Social problems : the Christian solution

CHAPTER I DEFINITION AND NATURE OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS .....ccccssssoeeeesees 9

The meaning of “problem.” The meaning of “solution.” The problem of the home. The problem of the state. The problem of work. The problem of leisure. The problem of war. The race problem. The problem of education. Social problems as evidences of progress. The complex character of social problems. The factors involved in social problems.

Chapter II

CHRISTIAN METHODS OF APPROACH v.sscscccsocsoscoscssevsscsssssccnccsses 21 The approach through the social gospel. Criticism of the social gospel. The need of a transformed will. Social solutions and the Kingdom of God. The attitude of mystical individualism. Criticism of mystical individualism. The evangelical approach. Criticism of the evangelical approach. The need of further study. The method of evangelical testimony. The Christian pulpit. Education. Exemplifying Christian solutions. Holding aloft the ideal in Christ.

Chapter III

RCERISTIAN |) SOCIAL PRINGIPEDS | osscals i sbevssdds olcdsscnccsusonadecel ssnsveuee 37 The principle of righteousness. The principle of worth. The principle of love. The principle of service. The principle of reconciliation. The principle of brotherhood.

The meaning and purpose of marriage. Jesus and the family. The family and the Kingdom of God.

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORCES UNDERMINING THE FAMILY. .....ccccscessecssccsscveseoseeseascsssess Lax views on marriage and divorce. False standards of happiness. The new conception of woman’s sphere. Immodest behavior. Familiarity with the creative processes. The irreligious home.

Chapter V

CITIZENSHIP ese lg I es CL LD Aaa cesta scape comenanae The state a divine institution. The function of the state. The state in the New Testament.

DUTIES OF CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. o..ccsccsscsscocssccoscavccccesecsasensecs Reverence for those in authority. The use of the ballot. Political activity. Law obedience. Law enforcement.

GRIME AND 'THE: CRIMINATD sv ebesciasteseovsesscoccabeccvessetiaunaencceneesueiieete Upholding the majesty of the law. The purpose of punishment. Christian love and punishment. Capital punishment. Positive obligations of the Christian. Preventive measures.

Chapter VI

WORKS Uae ioalseuanssesneteessspeuecsteneatinercomtuuatsentmopsacaedcdeesnowaueauas WUammtoun Fundamental principles. The Old Testament conception of work as a discipline. The New Testament conception of work as a service. The dignity and necessity of work. The worthiness of work. The brotherhood of workers. Workers as stewards.

WW EARP i rie cts eecaus pas gaceeuasesembacttawss phedee ediel tbace tees aeee aay aime an mee The economic aspect of the problem. The attitude of Jesus. The Christian attitude.

CHAPTER VII TABISURE i cscustvsnelpsesocecevacsbasvonceuct ssecoeu cas talonc Cab se Ad caeee pM eaeea areca eee Leisure a necessity. Jesus’ attitude toward leisure. Education for leisure.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE CHRISTIAN) USE) OF UBISURE) ..c.cipeccssccececessovensessacesese eldcet Recreation and the claims of personality. The use of Sunday. Amusements and the Christian life. Gambling. Drinking.

Chapter VIII

VACATE WAU eCnEnO LiL UcueslVeven CU IUr eS a bLuedels benigotdunt'spuseesdwesesasenvseiuanrearessmuyens The present-day attitude. The teaching of the New Testament. Love the genius of the Christian life. The sphere of love a limited sphere. Love and non-resistance. Christianity and preparedness. Substitutes for war. The new conscience on war. The duty of the Christian Church.

Chapter IX

PRARORAL WAR EIUA TIONS Siscdraselesaneoassterenenanaioysldceukambasosamlelabespseusesbndgaee Definition and nature of race. The significance of race.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE RACE PROBLEM .......ecssecssorees Color prejudice. Race arrogance. Political domination. Social factors. Intermarriage. Immigration.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE RACE PROBLEM .........0 a latgabunencad Heeseas The intrinsic worth of personality. The principle of love. Stewardship. Brotherhood.

