Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-09-11
kOCfAL SOIENUk.
nssoc'ai Nature Coming tn he More s,us,,
by the Moderps


For the lNrrtttGKSosR.
When II is said that Christianity 1, Tho o,,v
remedy for the evils that exist In tho soc,s,
economy, tho assertion needs TO be properly
understood. There are some who under.
stand u to mean that, In some way, the
christian religion is sufficient of itself TO nc.
conlpiish this end without the aid of n
science Oh sociology, and from this point of
view they speak disparagingly Of tho efforts
made to discover and elaborate proper tbeo-
rios OF mans social lfe This we think In a
mistake. Christianity Is a religion-the true
rellgion-and az such 1t furnishes the proper
guidance lor the religious nature OF man. AS
reiieion Is The deepest element In man, and
one that moulds and controls all other ele-
inehts In MS lie, 1t follows that the true re.
iigion as revealed in Christianity will, NO lar
as 1t Is accepted, be safe guide for man. But
THIS iact does not imply that he is therefore
freed from the necessity of cultivating his
natural powers and developing system for
regulating the various relations of society
Take for instance the ground covered by po-
lltical economy as q science. This has a
sphere OF Its own. 1t relates to certain prob.
lens OF the body polite which must be
studied In the light OF reason. Religion, even
the truest and the best will not make up for
the want OF knowledge relating to this de-
| partment Of political life. Even though all
men were Christians, the study and uses of
political economy would be no less required.
Mans life must be developed in order that
the principles of true religion may leaven II
with its spirit There IL no magical power
In Christianity to Introduce paradikac con-
dition OF human society, but its influence
must have proper conditions for its exercise.
These conditions are the unfolding OF human
life, both in its individual and social charac-
hnt Ia ,NzIxN
Intelligence, and the application of intelli-
gence in framing laws and regulations for
the social economy. Capital and labor must
work out a proper adjustment OF their mu-
tual relations. These relations depend on
| given factors, and these factors must be
faithfully studied in order to ascertain how
| they are mutually related.
The influence OF Christianity appears
| mainly in the moral side OF this question.
| The Bible does, indeed, incidentally throw
| light upon the intellectual aspect of the sub
| Ject, but this Is only secondary az compared
| with It's influence In the moral sphere. And
| the main difficulty in finding an ad justment
| oi capital and labor lies, not in the want of
| intelligence, but in the lack Of right spirit,
or right morality. If capitalists and laborers
| were influenced by right principles morally y
the problem would be comparatively easy Of
solution but still there would be the same
| necessity for studying the problem theoretic-
ally in the light of reason.
Inc mistake, on the other hand, OF those
| who teach that all the evils OF society will
| disappear when the principles of sociology
nave been iuly discovered and reduced to a
| science lies in the fact that they overlook the
| moral element Men may know the right
and yet not have the disposition to do It
Just here 1t is that Christianity comes In as a
power to set men right So far as 1t is &C.
| cepted the moral side of the problem will be
solved. The two must work hand In hand.
Religion requires education as its hand.
| maid.
There arc vast moral forces at work in the
| social economy that need to 10 carefully
studied. They are all subject 10 regular
laws, Just as certain and fixed as those tina
govern the physical universe. With tht
rapid progress Of the natural sciences there II
an increasing demand for scientific study
OF the social order OF human life. This II
only beginning to receive the attention 1t re
Iuires. Moral science Is incomplete withou
including what may be denominated socia
| ethics.
| Social science, until of recent times, wa
confined mainly, il not entirely, to polltica
economy. Even that, it was felt, hardly pos
sessed the exactness which belongs to a tru
science. But great change has taken plac
| IN later years, in reference to the study OF th
social economy. Mans social nature Is com
ing to be studied now as embracing certain
fixed laws just as really as his individual an,
personal existence AS there is a science o
physiology and psychology, so society as al
organism is viewed as being not merely al
aggregation o! individuals, but an econom,
that carries in it possibilities and predeter
mlnation, just "a really a. the formatiy
| principles OF the oak tree exist in the acorn
These principles are more and more studied
| and in that degree the social life Is better un
dorstOod and Its wants and necessities ar
provided for. This science, or department
OF sciences, is as yet in its infancy. As il ad
| vances Christianity will exert a moulding
influence here as 1t does In all other depart
n1ents or human knowledge. But this infu.
ence Is not magical. Religion does not take
the place of science, nor does it make o amend :
for mans ignorance OF the laws that govern
his being. Reason must do its proper work
and then, and only then, will Christianity
bestow upon that work its gracious benedic
ton.