Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-10-08

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terrain church. the pastor, Rev. R. r.
Bigger, delivered the first of his series
Of lectures upon the subject, "Wha is
the Church Doing for the Laborirg
People?" There was present a large
congregation. composed principally of
laboring people, and the minister's re-
marks wre highly appreciated. While
the sermon merely treated of the intro
ductory principles of the course 1t was
exceedingly instructive. The practical
part Of the subject will be taken up
next Sunday and thoroughly devel-
oped.
THAT we are living.in a transition
period OF thought and activity" said
the minister, very few students of
the signs OF our times will question.
This age is marked especially by the
discussion of many great social Ques-
tons. A new study called sociology
is now to be found in the curiculums
Of many colleges and universities, and
special departments of sociology are
being established in cur leading uni
versities. Chairs of Christian sociology
have been established in at least thirty
congregational theological seminaries,
while instruction is given in this study
in many other seminaries. Institutes
of Christian sociology ale found at the
various Chatauquas and summer
schools, while magazines and periodil
Gals devoted entirely to sociology as a
science and TO the application OF that
science are very numerous and are in
creasing in number.
"In nearly every professional maya
zine there is to be found a department
devoted to sociology. This Is especial
ly true with reference to the legal and
ministerial professions. Politicians
and statesmen in their speeches, both
before election and afterwards IN legis-
lative halls, devote no small portion Of
their time to the discussion and solu-
ton of distinctively social problems.
The pulpit is giving SO muc attention
to sociology and social questions that
some of the more conservatiy re brethren
are seriously objecting to it. Reading
the book notices of the day it is sur
prising how many authors are devot-
ing their attention to the subject, while
II copies of works already written on
this line of thought were collected they
would constitute a fair sized library.
Now, the most impressive fact on
corning all OF this is that it is only a
few years since educators, the press and
professional men began to discuss So
GEOLOGY and social questions. So re-
cent is 1t that it is questioned by some
whether there is a yet a science of hui
man society properly so called. On the
other hand, the problems which loom
?crOss the threshold Of the new century
surpass in magnitude any that civiliza-
ticn has hithero had to encounter. We
seem to have reached a time in which
there is abroad in mems minds an in
stinctive feeling that a definite stage
in the evolution of our
Western Civilization
is drawing to a close and that we are
entering on a new era.
Surely there is a new literature be-
ing made among US, and back of this
literature there is an immense deal or
thinking. And this thought is provok-
ed by the great problems which agitate
the minds Of society, regardless Of
wealth, rank and social position. 1T
is a period of transition 1t is not my
purpose in this lecture to speak of the
unrest which exists among the labor
ing class; nor shall / enumerate the
wonderful inventions which have made
time and space almost as nothing in
the hands of men, and which have
brought the ends Of the earth together,
and made all men neighbors. These
things have in a great measure made
our social problems what they are.
Now the fact that so much
thinking, so much writing, SO much
agitation along social lines has laid a
new responsibility upon the church.
The questions Of this new era are
moral, and in many cases untimely re-
lated to religion. If we accept Prof.
Commons definition of Sociology as
"the science which deals with society
as a whole as 'co-ordinating all the
special social sciences, such as ethics.
politics and religion it will be readily
seen that the church must take an ac-
tive part in the transition of thought,
literature and activity now occurring.
To refuse to do so would be to neglect
a sacred duty and to bring disaster up-
on its influence and work. l fully agree
with those writers who teach that the
religion of Christ deals on the one
hand with sociology and on the other
hand with theology. IN ;ne ten COM
mandments We have this very division.
The first. four of these commandments
teach our duty to Coda part of theoi-
OOVs Tho Lost civ }1o1L