CHAPTER X TCCAT ION Hits vite race Use aceay UO Man eM QUO B ed RN SLUR UE TRO Rae Religion in the public schools. The place of religion in education. The Church and education. Defects in the present arrangement. The parochial school. Weekday religious instruction. Educating public opinion.

Preface

The application of Christian principles to the various social relationships of life is not essentially a new undertaking. There has never been a time when Christian truth, inwardly apprehended by faith, did not move the will to fulfill the moral demands of Christian conduct. It is the very nature of faith to express itself in good works. This has always been the teaching and experience of Christianity, and accounts for the moral progress which has invariably accompanied a living faith.

What is new in the present-day attitude is the emphasis which is being laid upon the ethical teaching of Jesus, and the conviction that this teaching is capable of a much wider application than has heretofore been attempted. Men are cherishing the confident hope of a better world through the more general practice of Christian principles. In these principles, it is now generally maintained, is to be found the germ of practically all solutions, and it remains only to discover ways and means of applying them in order to solve the world’s outstanding social problems.

It is in view of this conviction that this little book has been prepared. What has been attempted has been simply to apply the principles inherent in Christianity’s Gospel to the various social relation-

PREFACE 7 ships of life. The position taken is frankly evangelical. No effort has been made to revise, or even to re-interpret, the historic Gospel of the Church. The ethical teaching of Jesus is given its indispensable religious setting, and the realization of all Christian social ideals has been made to rest squarely upon the foundation of a moral transformation centering in Jesus Christ.

The title of the book may be misleading. To speak of ‘‘The Christian Solution’’ may leave the impression that the solutions proposed exhaust the content of the Christian ideal with respect to the particular subject under discussion. This is not the intention. The ethical ideal of Christianity is an inexhaustible ideal, and can only be approximately attained in this world. However satisfactorily human relationships may be adjusted, there will always be a falling short of perfection, and, consequently, a need of repentance, on the part of humanity. By ‘‘Christian’’ solution is meant the solution which is feasible when Christian principles are applied under the circumstances obtaining at the present day. Succeeding generations may go beyond the point at which we have arrived, just as we have advanced, not only in our ideals, but also in our attainment, beyond what may have been thought possible in other ages.

It is not intended, therefore, to present in the following chapters either exhaustive or conclusive solutions of our social problems. The purpose has been rather to stimulate interest in the subject and

8 PREFACE to provide a convenient basis for discussion. It is recognized that there is already an extensive literature available dealing with all these problems from a religious point of view. But a place may be found for this additional work because it attempts to present in a single volume of small compass brief discussions of a number of the more important problems which are occupying the thoughts of men at the present time.

The author acknowledges his indebtedness to those whose writings he has read and from whom he has received helpful suggestions. He likewise desires in this way to express his appreciation of the assistance rendered him in a personal way by those who read the manuscript and offered constructive criticism.

Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pa.

March, 1927.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS THE CHRISTIAN SOLUTION

Chapter I Definition And Nature Of Social Problems

Two facts impress us when we study the individual in his relation to society. The one is that, normally, he cannot live his life apart from the group. Certain social relationships are inescapable. As amember of the family, as a citizen of the state, as a worker, or in other ways, he is of necessity brought into contact with his fellowmen with whom he is compelled to live his life. The other fact is that the individual is not always happy in the relations which he must sustain to others. These necessary social contacts are often the source of many evils. In the family there is divorce; in the state, crime; in industry, strikes; among the nations, war; between the races, suspicion and ill will. Individual exceptions are not rare; but, in general, as one looks on, the impression is unavoidable that much of the evil in life is due, either directly or indirectly, to poorly or inadequately adjusted social relationships.

This impression has given rise to a conviction that a serious and comprehensive effort should be made to effect an improvement in man’s social relationships. Never before has interest in these questions been so keen or widespread. As to the underlying reasons for the existing difficulties there is as yet no unanimity of opinion. Nor is there any agreement as to the method to be pursued to bring about an improvement. But on the necessity of finding a better way practically all men are agreed. One of the indispensable tasks of the future, it is now generally maintained, is to devise a method of social adjustment which will avoid as far as possible such evils as an unstable family life, industrial unrest, war and racial antagonisms.

