The Social Principles of Jesus. Walter Rauschenbusch

Suffering Servant of Jehovah

       Third Day: A Contemporary Prophet

       Fourth Day: Looking Forward to the Cross

       Fifth Day: New Prophets to Follow

       Sixth Day: The Cross for All

       Seventh Day: The Consolations of the Prophet

       Study for the Week

       Suggestions for Thought and Discussion

       Chapter XII. A Review And A Challenge

       First Day: The Social Mission of Christians

       Second Day: The Great Initiator of the Kingdom of God

       Third Day: The Kingdom of Truth

       Fourth Day: A Mental Transformation

       Fifth Day: The Distinctive Contribution of Christ

       Sixth Day: The Master of the Greatest Game

       Seventh Day: The Beginning of the Greatest Movement. in History

       Study for the Week

       Suggestions for Thought and Discussion

Part I. The Axiomatic Social Convictions Of Jesus

       Table of Contents

Chapter I. The Value Of Life

       Table of Contents

      Whatever our present conceptions of Jesus Christ may be, we ought to approach our study of his teachings with a sense of reverence. With the slenderest human means at his disposal, within a brief span of time, he raised our understanding of God and of human life to new levels forever, and set forces in motion which revolutionized history.

      Of his teachings we have only fragments, but they have an inexhaustible vitality. In this course we are to examine these as our source material in order to discover, if possible, what fundamental ethical principles were in the mind of Jesus. This part of his thought has been less understood and appropriated than other parts, and it is more needed today than ever. Let us go at this study with the sense of handling something great, which may have guiding force for our own lives. Let us work out for ourselves the social meaning of the personality and thought of Jesus Christ, and be prepared to face his challenge to the present social and economic order of which we are part.

      How did Jesus view the life and personality of the men about him? How did he see the social relation which binds people together? What was the reaction of his mind in face of the inequalities and sufferings of actual society? If we can get hold of the convictions which were axiomatic and immediate with him on these three questions, we shall have the key to his social principles. We shall take them up in the first three chapters.

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      Daily Readings

      First Day: The Worth of a Child

       Table of Contents

       And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. And he took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.—Mark 10:13–16.

      The child is humanity reduced to its simplest terms. Affectionate joy in children is perhaps the purest expression of social feeling. Jesus was indignant when the disciples thought children were not of sufficient importance to occupy his attention. Compared with the selfish ambition of grown-ups he felt something heavenly in children, a breath of the Kingdom of God. They are nearer the Kingdom than those whom the world has smudged. To inflict any spiritual injury on one of these little ones seemed to him an inexpressible guilt. See Matthew 18:1–6.

      Can the moral standing of a community be fairly judged by the statistics of child labor and infant mortality?

      What prompts some young men to tyrannize over their younger brothers?

      How does this passage and the principle of the sacredness of life bear on the problem of eugenics?

      Second Day: The Humanity of a Leper

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       And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came to him a leper, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And [pg 003] he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.—Matt. 8:1–4.

      Whenever Jesus healed he rendered a social service to his fellows. The spontaneous tenderness which he put into his contact with the sick was an expression of his sense of the sacredness of life. A leper with fingerless hands and decaying joints was repulsive to the æsthetic feelings and a menace to selfish fear of infection. The community quarantined the lepers in waste places by stoning them when they crossed bounds. (Remember Ben Hur's mother and sister.) Jesus not only healed this man, but his sense of humanity so went out to him that “he stretched forth his hand and touched him.” Even the most wretched specimen of humanity still had value to him.

      What is the social and moral importance of those professions which cure or prevent sickness?

      How would a strong religious sense of the sacredness of life affect members of these professions?

      Third Day: The Moral Quality of Contempt

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       Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother,