, and denominational departments of social action were founded under social Christian influence. A number of social settlements in underprivileged areas were founded under Protestant auspices, and many institutional churches to bring social services to the urban masses were erected. The social emphasis was strongly felt on the mission field, where agricultural, medical, and educational missions were expanded (A History of the Christian Church, pg. 518).
As the influence of the social gospel spread, churches began to place their focus on matters physical and material. Walter Rauschenbusch expressed it well:
"The contributions made by Christianity to the working efficiency and the constructive social abilities of humanity in the past have been mainly indirect. The main aim set before Christians was to save souls from eternal woe, to have communion with God now and hereafter, and to live God-fearing lives. It was individualistic religion, concentrated on the life to come. Its social effectiveness was largely a by-product. What, now, would have been the result if Christianity had placed an equally strong emph