Christianity and the Social Crisis (Library of Theological Ethics)

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting examination of the evolving American society
Review: Walter Rauschenbusch, a devout Protestant minister, was horrified by what he described as the "social crisis" that permeated American society and politics in the early 1900s. Yet he did not despair or advocate "more government" as a solution. Rather, he argued compelling that the church must play a central role in restoring social order. Indeed, Rauschenbusch alleged that Christianity's future depended on its capacity to restore social harmony and to persuade businesses to feed the masses, not just cater to elites. Rauschenbusch extolled the value of community, "gemeinschaft, " and excoriated "gesellschaft, " an atomized, anonymous, individualistic society in which people are consumed by materialism and personal gain.
Rauschenbusch envisioned a Christian ethic that pervaded the social and economic lives of Americans. He blended ancient Christian thought with the new tools of social science, in order to identify and solve the "social crisis," arguing that "communism" (as he used the term) was fully consistent with Christianity. Rauschenbusch's burden was to show the people where, how, and why Christianity could help them.
Rauschenbusch was a seventh generation Lutheran minister, whose father emigrated to American from Germany in the 1850s. Rauschenbusch, the scholar, was a theologian at the Rochester Theological Seminary, where he taught for forty years. He also served the Second Baptist Church in New York City. Rauschenbusch, the theologian, historian, and sociologist published Christianity and the Social Crisis in 1907 and Christianizing the Social Order in 1912.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting examination of the evolving American society
Review: Walter Rauschenbusch, a devout Protestant minister, was horrified by what he described as the "social crisis" that permeated American society and politics in the early 1900s. Yet he did not despair or advocate "more government" as a solution. Rather, he argued compelling that the church must play a central role in restoring social order. Indeed, Rauschenbusch alleged that Christianity's future depended on its capacity to restore social harmony and to persuade businesses to feed the masses, not just cater to elites. Rauschenbusch extolled the value of community, "gemeinschaft, " and excoriated "gesellschaft, " an atomized, anonymous, individualistic society in which people are consumed by materialism and personal gain.
Rauschenbusch envisioned a Christian ethic that pervaded the social and economic lives of Americans. He blended ancient Christian thought with the new tools of social science, in order to identify and solve the "social crisis," arguing that "communism" (as he used the term) was fully consistent with Christianity. Rauschenbusch's burden was to show the people where, how, and why Christianity could help them.
Rauschenbusch was a seventh generation Lutheran minister, whose father emigrated to American from Germany in the 1850s. Rauschenbusch, the scholar, was a theologian at the Rochester Theological Seminary, where he taught for forty years. He also served the Second Baptist Church in New York City. Rauschenbusch, the theologian, historian, and sociologist published Christianity and the Social Crisis in 1907 and Christianizing the Social Order in 1912.