The Meaning of ‘‘Problem.’’ The phrase ‘‘social problem’’ arises out of the conviction that a better way can and must be found. <A problem is a question propounded for solution. A social problem, therefore, is a question of social adjustment propounded for solution. The mere recognition of a social evil does not in itself constitute a problem. A problem arises only when there is a conscious knowledge of an evil and a deliberate effort is made to remove it. War, for example, has always been an evil, but it did not become a problem until men began to dream seriously of a warless world and to put forth effort to realize it. So likewise with other social evils: they have become problems only since they have come to be regarded as questions of social adjustment for which solutions can and must be found. |

The Meaning of ‘‘Solution.’’ The Christian, no less than others, believes in the possibility and necessity of solving social problems. But his idea of solution is determined by certain fundamental convictions which he holds concerning human nature. From the Christian point of view, a distinction must be drawn between THE Social Problem; that is, the problem of the relations of men to one another in a sinful world, and social problems in particular. THE Social Problem measures the gulf between humanity as it is and as it may be ideally conceived; between a sinful humanity, in other words, and a redeemed humanity. As a problem it is the heritage which each generation receives from the past and which it bequeathes to the future. Its solution may be conceived, but not through human instrumentality. Only when humanity shall have been redeemed and the purpose of God for the world accomplished will THE Social Problem have been solved.

Social problems, on the other hand, are specific manifestations of THE Social Problem. They are tangible evidences of poorly or inadequately adjusted human relationships. Their solution is possible, if by solution we understand merely a more adequate social adjustment. But these solutions must not be identified with the ideal of God for humanity. They are necessary expedients, without which our civilization would soon become chaotic, but they offer no safeguard against subsequent outbreaks in other forms of the moral evil with which human nature is infected. It is the elimination of the latter which constitutes the ideal of the Church and determines in large measure its method of approach. But loyalty to this ideal cannot relieve the Christian, together with all right-thinking men, of the necessity of finding solutions for the immediate problems which our generation is facing, even in the form of temporary and expedient adjustments. The continued progress and orderliness of civilization demand it.

The Problem of the Home. Among the foremost problems which challenge our thought and demand a solution is the problem of the home. It lies in adjusting certain developments of modern life to what must always be regarded as essential to human welfare—a stable family life. Among these developments may be mentioned (1) the new freedom and equality demanded by and granted to women, which has opened to them the possibility of many other careers besides that of wifehood and motherhood; (2) the growth of individualism, leading to a clashing of wills and aims and ideals in the home, and thus threatening the unity and solidarity of the family; and (3) the tendency, in view of the strained relations existing in many families, to regard divorce as a remedy to be welcomed rather than an evil to be shunned. These developments have assumed such proportions as to endanger the stability

— of the family as an institution, and an adjustment has become imperative. |

The Problem of the State. Good government has always been an ideal of men, but as long as the responsibility for good government rested upon a few and the great majority had no voice or control in the matter, it was not a social problem. It was a problem for kings, or statesmen or others in authority. But with the advent of democracy, responsibility for good government has come to rest with the citizens themselves. The problem, there- _ fore, consists in adjusting the rights of citizenship to the needs of a stable and efficient government. Only as the individual citizen is aroused to a sense of his responsibility and his loyal and intelligent co-operation in government secured, can the problem be solved.

The Problem of Work. The problem of work, or the labor problem, as it is more popularly called, promises to be with us for some time to come. It is the problem of adjusting the worker to the everchanging conditions which a progressive civilization brings with it. As it confronts us at the present day, it consists very largely in adjusting the worker to the conditions which have arisen under the modern industrial system. It is largely a product of the machine age, and may be attributed to the failure to discriminate adequately between the worker and the mechanism of the system under which he works.

