118 The Fundamentals are necessitated by the industrial system of the age. Some are quite comfortable under what they regard as orthodox preach ing, even though they know their wealth has come from the watering of stocks and from wrecking railroads, and from grinding the faces of the poor. The supposed orthodoxy of such preaching is probably defective in its statements of the social teachings of the Gospels. One might be a social bandit and buccaneer and yet believe in the virgin birth and in the resurrection of Christ ; but one cannot be a Christian unless he believes “that if One died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not hence forth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose a g a i n a n d to live for Christ means to live for Him in every sphere and relationship of life, whether employer or employee, capitalist or laborer, stock-holder or wage-earner. We must all admit the grave complexity of modern life, and the delicacy and difficulty of the problems involved, yet we must not be content to countenance practices which are unjust or unchristian. To be absolutely true to conscience and to Christ will mean sacrifice and loss of money and social prestige. It is never easy to lake up the cross daily and to follow Christ; but there is a new call for heroism, for martyr dom. Absolute loyalty to Christ in the business and social world today often means crucifixion, pain, death, but “it is the way the Master went; must not the servant tread it still ?” 3. The protest of Socialism is a distinct call to the Church to define anew to herself her function, and to interpret anew the prophecies of her Lord. There are many who, in the name of Christianity, have been promising a new social order, a kingdom of God, which they declare the Church will introduce. The long continued failure to realize these promises has led to criticisms of the Church, and has done not a little to increase the bitterness of socialistic attacks upon her. The Church is now being held responsible for Social sins and injustice, for the wrongs and grievances of the age; and for this unfor-
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker