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Walter Rauschenbusch (view source)
Revision as of 04:19, November 13, 2015
, 04:19, November 13, 2015Views on Christianity, legacy
===Rise from Obscurity===
===Rise from Obscurity===
Prior to the publication of "''Christianity and the Social Crisis''", Rauschenbusch was a comparatively unknown intellectual. The book's publication established him as a leading figure in the [[Social Gospel]] movement.<ref name=newworld />
Prior to the publication of "''Christianity and the Social Crisis''", Rauschenbusch was a comparatively unknown intellectual. The book's publication established him as a leading figure in the [[Social Gospel]] movement.<ref name=newworld />
From this point, Rauschenbusch was a strong mobilizing force and leader for the Christian Left.<ref name=left>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/books/review/Wolfe2-t.html?_r=0 Mobilizing the Religious Left]</ref>
===Work as an author===
===Work as an author===
The International Young Men's Christian Association in 1916 distributed over 20,000 copies of a little book prepared for their use by this man, entitled, "The Principles of Jesus." During the war, his books were translated into Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Japanese.
The International Young Men's Christian Association in 1916 distributed over 20,000 copies of a little book prepared for their use by this man, entitled, "The Principles of Jesus." During the war, his books were translated into Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Japanese.
==Views on Christianity==
Rauschenbusch favored a less individual, more collective version of Christianity, believing that it was the future of the faith. In ''A Theology for the Social Gospel'' he wrote: "If we seek to keep Christian doctrine unchanged, we shall ensure its abandonment."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DHEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA7 A Theology for the Social Gospel], p. 7</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uOJ6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT41&dq=Rauschenbusch+%22to+keep+christian+doctrine+unchanged%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAmoVChMIvv_a0IqMyQIVBuEmCh0lqQqF#v=onepage&q=Rauschenbusch%20%22to%20keep%20christian%20doctrine%20unchanged%22&f=false The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation]</ref>
Guided by his belief in the "social" point of view, he noted: "In our country, many of the younger men in the North who have written on theology have shown that the problems of society are a vital concern with them, and their fresh theological work consists largely in understanding the relation between social life and religion."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DHEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA30 A Theology for the Social Gospel], p. 30</ref> Rauschenbusch continually sought to bridge his collective point of view with what he believe to be an old, traditional, individualistic Christianity.
Quoting Josiah Royce, Rauschenbusch notes: "There are in the human world two profoundly different grades, or levels, of mental beings, - namely, the beings that we usually call human individuals, and the being that we call communities. - Any highly organized community is as truly a human being as you and I are individually human."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DHEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA71 A Theology for the Social Gospel], p. 71</ref> He continued: "The assimilative power they exert over their members is only their form of discipline by which they bring their collective body into smooth and efficient working order. They are the most powerful ethical forces in our communities."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DHEAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA72 A Theology for the Social Gospel], p. 72</ref>
This view of the superiority of the collective over was a common theme for Rauschenbusch. In ''Christianizing the Social Order'' he wrote: "Christianizing the social order means bringing it into harmony with the ethical convictions which we identify with Christ. A fairly definite body of moral convictions has taken shape in modern humanity. They express our collective conscience, our working religion. The present social order denies and flouts many of these principles of our ethical life and compels us in practice to outrage our better self. We demand therefore that the moral sense of humanity shall be put in control and shall be allowed to reshape the institutions of social life. We call this "christianizing" the social order because these moral principles find their highest expression in the teachings, the life, and the spirit of Jesus Christ."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=f8z9hCMTGOwC&pg=PA125 Christianizing the Social Order]</ref>
So in his view "christianizing" the social order means "collectivising" the social order - they are one in the same.
Rauschenbusch's most forceful statements regarding collectivism come from his speech on ''The Trend Toward Collectivism'', where he says of collectivism that we "we ought to move in that direction."<ref>[https://archive.org/details/TrendCollectivismRauschenbusch The Trend Toward Collectivism]</ref>
==Death==
==Death==
In his death the “Forum Movement” has lost one of its most conspicuous and successful speakers. Those who heard him on such occasions well know how skillful he was in lifting debatable problems to non-debatable heights. He could reason but would not dispute. His statements were so clear that he had no need for argument.
In his death the “Forum Movement” lost one of its most conspicuous and successful speakers. Those who heard him on such occasions well know how skillful he was in lifting debatable problems to non-debatable heights. He could reason but would not dispute. His statements were so clear that he had no need for argument.
==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Walter Rauschenbusch is the maternal grandfather of [[Richard Rorty]], an American philosopher. [[Paul Raushenbush]], a former Dean of [[Princeton University]] and contributor to the [[Huffington Post]], is his great-grandson.
Walter Rauschenbusch is the maternal grandfather of [[Richard Rorty]], an American philosopher. [[Paul Raushenbush]], a former Dean of [[Princeton University]] and contributor to the [[Huffington Post]], is his great-grandson.
In recent times, his views have started making a comeback.<ref name=left />
==Works==
==Works==
==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Theologians]]
[[Category:Theologians]]