The Problem of Leisure. Leisure has come to be a problem by reason of the fact that the working day has been shortened and in other ways more ample provision made for time free from specified toil. The tendency to abuse leisure by employing it in ways which are likely to impair the wholesome development of personality has made it necessary to devote attention to the subject. The problem is complicated by the changing conditions of homelife, by the increasing laxity of family discipline, and by the powerful influence which commercialized amusements are exerting, especially upon the youth of today.

The Problem of War. War has come to be one of the outstanding problems of the day. In its larger aspects, it is the problem of international relations. The growing economic solidarity of the world; the invention of almost inconceivable engines of destruction; the colossal cost in men and money, —all this combined with a growing humanitarianism and idealism has resulted in the development of an attitude toward war which is unique in the world’s history. There is a persistent demand being made that war be abolished and some other method of settling international disputes devised. The prob. lem consists in finding a feasible method.

The Race Problem. The race problem has come to be another of our great problems. The rise to positions of influence and power of what were formerly regarded as backward peoples; the increasing sense of the worth of the individual, irrespective of race or color; the challenge to the hitherto undisputed dominance of the white race, have created a situation fraught with serious possibilities, unless an adequate adjustment can be found.

The Problem of Education. The appearance of a problem of education is due to the apprehension lest the elimination of religion from the curriculum of the public school lead to serious consequences in the future. The problem consists in providing such an educational system as will safeguard the principle of the separation of Church and state, and yet at the same time furnish the materials which are essential to the development of character. The gradual disappearance of the home as a factor in the moral and religious training of the youth has immeasurably increased the necessity of finding a solution for this difficult problem.

Social Problems as Evidences of Progress. These are the problems which loom large on the horizon and are demanding an adjustment. Individually, they do not seem to offer any insuperable difficulty. The desirable solution is evident in each instance, and all that seems to be required is that the necessary adjustment be made. But when we examine more deeply into these problems we come upon facts which render them exceedingly intricate and dispel any hope that they can be solved with a little superficial moralizing or by the application of a few simple remedies.

For one thing, they are problems which have arisen to a large extent by reason of a changing civilization. They have not been artificially created.

Some of them may even be regarded as evidences of progress. No one in his right mind would seek to banish the labor-saving machine because the machine age has brought with it its own problem. Nor would it be reasonable to condemn the extension of civilizing influences into regions which have heretofore remained unaffected because they are creating a race problem. On the whole, problems like these indicate a healthy progress. Even the situation in the home is not without its bright side. Insofar as it has arisen because of the new value which is assigned to the human personality as such, to children as well as to adults, to girls and women as well as to boys and men, it is not to be condemned. Whoever is familiar with the position which women and children occupied in the ancient world will not resent the change, although it has ushered in many new evils. The principle of equality of value is a good principle and has come to stay. Itis our task now to adjust it to the needs of a stable family life.

To conclude, therefore, that our age is a decadent age because of the many problems which it is called upon to face represents a hasty and unwarranted judgment. It is more likely that we are witnessing the transition from one social order to another, and the confusion is the result of the struggle to attain an ideal which is only imperfectly apprehended and therefore ignorantly pursued.

The Complex Character of Social Problems. In the second place, it should be noted that, whatever may be attempted in theory, in practice no one problem can be dealt with apart from other problems. They are all so interwoven that the solution of any one is dependent to some extent upon the solution of all. This fact is often disregarded, and, consequently, one of the chief difficulties in finding solutions overlooked. War, for example, is not a simple problem. Economics, politics, education, racial relations, are all involved in the problem of war, and must be dealt with adequately before a solution can be found. In a similar way, the race problem touches upon many points of human interest. A simple call to all races to live as brothers will not suffice. There are definite adjustments which must first be made, such as the government of backward peoples, control of the wealth and resources of undeveloped countries, and the reconciliation of conflicting standards of culture. In the home, the economic situation is at least partly responsible for the new demands which womanhood is making; and changing standards of conduct and new modes of living are having an effect upon the training of the young.

