Before:
Throughout his ministry, Walter Rauschenbusch lamented that Americans were largely ahistorical. In many ways, I think he was right especially when one looks at American religious history. The United States has always had a vibrant history of religious sectarianism, reflected in the belief that if persons just read the Bible a certain way then they’ll understand God’s true purposes for humanity and somehow create a perfect church. A consequence of this point-of-view is the belief that religious traditions are an impediment to uncovering God’s will for humanity.
One of the things that I’ve always appreciated about Rauschenbusch is he took the study of church tradition seriously. As we learned in module one, Rauschenbusch didn’t see history leading us to some sort of primrose outcome. However, he shared Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assertion that “the moral arc of the universe is long and bends toward justice.” For Rauschenbusch, and many of the persons who we’ll read in module 2, the possibilities of social change were realized when faith communities worked, in partnership with God, to change history.
Rauschenbusch and other social gospel leaders of his generation, often used the German word, Zeitgeist, meaning, “the spirit of the times,” as a way to capture this creative tension when individuals recognize the opportunities presented at a given moment to change history. Two generations after Rauschenbusch’s death, King employed this same language in speaking about the possibilities of social justice—seizing upon the opportunities that God presented humanity at particular times to act decisively to change history.
Module two introduces us to a wide range of 20th-century religious leaders who emerged in the generations following the death of Walter Rauschenbusch in 1918. While these voices critiqued many assumptions coming out of the early social gospel, they were united by a shared belief that religion’s chief purpose was to work for the creation of a just society. As we discern how the social gospel legacy developed through much of the twentieth century, I’d ask you to keep in mind how the stories of persons who we’ll be studying over the next several weeks speak to your own ministries -- and might be applicable to the contexts that you serve.
After: (click to compare)
My wife, who is also an ordained minister, once told me about a conversation she had with one of her parishioners who loved to quote chapter and verse of scripture. At one point, however, this person confused scripture with prose from English literature, asserting, as the Bible says, To thine own self be true.
Without questioning the devotion of this individual, her confusing a famous line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet with the Bible tells us something important about American religion. Perhaps, more than any other nation, the United States has always had a chronic history of religious individualism reflected in the belief that if persons just read the Bible a certain way, then they'll understand God's true purpose for humanity, leading to the creation of a perfect church.
A consequence of this individualism is the belief that religious traditions are an impediment to uncovering God's will. In some way, the phrase, "to thine own self be true" can become a convenient barrier to listening to other voices that could enrich and deepen our own faith.
As a church historian, Walter Rauschenbusch sought to get people to think less about the eye of faith, and to focus on the we. As with many other social gospel leaders of his time, he was fond of the German term zeitgeist, meaning the spirit of the times, as a way to capture this creative tension when individuals recognize a common bond and destiny to work, in partnership with God, to change history.
Two generations after Rauschenbusch's death, a young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., employed this same language in speaking about the possibilities of social justice, seizing upon the opportunities that God presented humanity at particular times to act decisively to change history.
I believe that one of the most difficult aspects of ministry in any setting is-- how do you balance the competing visions of individuals in your context while staying focused on broader visions that potentially can move a community to a completely different understanding of its mission? As we move through this course, I hope you will reflect how the social gospel legacy provides a means for you to accomplish this balance in your context.