In a brief study of social problems such as we propose, it is necessary to regard each problem in a more or less detached way. But it should not be forgotten that they dovetail into one another and that the solution of any one is dependent to some extent upon the solution of all. We should be on our guard, therefore, against superficial judgments which will not stand the test of closer examination.

The practice of singling out some one problem and concentrating attention upon its solution is common. But by attempting to solve it apart from its relation to other problems, one becomes blind to the real difficulties involved.

The Factors Involved wm Social Problems. Finally, it must be recognized that the factors involved in the solution of any one problem are themselves numerous and complex, opening up various methods of approach and suggesting different methods of solution. These factors are usually classified as physical, mental and spiritual. The physical factors are environment and heredity. At one time they were considered of prime importance, but that is no longer the case. While they cannot be disregarded entirely, their influence is now minimized. The problem of the home, for example, it is now felt, cannot be solved by building better houses, providing parks and keeping the streets clean. Nor can the labor problem be solved simply by improving the physical conditions under which men work. A clean and healthful environment is desirable, but it does not necessarily lead to better living or greater contentment. Where the environment is improved and the mental and spiritual factors neglected, it is usually found that the improvement is only temporary and superficial. And where, on the other hand, the mental and spiritual factors are satisfactorily dealt with, the proper environment will usually result naturally, as effect follows cause.

In a similar way, heredity is now minimized as a factor in social problems. The possibility of overcoming, by means of education and religion, the limitations of inherited characteristics, at least to such an extent as to remove them as insuperable barriers to the solution of social problems, is generally conceded. With the exception of the race problem, in which inherited physical characteristics play a part, no problem is seriously affected by the biological fact of heredity.

Of greater importance are the mental factors,— inherited ideas, ideals and tendencies. These need to be dealt with specifically. Man is a creature of habits, and it sometimes requires long and _ persistent effort to break him of his habits. The traditional attitude toward war is very largely an inherited attitude, and constitutes one of the principal factors in the problem. So, likewise, is the place assigned to woman determined very largely by tradition, each nationality having its own tradition which it will not surrender save under ‘great pressure. There is an inherited attitude which controls the relation of the races, of employer to employee, of the older generation to the younger. Good government is sometimes made difficult by inherited ideas with respect to freedom; and wrong standards of education are tolerated because men have grown accustomed to believe that the principle of the separation of Church and state made any other standard impossible.

In the solution of social problems, therefore, education must be taken into account with its ability to create an appreciation for new ideals, new values and higher standards. The disciplinary power of law must be reckoned with, and a place found for the changes and general advancement in culture which accompany a progressive civilization. ‘These are forces which are continuously at work, modifying man’s whole mental outlook. In themselves they are insufficient to solve social problems, but as contributing influences they cannot be disregarded.

The most important factors, however, are the emotional or spiritual factors,—love, sympathy, service, forgiveness, with their opposites, hate, fear, selfishness, injustice and greed. These are the great factors in creating and solving social problems. Where they are disregarded, the nature of social problems cannot be understood, nor can a satisfactory adjustment be found. They constitute the human equation, the largest single factor in all social relationships. No mere mechanical rearrangement of society, no legislative program, or reform movement, or educational process, or cultural development can deal effectively with these factors. They are spiritual factors, with roots reaching deep down into human nature, and, consequently, need to be dealt with spiritually. It is this fact which imposes an obligation upon the Church to take an interest in social problems, and justifies the conviction that it has a very definite contribution to make to their solution.

Chapter II Christian Methods Of Approach

Interest in social problems is not confined to the Church or to any one group. Men in widely different walks in life feel the need of social readjustment and are putting forth effort to bring it about. The sociologist, the legislator, the reformer, the educator and the average citizen are approaching these problems, each from his own particular point of view; and suggesting remedies according as each analyzes the situation and interprets the need. It is not surprising, therefore, that many different solutions are being proposed or attempted. According as men emphasize one or another group of factors, it is natural that they should feel drawn toward one or another method of approach.

The Church does not deny the validity of these different approaches. It recognizes the involved character of social problems and admits the necessity of many forces co-operating in their solution. However, it should insist that its own method of approach be kept distinct from others. The tendency at the present day, both within and without _ the Church, is to disregard this distinction; to confuse the method of the Church with that of various philanthropical or ethical uplift movements, or even with that of the state. But only as there is an appreciation of the unique contribution which religion can make to the solution of social problems will the . Church be able to add anything constructive to the subject.

The Approach through the Social Gospel. Three Christian methods of approach to the solution of social problems may be distinguished. The first may be called the approach through the social gospel. By the social gospel, as we use the phrase here, we mean an interpretation of Christianity as a great ethical force, working in the world through the example and teaching of Jesus Christ. The aim of this approach is to accomplish the regeneration of society through the immediate application of Christian principles to all social relationships of life. With the need of individual regeneration it is not concerned. It presumes that the goodness innate in human nature is sufficient to solve all our problems, provided it can be discovered, educated and organized. And this it holds to be the task of the Church. Under the inspiration and leadership of the Church, and on the basis of Jesus’ ethical teaching, programs of reform are to be prepared; social education and legislation promoted; and mass movements inaugurated. Employers as a class are to be taught to practice the Golden Rule in industry and thus solve the labor problem, and nations as nations to show goodwill and thus end war. In this way the whole world is eventually to be transformed and a new social order instituted. This new social order will be the Kingdom of God on earth.

Criticism of the Social Gospel. This method of approach has attained to considerable prominence, and in certain Christian groups, notably where there is a tendency toward liberalism in theology, enjoys great popularity. It seems to give promise of the speedy accomplishment of a necessary and difficult task. At the same time it provides the Church with an objective which is readily understood, and which presumably can be attained without the need of an intricate theology. But there are important reasons why it is unacceptable, both as an interpretation of Christianity and as a method of solving social problems. |

The Need of a Transformed Will. In the first place, the social gospel, as an approach to the solution of social problems, is too optimistic in its estimate of human nature. It presumes that the will to do right is potentially present and needs only to be stimulated and applied. But neither experience nor the teaching of the New Testament warrants such a presumption. Undoubtedly, the application of Christian principles to social relationships would solve our problems. But before these principles can be applied, provision must be made for an adequate motive power. It is not because men do not know the Golden Rule that they fail to apply it in business, or because nations do not know the value of goodwill that they fail to practice it. It is because they lack the will to do so.

Before Christian principles can be made effective there is necessary a transformation of the will.

Jesus Himself made this plain. He never intended His ethical principles to be construed as laws binding upon all men alike, irrespective of their religious condition. They were intended as descriptions or ulustrations of the kind of life which would be lived in His Kingdom. His primary purpose was to give men, not a new code of ethics, but a new life, by establishing them once more in a right relation to God, and only out of this relationship was to come the will and the power to fulfill His precepts. ‘‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’’—John 3:3. This is the indispensable foundation upon which all Christian morality, whether individual or social, must be built. Not by making the material conditions better, but by making man better does Christianity hope to improve the present social order.

The attempt, therefore, to disassociate the task of social regeneration from the task of individual regeneration is neither Christian nor practical and must always prove futile. The evil in human nature is too real and persistent to be overcome in this way. Christian solutions must proceed on the basis of a new life centering in Jesus Christ. To ignore this fact is to be indifferent to the chief contribution which Christianity can make to the solution of social problems.

Social Solutions and the Kingdom of God. Another error of the social gospel is its tendency to divorce the Christian social ideal from its religious setting by identifying the Kingdom of God with the results of merely outward schemes of social betterment. This is another characteristic attitude of the present day. There is a widespread inclination to regard any signal achievement of moral endeavor as contributing directly to the realization of the Christian social ideal, and so as fulfilling in a measure God’s purpose for humanity. The introduction of the principle of arbitration in industry, the establishment of a League of Nations, the passing of the Prohibition Amendment, achievements like these are often acclaimed as ‘‘Christian’’ victories and accepted as evidences of the coming of the Kingdom of God into the world, irrespective of the means employed to bring them about, or the motives which make men acquiesce in them.